Slayer experience for soon to be home user

#1: Post by **Dburns** » September 8th, 2015, 8:37 am

Hey guys,

I placed my order last week for a new single group slayer! I am totally psyched to say the least! A bit of a splurge, but a lot of blood sweat and tears went to getting this for sure. I have had the opportunity to play with a slayer a little bit. I have read as much as I can at this point also, as there is a limited amount of content out there about them as far as user experience/suggestion. So here is my question out to the world of HB:

If anyone here has one, used one or has any experience with one - can you comment or give some pointers and/or words of wisdom regarding your personal experiences. Any coffee's you have found to be exceptional in brewing/why? I am in Chicago, so there is a great selection of high quality roasters here. I do have a list of some coffee's I would like to try, but I would love suggestions also!

#2: Post by **LukeFlynn** » September 8th, 2015, 5:13 pm

Just something I've observed with Slayers.. pressure profiling seems to be the most beneficial to single origins that normally don't pull well with typical 9 bars. I would buy some nice light SOs that are wonderful and crisp as pourover/whatever and mess with them on the slayer as espresso.

Counter Culture's SOs all work pretty well for spro out of the box, but I bet they will be even more amped up on the Slayer.

Intelligentsia has some GREAT SOs too, I was a huge fan of the Colombia Tres Santos.

I bet Marshall Hance's (MTN air) coffee will shine under pressure profiling.

#3: Post by **michael** » September 9th, 2015, 9:17 pm

What's your delivery date; look forward to hearing more about the user experience and seeing some photos

#4: Post by **Chabeau** » September 9th, 2015, 10:17 pm

Since you're in Chicago I would swing over to Ipsento and pick up some of their coffee. They used to use a Linea but now they use a Slayer. I'm sure they'd be willing to talk about how their approach to espresso has changed since switching.

September 12th, 2015, 4:59 pm

Sweet. Thanks for the suggestions. I am a big fan of intelligensia so I'll probably pick up some light roast SO from them to try out once it's delivered

#6: Post by **ryuemura** » September 29th, 2015, 1:36 pm

I'd also like to hear more user experience since I'll be placing my order for a Slayer Single Group in the next month or so. I'm in LA and looking for suggestions on SOE that would benefit from pressure profiling, I'd also use it for pour over. Currently, I'm using Black Cat Espresso (Intelligentsia), and 49th Parallel (G&B, GGET). Dburns, keep us all updated on your experience!

#7: Post by **michael** » September 29th, 2015, 9:59 pm

So much information here generally, but not a lot of current slayer user experience

Do you plan on ordering a "stock" slayer or a custom unit

September 29th, 2015, 10:06 pm

Most espressos I've had pulled on a Slayer are just simply better than the same beans on other machines.

One tip to get you started: Pre-infuse until you actually have grams in the cup. Don't just pre-infuse for a second or two and then ramp to full pressure. The Slayer loves pulling long shots (45-50 seconds for a normale) and most coffees love it too. Don't be afraid to experiment.

One local roaster here pre-infuses until 3 grams are in the cup, full pressure until 28 grams are in the cup, and then backs off on pressure until the final shot is around 32 grams. Dosing around 18-19g.

I also had a shot of Supersonic's Concorde espresso blend on a Slayer where the barista pre-infused until 7 grams were in the cup, full pressure until around 30 grams, then backing off. Dosing around 20g.

They're beautiful machines. Enjoy it!

-Nick

#9: Post by **waroros** » September 29th, 2015, 10:23 pm

I've been using Slayer Single group in my home for a year. There are many style/profile you can brew with Slayer. IMO, you will enjoy Slayer's full potential with medium to light roasted bean.

There is a very detailed guide for each style and outcome in Slayer user manual. Don't forget to read it.

#10: Post by **cmin** » September 29th, 2015, 10:37 pm

nicholasnumbers wrote:Most espressos I've had pulled on a Slayer are just simply better than the same beans on other machines.

One tip to get you started: Pre-infuse until you actually have grams in the cup. Don't just pre-infuse for a second or two and then ramp to full pressure. The Slayer loves pulling long shots (45-50 seconds for a normale) and most coffees love it too. Don't be afraid to experiment.

One local roaster here pre-infuses until 3 grams are in the cup, full pressure until 28 grams are in the cup, and then backs off on pressure until the final shot is around 32 grams. Dosing around 18-19g.

I also had a shot of Supersonic's Concorde espresso blend on a Slayer where the barista pre-infused until 7 grams were in the cup, full pressure until around 30 grams, then backing off. Dosing around 20g.

They're beautiful machines. Enjoy it!

-Nick

Just makes me want a Slayer bad lol.