This it probably the only modern espresso machine on the market, and hopefully the start of a new generation of espresso machines for the 21st century.

By modern I mean there is an implementation of software to control the hardware. I really don't know what modern device does not run some type of software to operate. It was about time the espresso machine was brought up to date.

There are a few things I hope they can fix:

1. The ring where the group head handle is attached shows an open threaded hole. The whole part should be hidden, or at least look more appealing.
2. The machine should come in white and red.

A big question is if software updates will offered in the future.

kofi wrote:
There are a few things I hope they can fix:

1. The ring where the group head handle is attached shows an open threaded hole. The whole part should be hidden, or at least look more appealing.
2. The machine should come in white and red.

1 :: I believe that open threaded hole is there to allow you to move the handle on the group head, which is used to ensure you don't push around the machine when locking/unlocking the portafilter ... left handed and right handed users will rely on different sides, I would think.

2 :: I'm not quite sure colour is an issue that needs 'fixing'. The only machines I know of that come with options for colour are Breville and a couple of odd E61's for side panels only. It looks to me like the body panel would be fairly easy to remove and get powdercoated or treated in any other way you might imagine ... not to mention a factory option would likely add to the overhead of the machine, making it costlier for consumers.

A lot of thought has gone into designing this machine. Having that hole exposed is certainly unintended as there is no reason for it. At least the machine should ship with a plug to cover the hole.

I think the black color on an espresso machine is a bit rare. I'm not saying it's uncommon though. On a low production run, changing the color can probably add to the cost, but it shouldn't be an issue on higher production numbers.

I think it'll be nice to offer other colors other than black. La Marzocco Line Mini comes in three colors. Breville also offers some of their machines in different colors. Once the production numbers are up, they should be able to offer other color choices at no extra cost.

kofi wrote:A lot of thought has gone into designing this machine. Having that hole exposed is certainly unintended as there is no reason for it... Once the production numbers are up, they should be able to offer other color choices at no extra cost.

There is a reason for the hole and it was just explained by Chris. Maybe you missed it, it was just posted.

I think rather highly of a self funded endeavor of this magnitude. Let the man sell a few units for a while and get a inward flow of money and I bet we'll soon see other options come about.

I've been looking for a machine to bring to my farmers markets and this might just be the ticket. DE+ w/prof upgrade and the suitcase...nice!

I had guessed already why the hole was there for. It's just very unusual in industrial design to leave that kind of details exposed.

Considering there were many more difficult issues to take care of in a design like this, it leaves any industrial designer wondering if there is a more technical reason to leave this part exposed.

I really congratulate the team for pulling this off so well.

I'm very impressed with what was accomplished! Definitely the most interesting espresso machine I've ever seen. Congrats to the folks at Decent Espresso!

TomC wrote:Yeah, the + model has flow profiling. It appears the sub menus lets you lock in certain constraints that will apply to the main control menu. What I should have asked him was whether someone could lock in a set flow of 1ml/sec after pre-infusion (pressure be damned) and let it run. I get the impression it can, but not 100% certain.

Tom, that's exactly what it does. You can program up to 6 stages in a shot, with different goals in each stage. Here's a shot program I use:

- preinfuse at 2ml/s until the pressure goes to 0.5 bar
- then ramp pressure up to 9 bar fast (takes 3 seconds)
- hold 9 bar for 10 seconds
- now decrease the pressure automatically to start with a flow rate of 1.2ml/second (at the 10 second part) and end at a flow rate of 0.8 seconds (at the 30 second mark)

The DE1+ can save such recipes and pull them up at will. It's not programmed yet, so I can't demo it, but there will be a cloud service where you can share your recipes and download other people's. That shot program above is my argument that *decreasing* the flow rate as the puck erodes might be wise, because the remaining coffee material is harder to extract as the shot progresses. I'm not saying that's the official Decent Espresso line, I'm saying "hey, that's an interesting theory about espresso making, download my recipe and try it yourself"

kofi wrote:1. The ring where the group head handle is attached shows an open threaded hole. The whole part should be hidden, or at least look more appealing.

That open ring is likely only to remain in the current prototype that I'm taking around. It's there because the group head handle was initially very controversial, and left-handed people said they wanted it to be moveable to the 9pm position on the group. So, the current models have that option. So far, though, the feedback has been that people are fine with the single position of the group head handle.

Note that in normal use, standing over the machine, the group head cover goes about 1cm over the group and those threads aren't visible. It's only if you bring your head down to drip tray level that you see them.

kofi wrote:2. The machine should come in white and red.

The box can be skinned with a vinyl print. Here is an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psUqzXfgK9o

And yes, when we get to a higher production size, we'll have other colors.

kofi wrote:A big question is if software updates will offered in the future.

Absolutely, v1.0 will not be a complete realization of the vision (for example, no cloud component) and new software and firmware updates are pushed out over the cloud for free.

-john

Hey John,

i find the 0.5 bar point interesting. Is the puck really fully saturated at that point? Did you use a single or double basket?
On my Dalla Corte Mina i watch the group pressure gauge to finally switch to the next flow rate.
I usually raise flow when hitting 2 or 3 bar depending on coffee, grind finess or grams used. sometimes I wait until 4 - 6 bar.
This works really well, no need for me to watch the bottomless portafilter or some kind of automatic pressure detection.
I wonder what grind setting you choose. Is it really really fine that it would choke the machine if not using pre infusion ?

Chris

Bohne wrote:i find the 0.5 bar point interesting. Is the puck really fully saturated at that point? Did you use a single or double basket?
On my Dalla Corte Mina i watch the group pressure gauge to finally switch to the next flow rate.
I usually raise flow when hitting 2 or 3 bar depending on coffee, grind finess or grams used. sometimes I wait until 4 - 6 bar.
This works really well, no need for me to watch the bottomless portafilter or some kind of automatic pressure detection.
I wonder what grind setting you choose. Is it really really fine that it would choke the machine if not using pre infusion ?

I'm currently working 15g doses with slow, long extractions to 32g in cup, with yes, a fine grind. That recipe I just posted works well with that.

However, if 0.5bar is too low for your grind/dose, you put your finger on the flow rate icon in the graphic below, and move up or down to change the point at which preinfusion automatically ends. Or you can set it as a volumetric water dose, and ignore pressure. You can also change the water flow rate during preinfusion similarly.