Vincere wrote:on their website it doesn't say summer 2022 anymore, it says fall 2022

Well that's disappointing. Originally it was supposed to be a 2021 launch, then it was finally unveiled with a June date, then early summer, now fall? Not a great sign.

it makes more sense to send to market a working, bug free machine, than rush it to market, and have the buyers be upset that there are issues.

That is correct, but late delivery to the market does not automatically mean that it will be bug free. Many components are delayed now or unavailable at all, so the final design could be a compromise as well.

I was waiting for it, but at $8000-$9000 and the delays. I'm glad I didn't decide to wait on it.

haulin oats wrote:it makes more sense to send to market a working, bug free machine, than rush it to market, and have the buyers be upset that there are issues.

That's true, but when you keep throwing out release dates and delaying them quietly it's not a great look either.

I was hoping it would be out about now. It may be a contender for me.

I had the pleasure of a seeing the ES1 in action yesterday. I was able to set up an in person demonstration and I was really impressed. It was a pre-production model and while I was throughly impressed I was told it was far from production/sales ready from a software standpoint.

The build quality and fit and finish looks excellent. It is a premium product and it feels that way. The powder coating and clean lines make it very attractive. Everything feels very high quality. They informed me that during the SCA expo they found a few bugs and issues that they wanted to fix thus the delay in release. Synesso is making every effort to release a fantastic machine. Plus they want to have a decent supply on hand for when orders go live so that there isn't a big back-order problem

A few thoughts:
The "paddle" feels firm and has a nice solid click and feel. The paddle can be fully manual or you can follow a prior recipe or just pull an automated shot. Everything is programmable and if you liked your last shot you can quickly save it and edit it later if needed. Overall the experience is very user friendly for a wide range of potential users. The auto flush function is programmable and great to use. It does have a automated cleaning cycle as well. To me, if you are into the manual espresso experience it is maintained. If you just want to click the paddle and drink your espresso, you can do that too. Good for "nerdy" users and their partners who just want coffee.

The tea tap - the hot water spout is actually useful. This feature alone is likely going to sell me on the machine. You can set the temperature over a fairly wide range of temps - I believe around 165-205C. It also includes volumetrics. This to me is a big selling feature. Most machines the hot water tap is useless, this is very useful.

The group head is fully heated, apparently a new design, all in brass. Goal is for incredible temp stability.

Steam wand was great to use, "cool touch" and very powerful. The leveler feels solid to engage and on my one attempt I was able to produce probably the best micro-foam I have ever made. Plus is extremely fast.

The ability to add water from an easily accessible location is really refreshing, it does have a water level sensor and an overfill relief. For home use or coffee cart it would be very useful. This is another feature that while simple I see as a major selling point for many.

The machine is very quiet overall. My EMP Modded LMLM is quieter but this was much quieter that a stock LMLM for example. It doesn't appear to vibrate much or at all.

The ES1 is WIFI enabled and the goal is to be as future proof as possible. They said no immediate plans for apps but my guess is that will be in the works. My favorite LMLM app feature is to awake and heat the machine from anywhere. I'm guessing that will come, just a guess. WIFI will allow over the air updates and they plan to add more updates/features in time. They are working on auto-preinfusion which I realize is controversial. They are using a pressure sensor in the group head to help determine when the puck is fully saturated. You can enable or turn off.

The ES1 is recommended to be left on but has a "sleep" mode that lowers the temp 20 degrees or so. While the dimensions on paper seem big, in person it didn't standout as too big. Frankly it felt more compact than my LMLM even though it is likely slightly bigger. The exposed group head would be helpful for me as a tall guy.

The entire Synesso team is extremely excited and are really working hard to deliver a standout product. Frankly I was extremely impressed and am seriously considering this machine. I've seen people claim it is a Decent espresso copy. Frankly the experience and build quality says otherwise. Decent isn't the first to use a screen on a machine. Nothing against Decent, the person doing my demonstration has or had one at home, the experience and fit/finish is different. I was very appreciative that they let me see and interact with the ES1, very nice of them to allow some random espresso fan a chance to see and use the machine. This pre-production model was incredibly impressive, I can only imagine how great the final product will be.

Still planning on fall release. Pricing still TBD, but they told me GS3 range.

I just might have to sell my EMP LMLM to get this...or more like I will be selling my LMLM...

dockoelboto wrote:The group head is fully heated, apparently a new design, all in brass. Goal is for incredible temp stability.

That's surprising. I would have expected it to be stainless, not brass.

The boilers are stainless, I think having a brass group head is fairly common but I am no expert.

Not anymore. Is it a saturated group?