Comments on Decent Espresso DE1+ Review

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RapidCoffee
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#1: Post by RapidCoffee »

This thread is for members of Home-Barista.com who wish to post questions and comments about the Decent Espresso DE1+ Review.
John

Grasshopper200
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#2: Post by Grasshopper200 »

Nice write up so far. Looking forward to reading the rest.

For those of you in the NYC area, I recently took a great class on the Decent at Regalia Coffee in Long Island City. It was fun to play with the machine for a few hours, and the class provided lots of information useful to espresso making on other machines as well.

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RapidCoffee (original poster)
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#3: Post by RapidCoffee (original poster) »

Thanks! Stay tuned, there are a couple more installments coming...
John

JayBeck
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#4: Post by JayBeck »

John,

Great review so far! I see in the picture the DE1 beside a BDB. You mentioned that the DE1 shots were more clear and less body that the S1 which was similar to your BDB vs S1 experience.

Were you able to try the DE1 vs BDB? Shots similar in terms of body and mouthfeel?

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RapidCoffee (original poster)
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#5: Post by RapidCoffee (original poster) »

JayBeck wrote:Were you able to try the DE1 vs BDB? Shots similar in terms of body and mouthfeel?
Thanks! Yes, DE1 extractions were much closer to the Breville Dual Boiler than the La Spaziale S1. Not surprising, since we used the same basket, dose, and water in the BDB as the DE1, both have vibe pumps, both preinfuse, etc.
John

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forgetcolor
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#6: Post by forgetcolor »

Along similar lines, I'd love to hear your overall impressions re DE1 vs BDB when you're done w/ the review!

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RapidCoffee (original poster)
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#7: Post by RapidCoffee (original poster) replying to forgetcolor »

Both machines make excellent espresso. If your machine budget is limited to ~$1K, the Breville Double Boiler should definitely be on your short list. But it does not offer the same capabilities as the DE1.
John

RyanJE
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#8: Post by RyanJE »

RapidCoffee wrote:Thanks! Yes, DE1 extractions were much closer to the Breville Dual Boiler than the La Spaziale S1. Not surprising, since we used the same basket, dose, and water in the BDB as the DE1, both have vibe pumps, both preinfuse, etc.
Have you tried a "non precision" basket and no pre infuse on the BDB or DE1? Just wondering if that is closer in texture to your La Spaz?

I have a BDB and feel like even with pre infuse at 0 it still has some pre-infusion since the lag of ramp in a vibe pump. I haven't cared much for shots on my BDB with added pre infuse times (texture issue). I suppose you could do the same on the DE1 if there is a 0 pre infuse and similar flow rate option. The BDB is about 250-300ml in 30 seconds. I imagine faster (500ML in 30 sec) would better mimic a rotary depending on the gicleur..
I drink two shots before I drink two shots, then I drink two more....

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RapidCoffee (original poster)
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#9: Post by RapidCoffee (original poster) »

RyanJE wrote:Have you tried a "non precision" basket and no pre infuse on the BDB or DE1? ... I have a BDB and feel like even with pre infuse at 0 it still has some pre-infusion since the lag of ramp in a vibe pump.
Because of different grouphead size (53mm S1 vs 58mm DE1), I cannot use the same baskets. The Spaziale double baskets are not precision baskets; in fact, they have the highest variance in hole size of all baskets I've tested. I did try a nonprecision Gaggia double basket on the DE1.

You're correct, rotary pumps have a higher water debit (flow rate) than vibe pumps, and saturate the puck faster. Dan noted this many years ago:
Image
E61 with expansion chamber, Elektra A3 rotary, E61 with solenoid (reproduced from original post)

The maximum flow rate on the DE1 is 8ml/s, significantly less than ~12ml/s on the S1. The DE1 also has greater headspace. So there are lots of factors that could play a role in extraction differences.
John

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another_jim
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#10: Post by another_jim »

John, I wonder if you could comment more on the potential for software updates. I'm told that earlier versions had a problem with spritzy naked extractions and odd pumps sounds, and that this was fixed with a software update. I'm used to software bugs being fixable by updates. But hardware bugs and functionality? That would be a bit of a game changer.

Also, there are still people posting opinions based on the earlier version.
Jim Schulman

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