Hi all,

Pretty new to the forums so forgive me if this has been discussed somewhere else.

I've recently become intrigued by the Decent machines. I currently have an ECM Synchronika and have had E61 style machines for years. From what I've seen/read it sounds pretty clear that the DE1 can do some pretty cool things when it comes to light roasts. But I dont really drink a whole lot of light roasts today (possibly unknowingly because of all of the problems the Decent sets out to solve).

So I am curious, for those who have the DE1: when it comes to medium/dark roasts, do you also notice an appreciable difference in the quality of espresso you get compared to traditional e61 machines? Or is it mainly light roasts where the machine sets itself apart?

Thanks!

I tend to enjoy lighter and medium roasts where as my wife likes darker roasts. I've had a lot of fun playing with ratio and using different classic lever profiles for her dark roasted coffees with the decent.

I do think the rabbit hole is deeper with lighter roasts but that doesn't negate the fact that you can tweak and play with the dark roasts to find your preference.

It's been a few years since I had my e61 so I can't compare very honestly... but...

I stick to the medium range of beans, occasionally going lighter or darker when what I buy isn't what I expected. It's nice to have the flexibility to quickly find a good shot. I basically use three profiles - the Adaptive profile for medium roasts most often. But if it's lighter I'll go to a sort of blooming profile and higher temp, if it's darker I have a profile for that too (that tries to get rid of the smokey flavors I don't like). Actually the most used profile, according to the visualizer uploads is the Adaptive profile which is specifically for medium roasts so there are a lot of people in the medium range on the Decent (I suspect those doing exclusively lighter roasts are spread across quite a few profiles). I also went from an 83mm flat to the Niche because the Niche just works so easily for medium roasts (I have a Key on the way, and yeah, I'll probably get a big flat again too). Combined with the Decent it's just really simple.

My e61 I wasn't able to easily adjust the brew temp. Even just having that (which a lot of machines have, likely including your current) is a big way to improve a shot. With the Decent though it's nice to have those profiles and to just hit one of them that I already have set for darker or lighter roasts. I haven't pushed the extremes of dialing things in, it's just so easy to get a good taste out of it as is. But yeah, I do think you can get great taste in the medium range from a good number of machines. If another package appealed to you aesthetically, I'm sure you'd do fine. There are a number of other things that makes the Decent really stand out (customer service, how the machine gets better with each update and improved profile, etc.), and a few annoyances unique to Decent too (I hate Android-style stuff...). So know what you're getting into as best you can, even finding someone in your area with one to try out.

(And I still like the Home-Barista community better than the Decent ones, so, glad you're joining us here!)

Thanks guys! I think I'm going to pull the trigger. Excited about the possibilities. Appreciate both of your input!

Looks like you and I are on similar paths as I also have a Synch and looking to get a Decent. Will be fun to compare notes further down the road.