Mine will arrive by Tuesday.

One will be used at work with a hot-pot and hand grinder. This will be a godsend.

The other will be my brother's christmas present, replacing his dysfunctional and poorly-maintained Gaggia Paros.

Work will not get done on Tuesday, methinks.

Mike

Here's what I purchased today to be able to do coffee on the road

A- a mypressi
B- a Kyocera grinder from OE
C- An LPU (see D) http://www.dfwairparts.com/pilot-suppli ... -6174.html
D- A copy of TSAs website saying I can bring two spare compressed air cartridges with an LPU http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/ ... items.shtm

Needless to say I am pretty proud of (c)

I'm curious if anyone has tried using a small immersion heater or even a soldering iron inside the water chamber. It seems like this would result in the least heat loss. So much surface area is exposed in the pouring process. Wouldn't that be a good way to avoid that?

lpecan wrote:C- An LPU (see D) http://www.dfwairparts.com/pilot-suppli ... -6174.html
D- A copy of TSAs website saying I can bring two spare compressed air cartridges with an LPU http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/ ... items.shtm

The cleverness of the people here is always an inspiration.

Ira

lpecan wrote:I'm curious if anyone has tried using a small immersion heater or even a soldering iron inside the water chamber. It seems like this would result in the least heat loss. So much surface area is exposed in the pouring process. Wouldn't that be a good way to avoid that?

I thought the same wrt the immersion heater but in looking at how my regular mug-sized one (coil is about 1" OD) fits inside the chamber, it's far too shallow in there to avoid melting the inner plastics and even resting it against the bottom it looks like the top of the coil would stick out above the water level, which would quickly damage the heater as well. A soldering iron would require some type of food-safe frame to avoid its heating surfaces from touching anything but water.

Also, if it matters, I doubt the Twist's warranty would cover damage due to trying to heat the water inside the chamber with it.

I think a three ounce metal ladle that can be left inside the kettle would get me a good 5 or more degrees higher than my current (suitable) method of pouring a few ounces into the sink to get the water's path out of the kettle up to temp before filling the pre-heated chamber. Or, as was suggested earlier, steaming the water while in the chamber.

Though to keep things portable, maybe the folks at MyPressi can work with the folks at Thermacare to develop a super-heating patch for the chamber.

I wonder if anything can be done to raise the boiling point of the water, such as addition of extra minerals?

Not to pick on Scott too badly....but it seems to me that the focus has shifted away from the device itself and devolved into a conversation of water temperature and heating techniques.

Not there is anything inherently wrong with this, but the Mypressi device makes very nice shots just the way it is. I played with some temperature gymnastics to try getting a few extra degrees hotter but found myself going through alot of extra effort with no improvement in the cup.

My best shots so far have been the simple ones.
Here's the process that has yielded the best results for me (so far):

1. Boil water in the electric kettle and pour some into my cup and fill the chamber (while the chamber is seated loosely in the handle). Leave the lid on the chamber.
2. Prepare the basket: grind a measured dose, distribute evenly and tamp
3. Come back to the kettle and boil again - since it's already hot it only takes a minute (or less)
4. Remove the chamber from the handle and dump it out, along with the cup preheat water
5. Place the loaded basket in the handle, install the chamber.
6. Fill with water (the kettle is at a rolling boil)
7. Replace the lid and pull the shot

The Mypressi apparently does an impressive job of "taming" lighter roasted and bright espresso blends. As an example, it made the best shots of the day for us when we were attempting to test grinders using a blend that was too bright and sour when brewed on the GS3. On the GS3, we started at 203°F and dialed all the way down to 195°F but the shots from the Mypressi (presumably) at 185-ish were markedly better.

So, my suggestion is to put away the thermocouples for a little while and see if you like how the coffee tastes using the device with just a simple preheat and boiling water just before the shot.

One more thing: For a small "travel kit" way to heat water why not use the immersion heater with a small pitcher or insulated cup?

I've just been looking at the Mypressi website, where a microburner is for sale that operates on butane lighter fluid. That could be a good solution, though I must say that from the site I'm really not quite sure how it is used. Running on lighter gas, you could however use it anywhere, including during stops on the road where no electricity is easily available.

Could anyone who has used the Mypressi Twist tell me what the approximate dose (in g) capacity of the "portafilter baskets" is? I couldn't find that information anywhere on the website.

Cheers

Mike

Normally I dose around 17 grams, but Tim updosed to 22 grams during the last group taste test.