Hey BX crew,

I have been having a blast playing around with different brew parameters on the new Trifecta. Anyone else have one and want to compare extraction notes? I am LOVING this machine!!!

Joshua
BGA NW.

Views: 650

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

who's even selling them at this point? what's MSRP?
We bought our directly from BUNN. I think it was like $4000?
too rich for my blood. i'll stick with my pourover bar thanks
I know right! Definately not for home brew. Hahaha. Beats the heck out of $10,000 for a Clover...when you could buy one. Definately worth it for a busy cafe though I think.

Jared Rutledge said:
too rich for my blood. i'll stick with my pourover bar thanks
Joshua, I don't think too many people have had the chance to play with the Trifecta. Since you have, can you give us some insight into the machine? How does it taste in comparison to french press or melita or hario or clever? What's it made out of? Can you take some panels off and post some pics of the insides? Does it have a water tank or does it heat the water on demand? How long does it take for the water to change temperature? What generates the bubbles? How long does it take to change the parameters? How many parameters do you have access too? Does it use off the shelf parts from Bunn's other machines or is everything custom made? How is the software loaded and updated? Can it connect to the internet? Will it break if it falls over? Is it 120vac or 208vac? How heavy is it? What is the amp draw? How many cups can you make per hour? How long does it take to pay off $4000 if you only make 3 cups an hour with it? Can it replace a bulk drip brewer? Is the coffee that much better than a Clever Dripper that a struggling coffee shop should spend the extra $3980 to get one? Can a person walk right up to it and make a decent cup or is there a learning curve? How much training would it require for a cafe staff? Can you work the bar and still handle the Trifecta or will someone else need to handle the Trifecta orders?

Right now the market only has questions. You are in a position to give us some real info.
So i watched this video from a guy who appears to have worked on the Blair Witch Project and honestly I am a little lost... start to finish from grind to clean it takes four minutes to make a small cup of medium decent coffee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZe2XyKZ5rQ&feature=related

This would require it's own staff member and a very select clientele who would be willing to wait...

How much are we supposed to charge for this to break even $5... there are so many steps with this thing...

Might as well just do a pour over... the show is better... and most likely the coffee too... or use your espresso machine and do the same thing is 1/10th the time... without spending four grand ... on a Bunn ...

Like I said, I am lost...


Marek
Hey Mike,

We only just got the machine in this last week. I will get right to the laundry list of questions you had ASAP. I am here to discover the potential of this equipment along with you all as a barista community. I am not here to say we all need to run out and buy one, just that it may serve its purpose as a niche filler that was left by the purchase of the Clover by Starbucks.

I have been playing with the 13 different brew parameters over that last week and have dialed in a GREAT cup with a few of our direct trade singe origins. I would liken this machine to a mechanical Aero-Press vs. a replacement for the pour over. There is definitely pressure involved so it isn't a gravity feed brew method like pour over, chemex. Also the Clover used a screened piston in an internal brew chamber which is different than the Trifecta which uses air pressure from a pump through what seems to be a modified portafilter.

We will be bringing one with us to play with at Coffeefest in Minneapolis. If anyone wants to check it out, just come by our booth.

More soon!

Joshua
BGA NW

Mike Sabol said:
Joshua, I don't think too many people have had the chance to play with the Trifecta. Since you have, can you give us some insight into the machine? How does it taste in comparison to french press or melita or hario or clever? What's it made out of? Can you take some panels off and post some pics of the insides? Does it have a water tank or does it heat the water on demand? How long does it take for the water to change temperature? What generates the bubbles? How long does it take to change the parameters? How many parameters do you have access too? Does it use off the shelf parts from Bunn's other machines or is everything custom made? How is the software loaded and updated? Can it connect to the internet? Will it break if it falls over? Is it 120vac or 208vac? How heavy is it? What is the amp draw? How many cups can you make per hour? How long does it take to pay off $4000 if you only make 3 cups an hour with it? Can it replace a bulk drip brewer? Is the coffee that much better than a Clever Dripper that a struggling coffee shop should spend the extra $3980 to get one? Can a person walk right up to it and make a decent cup or is there a learning curve? How much training would it require for a cafe staff? Can you work the bar and still handle the Trifecta or will someone else need to handle the Trifecta orders?

Right now the market only has questions. You are in a position to give us some real info.
Joshua Boyt said:
I know right! Definately not for home brew. Hahaha. Beats the heck out of $10,000 for a Clover...when you could buy one. Definately worth it for a busy cafe though I think.

Jared Rutledge said:
too rich for my blood. i'll stick with my pourover bar thanks

That's the million dollar question... is it "definitely worth it for a busy cafe" in place of the pourover bar?

To me, the trick with the Clover is that we all went "ooh" and "ahh" and made it a big deal. Only the marketing angle made it viable. I'd like to think that, having been through the Clover experience, we're less likely to all go "ooh" and "ahh" over a $4,000 Aeropress? (In the interest of disclosure, I should mention that we do happen to sell the Aeropress. Its $30.)

Looking forward to the answers to Mike's very good questions and lots of good open discussion on the topic.
For REAL!

This guy needs to discover this new invention called a "tripod".

I would say this video isn't much of a representation of what we have encountered thus far with this machine. I would say all together from grind to cup is 2-3minutes tops. Which isn't much different than many other single cup methods.

That being said, I have really enjoyed the ease of control of the parameters like the air agitation, water temp, air pressure, etc. The results have been better than decent for us with the adjustments we have made. We are dosing quite a bit more than the guy on this video. I am using 36g for a 10oz brew he was using 22g for 12oz. Also the grounds he was using looked like almost espresso.

I'm not sure why everyone seems to want to say why they don't NEED one, when all I am trying to accomplish is talk with people about reviewing a new brew method.

Keep up the love!

Joshua
BGA NW

Marek said:
So i watched this video from a guy who appears to have worked on the Blair Witch Project and honestly I am a little lost... start to finish from grind to clean it takes four minutes to make a small cup of medium decent coffee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZe2XyKZ5rQ&feature=related

This would require it's own staff member and a very select clientele who would be willing to wait...

How much are we supposed to charge for this to break even $5... there are so many steps with this thing...

Might as well just do a pour over... the show is better... and most likely the coffee too... or use your espresso machine and do the same thing is 1/10th the time... without spending four grand ... on a Bunn ...

Like I said, I am lost...


Marek
Precise controls is a good thing. The fact that you don't have to stand over it and pour and re-pour like a Chemex is also good.

Price is always to be considered when evaluating equipment. A Mypressi Twist can't stand up next to a Linea, but there's also a canyon of cash between the two and it beats the heck out of a Krups.

Now, as a piece of brewing technology with the price tag hidden from the realm of conversation, I would say that we are looking something between a very precise pourover and a turbulent one-cup FETCO. I didn't hear anything in the video about temperature control, but I'll assume that it's in there somewhere. It seems fast enough (the wait is similar to a pourover and with equally busy presentation). You obviously don't have to program it every time you make one, and in the meantime a good barista would be doing something besides watching it drip. I'd say that it has a niche and looks like it could produce a very good cup of coffee, though probably somewhere in between french press and a FETCO as far as taste clarity and body are concerned. Then again, I can't say for sure because I've never tried it!

So, let's get some REAL reviews in before we all get quoted on our two cents sometime in the near future. We might find our palms to our faces when we see one of these in every other shop in town in 2 years. Or, we might smile smugly as we watch coffee shops add $4,000 to their startup costs for one of these babies when they could have gotten pourovers and spent the rest on better espresso machines or furniture (because lets be honest, most shops underestimate the importance of either one or the other).
Joshua, sorry to say that it looks like you're not going to find anyone to compare notes with here. Not too many here are in the position to buy a piece of equipment like this right now. Lots of curious folks though, me included. I do think Mike had some great questions and would love to see the answers. The info you've provided so far has been good. Thanks for sharing.
Brady is right. Super props to Mike for nailing all the right questions. Maybe you should e-mail BUNN and ask if they need a R&D/marketing guy? :)

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Barista Exchange Partners

Barista Exchange Friends

Keep Barista Exchange Free

Are you enjoying Barista Exchange? Is it helping you promote your business and helping you network in this great industry? Donate today to keep it free to all members. Supporters can join the "Supporters Group" with a donation. Thanks!

Clicky Web Analytics

© 2024   Created by Matt Milletto.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service