Does anyone have this Versalab PRESS ? any good

[Grummer]

as per the title.....

but i suspect even its quite pricy it MUST be good for the coffee-shops (as they say, I'd quite believe it) saw the video, what marvelous thing to have...hell, good for those with arthritis or injury, or carpel....or just plainly wants precision....

here's a link and watch the video there....

http://www.versalab.com/server/coffee/pressnew.html

and video....

(for both grinder and their "PRESS" press....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbDQp47Fzgk

any one can comment? love to see your views (not i don't have one but hmmmm i might sometime early 2015...)

Cheers

[Grummer]

bump anyone out there can comment? im really curious about this one

[Yelta]

My feeling is it comes into the category of using a sledge hammer to crack a walnut.

A simple hand tamper would be simpler, quicker, cheaper, won't break down and would do just as good a job.

[ASchecter]

At their onset as a coffee equipment company, Versalab got many ideas about espresso-making from David Schomer. And Schomer believed that a 20-30 lb tamp was the minimum for a proper extraction. So Versalab developed their press to do this automatically with little effort.

Nowadays most people seem to believe that a very even distribution of coffee in the portafilter is far more important than the 30 lb tamp. Modern espresso machines provide more gentle preinfusions than they used to. This lessens the tamp's role in preventing channeling. So the demand for a device like the Versalab press has never really taken off.

Still, it looks like a pretty nice piece of equipment.