Think about it; your shop might be replaced by a stovetop steamer and a hand-grinder paired to a Mypressi Twist.
It pulled a couple of unbelievable shots, and a string of just plain good dependable spro. Real espresso, too. Tiger striping and flecking, crema for days, and a fall that would make a Guinness blush. OK, so it's a bit finicky about blends, roasts, and SO's that prefer a higher than average pull temp, bit it can still do them. In my efforts to tame it this morning, I made a Black Cat shot that was too warm.

Never take my word for it. Give it to your second best barista in your shop, and put your best on the house machine. Make sure second banana has a while to figure out dosing, grind, and temperature (although, I had a shot that brought me back to Santa Clara, standing in Andy Newbom's joint, literally, right out of the box) and then you go taste 'em blind.

No, I'm not gonna say that it'll beat your best barista on your shop's machine (although, it did outscore a xBC tuned LM FB-80 at Counter Culture on their SO experiment, and came closely behind on the espresso blend testing...), but if you're not flabbergasted by the results, change baristi and machines.

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After watching and tasting many shots pulled on the MyPressi Twist, I agree - it is top notch in quality output. I am curious about others' experiences with getting the right grind. Chris, you suggest a hand grinder - what about the time consumption of this? We attempted using a Capresso burr grinder, but the grind was finicky and hard to dial in. So what of the challenges of wasting espresso and CO2 trying to dial in - the CO2 adds extra trial-and-error cost. I'd love to hear feedback from anyone who has tried this new (and astonishingly awesome product).
"Make sure second banana "
Chris? can you explain your English here? Not sure of your context or intent.
As to, "Think about it; your shop might be replaced by a stove top steamer and a hand-grinder paired to a Mypressi Twist."
You forgot a Venti smiley after this statement. My best impression of the MyPressi at this point, considering you are correct regarding the quality of the spro pulls, is that it would make a wonderful home barista addition to all the coffee toys we collect. My best use might be a camping coffee tool/toy. After I get over having to pack the co2 etc. along. On second thought I'll keep it at home or look forward to coming into your busy cafe and having a shot pulled by your top barista in their spare time. Hope you charge enough.
Joseph
--
Ambassador for Specialty Coffee and palate reform.
how long does 1 gas canister last in one of these things? they look pretty swish.
All this proves is that the grinder matters more than the machine. Give your second best barista a hand-cranked grinder and see what the results are like.
Wow, a lot to answer...

In order:
Michelle, CO2 (and for some reason, N2) is preferred, probably because a lot of shops already have it in their inventory for whipped cream dispensers....) is fairly cheap. If you're buying in fifty to a couple hundred canisters, you can probably end up spending less than $35 per hundred, or roughly 8 cents a shot. Spend a buck on gas dialing it in, and you've probably spent more on the coffee that you used. OK, danged over-exaggerations! ; >
It really isn't that much if you've got a plan to use a lot of them, and it's worth the extra coupla bucks to play with it if you're just playing with it to get the novelty effect.

Joseph: Oh yeah, the smiley there was completely implied. 'And, 'Second Banana' implies the second-most skilled barista in the shop. The most skilled is your 'Top Banana'.
And you'll be waiting a while, I've given up pulling shots professionally, at least for the present.
No shop, but if you make it to Tucson, I'll point you in the direction of great baristi that'll knock you out with either machine.

Paul:
I'm getting four doppio out of one canister, if I'm present for it. I pulled three over the course of two days, ignored it for a coupla days, an then tried to pull a fourth and it ran out of gas about a third of the way through the shot. Thank whatever gods oversee espresso that the two-group was there to back me up this morning!
So, if you keep it going, four doubles. If you wait a day or two, probably only three

James:
You'd be amazed at how well hand cranked grinders will work. I've compared my Zass and my DeVe to my Mazzer Majors (and there have been other comparisons to other top-notch grinders) and they do remarkably well. Remarkably, as in, 'Hey, this is better than my danged two grand Major!" well. Not as fast or easy, I'll grant you that, but the result in the cup can be amazing.
And you're right, grinders are the more important machine here. As I said here on August 23, 2008 at 3:34pm, and have said for a while now;
" A grinder makes espresso. All a machine does is make the water hot and push it through the puck."
I like to fantasize that that somehow influenced the design of the Twist.

Yeah, the thing is weird and it will be my camping companion and my touring pal. No more searching out the nearest coffee shop, only to be disappointed again and again (with the occasional surprise) and no more trying to fly with a Silvia and a Rocky, or a Factory and a DeVe.
Chris said:
CO2 (and for some reason, N2) is preferred, probably because a lot of shops already have it in their inventory for whipped cream dispensers....) is fairly cheap.

Could be misconstrued. I meant to write:
"CO2 (and for some reason, N2O is preferred, probably because a lot of shops already have it in their inventory for whipped cream dispensers....) is fairly cheap."

Meaning that CO2 is the more inexpensive of the two, but N2O seems to be the preferred gas.
I think I will have to add it to the bag with the swiss army knife....=))))

Chris said:
Wow, a lot to answer...

In order:
Michelle, CO2 (and for some reason, N2) is preferred, probably because a lot of shops already have it in their inventory for whipped cream dispensers....) is fairly cheap. If you're buying in fifty to a couple hundred canisters, you can probably end up spending less than $35 per hundred, or roughly 8 cents a shot. Spend a buck on gas dialing it in, and you've probably spent more on the coffee that you used. OK, danged over-exaggerations! ; >
It really isn't that much if you've got a plan to use a lot of them, and it's worth the extra coupla bucks to play with it if you're just playing with it to get the novelty effect.

Joseph: Oh yeah, the smiley there was completely implied. 'And, 'Second Banana' implies the second-most skilled barista in the shop. The most skilled is your 'Top Banana'.
And you'll be waiting a while, I've given up pulling shots professionally, at least for the present.
No shop, but if you make it to Tucson, I'll point you in the direction of great baristi that'll knock you out with either machine.

Paul:
I'm getting four doppio out of one canister, if I'm present for it. I pulled three over the course of two days, ignored it for a coupla days, an then tried to pull a fourth and it ran out of gas about a third of the way through the shot. Thank whatever gods oversee espresso that the two-group was there to back me up this morning!
So, if you keep it going, four doubles. If you wait a day or two, probably only three

James:
You'd be amazed at how well hand cranked grinders will work. I've compared my Zass and my DeVe to my Mazzer Majors (and there have been other comparisons to other top-notch grinders) and they do remarkably well. Remarkably, as in, 'Hey, this is better than my danged two grand Major!" well. Not as fast or easy, I'll grant you that, but the result in the cup can be amazing.
And you're right, grinders are the more important machine here. As I said here on August 23, 2008 at 3:34pm, and have said for a while now;
" A grinder makes espresso. All a machine does is make the water hot and push it through the puck."
I like to fantasize that that somehow influenced the design of the Twist.

Yeah, the thing is weird and it will be my camping companion and my touring pal. No more searching out the nearest coffee shop, only to be disappointed again and again (with the occasional surprise) and no more trying to fly with a Silvia and a Rocky, or a Factory and a DeVe.
Chris,
Thank you for the Banana slang,
I a neophyte when it comes to Barista lingo. Hopefully someone on this list will come up with a Barista shop lingo cheat sheet.
I just learned I was doing the Chicago chop with my pf. Cool.
Joe
Chris said:
Wow, a lot to answer...

In order:
Michelle, CO2 (and for some reason, N2) is preferred, probably because a lot of shops already have it in their inventory for whipped cream dispensers....) is fairly cheap. If you're buying in fifty to a couple hundred canisters, you can probably end up spending less than $35 per hundred, or roughly 8 cents a shot. Spend a buck on gas dialing it in, and you've probably spent more on the coffee that you used. OK, danged over-exaggerations! ; >
It really isn't that much if you've got a plan to use a lot of them, and it's worth the extra coupla bucks to play with it if you're just playing with it to get the novelty effect.

Joseph: Oh yeah, the smiley there was completely implied. 'And, 'Second Banana' implies the second-most skilled barista in the shop. The most skilled is your 'Top Banana'.
And you'll be waiting a while, I've given up pulling shots professionally, at least for the present.
No shop, but if you make it to Tucson, I'll point you in the direction of great baristi that'll knock you out with either machine.

Paul:
I'm getting four doppio out of one canister, if I'm present for it. I pulled three over the course of two days, ignored it for a coupla days, an then tried to pull a fourth and it ran out of gas about a third of the way through the shot. Thank whatever gods oversee espresso that the two-group was there to back me up this morning!
So, if you keep it going, four doubles. If you wait a day or two, probably only three

James:
You'd be amazed at how well hand cranked grinders will work. I've compared my Zass and my DeVe to my Mazzer Majors (and there have been other comparisons to other top-notch grinders) and they do remarkably well. Remarkably, as in, 'Hey, this is better than my danged two grand Major!" well. Not as fast or easy, I'll grant you that, but the result in the cup can be amazing.
And you're right, grinders are the more important machine here. As I said here on August 23, 2008 at 3:34pm, and have said for a while now;
" A grinder makes espresso. All a machine does is make the water hot and push it through the puck."
I like to fantasize that that somehow influenced the design of the Twist.

Yeah, the thing is weird and it will be my camping companion and my touring pal. No more searching out the nearest coffee shop, only to be disappointed again and again (with the occasional surprise) and no more trying to fly with a Silvia and a Rocky, or a Factory and a DeVe.
I just went to the mypressi site, watched the video, and poked around a bit. I must say, it is an appealing product cost and convenience-wise..

However, the idea of a shop being replaced by such a product I think is a stretch. Some business might be lost to those wanting to make their own espresso and not looking to purchase/maintain an espresso machine, but even that group of customers will still have to purchase the purchase/grind the beans, steam the milk, etc. The convenience factor of having a home espresso tool will quickly be outweighed by the time it takes to perform the other necessary steps when they can stick with their routine of stopping at the corner coffee shop on the way to work.

We must also remember that coffee lovers who frequent these shops are stopping for more than a cup of coffee, especially if they're enjoying it in the shop while meeting with friends, reading the paper, or something else that they gain some degree of satisfaction from. Coffee shops aren't just selling coffee; they're providing a quality product, friendly service from personable baristi, and comfortable atmosphere.

Sure, it appears to be a great product. I might buy one just to use as an alternative to using the machine at home, but I don't imagine it will have a devastating impact on shops.
Joseph,

It's not really "Barista Lingo" that he's using. Chris has his own brand of sayings and slangs. I always find his style of communication to be entertaining, albeit, possibly confusing for people who may not be used to it.

And, if you do find your way to Tucson, don't leave for that other barista's bar without having first had a couple of shots on Chris's 2grp Astoria taking up half of his kitchen. ;)

Thanks for the review, Chris.

To everyone else, it was a joke! He doesn't REALLY mean that it will replace your shop, that's just his way of giving it legitimacy.
Mike M said:

However, the idea of a shop being replaced by such a product I think is a stretch... ...pears to be a great product. I might buy one just to use as an alternative to using the machine at home, but I don't imagine it will have a devastating impact on shops.

Uhm, yeah, the part about the smiley being absent that Joseph called me on was my mea culpa, and Jason's assessment was spot on. Qualitatively, you could replace a Slayer or an LM with the product produced by the mypressi. Productively, having a coupla dozen of these lying around on the counter and a huge vat of boiling water wouldn't really be that efficient. Or appetizing.
Again, I apologise for letting my penchant for hyperbole get away from me.
The dang thing is cute, and it really pulls a serious shot of espresso, s'what I meant to say...
So I'm a bit confused....
if someone could be so kind as to enlighten me.

Does this product require you to use a Tamp? I watched the video on the site and didn't see one.

If so, this product would still require the knowledge of a well trained barista. Right?

I'm just curious how you address issues of channeling and such. I mean you can certainly taste it but if you can't see what you're doing wrong (hence the use of a Naked) then it gets to be a tad difficult for anyone that isn't a trained barista to use it properly.

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