I’ve been spending quite few hours testing and evaluating various burrs and baskets recently and I have come to realise that a purpose built, highly stable shot brewer would be a useful tool. It may be my metrology background but I am always looking for ways to remove uncertainties and subjectivity from my test procedures so a Precision Shot Brewer is now top of my wish list.
The machine will be, in essence an espresso machine without any facility for producing steam or hot water. It will of course need to be very stable in terms of brew water temperature and water pressure and it must also have the ability to replicate the pressure profile of the Synesso Hydra as found in many of our clients cafes.
I think I should also have the ability to collect and digitise temperature, pressure and flow rate data for analysis and lastly but very importantly, it must look cool — For a base to build it all on I am chopping up a chassis from a new three group Synesso Cyncra that had been dropped from the back of a truck and written off. My stainless steel welding skills are best described as ‘amateur hobbyist’ but with enough tries and plenty of grinding I manage to get something to hold together.
The overall plan is to have everything from the hydraulic system to the electronic circuit boards fully out in the open or behind perspex guards so we can be mesmerised by the blinking LEDs while we wait for our espresso shot.
If you want to see ALL the pics, check them out at the Five Senses Flickr Site
