FYI for Canadians: the pre-order is now live at EightOunce in Calgary. $499CAD (same price as the Ratio 6). No free coffee, but a very good USD:CAD exchange rate and about $10 in points off a future purchase from EightOunce (if you sign up to EightOunce's loyalty program). {link}

I was thinking that a strap wrench would let you determine how long a lever would be needed. I had a similar issue with the knob on my Elektra Micro Casa a Leva, and I was able to use a wrench. Eventually I replaced the sealing washer with a soft o-ring/washer that needs very little effort to seal. ...

There is washing green coffee and also rehydrating green coffee, but my guess is that the pic above is steeping white coffee

I ran my gauge underneath because the mount that holds the Gicar brainbox could be shifted slightly and the chassis bent a bit with needlenose pliers for clearance for the pipe to the gauge (with some tape wrapped around the pipe for protection). Note that I used the bottom port and a 90° elbow for ...

Is it turning effort or pushing-down effort? If it is the former, then I would suggest starting with a small strap wrench to see if/how that will address your issue, and then move towards a permanent solution

The flow rate of the brewing water and the hot plate heating (if your model has a hot plate) are different between the half and full pot settings. You only load the reservoir with enough water for a half pot or a full pot. You then choose either the half or full pot setting to start brewing. You do

Just my experience, but I had the dimmer mod and removed it as I found it unpredictable when actually pulling a shot. I ended up with three settings with the dimmer - max on, min on, and somewhere in between - but even then I could not get a repeatable pre-infusion pressure (again, when actually pul...

The current factory spec as per the parts manual is 12 bar. Note that - and I realize that this is semantics because the physical valve is the same - the valve on the Strega is an suppression/expansion valve, not an over-pressure valve. The difference is in purpose - the valve in the Strega is locat...

I'd say that the flexibility of the Aiden offers the potential for a better cup - but also the potential for a worse cup. A tool is only as good as its user

Unless you are a regular customer and the staff and owner know your name and your order, I would say nothing and not return. Or another viewpoint:{video}