Espresso

Coffee Data ScienceRenaming steam pre-infusion profileA few months ago, I was able to more pinpoint why a lever machine (Kim Express) outperforms a Decent Espresso (DE) machine, namely steam pre-infusion. I started exploring this variable more, and steam pre-infusion breaks a few things we normally associate with espresso like pressure. Most of my shots have had pressure below 2 bars but with good extraction. So I wanted to push the boundary and further develop the profile.After 40 iterations, I renamed the profile.…

Photo: Brent Rose / GizmodoI love a good cup of coffee, but if I’m going to a café, I’ll almost always get an espresso drink of some sort. Usually, it’s a cappuccino or a flat white (I’m basic like that), and I think it’s because it feels special, like a treat. This is probably because I’ve never had the space in my kitchen (let alone money) for a good espresso setup plus my gear for regular coffee, and I refuse to buy into one of those damn pod systems. But now, suddenly, there’s this silver ovaloid on my kitchen counter…

Coffee Data ScienceInitial dataUpon receiving the CoffeeJack, I went to work comparing it to other machines, particularly Kompresso as my aim was to compare it to my standard travel espresso machine. I was pleasantly surprised how well CoffeeJack performed. So I want to go through some of the mechanics of the device and some data from using it for a good bit.Disclosure: Ashley at CoffeeJack sent me a device because he was interested in my expertise in doing technical reviews. The people at CoffeeJack won’t see this review…

Coffee Data ScienceThe Weiss Distribution Technique (WDT) has been around for a few years now. WDT generally helps with good distribution and has been found to improve coffee extraction. One difficulty people have had is knowing how long to WDT. If you WDT too much, do finer particles migrate towards the bottom of the filter basket from the general mixing and movement?I theorize that the finer particles stick to larger particles due to static. My previous experience with sifting showed that simple vibration was not enough…

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publishing.Wait, so I’m supposed to get in my car, commute to some hoighty toighty coffee store, find and pay for parking, then wait in line to pay $3 for a few tablespoons of mediocre hot pressed bean juice served to me in a paper cup? Why would I…

Coffee Data ScienceStripping down the shower screenI found renewed interest in the shower screen in my espresso machine, the Decent Espresso machine. This piece of the espresso machine is not talked about much. The shower screen does control the water input to the puck, so it is probably as important as the filter basket. I look a deep look on how it worked to better understand why I was seeing some strange results in my experimental profile. I started with visual data where I saw one-sided behavior, so then I expanded…

Coffee Data ScienceImaging analysis of filter basketsI started looking at filter baskets a few years ago, and I looked at how random extremely large or small holes were spatially arranged. I wanted to understand if that could be used to help explain why some baskets performed better than others.So when I got a CoffeeJack, I took the same approach. I compared it to Kompresso because Kompresso has been by defacto travel machine for three years. I have been surprised that for the same grind, water, and pre-infusion,…

Coffee Data ScienceQualifying refractometersThe digital refractometer market has grown a bit in the past few years. At first, there was only VST. When the Atago came on the market, some experimental results suggested that the two produced similar results that did not differ statistically. Now, a cheaper, smaller DiFluid refractometer is available so let’s collect data and take a look.A refractometer, in coffee, is used to measure the refractive index which correlates to the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), and this can be…

Coffee Data ScienceDefinitive Proof of the TheoryFor 30 years, the theory of fines migration has been generally accepted as truth in the espresso community. The theory is that finer particles migrate during an espresso shot, and this migration has an impact on extraction.Previously, I have provided a few experiments where I didn’t find evidence of fines migration, but I still felt compelled to check my experiments to make sure they were not wrong. In particular, academic research into the topic of fines migration in…

At a GlanceExpert’s Rating ProsRetro designVarious colour optionsPowerful, adjustable steam wandConsManual dispenseAdditional warming stagePlasticky buildOur VerdictSwan’s retro espresso machine brings vintage style in an array colours – for a third of the cost of a Smeg. But espresso machines are expensive and the compromise for this budget-friendly price is some ease of use and build sturdiness.  If you’re a fan of vintage-style kitchen appliances, Swan’s range fits the bill. We’re reviewing the brand’s retro…