I've been working with Omri Almagor, who is an engineer who worked for Kees and Gaggia, on his concept for a Decent redesign, for about a year. Here is his final drawing, rendered in black or white. I called this "Smorg" as it reminded me of a dragon.

Thanks for continuing to share these designs. Some designs seem incredibly "unique" and I could see them having a niche fan base, which got me thinking about your approach. Most of your competitors come in one or two flavors, and a couple (like the GS3) can be modded in several ways. Have you considered a modular design where people can choose the Decent "enclosure", but the guts remain the same? You could charge different prices for different "enclosures", suited to an individual buyer's taste.

Admittedly, none of the uploaded pics thus far sang to me, but people's taste can be very different and having a customizable "enclosure" would enable you to capture different audiences.

Auctor wrote:Thanks for continuing to share these designs. Some designs seem incredibly "unique" and I could see them having a niche fan base, which got me thinking about your approach. Most of your competitors come in one or two flavors, and a couple (like the GS3) can be modded in several ways. Have you considered a modular design where people can choose the Decent "enclosure", but the guts remain the same? You could charge different prices for different "enclosures", suited to an individual buyer's taste..

Smorg came about because we got a jewelry maker that wanted to make a bespoke DE1, and I realized we didn't know how to even do it. So, I hired Omri as both a designer and mechanical engineer, to try to be the first, and think about how we'd provide a "reskinning toolkit" to designers.

Unfortunately, small-quantity manufacturing is REALLY EXPENSIVE so this is unlikely to be very price competitive, so for now, not sure we could make many different looks.

More likely, we'd make 500pcs of one shape, and when it's gone, it's gone. Short run... That might be an acceptable hybrid approach.

decent_espresso wrote: Unfortunately, small-quantity manufacturing is REALLY EXPENSIVE so this is unlikely to be very price competitive, so for now, not sure we could make many different looks.

More likely, we'd make 500pcs of one shape, and when it's gone, it's gone. Short run... That might be an acceptable hybrid approach.

This is a really interesting and good point. I can see how offering [10] different designs at scale could get very pricey.

That said, what I see at the top end of the espresso market is a focus on quality and design, and less concern about price. There may be hundreds, if not thousands, of potential customers willing to pay a $1K-$2K premium simply because the product and design are entirely bespoke. Your audience could be people who want high quality, flexibly made espresso combined with a piece of artwork in their kitchen. The amount of money people spend to upgrade and update their kitchens can be mind-boggling, and given the size of the machine, it could be a center- or accent piece to the overall kitchen design.

Admittedly, I have no idea the logistics of shipping this device when it's custom-made. All the machine packaging I've seen is molded foam, which could be problematic if the enclosures keep changing shape.

Perhaps you could offer a panel-match version, as is done with high end dishwashers and refrigerators.

The sides, perhaps top or other wooden pieces such as handles, could come sanded but otherwise unfinished for a homeowner or designer to paint/stain to match the decor?

Random question but has anyone played with the ideal pressure profile/temperature profile for super dark, high robusta Italian blends (like Saka). I know the Decent excels at the other end of the spectrum (super light roasts), but what about super dark robustas? Could we be missing something in the cup?

I have an Londinium R, and while I can't play around with the parameters as well as a Decent, I really think I'm not getting the most out of this type of bean.

Some parameters include:

Temperature
Preinfusion Length
Preinfusion time
Puck saturation (wait for first drops? Bloom?)
Full pressure ramp up time
Max pressure (9 bar vs 6 bar?)
How quickly pressure declines

On average, I get my best results using a traditional lever profile. 1.3 bar preinfusion for 5 seconds. 3 second slow ramp up to full pressure around 7 bar. 20-25 second brew time not counting preinfusion. I've had good results at 2 bar and even 3 bar for up to 10 seconds of preinfusion, but it quickly can taste burnt and bitter.

cskorton wrote:On average, I get my best results using a traditional lever profile. 1.3 bar preinfusion for 5 seconds. 3 second slow ramp up to full pressure around 7 bar. 20-25 second brew time not counting preinfusion. I've had good results at 2 bar and even 3 bar for up to 10 seconds of preinfusion, but it quickly can taste burnt and bitter.

When I've worked with Dark-roasted Italian beans, my best results have been:
- as finely ground as I can get away with, to get super thick mouthfeel
- slightly overdosed to create more creaminess (restricting the puck swelling), ie 16.5g in a 15g basket
- lower temperature (88C)
- 1:1.8 ratio
- I don't mind going longer on shot time... to (say) 40 or even 45 seconds. Lever shots can be longer than traditional-flat-9-bar machines.
- full 9 bar peak, though. A lower pressure peak tends to work better with lighter roasts.

Anyway, that's what I do. Good luck!

lancealot wrote:Where's the tablet? It is probably one of the most important and unique elements of how a person interacts with the machine and it is absent from the design.

We've thought about two ideas for the tablet, on this design:

• in a slot cut into the case (photo below)
• or to the side of the machine, tabletop.

Brien wrote:Perhaps you could offer a panel-match version, as is done with high end dishwashers and refrigerators.

The sides, perhaps top or other wooden pieces such as handles, could come sanded but otherwise unfinished for a homeowner or designer to paint/stain to match the decor?

There's a vinyl reskinning template we've made, and it's available for free to customers. People can design their own and get it printed locally.
https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/xSJ9Qoa ... GMVHVjV9KK

But we're also looking at doing the reskinning for people. And we're about to start trying custom paint jobs as well, as an eco- way to reclaim QC-failed chassis and come up with something even better.
Here it is IRL (in real life), surprisingly close to the render: