Shakespeare wrote:For me, the Meticulous has a desirable presentation throughout its design and overall narrative. The simple and symmetrical features are extremely appealing.
From my perspective the Meticulous is engineered and offering with its unique technology. The opportunity to outperform and be an outstanding espresso machine. Further time and engineering will be important
And one that I will follow with keen interest..

I presume, the additional feature of a steam wand would be preferable.
How many more would consider the Meticulous a possible purchase if it had a steaming option.?

As for me, I would not choose having another espresso machine without having a steaming option included.
Especially one that is in the $1500 or more price category.

The lack of steaming capability is exactly why it's only $1500 or €1900-2000 (incl. import duties & VAT) with steaming capabilities you need to add a separate heating system that will add a noticeable amount on top.

The upcoming milk foamer from Subminimal has the potential to be a good pairing for the Meticulous.

NanoFoamer Pro

Glad I didn't jump the lithium version for my flair

mathof wrote:If I were starting again, I would get separate machines: perhaps a Strietman CT2 and a Quickmill 0961. There always seem to be compromises involved in bundling the two functions into one mechanism.

mynameisroz wrote:Maybe I'm misreading your comment, but why would you need 2 machines with steaming capabilities? In my opinion, this machine is positioned perfectly to appeal to espresso-only drinkers and, more to your comment, those who already have a machine that steams but without profiling capabilities. Especially with the smallish form factor.

MAthof / The quickmill 0961 is over $1000.00. I not sure this particular steamer would be an economical choice.
It would be cheaper to just have the Meticulous with a steamer option as one unit.

Mynameisroz:
Actually I don't want two machines. I just assumed, and have alway tried not to have two espresso machines. And I wouldn't think of an extra one just for steaming milk. I have no doubt that would be a perfect solution for many here.
For me, I like things simple...
I have, 1. One brewer/pour over and 1. one espresso machine.
Yes, I agree. Obviously he is positioning his machine for espresso drinkers-only. And so was a recent ECM machine the 'Puristka' also priced at $1500.00 another excellent espresso drinkers-only device. I truly believe Carlos the founder made a conscious decision to not have the steaming option only to keep his machine under a certain price.
And I agree with his thinking to keep it simple in his first iteration.
As I previously mentioned, I really like his ideas. I just not in the mood to have a Bellman stove top steamer for my milk drinks.
So, most likely I'll pass and hope his following device will have a steamer option. That will be more my style.

VERY cleary this machine was designed around NOT having a boiler. That, along with the linear motor pushing the piston of course, are what gives the Meticulous it's uniqueness. It will never have a steam boiler, that just would never make sense.

This is so unique that when I first saw it I thought for a second it was some new grinder. We should IMO celebrate product designers finding new gaps in the market and not expect everything to have the same set of features.

These guys are accomplished designers. They have thought more than you and I about this.

I just love the design, philosophy and simplicity. If this model is successful and reviews are great, they might follow up with a steaming solution - integrated or separate unit but with cool design that fits just next to the espresso machine. It could have no boiler but steaming thermo-block with not too big water reservoir.

I have been closely following Meticulous espresso and even put down a $100 refundable deposit on Kickstarter. I was nervous about backing a new Kickstarter project since I haven't done that before, so I started looking into a prior project from Carlos, Meticulous' founder.

The Phantom Robotic Chessboard: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wo ... -the-world

This board was supposed to ship December 2021, but orders apparently still are not fulfilled. I started looking into this more and found some chess.com forum threads about Phantom Chessboards. One year after the target ship date, the company has changed ownership (from Carlos to Carlos' brother) and still no orders have been shipped. There are also a ton of reddit threads about this project, and it's mostly negative feedback. I don't think this project was actually a "scam", but it's concerning that they're more than a year behind schedule while still holding people's money, all while the Founder has abandoned ship and started a new venture.

The discounted Kickstarter pricing of $1500 is appealing, but I'm thinking it's not worth the risk given the outcome of the Phantom Chessboard. Am I overthinking this? I do want this company to succeed, but I don't want to be out $1500 for a year with no clear end in sight.

The video that introduced me to Meticulous Espresso, and also the mention of the "robotic chessboard"

dbk94 wrote:....The discounted Kickstarter pricing of $1500 is appealing, but I'm thinking it's not worth the risk given the outcome of the Phantom Chessboard. Am I overthinking this? I do want this company to succeed, but I don't want to be out $1500 for a year with no clear end in sight....

Backing anything on Kickstarter is a risk. Simple as that. I remember reading that 1 in 10 projects fail, and very few get refunds on failed projects. With that said, I've backed many things over the years. Have yet to have a bad experience. If you're not willing to risk that sum of money or aren't comfortable with production delays, it's probably best to wait for the official release.

I've seen him discuss this on Discord, he's not involved at all anymore for better or worse. Sounds like a series of unfortunate events and a whole lot of Covid drama, but that it's actually going to come out just very late. I think the Meticulous is much further along in development, wouldn't be surprised if it even came out before the chess board. Of course there's still risk as with any Kickstarter, but personally I'm optimistic.