The Picopresso - Page 11
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beardsicles
- Posts: 25
- Joined: 4 years ago
Personally, I don't really care about "premium." I care about not drinking out of plastic.Mukka wrote:I think with premium materials, everything metal, it would cost much more. It also would be more heavy and less easy to preheat. You can get an Aram, if you want it premium.
I contacted Wacaco and they send me the updates shower screen for just shipping cost of 7 US $. Because of holiday season, they send it in February.
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Marmot
- Posts: 375
- Joined: 3 years ago
I also think using metal would make it very hard to get a hot extraction temperature, would burn your hands and be really heavy. I'm therefore happy they make it out of plastic. Plastic materials have evolved a lot and there are many materials with superior properties. I don't know what kind of plastic they use for the Picopresso but until now it holds up really well to temperature shocks and I never tasted any strange things in the coffee it makes. I also have a Nanopresso I used for years and there are no signs of wear except a little on the thread.
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Anatol
- Posts: 10
- Joined: 2 years ago
Hi! This is my first post. I received my Picopresso yesterday as a portable option for my co-working space. It went surprisingly well even on the first shot when I used my regular grind setting for the Cafelat Robot which I use at home. It's not perfectly dialled in yet, but it was a good starting point.
One thing I couldn't help but noticed after I paid special attention to preheating was how hot the body of the Picopresso gets. I didn't want to waste the shot, so I persevered but after the shot I had some light blisters on both thumbs from the heat, still visible today. This new toy seems very capable, but burning my hands every time would spoil the fun. So, as others have tried before, I was looking for a solution to this. I think it's an oversight that Wacaco didn't include some sort of sleeve together with all the other excellent accessories.
I live in Japan, so I went to the nearest Daiso dollar store and found 4 possible options, each costing 110 yen (about 1 USD). If this is helpful for other Picopresso owners, take your pick:
1. Neoprene sleeve: just stubby holder for a 330ml beer can, cut to the right size and cut a hole in it. It's just about stretchable enough to fit, but takes a bit of work to get it over the Picopresso. That was my most obvious option. Doesn't look great and my cutout skills could improve, but it works ok.
2. Silicone sleeve: cut from a soft silicone coaster for a pot, the length fit around the Picopresso exactly. Silicone is easy to cut, durable, easy to clean, water is no problem and it has a good grip.
3. Wrist support sleeve: Not great but included for completeness' sake. This is probably also the least helpful sleeve to avoid the heat problem, but better than nothing. You could cut a sock instead, but whatever fabric you take, it's not a solution I'd recommend.
4. Bamboo sleeve: made from a sushi rolling mat. This turned out to be my most favourite solution and it only occurred to me when I've seen a sushi mat in the shop. The package said 24cm × 24cm (about 9.5 inches), but it could work with a slightly shorter one as well because I removed a few bamboo sticks anyway. It takes around 10 minutes or so. The material can get wet and dries easily. It may look slippery, but it actually fits quite firmly due to the Picopress' non-slip material. Keep what's left of the original sushi mat because you can make a second sleeve from it if the first one gets old.
That's all, I hope it'll help others to keep the Picopresso process more comfortable.
One thing I couldn't help but noticed after I paid special attention to preheating was how hot the body of the Picopresso gets. I didn't want to waste the shot, so I persevered but after the shot I had some light blisters on both thumbs from the heat, still visible today. This new toy seems very capable, but burning my hands every time would spoil the fun. So, as others have tried before, I was looking for a solution to this. I think it's an oversight that Wacaco didn't include some sort of sleeve together with all the other excellent accessories.
I live in Japan, so I went to the nearest Daiso dollar store and found 4 possible options, each costing 110 yen (about 1 USD). If this is helpful for other Picopresso owners, take your pick:
1. Neoprene sleeve: just stubby holder for a 330ml beer can, cut to the right size and cut a hole in it. It's just about stretchable enough to fit, but takes a bit of work to get it over the Picopresso. That was my most obvious option. Doesn't look great and my cutout skills could improve, but it works ok.
2. Silicone sleeve: cut from a soft silicone coaster for a pot, the length fit around the Picopresso exactly. Silicone is easy to cut, durable, easy to clean, water is no problem and it has a good grip.
3. Wrist support sleeve: Not great but included for completeness' sake. This is probably also the least helpful sleeve to avoid the heat problem, but better than nothing. You could cut a sock instead, but whatever fabric you take, it's not a solution I'd recommend.
4. Bamboo sleeve: made from a sushi rolling mat. This turned out to be my most favourite solution and it only occurred to me when I've seen a sushi mat in the shop. The package said 24cm × 24cm (about 9.5 inches), but it could work with a slightly shorter one as well because I removed a few bamboo sticks anyway. It takes around 10 minutes or so. The material can get wet and dries easily. It may look slippery, but it actually fits quite firmly due to the Picopress' non-slip material. Keep what's left of the original sushi mat because you can make a second sleeve from it if the first one gets old.
That's all, I hope it'll help others to keep the Picopresso process more comfortable.
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Mukka
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 3 years ago
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JB90068
- Supporter ❤
- Posts: 489
- Joined: 3 years ago
Nicely done!!!
Old baristas never die. They just become over extracted.
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Marmot
- Posts: 375
- Joined: 3 years ago
I really envy you living in Japan and having access to a 100en-store! 
The cover with the bamboo strips looks really nice and improves the look of the Picopresso. Maybe you can add a little bell and a red ribbon?
I used my Nanopresso when I was in Japan the last time and it worked pretty good. Although at the beginning all my brews did not taste very good until I realized that the tap water is full of chlorine and I had to get bottled water. I am really lucky with the local water here being pretty ideal for coffee brewing so I never thought of using anything else.
The cover with the bamboo strips looks really nice and improves the look of the Picopresso. Maybe you can add a little bell and a red ribbon?
I used my Nanopresso when I was in Japan the last time and it worked pretty good. Although at the beginning all my brews did not taste very good until I realized that the tap water is full of chlorine and I had to get bottled water. I am really lucky with the local water here being pretty ideal for coffee brewing so I never thought of using anything else.
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boren
- Posts: 1116
- Joined: 14 years ago
A couple of questions:
- Is there a easy way to clean and dry the shower screen? Removing the rubber gasket helps, but it's then difficult to put it back on. So far I've been using a portable blower to blow off some of the water, but some is still left trapped inside.
- How do you dial in the grind setting? Unlike electrical espresso machines, the Picopresso doesn't have a pressure gauge or a pump with steady pressure, so methods for dialing in regular espresso machines (with a timer) just don't apply as far as I can tell. What I've been doing so far is just use the same grind setting I use for my "stationary" espresso machines. It works fine overall, but I'm not sure it's optimal. Any suggestions?
- Is there a easy way to clean and dry the shower screen? Removing the rubber gasket helps, but it's then difficult to put it back on. So far I've been using a portable blower to blow off some of the water, but some is still left trapped inside.
- How do you dial in the grind setting? Unlike electrical espresso machines, the Picopresso doesn't have a pressure gauge or a pump with steady pressure, so methods for dialing in regular espresso machines (with a timer) just don't apply as far as I can tell. What I've been doing so far is just use the same grind setting I use for my "stationary" espresso machines. It works fine overall, but I'm not sure it's optimal. Any suggestions?
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Mukka
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 3 years ago
No, I don't think so. This is one of the disadvantages of the Picopresso.boren wrote:Is there a easy way to clean and dry the shower screen?
Espresso isn't about pressure, it's about taste.boren wrote:How do you dial in the grind setting? Unlike electrical espresso machines, the Picopresso doesn't have a pressure gauge
I would recommend grinding the espresso so fine that nothing comes out and then setting the grinder a little coarser. That would be a good starting point. If it tastes too bitter, grind it a little more coarsely.
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Anatol
- Posts: 10
- Joined: 2 years ago
It took me a good week to get to a satisfying result, but that's mainly because I was too stubborn and tried to make it work with the 1ZPresso JX grinder. I also have a 1ZPresso JE-Plus which is a dedicated espresso grinder with Italmill burrs and 12.5 microns per click. All my failed attempts were with the JX, it was always underextracted/sour, so much that I doubt you could even save it by adding sugar or as a milk based drink. I don't think I'm a super picky espresso drinker, but with the JX it just didn't work.
It's hardly a surprise that an espresso focused grinder works much better, but because I bought the Picopresso for portability I was just hoping that I can get away bringing just one grinder (the JX) , but it appears to be impossible. In theory the JX can grind fine enough, but the result is completely different.
JX:
Preheating is a must, but I found filling it once and push some hot water into the pump mechanism is enough, there's no need to preheat the basket or shower screen because they cool down too quickly anyway.
Darker roasted coffee works much better. For my Robot I usually use an espresso blend that's on the lighter side, but that's tricky on the Picopresso. The Robot seems more forgiving.
The recommended 18g work best for me, while on the Robot I use 17g.
I'm glad that I got to a satisfying result in the end, the Picopresso is fun again! It's a bit of a fussy and slightly messy gadget and at home I'll always use the Robot, but the portability is a big plus for me.
So if anyone else also has unsatisfying sour shots, the main reason for me was the wrong grinder.
Fluffy and a bit messy but it can produce good results with some perseverance.
It's hardly a surprise that an espresso focused grinder works much better, but because I bought the Picopresso for portability I was just hoping that I can get away bringing just one grinder (the JX) , but it appears to be impossible. In theory the JX can grind fine enough, but the result is completely different.
JX:
- ~50 rotations for 18g (set one click coarser than where the Picopresso would stall)
- ground coffee still has room to tamp after removing the funnel (that second tamp helped a bit with the taste but it was still a bad result)
- ~13 slow pushes until preinfusion, ~15 medium strength pushes in ~25 seconds to get 30g out
- consistently sour result, even though it looks fantastic and has plenty of lasting crema
- ~200 rotations for 18g with a very fluffy result (same grind setting as for a Cafelat Robot shot)
- a second tamp without funnel doesn't seem to make a big difference
- ~13 slow pushes until preinfusion, ~18-20 strong strength pushes in ~35-40 seconds to get 30g out
- tasty, balanced and repeatable results, great crema
Preheating is a must, but I found filling it once and push some hot water into the pump mechanism is enough, there's no need to preheat the basket or shower screen because they cool down too quickly anyway.
Darker roasted coffee works much better. For my Robot I usually use an espresso blend that's on the lighter side, but that's tricky on the Picopresso. The Robot seems more forgiving.
The recommended 18g work best for me, while on the Robot I use 17g.
I'm glad that I got to a satisfying result in the end, the Picopresso is fun again! It's a bit of a fussy and slightly messy gadget and at home I'll always use the Robot, but the portability is a big plus for me.
So if anyone else also has unsatisfying sour shots, the main reason for me was the wrong grinder.
Fluffy and a bit messy but it can produce good results with some perseverance.
