Synesso Cyncra Single Group - A Home Barista's Perspective

[Abe Carmeli]

DAY 1

This Bench review is entitled A Home Barista's Perspective. For a home enthusiast, an encounter with a Synesso - in the kitchen, is perhaps the ultimate wet dream. It has been mine for a long time and the idea of reviewing this machine is both exciting and intimidating. Its bigger siblings, the Cyncra 2 & 3 group, have been the gold standard of the ultimate espresso experience since their introduction in 2004, and many of us have followed the machine's development, gathering every bit of information we could find through 3rd and 4th hand intermediaries.

Schomer used a prototype of the machine in his famous Techniques of the Barista video, and anyone who's ever used it cannot stop praising its bottom line quality in the cup. While in Seattle during SCAA 2005, I had a chance to pull some shots on the two group Cyncra, and at Victrola I was served one of the best straight shots ever - pulled on a three group Cyncra.

So we finally meet again.

When I looked at the giant box that landed at my doorstep I was pondering on its significance. As we climb the social ladder, we often expand in size: a bigger house; a bigger car; a bigger waistline (?). How do you know you've made it in the espresso universe? Is it when the package delivering your machine can block the sun?

This one can house a family of six, (well, maybe in Japan). Hook a parachute to it, and it could be dropped from an airplane in mid-flight. The guys at Synesso did a fantastic job in packing it. I feel we are off to a very good start.

In the box

The machine weighs a ton. Forget about trying to lift it out of the box. The box walls are cleverly folded and attached with 4 screws. As I released the screws the box walls fell leaving the machine happily exposed on its wooden platform. I released two more screws attaching the machine to the platform, one swift lift, and the machine made it to my dinner table.

Synesso Cyncra - front view, I couldn't get my eyes off that paddle wheel

Synesso Cyncra - side view

Look at that cool steam wand lever

A bit of history about the machine. The Synesso Cyncra single group was developed for the small coffee shop market. Its intended market from the get go was not home users. So this is a fully commercial machine with an external pump and commercial plumbing hookup. However, products live or die by the market, and as things turned out, almost all the machines sold to date were sold to home users. So regardless of its birth pedigree, this machine was destined to become a home machine, hence my interest in reviewing it.

In this review I will focus on what caught my attention as a home barista. In between shots, I will collect technical performance data on the machine, talk about the machine's construction, its strengths and weaknesses, and how it does what it does. I will also spend significant time on the machine's performance in the cup. When I asked Mark Barnett, the machine's designer & owner of Synesso if there is anything about the machine's technology he wanted me to keep under wraps, he answered: "No, no secrets. Tell it all and tell it like it is." This is going to be an interesting ride, so stick around.

Sean Lennon has been working with me on the machine for the past three days collecting temperature performance data. For those of you who do not know Sean, he is a robotic engineer extraordinaire, and a great contributor to HB. His data collection instruments are hooked up to a laptop and allow automatic recording of machine performance as I take the shots. The data is then analyzed and presented in a series of graphs. Let the computers do the boring stuff; we're here to make espresso.

After all is said and done, the main two questions I will try to answer are these: does the machine really produce a better cup? And the followup question is, can the average home barista really taste that difference? The focus in the 2nd question is on the home enthusiast, with poor to average palate and barista skills. That segment of home users is about 98% of the market. Can we taste the difference, and if so, is it worth paying $3,000-4,500.00 extra over a prosumer machine?

I will be using a PID'ed Brewtus as my control group. Will I be able to detect a startling difference in the shots between a $2,000.00 prosumer machine and the Synesso? This & more will be revealed in the coming days, so stay tuned.

[lino]

Excellent!

Looking very forward to this one Abe!

It's too bad that you and Sean are going to be subjected to all that work... If you get tired of it, just lemme know

ciao

lino

[Woofy]

This is great news!

I'll be very interested as well. Victrola is just a few blocks from home and it's shots from THAT evil device that convinced me that moo-free espresso was indeed capable of astounding sublimity and worth pursuit.

Thanks in advance for all your hard work and sacrifice. Poor Guy!

[luca]

WHOA!

Those are some nice cups!

If you've got a second, Abe, I'd love you to set the two to the same temp and pressure and comment on the similarities and differences with the same beans.

Is your Brewtus rotary or vibe ... I forget ...

Did they send you a bunch of different steam tips? The four-holed one is a bit different from a domestic, to say the least. But I have to admit that the other day one of the awesome baristi at St Ali was steaming with a 350mL pitcher and their Synesso. The steam wand seems to collect a lot of water; could you compare this to your Giotto?

Also, I'd like to use my Cyncra to warm pizza from the fridge. Could you clear up the cup tray and put one on top to work out how long it takes to warm up? No need to use a thermocouple on the cheese; just whenever is warm enough to eat.

The paddle group is damned cool ... Mark's Cyncra actually has a built-in preinfusion if you just slam the lever to the left; is yours the same?

Cheers,

Luca

[CaffeFresco]

damn

[Abe Carmeli]

Day 2

How do you hookup a commercial machine? The big difference is an external pump and a drain. The pump is already hooked up, and what remains to be done is connect the inlet braided SS tube to the water supply. I hooked it up to a big water cooler tank. The drain is a flexible tube coming out of the bottom of the machine and I put the end of it in an empty water cooler bottle.

The external rotary pump connects to the water supply. It could be a static tank as in this picture.

The white tube at the back of the machine is the drain pipe. The fender at the top should be installed flush with the body, I was just playing with its configuration.

The drip tray has a shallow slope that channels water to the drain - that hole on the right.

We are now ready to turn it on for the first time. The control box is located behind and under the drip tray. Remove the tray and there is a safety shutter disconnecting the boilers heating elements. Turn it on, then throw the power switch on, and we are in business. The boilers start filling. The machine has a nice viewfinder that shows the water level in the steam boiler. The auto refill can be adjusted to the level you desire, and there is also a manual boiler fill switch, to bring the water level temporarily to above its set auto-fill point. Steam and brew boiler temps are set on the control box. One can control the steam power & quality by setting both the boiler temperature and the boiler water level. Nice.

Control Box - it is obscured from view by the drip tray.

A word about hiding the control box behind the drip tray. This may work well in a coffee shop. They mostly use one house blend for espresso, and temperature rarely needs to be adjusted. However, it is very inconvenient for a home user. I often change blends and adjust temperatures. This may happen three to 10 times a day, especially when I am studying the brew parameters of a new blend. Having to remove the drip tray, kneel down and push buttons is annoying.

The two gages on the front panel show brew pressure and steam boiler pressure. The insulated steam wand on the left is operated by moving that cool lever you see on the side of the machine

Now, how do you pull shots on this thing? The semi-automatic lever we are all so accustomed to, has been replaced by a paddle wheel. That cool black handle on top of the group head controls the brew process. It has three positions: Left shut off; middle - preinfusion; and right - brew. Also missing is the decompression exhaust pipe. On an E61 machine it sits right under the grouphead, and releases excess water into the drip tray. On the Cyncra, that function is handled by a small copper tube inside the machine. The brew lever (paddle wheel) transition to the middle position is very delicate, and it took me a few tries to get it.

The brew lever (paddle wheel) in the off position

Steaming is done by pulling that beautiful lever on the left panel. It has a no burn steam wand with excellent articulation and a 4 hole steam tip. I'll discuss steaming in greater detail later on, I'll just say briefly that with a 3 liter boiler, the 4 hole produces silky micro foam in 8 seconds.

A 4 hole steam tip, the ultimate configuration for silky micro foam

Now let's take a long look at that machine. One of the comments I've frequently made about the Synesso Cyncra 2 & 3 group is that it looks like a toaster. All that stainless steel, practically barren and flat panels did not look very appealing to me. In person however, the single group is surprisingly attractive. Dressed up with cups and saucers on top I am quietly taken by its presence. It is unassuming & elegant featuring modern clean lines; its rectangular shape is esthetically balanced, and the steam wand lever on the left gives it a hot rod kick.

Now that we got the introduction out of the way, we are ready to pull some shots. I spent the morning working on Intelligentsia's Kid O's Organic Espresso blend, coffee I've never used before. I will dedicate tomorrow's post to espresso performance, but before I leave, here is a picture of today's winning shot

Intelligentsia Kid O's organic Espresso. Sweet, heavy body with dry fruit. A very nice straight shot.

[Abe Carmeli]

WHOA!

If you've got a second, Abe, I'd love you to set the two to the same temp and pressure and comment on the similarities and differences with the same beans.

Is your Brewtus rotary or vibe ... I forget ...

There will be a lot of that down the road. Before I move to comparisons, I'd like to evaluate the Cyncra on its own. As to the Brewtus, it has a rotary pump. Just to be clear, it is a hot rodded Brewtus, with dual PID & a rotary. Those options are not available on the stock machine.

Did they send you a bunch of different steam tips? The four-holed one is a bit different from a domestic, to say the least. But I have to admit that the other day one of the awesome baristi at St Ali was steaming with a 350mL pitcher and their Synesso. The steam wand seems to collect a lot of water; could you compare this to your Giotto?

No they sent only the stock 4 hole tip. I wouldn't want to use anything else on that machine - the microfoan is molten chrome and I, who cannot stand milk, really enjoyed a macchiato. The steam wand does collect a lot of water, but it takes a split second to release it. Not a big deal.

Also, I'd like to use my Cyncra to warm pizza from the fridge. Could you clear up the cup tray and put one on top to work out how long it takes to warm up? No need to use a thermocouple on the cheese; just whenever is warm enough to eat.

You gotta think big here. I'm looking forward to barbecuing on that grill. With two big exposed boilers underneath, I think I can pull it off.

The paddle group is damned cool ... Mark's Cyncra actually has a built-in preinfusion if you just slam the lever to the left; is yours the same?

Yes, the middle position will preinfuse, however, you cannot preinfuse using a static tank as I do here. It requires 40psi line pressure, which I have in my kitchen. later in the review I will discuss the effects of preinfusion.

[lino]

Hey Abe,

That looks like a Rancilio PF in a few of the pictures there (for some reason, those are easy for me to identify). Interesting how that fits the machine-- won't fit in an LM. Have you tried a real LM PF in it, or any other brands? I'm curious how "universal" that grouphead is.

ciao

lino

[CaffeFresco]

My world isn't all that level.

Are the legs on this rig adjustable, or is there some other scheme to level the pour?

[Abe Carmeli]

My world isn't all that level.

Are the legs on this rig adjustable, or is there some other scheme to level the pour?

Yes, those feet are adjustable, and they are very elegantly designed, reminiscent of Art Deco. I started paying attention to a machine's feet only recently when I had to make and install new feet for my Brewtus after a rotary conversion. Sean made it from spare nuts & bolts we found in a hardware store, and I can see the startling difference there. My machine has chicken legs, but boy, do I love them .

[papalatte]

Abe!!!
How about some pictures of your "chicken legs" (Brewtus' not yours)
Skip

[Abe Carmeli]

Hey Abe,

That looks like a Rancilio PF in a few of the pictures there (for some reason, those are easy for me to identify). Interesting how that fits the machine-- won't fit in an LM. Have you tried a real LM PF in it, or any other brands? I'm curious how "universal" that grouphead is.

Lino,

That P/F has seen the inside of your workshop. It came with a chipped handle though . I checked with Doug Shannon who has a Cyncra at home and he says that the L/M P/F fits nicely. I don't have one to try.

[lennoncs]

Very nice work on the PF Lino.

Abe has another Bottomless PF and the difference between the two is startling...his other unit looks like a 5Yr old with a chainsaw did the work.

Sean

[Dogshot]

image: http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/dagard43/Synesso/KidOGoldencup.jpg

Wow...nice photo! nice Machine!! Nice Pour!!! NICE CUP!!!!

That shot gets my vote for the cover of the first annual EspressoPorn Illustrated. Brings the whole gestalt of espressoporn together in a single image. Very exciting review as well. I can't wait for more.

[Abe Carmeli]

Day 3

Boy what a day. You're dealing with an overcaffeinated dude right now, so if I skip words, sentences, or sound a little erratic, it is not the handy work of my new stash.

I went through 3 lbs of coffee today. It started innocent enough with a morning shot after breakfast, but quickly got out of hand. I wanted to hit all the wonderful coffees sent to me by various roasters at their prime, hence my frenzy day.

Before we plunge into espresso performance, a little intro is in order. Due to scheduling constraints, Sean and I had already completed collecting all the temp performance measurements before I started the official espresso performance evaluation. That insight gave me an advantage in understanding better what the machine is doing during the espresso evaluation. One thing we found is that the offset temperature was too low to correspond with temperature readout by the Scace devise. It was 1-1.5f lower. I adjusted it accordingly, and continued with the tests. Sean's results will be published later in the week.

I do not want to give away any more data at this stage, other than to say that it saved me a lot of time in calibrating my shots. So what's on the menu today?

Caffe Vivace Dolce - coffee on natural birch with green papyrus and a red tail possum

I let the machine warm up for 30 minutes and I'm ready to pull my first shot. I started with the toughest coffee to work with from today's batch. In a way, the Synesso line was developed with that coffee in mind so this machine should deliver an outstanding Dolce. I started low on temperature, keeping dosage at 16 grams with an L/M ridged basket. 201 degrees. Yikes. watery, off taste, earthy. The aroma was not bad though, some floral notes. Go up to 202. I'm getting more chocolate, though still no body, and some cardboard flavor. Take it to 203, and I'm still not there. It is close though. Body starts emerging. Shall we dare 203.5? Can this machine really hit 0.5 in temperature granulation? Took it up .5 degree, wait 2 minutes and pull the shot. There is no difference. Let's go to 204f. The shot looks good as it pours, nice and even distribution on the bottomless. I take a whiff, flowers & dry fruit. A sip - sweet heavy body, creamy, a little nutty, a dash of spice, chocolate, and something I just can't identify. Wow. What a great cup. Let's kick it up to 205? pulled a shot, less body, a little ashy, I passed the prime zone.

This was a fantastic cup of Dolce.

Now, I let the machine idle for 20 minutes while I pulled some shots on the Brewtus. When I returned to the Synesso, I was ready to pull the Dolce shot at the prime temperature I established 204f. Yikes. This shot tastes like the shot I pulled at 202f. Well, it tasted as a 202f shot because it was. The Synesso, after 20 minutes of idle time cools down and requires flushing to be brought back up to temperature. How much flushing? A few shots worth of it. This was an in-the-cup validation of the thermal performance Sean & I collected three days ago.

How much of a problem is it? In a busy coffee house, this is not a problem at all, the machine is pulling consecutive shots. In the home, it is a different story. Most of us pull maybe 2-3 shots a day on average. So flushing will be required, or perhaps, set the temperature higher than you need it to be and work without a flush?

Armed with that confirmation, I now made sure the machine is up to temperature before I proceed, and I moved to my next coffee.


Ecco Caffe - Ecco Daterra Reserve Espresso

I have used Daterra Reserve before from Caffe Fresco, and I roasted it myself a few times. I know that blend very well. It is a forgiving blend on both dosage and temperature, and has a medium body. I dialed it low 197f intentionally. Came out too light on body, a little undefined, and sour. Dosage was 16 grams. Let it go up to 199f, it is coming together. Fruit, marzipan, and those wonderful floral aromas. At 200-201f I got the best result. Medium body, chocolate, incredible aromatics, fruity, balanced, rounded. A big wow. A fantastic straight shot, I dare say, the best Daterra shot I've had.

Before I move on to the next coffee, let me pause here for a moment to take a look at the tools of the trade. Cupping so much coffee in one day requires some meticulous record keeping and a lot of palate cleanser and refreshers.

The Pellegrino and crackers are used as palate refresher while the Vodka is a palate cleanser. It is also what kept me from hovering about the house.

Shot parameters log is extremely important. One can get easily lost without it when trying to find the optimum brew parameters for a blend.

Next on our menu:


Caffe D'arte - Firenze

D'arte's coffees are roasted in the old Italian traditions. Very slow roast that lasts a long time. Their coffees have a very strong signature through their entire line. It is one of my favorite coffees, and I have brewed it in a variety of parameters. What changes is the intensity and delicacy of flavors, but it will tolerate anywhere from 196f to 202f. What is often lost however is body, and at some temperatures there is more of it. I started with 197, 16 grams 1.5 oz pulls in 26 second. Nice body, light anise in the aroma. I move it up to 198, stronger anise, dry fruit, spice. As we go up to 200 the anise and spice intensifies, and the body slightly decreases. 201, it is an anise and chocolate bomb. I settled on 199 1.5 oz in 27 second 16.5 grams in an L/M ridged basket. Oh my oh my. Sean Lennon is an Americano head. You will not catch him dead drinking a straight shot. As we did some D'arte shots together, it was the first time I've ever heard a wow coming from his direction. I added a little sugar to the cup and it does intensify the flavors.

Generally speaking, the Synesso delivered excellent cups today. I like the mouth feel and the density of those shots, and some were quite intense. I will run those shots on the Brewtus for comparison, but regardless of the Brewtus performance, these were very good results.

Wow, that was a busy day. It was so busy that I forgot to take any pictures of the shots. I will add some on my next post. In my next installment, I will discuss milk drinks and steaming performance.

[Abe Carmeli]

Abe!!!
How about some pictures of your "chicken legs" (Brewtus' not yours)
Skip

Skip,

So you don't care about my legs ha? I'm sorely disappointed. Here you go:


The Brewtus chicken legs. Improvised art piece using nuts and bolts.

And now compare it to this:

The Cyncra adjustable feet

[lennoncs]

Oh Man, those are some ugly chicken legs!

I'm denying I ever did such a thing.

Sean

[Abe Carmeli]

Oh Man, those are some ugly chicken legs!

I'm denying I ever did such a thing.

Sean

Sean, I love them nevertheless! hell they are 10 times prettier than those stilts-for-legs I had before .

[cinergi]

Abe,

It's odd that all your off idle shots are ~ 2F too cold. Over the last 2 days I have pulled 10 off idle shots using the Scace device with a minimum of 30 min. intervals. None were cold. All produced average brew temps within .5F of my set point, usually on the high side. The offset on my machine is -8.5F. It's also a 220v so maybe that makes a difference.

Doug

[Abe Carmeli]

Abe,

It's odd that all your off idle shots are ~ 2F too cold. Over the last 2 days I have pulled 10 off idle shots using the Scace device with a minimum of 30 min. intervals. None were cold. All produced average brew temps within .5F of my set point, usually on the high side. The offset on my machine is -8.5F. It's also a 220v so maybe that makes a difference.

Doug

I'm happy to hear that. I doubt it has to do with the 110/220 issue. It is premature to get to the details of the machine's temperature profile right now, I'm waiting for Sean's data to be published. There is enough data there for us to draw a clear picture of its thermal performance.