Hi again.

Just another pic showing the new tap position. Just a 3d printed abs model to test things out.



Thanks.
Nigel.

DucaiMann wrote:I had the opportunity to meet Nigel this past week while travelling in New Zealand. The machine he has designed blew me away. The thought and time he has put into the machine shows in the quality of his initial prototype. We went through the inner workings of the machine together and I can say that I will definitely be getting one of these machines if for nothing but the workmanship.

The machine is on par with the Strietman machines in terms of quality, maybe even higher.

Sure, there is no heating element, but the amount of metal in the machine really helps
with heat retention, and it does make a damn good espresso.

Nigel is offering a beautiful machine that does not require a ton of force like most lever machines. It uses standard parts and even has a full size portafilter in a kit small enough to still travel with. No mess to deal with like the espressoforge, and no intricate process like the flair. Grind into your portafilter, preheat water and dump it in, flush, and fill with hot water again and it's ready. Just like most lever machines, you probably won't want to use this machine every single morning, but it is certainly something you will use on the weekends and when showing off to friends.

Put me on the list!

Thanks so much Eric for taking the time to come all the way downunder to visit us. It was great to make some shots together. Let's get one of these updated ones over to Lever Craft as soon as we can and i hope lever craft may be the focal point for this in the USA.

HI all,

Well it has taken a while to get things back on track to make a few machines people can actually buy.

We are building 20 of the first machines. It looks like we are on-track to have these ones shipped in about 10 weeks, so we are looking at offering those machines to be reserved and pre-ordered ahead of shipping now. We will provide some progress updates and pictures of production and emails along the way

I just want to put it out there that we are looking into international shipping setup and requirements around that. This machine has had some cool mods and is far more hollowed out inside with extra machining to remove excess material. Essentially the only aluminium left either supports a component, holds water, or holds the portafilter, so it will be lighter as well.

The tap has been shifted lower so it holds all hot water above the lowest point which means the machine is full of a good quantity of boiling water all through the housing while you are using it. It will be more heat efficient. I just want to let you all know in case any folk here are wanting one of the first. They are finished as always to the same very high standard and stamped 1 - 20 as the first machines. It would be cool if one of them ended up in the USA somewhere to be tested by some of the most enthusiastic espresso drinkers. If you are interested you will note international shipping will be added in a few days and we are working on it currently. Post a comment below if you have interest as it would be good to know that internationally there is interest in this first run.



https://www.pinkselixir.co.nz/expression.html

Thanks kindly
Nigel Pink

I love the design and everything. Reminds me of my Portaspresso Rossa; I absolutely love the coffee from that. I have two issues though that would prevent me from purchasing: temperature and pressure profiling.

With everything you have built, you should be able to pressure profile. Long slow preinfusion and a decreasing pressure while pulling to maintain a constant flow rate. I drink light roasts and this is pretty much required to do to get a nice syrupy, flavorful espresso. You should showcase this feature. For me, this is one of single most important things about lever machines. Prove that you can pull off these with very fine ground espresso and people will be more interested.

The profiles I usually use for light roasts:

• 10-20 seconds of water just touching the puck
  10-15 of preinfusion of 2-3 bar until beading
  40-50 second pull with a profile of 8-9 bar until proper flow with constant decreasing pressure down to 4-5 bar for the length of the pull.

I aim for 16-18g coffee in and 2.25 times water volume out.

The second aspect being temperature is a universal element. Different roast levels and origins require different brew temperature. You need to be able to prove that you can get the temperature above the puck between that 195F and 205F. Those are the minimum requirements since those are the agreed upon standard for coffee. That's what it takes to dissolve those coffee solids and get the proper extraction. Check the temperature of the coffee output compared to a standard machine you own as well.

I would also invest in a TDS meter of your choosing and post those results. Most individuals look for the 20-21% extraction. Some prefer higher or lower than those numbers, but you want to achieve around this. SCAA has the optimum range from 18-22% for reference. SCAA numbers are for your benefit. Plus it provides a standardization that you can wear as a Medal of Honor.

Once you can prove your machine can accomplish these feats, you will sell more machines. Your machine is designed for coffee enthusiasts and these are some of the standards we look for. Hope this helps.

Hi.

Thanks for the insight and detailed info. I would say that these standards are the ideal. I'm not sure all the espresso machines manual and electric can prove or have proven any of this you suggest is required. If so I'd love to see the other manufacturers details of this. So really what your suggesting is requiring more than anyone else from us. ?? Does the flair , forge , streitman provide this.

But I can tell you that all of what you say is of course totally achievable. It can infuse as long or at whatever pressure you require. In fact with total control. You can wind at any speed and at any pressure. The fact is that what your suggesting is not how most people pull decent shots but then who's setting the standards. If you want to stall/stall. And if you want to do 2 bar for a minute. Do it. You can do any profile you want on my machine. I would say it has more pressure control by far!!! than most espresso machine in the world. It's so micro controllable it's not funny. !!!

Ask Eric from Lever Press who has used it. As far as heat goes it's going to be as good or better than any other manual non electric espresso machine for sure. It has virtually no mass in the head and more boiling water sitting on it and around it than all the rest and the key is that you can make shots quicker on expression as it has a portafilter and is fast to turnaround repetitive espressos. Wind it back. Wind it forward (stop if you like, profile the pressure as you please by changing the speed you wind at.

But I wouldn't make Claims against the other machines because that's not the nature of the project. It's a new technology, nothing like anything else. It needs support from this community not expectations beyond any of the others. We want this to be something to join with the others as a different tool that has different characteristics and has its own fun attributes separate from the others

I will put a little video and profile a shot
Like you want. It will be absolute childsplay on expression

Regards
Nigel.

will put a little video and profile a shot
Like you want

I'd love to see this!

Nigel,

I am not trying to single you out; that was not my intention. I want this information because being an engineer, I like standards and requirements. You really don't need to do TDS if your temperatures are right. This is just a way for you, the designer, can measure how great your device is. People want this information because it assures them that your machine will work to anyone's standard.

As for the other devices you are comparing, the Strietman doesn't need to prove temperature as it has a heating element more than capable of boiling. The Flair has steps of boiling the piston/brew head to make sure they are at 212 F. I don't know enough about the forge in terms of preheating. Since the Flair and Strietman are true manual levers, I know the pressures they are capable of achieving. It's the reason why I own both.

I also own the Portaspresso Rossa HC-P. Another manual, screw lever device except it is mostly brass, weighs a bunch, and is easily portable. I am your target audience; lever enthusiast are your focus. I can tell you that this testing has been done for most of these machines. However, that extra testing was done by focus groups so to speak. Individuals that were given a sneak peek or early adopters. The huge difference though is price. If you buy a coffee gadget for $200 and it doesn't work as well as described, you are less mad about it than spending say $1000. This is the calculated risk factor.

The one thing you have going against you right now is the price for a manual, unheated machine. There really is no good comparison for what you have. You need to show your machine is "worth" it by your superior engineering. I want the little guy like you to succeed and this is an easy way you can. You prove without a doubt that your machine is capable of everything and then some.

Then the price doesn't matter. The calculated risk goes down to nothing. This is why everyone is chomping at the bit for Monolith grinders. These are in no way cheap either, yet his demand is so high he can sell 50, $3250+ units in seconds.

I and most others would love to see more videos showcasing the capabilities of your machine.

Hi again,

Yes thanks again. I did not misunderstand your points and they are good ones to clarify some things to potential supporters.


- The promo thread demonstrates pressure profile is a function of speed of rotation. There are two You-Tube videos showing 8 bar and 10 bar shots. 2 bar is easily achieved for your specific building profile you wanted by rotating slower. I can demonstrate this some time.

- As you mentioned above yourself regarding specific data. Detailed information is usually collected in post user forums as with the other products. Profiles and temp records can be infinitely measured and discussed to gain specific shots for light roasts etc etc. This is something we are really looking forward to seeing but not something a manufacturer gets into other than demonstrating it is capable and flexible to operate within needed limits.

-Value and price are defined by the buyer. We value it on several levels. Form, function and quality. In terms of quality of the object we are using real materials of the highest quality. Glass, timber, brass, anodized alloy, stainless steel. It is a piece of art. I've mostly been told it's too cheap by those that see it in real life and some of those people don't even drink coffee. That's just to look at it on the kitchen bench.

The value of it in terms of function is that it has everything you need and the others missed out and that's why it's more expensive to incorporate these things in the design and build.

Specifically.

- Gauge measuring 16 bar made for us.

- Special use of high quality micro -hydrolic valves to be able to get water under the piston automatically one way or the other just reversing the direction of winding, this is definitely a worlds first approach.

- Tap to quickly drain water instead of messy systems to replace spent water

-Commercial grade 58mm naked portafilter with a professional laser cut basket

- Drip tray taking a full capacity from the pressure chamber volume, an easy fill water cap to keep heat in.

- Polished brass fittings.

- Borosilicate clear water level glass tank, 3mm thick from Germany that is lab quality.

-Heartwood timber handles that are professionally sprayed with a number of layers to last a lifetime for the portafilter handle and winder handle and wooden base.

- A commercial espresso standard quality screen.

- A commercial coffee group seal.

-Two 40 micron replaceable 12mm cartridge screens to protect the valves for the life of the machine and screen scale.

-Three solid deep groove ball bearings running the shaft and gears, Mounted on a solid brass main shaft running high quality food safe proven 20 teeth acetal bevel gears in the gear mechanical top head.

- One piece screwcut piston running a hydrolic lip seal inside a solid stainless steel pressure cylinder.

What more could one want. If you are an engineer you have to have this machine. It's an engineers paradise of mixed technologies that have taken years to prove and assemble. It's an extremely fast effective controllable hydrolic pump ontop of a fully commercial proven espresso portafilter and head assembly with a large clear glass tank of boiling water ontop.

This is all packed in a little clever hollowed out housing that measures 100 x 100 x 50mm. That requires quite a lot of development time and is not a simple process. I can't see anyone else trying to incorporate this or even getting close to the technology we have used. I looked into China and Taiwan. They couldn't really understand it to be honest. So we make it in New Zealand where we have very clever experienced engineers. It's a masterpiece. And totally unique !!!!!!! All digitally designed and modelled, made entirely on Cnc machines for
repeatability of production. Show me another product that has had this amount of work and thought spent on it.

-Non electric. Well this has been debated quite a bit. Bottom line is that it heats fast and is designed to manage heat by attaching a large quantity of boiling water ontop of a skeleton of alloy that merges the two components together with minimal material. With a heat and drain cycle it can and does make exceptional espresso and with practice I expect it to be very close to the performance of electric which I have easily achieved with mine. But the point is this. You can boil the jug and make very good espresso in less than 5Mins. Try that from cold on any electric machines that have to heat a boiler or thermablock from cold. There is no competition. If you want an espresso from cold in the morning anywhere, it's way faster than starting from cold with an electric machine. And don't forget you can quickly remove the legs from body and base and pack into a little box with foam insets in a few minutes and take it away.

It depends entirely how you look at a product. What is good on one isn't the focus on another. They always have different benefits and advantages. That's why there are so many espresso machines.


I think I have answered some of the points. I hope you found this informative.

Thanks again
Nigel

Hi All,

Things are ticking along. We are well into the machining of the bottom housings.

Here's some videos from yesterday machining the bottom housings and also some photos of the detail of the new deeper pockets that will be full of boiling water right on-top of the portafilter. The way we have done the new tap also means there is no blank ports around the outside of the bottom housing now which will make things alot simpler and cleaner looking. We are planning to send some machines to Eric at Lever Craft which will be a good place for folk to see the machine in action in the US. Maybe Eric will be able to pull shots in the caravan for customers in the epic new caravan coffee shop. We are planning to have Lever Craft involved as the US distributor and stockist as I can see that people really want to see it before they buy it. I guarantee when you see it and use it you wont be dissapointed.
A

Some photos also with a little more clarity,




I cant wait to get some of these together and make some shots and videos for the folk here wanting to see more reality. I can tell you I have all the parts, glass tanks. woodwork, micro hydrolic valves, and all the coffee head gear like commercial screens, group seals, baskets, packaging. Its all going to happen as soon as this machining is done they will be put together. We are super confident about this machine, it has had so many years of development to make sure it functions absolutely right the first time, I am confident no-one will be dissapointed in the quality and operation. We have taken our time with the design and tested it over the years. This is not a first hack at it at all, that part has been done, this is a refined unique useful and easy to use coffee machine. It just makes great shots without the fuss. I will start posting more regular photos as the build comes along

Is that tailstock engaged? You don't really need it for machining that component on your 4th.