Your Ideal Espresso Machine Specs

#1: Post by **7dbeckham23** » October 6th, 2015, 12:54 pm

Hey espresso lovers!

I'm currently an engineering student and since I love espresso I decided to embark on a journey to make my very own espresso machine. As I know all of you here love your espresso's and are much more knowledgeable in this field than I am, it would be awesome if some of you could share what makes an ideal espresso machine for you.

The amount of power that you would like it to draw for the boiler and the type of insulation that makes a great espresso are some of the things I'm really unfamiliar with.

Thanks for all your knowledge, I would love to hear from all of you!

#2: Post by **Bluecold** » October 6th, 2015, 1:17 pm

Ideal operating procedure:
* walk up to the machine
* get delicious espresso

No waste, no energy usage as well. Also very compact.

#3: Post by **FirstBetta** » October 6th, 2015, 2:50 pm

List of specs for ideal espresso machine:

SS frame and covers
Dual SS Boilers with HX tube from 2 liter steam boiler feeding .5 liter brew boiler
Rotary pressure adjustable pump or lever actuated group
Brew pressure gauge and Steam pressure gauge with correct ergonomic location
SS heavy group
SS heavy Portafilter
Steam pressure gauge
Brew pressure gauge
Flow variable joystick Steam and Hot water controls
Ball joint mounts for steam and hot water outlets
Heated group
PID control of group and both boilers temp with data visible (no plug in indicator)
Shot timer
Reservoir and ability to Plumb
Reservoir accessible from either side or rear for filling or front filling w/o opening top of cover
Tank water level visible from front of machine
> 1 liter easy to clean drip tray (minimal nooks and crannies)
Auto on by timer
Ability to set for auto extraction
Boiler drains w/o disassembly of machine covers (possibly access port on bottom)
Lighted drip tray area especially over steam wand area (Us older folks require more light to clearly see process)
Sufficient clearance for cups + digital scale under group (Better yet built in water proof 5# digital scale w/0.1G resolution maybe with retractable cover)
Place and holder for dry and damp cloths other than cup warmer surface
Attachments for spare PF on back or side
Copper or SS braided plumbing lines
amount and duration programmable preinfusion w/max of 3 bar
Fully heated in 30 min
Capable of being plugged in to standard 15 amp but able to use 20 amp kitchen circuits

Gee this list almost sounds like BDB or Vesuvius.

All that comes to mind right off the top of my head, will yell if anything important surfaces.

You asked for ideal, hope this answers your request.

#4: Post by **Bob_McBob** » October 6th, 2015, 3:13 pm

FirstBetta wrote: Joystick Steam and Hot water controls

The BDB doesn't have joystick controls in the sense typically meant here. The "joystick" is a knob attached to the side of the machine with a lever to operate it, similar to machines like the Slayer. Joystick controls are typically a simple locking on/off, which means they're extremely quick to operate, but not very flexible if you want variable steam levels for different size pitchers. I thought they were amazing the first time I tried a machine with them, but I've since decided I much prefer a standard non-compression valve with clear indexing on the knob like the La Spaziale machines.

#5: Post by **Tritone** » October 7th, 2015, 6:45 am

Besides features that are considered normal or standard on high-end machines, I'd like a machine with the following:

-Vesuvius-style pressure profiling
-"auto brew ratio"/"gravitech"-style integrated scale
-programmable auto-on/auto-off, at least two sets a day
-a big, color, integrated touch screen with good, intuitive and powerful UI. For example, being able to 'draw' pressure profiles by dragging my finger across the screen would be neat

October 7th, 2015, 10:10 am

Bluecold wrote:Ideal operating procedure:
* walk up to the machine
* get delicious espresso

No waste, no energy usage as well. Also very compact.

Better:

You wake up and still in bed.
The machine walks up to you and pours some delicious espresso in your mouth
Serves you breakfast
Goes to the office and work for you
You stay in bed

October 8th, 2015, 11:40 pm

+1
We NEED this made immediately!!!

October 9th, 2015, 1:01 am

-1
How boring life would be

#9: Post by **Bluecold** » October 9th, 2015, 4:51 am

Also, my employer would then fire me and hire my espresso machine instead.
Which would leave me without coffee and without a job.

In any case, my comment was only partially in jest. People tend to think of things that already exist, and combine those into one superduper machine which should be good. I would like to think that a rigorous definition of a 'good machine' comes first, and then the features are combined to meet the demands. Instead of the other way around. A double boiler is merely one way to deliver a simultaneous supply of brewing water and steam. A PID is merely one way to keep the boiler at a set temperature. A timer is merely a crutch to compensate for long heat-up times.

Define what you want out of the machine, before you design your actual machine.
Henry Ford famously said that if he asked people what they wanted, they'd have said 'faster horses'.

The TS is an engineering student, if he's followed any engineering project courses, this should not be completely strange to him.

#10: Post by **DaveC** » October 9th, 2015, 6:35 am

To pour water on it a little, many features are patented with various manufacturers, so you can't easily have a pick and mix of ideal features.