nameisjoey wrote:I'm pretty confident they don't WDT, they don't even tamp. The robot basket fits in a lido series catch cup and is able to be threaded on the grinder no problem. So basically they grind directly into basket, level (with this tool), place screen on and add water. Definitely as simple as it gets there.

After years of only consuming HB resources, I finally signed up to post a thank you for this! I just bought the Lido OG and was trying different workflows to pair with Robot......dropping the basket into the Lido catch-cup did not occur to me until I stumbled across this comment. The fact that I had not come across this in all my obsessive reading on the OG and Robot made me skeptical. But it works! Grinding directly into the Robot basket in a secure fashion is not only efficient but inexplicably satisfying.

Would you recommend any kettle or kettle shape/type to pre-heat the Robot's portafilter and spout?

Cheers

The portafilter and basket can sit upside down on the lid of most any kettle and steam heat, so pretty much any kettle with a lid > 60 mm D will work.

But in terms of pouring, I'd recommend against the Fellow EKG. I find the pour to be too "pointy" and it tends to dig into the puck (even with the screen in place and pouring on the silicone nub) and cause channeling. I've had much better success with a no-name temp control kettle with a bigger spout, or even a non-pourover kettle would disturb the puck much less.

mikelipino wrote:But in terms of pouring, I'd recommend against the Fellow EKG. I find the pour to be too "pointy" and it tends to dig into the puck (even with the screen in place and pouring on the silicone nub) and cause channeling. I've had much better success with a no-name temp control kettle with a bigger spout, or even a non-pourover kettle would disturb the puck much less.

My Cosori kettle is similar to the Fellow Stag. One practice I've found to mitigate the disruptive flow is to place the PF near the edge of the counter. This makes it possible for the body of the kettle to be lower and therefore, the tip at a less aggressive angle of attack. This method would benefit any gooseneck style kettle.

I use the Fellow Corvo teapot kettle. Works good, and also the Cristel stovetop kettle.
Agree that the Stagg works less well.

I didn't have the ability to sift through 453 pages, but I have my finger just ready to hit the order button on a Robot Barista, but wanted to verify that the place i was getting it from is an "authorized dealer" and legit, or gray market.

looking around it looks like straight from Cafelat store for $100 shipping, or Primar coffee here in the states who is constantly out of stock of the barista model.

however, I noticed that Cafune.ca has $10 shipping to the states and with their 10% off coupon code I have lying around it comes to about $380 USD (515.80 CAD) right now. I just wanted to make sure Cafune.ca wasn't some gray market dealer and would void the warranty if I went through them as I just had never heard of them ...didn't want to save a few bucks and screw myself, but at the same time didn't want to overpay if I didn't have to.

If you search for Cafune in this thread you'll find several users that bought their Robot from them. There's not a lot of things you'd need warranty for really. Has anyone even heard about serious issues like defects in the casting?

ahh, didn't realize you could search this thread with a search bar. my phone made it so I couldn't see the search button there...

yeah, I was mostly just wanting to make sure it wasn't some gray market thing as I just wanted to CYA on a larger than normal purchase. If they're good to go, then so am I