Hi guys,

So I have a pretty obsessive love relationship with espresso. I love my crema filled, single origin, freshly roasted, pulled somewhere between ristretto and espresso drink every single day. I have been able to achieve consistency, and a beverage that I put above everything else I've ever drank. However, achieving such a high quality espresso almost every single day, I have developed this extreme pickiness with coffee in general. And that becomes a problem when I am away from my espresso machine, and there's no decent cafe around (work, wilderness, traveling). I have tried drip coffee, aeropress, french press, moka pot, you name it... out of those, my favorite are french press and aeropress, but not nearly as close as the complexity of my espresso, and sometimes, I really need my espresso.

I did a lot of research and found this, popular but not as much as it should be (to my understanding), wild handpresso. Out of the many videos on youtube of people using it, I only found 2 people using it correctly, and achieving what looked like real espresso; so it is not designed to be forgiving really. And this other tiny thing called "minipresso" which seems to be taking over the handpresso (designed to be forgiving). I bought the handpresso, because the minipresso does not produce as much pressure as the handpresso, and the "extra crema" that people are getting with the minipresso, is really mostly, if not all of it, foam, from the multiple pumping as you brew, introducing air into the coffee; kind of like what the bialetti brikka does. This is, I believe the reason why minipresso is more popular than the handpresso, and it is also cheaper.

So I got my handpresso a few days ago, and had to work quite a bit to dial in my first shot. It is like a portafilter, that works with a hand pump. You pump to 16 bar before pulling your shot. The basket is pretty tiny, designed for 7gr of beams. If you are trying to achieve a good shot with this thing, it is possible, but pretty tricky. Think of it as a espresso machine, without an electric pump, and the limitation of the tiny basket (small dose). Who said pulling a shot in the wilderness was going to be easy?. Anyway, I was able to achieve a great "mini" shot, well balanced, with crema, dense and delicious, but I found the following is strictly necessary:

1) Try to dial in the handpresso for 9~10gr of coffee. It is hard to get it in the basket, but if you want good crema, it will be hard with only 7gr.
2) Pre-warm the water reservoir.
3) Use high quality, freshly roasted beans, and if possible, grind them yourself at the moment.
4) This is a pretty tiny machine, expect a very small shot. Nowhere near as 1.5~2 ounces; remember, you are using between 9~10gr, you'll end up with a 18~20gr espresso.

I was wondering if anyone else tried the handpresso before? and if so. Do you have any techniques/tricks to get a great cup of espresso?. I wanted to try to make a ristretto by pumping twice, but not sure if it is a good idea. Basically, pump to 16 bar, release the pressure, cut the shot, pump again, release again. So kind of building the pressure up again in the middle of the pull.

I have had my Handpresso for several years now. I will have to try the pre-infusion to see how that changes things.

I have found that a 1:2 ratio (grams coffee : grams spro output) is about the sweet spot which is in the ratio of a normale. Never had a decent lungo and never tried for a ristretto.

Baldhead: i've never had a spring-lever shot. Are you saying that a Handpresso shot is similar to that from a spring lever machine because of the pressure profile? That's Interesting.

baldheadracing wrote:Tips:
1. The "Intenso" 'portafilter' is best for ristretto's. That's the only 'portafilter' that I use.
2. The "BIKEGang" tamper/funnel gives no mess, and enables better tamping/distribution (BIKEGang makes custom bicycle parts) https://www.ecwid.com/store/bikegang/#! ... ry=9941297
3. Prepping and tamping additional 'baskets' makes things more convenient. Handpresso sells a three-pack with holder.
4. If you are near power, immersing the head in an open-topped kettle makes pre-heating more efficient, e.g., a Bonavita travel kettle.

I find the Handpresso no harder to dial in than any other espresso machine. Being consistent with water volume, time wetting the puck and pump pressure are important. 16 bar is too much. Use more time wetting (after inversion but before adding pressure) and a lower maximum pressure as desired.

The great thing about the Handpresso is that it gives a spring lever pressure profile.

Interesting. Isn't the Intenso portafilter just a pressurized portafilter???? I can't find the bikegang tamper in the US.... I think the handpresso is way more popular in Europe than here . I am getting the three pack, that looks super convenient thanks. How long do you do your pre-infusion for?. I agree with you, 16 bars is too much.

I think this device is really really cool, I am hoping to see more 3rd party accessories.

baldheadracing wrote:I should add the caveats that I always use the "intenso" 'portafilter;' 10-ish grams of coffee; fill to less than the maximum water level; generally pull normales or luongos; and use a Knock Hausgrind (sort of portable) or Orphan Espresso Pharos (not so portable) hand grinders.


It isn't really "pre-infusion" in the usual espresso machine sense as there is no pressure; it is just hot water sitting on the top of the puck. Letting the water sit for a five to ten+ seconds on top allows the water to get a good start permeating the puck, which seems to help reduce channeling. Note that the grind will have to be adjusted.

The best shots that i've gotten out of the Handpresso have been close to what I get out of my Strega when it is used "normally" (pull the lever down, raise it when the coffee starts coming out of the basket) - the Handpresso just gives less volume. (Note that the Strega can be used in many other ways.)


I ordered my BIKEGang tamper/funnel from the link I gave (PayPal to Taiwan). They shipped from Taiwan to Canada; I am sure that they'll ship to the States.

The Intenso 'portafilter' just has less holes (equal to the bottom of the basket in a conventional espresso machine) so it slows down the extraction. This lets me use the similar grind settings that I use in a conventional espresso machine. For a comparison between the regular and intenso, here's an old Seattle Coffee Gear video:

Ah. That makes sense. It will let you achieve a slower extraction with a coarser grind. Otherwise you have to go too too fine of a grind, which I've been doing. So you can use the same setting you have for your espresso machine, and you don't have to be switching settings. I am probably going to buy that intense "portafilter". Thanks a lot for the info.

5~10 seconds immersion sounds good, that's what I guessed. Otherwise, it could get too bitter.

I wanted to share my latest extraction with you guys.

This is with the original basket.
I am quite pleased with the results. Getting this out of a portable machine is simply outstanding.

Nice tip!. Thanks