New Products

Kyle, the owner of Baratza, dropped by with an early version of their new Forte grinder. Based on our initial experience with it, we think this will be a great option for those considering “small commercial espresso & brew grinders.”

A quick summary:

• Beautiful glass touch screen. We found it to be intuitive and very easy to use. You can grind by weight, then toggle over with one click to see the precise time it took to grind that weight of coffee. It’s lightning fast and the colors and layout are very pleasing. It felt expensive.
• Substantial solid zinc housing. This grinder is heavy, and the quality of the all metal housing gives it remarkable heft.
• Nice new hopper design. The rotating chute “stopper hopper” is strong enough to slice through any coffee beans that get in the way. It also scoops very closely to the actual burrs, leaving very few coffee beans left in the grinder.
• Improved portafilter holder. The new solid zinc portafilter holder is a major upgrade from the current models.

Read more…

The Rocket R58 espresso machine brought a lot of ooh’s and ah’s when it was announced last year. The joy was short-lived, as the first batch of machines had an extremely high damage rate in shipment. The problem was identified as weak welding joints on the front drip tray, causing the machine to buckle and warp when shipped via UPS ground. Rocket took the feedback and retooled the design of the drip tray, and I’m happy to report that the redesign has fixed these issues. The drip tray connection to the main housing is extremely rugged with no discernible flex.

A lot of prosumer espresso machine customers are carefully reading reviews of this machine and comparing it to the Izzo Duetto 3. These machines are very similar in features, quality, and price, and buyers that might Google “BMW 7 series versus Audi A8″ may find themselves with a similar list of small differences that nonetheless add up to one machine being more right than the other.

I spent some time pulling shots and steaming milk on the Rocket R58, and here’s my quick take and an overview of the few small differences:

PID CONTROLLER
The removable PID control module is a very clever feature as it completely removes any LED lights from the front of your machine, maintaining an analog purity that is not often found these days. The background of the module is almost midnight navy, with crisp white text shining through. It’s Apple-like in this way, but the user interface of this module needs improvement. I could not figure it out without referencing the manual, which is one key test for me. It’s still a good feature, but on future designs I hope Rocket invests the effort to make this UI completely intuitive for the non-techie to figure out.

DRIP TRAY
As mentioned, the new drip tray design is extremely solid, and compared to the Izzo Duetto 3 it has a low profile, making it a subtle feature of the design when looking at it straight on. The Duetto has a very tall drip tray, giving it a heavy, solid appearance. Your personal tastes will determine which is more aesthetically pleasing, but keep in mind that this does carry through to capacity. If you’re like me and like to use the group head to rinse your portafilter and shot glasses, you might make 4 or 5 drinks before needing to empty the drip tray. The Duetto 3 has probably twice the capacity.

The R58 drip tray is similar to the Giotto – sheet metal with drilled out holes. The Duetto has a stainless sheet design, similar to cookie cooling trays. I prefer the Duetto design, but again this is personal preference.

CUP GUARD
The R58 has a unique welded metal cup guard. It looks hand formed, which is a nice contrast to the very clean, modern lines of the rest of the machine. I don’t mean hand-formed in a cutesie way, but just that you can see the slight imperfections in how it’s welded together. I like this a lot.

The Duetto uses the newly added “hand rails” for two purposes – as handles to lift the cup warmer and and as a cup guard.

TECHNICAL DIFFERENCES

There are other differences between these machines. The Duetto weighs 72 lbs while the Rocket checks in at 64 lbs. The heating elements in the R58 are both 1400 watts, while the Duetto steam boiler is powered at 1200 watts and 800 watts for the espresso boiler. The R58 is also only a 15amp machine, while the Duetto can be run in 15amp or 20amp. For most people, these differences will not noticeably impact performance. If you’re interested in more technical details or comparisons, give our espresso tech Ken a shout. He’s at tech@clivecoffee.com.

CONCLUSION
Feel confident picking either machine based on a gut level instinct, or even a silly little issue like the drip tray design or PID controller. Either machine will deliver great espresso for years to come.

PS: I also tested out some new precision shower screens and portafilter baskets that will be available soon. Together they are a really nice upgrade at reasonable price. I found it much more forgiving to pull a bottomless shot that coalesces into a perfect inverted cyclone of mahogany espresso with zero spritzing.

It’s hard to believe the new Izzo Alex Duetto V3 has been out since late November, but believe it!  Since we’ve had about 6 months to use and evaluate this new version, we thought it was time to give you a quick update with respect to its build quality and performance out in the field.

No big surprises here, the V3 continues Izzo’s tradition of great Italian build (I know, sometimes an oxymoron), sturdiness, and curb appeal in a pro-sumer machine. After some heavy holiday sales and use, I took some time to listen to what a few of our early adopters had to say:

By and large everyone is saying the V3 is superb so far.  Very few warranty issues, very stabile brew water temperature control, and very easy to use.  So really, nothing has changed!  Which jives with what we said 6 months ago, that this new version is mostly about cosmetic changes. Our showroom Duetto sees much use during our barista classes, where it pulls shot after shot for 2 hours straight without missing a beat.  We have had zero problems with our unit, no adjustments to brew pressure, nothing.

But this isn’t just a fluff piece…

The most common comment that could be construed as a negative is that the Duetto V3 is just plain heavy.  It has large boilers, and weighing in at about 92lbs with water, it can be hard to move around to add water, especially if the machine lives underneath your cabinets.  The other comment is that the Duetto must be plumbed-in to get pre-infusion.  These issues are connected of course, and have led me to advise folks to plumb this machine in, thus saving yourself from having to move it around to put water in the not-so-easy-to access internal water tank, and to reap the benefits of pre-infusion.

Something else I’ve heard (and experienced) is that with the steam boiler turned off, the coffee boiler has a hard time maintaining a steady temperature for your shots.  This is because in the Duetto the steam boiler actually pre-heats the water for the coffee boiler.  This saves a lot of recovery time when the machine sees heavy use, but is a bit of a bummer for those who want a shot brewer.  I recommend simply that you don’t turn off the steam boiler.  It is very well insulated, and really doesn’t take much power to keep it at the correct temperature.  Your espresso will thank you.

If plumbing seems like a nightmare, well, you might be wrong, but you could be right.  For your set up it might just not make sense.  If you rent, or have a nice granite countertop that would rue holes being drilled, yet you want pre-infusion and an easy time of filling a machine with water, go ahead and look at the Quick Mill QM 67.  It is essentially a smaller, non-plumbed version of the Duetto.  You do get a limited pre-infusion which works well, and being much lighter, it is easier to move around.  Plus it has the shiny Italian thing in spades.  A little beast of a double boiler, it too will pull shots all day long.

The one thing we’d change on the V3 is the insulated steam wand.  In my experience, the insulation in smaller non-commercial machines such as the Duetto and QM67 slows down milk steaming and does not yield great micro-foam.  So Ken (our service tech) and I just took the insulation out and added a rubber grip to the elbow of the wand.  The result is a wonderful, easy to use and to control steam function that is more powerful without the insulation.  We would definitely recommend this quick customization.  Just unscrew the steam tip and pull the insulated hose out with a pair of needle-nose pliers.  I think it took us slightly less than a minute, and is well worth the effort!

We are pleased to announce our new book, Craft of Espresso: A Guide for Home. We love to help aspiring home baristas choose the right espresso machine setup, then learn how to use it to make beautiful & delicious espresso drinks. This book is  an introduction to the fundamental principles of making espresso and steaming milk, but it’s also much more than that thanks to the collaboration of multiple talented people.

Hanna Neuschwander, author of Left Coast Roast, took our basic principles and wrote a beautiful guide that is approachable and useful.

From the introduction:

Coffee, black. Espresso, neat. A cube of sugar and a dash of cream. These are small drops in the bucket of human experience. But does anything straighten your back as well as a morning ritual? Is anything better than coming to your senses with your hands wrapped around a warm cup?

In an age of virtual everything, what could be more exotic than getting your fingers smudged with fresh-ground coffee, then bearing down, making a mess, and feeling old school for ten minutes a day? Coffee is either nothing—a brackish fuel, a necessary accomplice—or it is something: an education in taste, a way to be playful, a daily sacrament. Read from the comfort of an easy chair or while afoot in the kitchen, this book is a primer for those who want to tap into the somethingness of coffee through its most exalted method: the art of making espresso.

The illustrations are by Ben Blake of DrawCoffee.com. Ben has developed a distinctive style of sketching coffee & espresso themes and we are thrilled to have him illustrate the project. A sample:

The book is shipping this week. Order yours today!

Italian espresso machine maker Izzo, and American machine importer Chris’ Coffee have been partners for years in designing and producing finely tuned espresso makers for the American market.  They have just made public what the new version of the famous Izzo Alex Duetto II will look like.  Let’s take a look at some of the particulars.

Read more…

The Izzo Duetto II has been a very popular machine with its e61 grouphead and precise PID control. Duetto III has just been announced and will be shipping soon!

We will have a full review soon, but for now here are a list of the updates on the Duetto 3.0:

• Beautiful New Body Styling (stainless steel curved panels replace the 1 piece outer body shell
• Smaller, Recessed Heater lights
• Large redesigned drip tray, holds 32 oz. of water.  It has a catch tray on back, easy to slide in, and no longer has the notch in the back
• Ergonomic portafilters with an angle
• Cup warmer tray, with better ventilation
• Cups Rails are now included
• Reinforced front to reduce flexing
• Discharge goes straight down instead of forward, silicone tube no longer visible
• Easy access Expansion Valve

Stay tuned for more.

The KONE Coffee Filter has arrived at the Clive office! The finer hole pattern on this reusable filter makes it easier to control extraction and limit fines, allowing for a full and nuanced cup. Paired with the Bonavita Variable Temperature Kettle, the possibility for intricate expressions of your coffee are easily within reach.

I was excited when I heard that Quickmill was coming out with a new take on the E61 double boiler design. The QM67 looked to be strong contender in the prosumer espresso lineup, especially since it was being placed as a bridge between the Andreja and Alex Duetto II. It features a professional E61 group with a clean, minimalist design. It will be a welcome choice for those that don’t have the counter real estate for the Duetto, and it’s $500 cheaper.

However, the reduced footprint and configuration exposes several issues with temperature stability and power management. Despite these drawbacks, is the QM67 a better value than the similarly priced Andreja or the more expensive Duetto? Well, that depends on what you are wanting to get from your machine.

Read more…

I had a chance to test out the Able Disk Fine recently, and I found it to mark a significant departure from previous iterations in both design and cup quality. I am particularly impressed by the fact that the filter produced such a clean and complex cup, despite being a metal filter. It is quite apparent that care was taken in its design to more closely mimic paper.

For those that have been skeptical of pairing the Aeropress with a metal filter, I would highly recommend giving the Disk FINE a try. The significantly tighter hole distribution yields a surprisingly clean cup that still retains the complexity of a full immersion brew. The Water Avenue El Salvador I brewed was both full in mouthfeel and vibrant in its starfruit acidity.

The physical etching of the holes is also much more precise, but the resulting filter is thinner. I believe this newfound pliability actually works to its benefit, however. The Disk springs back if folded, and it adheres like paper when wet. This is definitely a benefit to those like myself who are prone to bending or losing the filters when in a rush.

One can only hope to see an equal leap in quality in the soon to be re-released Coffee Kone.

Izzo created a lot of buzz last year when they released the Duetto II, and for good reason. It was the first machine of its kind to offer a commercial E-61 group head, double boiler, and fully integrated PID control for precise temperature control. Now there’s another machine with similar features. We always favor more more options for the home barista, and we think this machine will be a good alternative to the Izzo Duetto. The addition of a dual pre-infusion system in the Rocket R58 espresso machine makes achieving a smooth coffee extraction with optimum aroma, body, and crema an even more achievable reality for the home barista. This feature in itself makes the Rocket R58 a strong contender in topping the list of home double boiler machines.

The 1400 watt heating element in the brew system is exceptionally quick to recover, allowing you to pull shots and steam milk at optimal temperature and pressure without lag or overtaxing the machine. The rotary pump is both quiet and smooth, and, for those really wishing to dial in their espresso, the brew pressure is easily adjustable from the exterior. The machine is also equipped with low water sensors and an easy to lift top cover, so you can effortlessly check on and fill the ample 2.5 L water tank. For those that have the space and ability, the R58 also has the option to be directly plumbed to an existing water line.

We will be doing a video review of this machine shortly. They are expected to arrive in the US in late May, so reserve yours today!