I lost track of how many shots I had, but I can say with certainty it was a lot. Around 4 AM this morning I was wide awake!

I had a great time! Huge thank you to David for hosting and for his generosity providing the coffee! Also, thank you to Rimblas and Davidm for bringing their Decent machines, and being really patient with myself and everyone else explaining the machines, pulling countless shots, and showing how flexible these machines can be. Also enjoyed the lever demos and the great snacks that people brought along.

My take aways were:
1) The Decent machines are incredibly flexible, and provide an infinite variety of adjustment. They were much quieter than I remember, and have the ability to produce really consistent milk drinks. I opened a bag of B&W Holiday blend this morning, and found myself wishing I could use the Decent Blooming profile that we demoed yesterday. Could be time to mod my BDB or get serious about acquiring a Decent!
2) The lever machines are just plain cool. I can see how much fun it would be to own one of these as well.
3) The GS3 is just a workhorse machine. I am not sure I make enough espresso to justify one, but it was great to try out.
4) We have a great group here in the Twin Cities. Need to do this again soon!

I second the comments, it was a great time. Thank you David for hosting!
I definitely had way too much coffee and I paid for it.

Ok, I apologize I don't have pictures from everybody, some just didn't turn out well. But hey, I have most of the equipment.

I see an interesting metal base for the Niche Zero. Can anyone tell it's story?

mdreuben wrote:I see an interesting metal base for the Niche Zero. Can anyone tell it's story?

That would be truemagellen's work. He had a few more interesting things that maybe he can share more about. I'll tag him here...

truemagellen wrote:...

Man, this was so much fun. I can't wait to do it again, though, I am not looking forward to lugging the GS3 and a Robur with me wherever I go...

It was my pleasure to host! Thanks to everyone for coming and being a part of the Twin Cities coffee culture. I extended thanks to my boss for providing the kilo of coffee for us. It turned out to be the perfect amount!

I think my main take away from this meeting is that I should just be happy with what I have. While the Decent performed incredibly well, both in brewing and steaming, I'm not sure that I should spend the time and effort to sell my GS3 for one just yet. I may wait for an updated version to come out in the future and then re-evaluate . Thanks Jorge and David for bringing your machines. I really appreciate you giving us the opportunity to look them over! Perhaps we will need to do a more detailed testing in the future, refractometer in hand!

mdreuben wrote:I see an interesting metal base for the Niche Zero. Can anyone tell it's story?

I machined a custom base with a pocket to store the cord that helps the Niche fit in a more modern kitchen and makes it a bit more stable on the counter although that wasn't the design intent.

Removed the cover and disabled the lid microswitch to make it easier to adjust grind and add beans. Also made a cutter (not show) to cut out a custom silicone cover/bellows.

There is little black stand for the niche cup as well. I just haven't brought that home from the shop yet.

If you have any suggestions feel free to message me. This is the newest version, I've been tinkering with it for a little while.

I'll make another thread if people are interested so as not to clutter this Mpls thread.

Sorry to kickstart a (seemingly) dead thread but I'm curious about those that used both the gs3 and the Decent that if you had to start over, which machine would you get? I'm torn between a Decent 1.3, GS3, and MVP Hydra single group right now.

It was fun to see them side by side. I didn't technically pull a shot on the gs3 but watched and tasted the results. I did do some things on the Decent.

They are just so radically different. The Decent is amazing in what it can do and how much there is to play with. And the cost and ease of ongoing ownership make it an easy choice for me. It really is made for home kitchens unlike those other machines that will take a lot to get setup and keep going. BUT it really doesn't drive or look like those other "real" machines. It doesn't really illicit that same smile while using it or just seeing it on the counter. It won't impress the regular guest in the same way, unless they love math and science.

So go with your gut. Either way the cup will be superb (when combined with a great grinder, beans, and skill, of course)!

Hi guys,

which of you had the monolith max? If ok, I wanted to take some measurements if my test cup holder/grinds catcher fits it or if i need to make a different mounting plate for it due to width of the motor brackets (I'm pretty sure it needs to be wider).