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**>decentespresso** · 17 July 2021, 03:38 PM

Originally posted by decentespresso View Post

Thanks for the reply. That makes a lot of sense. There doesn’t seem to be much happening in the world of steam wands to be honest. Maybe something new and exciting could sneak into v1.5?

There are some interesting things happening in steaming on our end.

I recently added real-time control over the steam flow rate in the app, and we're working on having profiles that you can quickly select. That way, you could for example go to a slower but easier to make micro foam profile, or a very high-powered one if you had a liter of milk to heat.

The current steam profile has a pressure and heat rate increase around 15 seconds, based on the assumption that you will make your microphone early on in the steaming, then dive the tip into the milk and want that final heating stage to be as fast as possible.

Not everyone wants that, so the steam profiles will enable different approaches to steaming.

Also, I have an XXL model at home, and I find the steam without this feature to be much too powerful to heat a piccolo latte with 100 mL of milk. That was actually the impetus behind this feature :-)

– John

Attached Files

**>decentespresso** · 18 July 2021, 04:28 PM

Free Soul Coffee Popup in Hong Kong

Last week we decided to drop by local coffee popup Free Soul Coffee https://www.instagram.com/freesoulcoffeehk/ and say hi to Karen who runs it.

She really wanted me to try her Honduras Sherry Barrel Fermentation Single-Origin bean. I was impressed, as it really did have a clear "rum/raisin ice cream" impact on me, from the cream/buttery flavor to the rum in the mouth, and raisin on the nose.

I was doubly impressed to find out that she roasts the beans herself, at home, with a Korean-made Gene home roasting machine http://baristahk.com/product/gene-cbr101-home-roaster/

I asked her how she managed to pull this off, as the beans were actually well developed, low acidity, as a light roast should be but rarely is, without roasting into the medium level and getting chocolatey notes and obliterating the bean's other flavors through roasting. She confessed that she went through quite a few trials at home, and most of her failures were under-roasting. She only had a small quantity of the green beans, as supply was ultra-limited, and was very nervous that she'd not manage to get the roast right before running out. She only had beans left for a few more shots, when we showed up.

Karen and her stand-mates are all airline stewardesses, currently out of work, and they've banded together to run this popup. Karen makes espresso drinks, while the other two on the stand sell their homemade savory scones.

Karent told me that the compactness of the setup was genius for her. She arrives with just two suitcases: one with the DE1XL and the other with the Niche grinder, beans, milk and cups.

Karen also sells her beans online https://www.freesoulcoffee.com/ so if you live in Hong Kong, I'd recommend you her beans a try. She clearly has great intuition, and a knack for roasting.

-john

**>decentespresso** · 19 July 2021, 03:54 PM

I've split out the most interesting bits of my IG Live conversation with Dennis Hew, into short videos, each answering a specific question:

Decent retail stores?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaqYOwuqKdM

Uber for takeaway cafes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsUTriQWetE

Why Hong Kong?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtrqfezNGqU

Does Decent have any plans to open a factory in another country?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vadk9zNuHA

What inspired you to do this massive coffee startup?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Cm2t4nbuM

Why is there a tablet on your espresso machine?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAqpTyOH-Ro

A cheaper DE1?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6FKJS_6M1A

Is there a DE2 model planned?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsHx_hopEtc

Will the DE1app start making suggestions to the barista?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SLgj7ioCuI

A Decent Grinder?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrzSQJBLi_I

**>decentespresso** · 19 July 2021, 10:11 PM

idea: black or white painted front panels

Euan Lake an Acaia-compatible drip tray for the DE1. He both sells it premade, and gives away a 3D printable design you can make yourself.
https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/qNHH...HLLg4HEuFHgaFT

But what caught my eye was his all white front panel, as part of a white-conversion that he'd done himself.

We have made those front panels either mirrored (in the past) or brushed (current design) and I found his all-white design very compelling.

Today, we had 10 samples arrive of an all-black, and all-white front panels. Ours have a Decent logo on them, which Euan's didn't, since he repainting hid the logo.

I think it looks quite nice, but I'm less convinced that it's a good idea to put the mirror lip on it. You can see the mirror lips in the bottom of this photo, as well as the black/white samples next to brushed versions. The matte black is really striking, I feel.

The looks very "glued on" and the top edge of the mirror is very noticeable. Much more so than when the mirror in on brushed metal, where it blends in.

What do you think of how all this looks?

-john

**>decentespresso** · 26 July 2021, 02:22 PM

The State of Decent R&D

I was asked: "what's new in this v1.43 model, that's about to come out"

The only change from v1.42 to v1.43 is the tablet stand now sliding in. No other changes.

And "what about the group head changes you talked about last year?"

As to the group head changes, they're delayed likely by 2 years, to v1.5.

And "how is R&D for other changes going?"

R&D has become very, very slow in this COVID age. Prototyping companies have either gone bust, or tripled their prices, or (often) producing low quality stuff.

Lead times from suppliers have climbed to 14 months for parts, so we've had to order the parts for next September, already, otherwise we won't get them. That means that any R&D discoveries we make this year, won't appear until we reorder again, which would be in a year.

If we didn't order parts now, next year we would run out and not be able to build any machines. We just received enough parts for 3000pcs of v1.43, and next July, we'll receive parts for another 3000 machines. As we're selling about 2700 machines/year at the moment, this represents two years worth of parts stock.

As an example: we received 10 prototype new "unified mixing manifolds" from our usual company, and they were all unuseable. This is some R&D we're doing to simplify the internals (3 parts become 1). We had them redone by the same company, and also with another company, and both were unuseable. We've managed to cobble together one working prototype, about to try it here, by sanding, drilling and changing o-rings around. But basically... all R&D is massively delayed, as supply chains worldwide are crumbling.

We tried to buy a current-model Canon color laser printer last week and found that they're out of stock, worldwide, for several months. Even big companies are having trouble getting the parts they need.

This slowdown in the R&D process, coupled with long lead times (we used to work on 4 month lead times), means that new models of our machines are not going to happen for 2 years.

Our plan is to continue to make v1.4x for 2 years. v1.5 is planned for July 2023. It should feature a stainless steel (instead of brass) group head, and Ultem-based water dispersion parts (instead of brass). Next year we might switch to a different pump manufacturer, but the specs are the same, though the sound they make is a bit more pleasing to me.

One exception to the R&D delay: the prototype machine we've built runs on 15 amps of power (vs 9.5 for the XXL model, and 6.5 for the XL/PRO models) and is a planned DE1XXXL model, hopefully to ship in December 2021. The main "draw" (ha ha) is even more powerful steaming. There's a bit of R&D still to do to make this work, but it's work we can do internally (modifying steam wand tips, new control algorithms, new tablet app GUI for steam profiling).

I used to mock the magazine business, that had 6 month lead times, so that a story written today wouldn't appear until a half year later. Now I'm sympathetic. :cry:

This is most definitely NOT to say that there won't interesting new stuff coming from the Decent Universe, but rather that almost all the R&D happening currently is on the software side. I'm personally working on a new kind of espresso profile that unifies the many parameters needed to dial in different kinds of beans at different roast levels, with simple (ie: light vs dark roast, unimodal vs bimodal grinder) GUI choices, where the "right thing" is chosen for you, and you can later tweak it. I know of a native iOS app, as well as new apps being developed in Javascript (totally browser based) and in Python. There's very interesting stuff going on in Extensions and constant improvements to the 3rd party Skins that others are working on, with the most popular being MimojaCafe and DSX.

-john

**>decentespresso** · 30 July 2021, 07:44 PM

New Silicone Material for Steam Wand Sleeves

We've received samples of the new silicone material, with different hardness ratings for us to test and dcide on. We're going with 70A hardness, and ordering mass quantity now.

I REALLY REALLY like the way this new material reflects light.

Which looks much nicer to than the current silicone we use.

We'll be happy to send a replacement part made with the new rubber, for free, with any other purchase from us.

I don't know when they'll arrive, but I'll post about it here when they do.

-john

**>decentespresso** · 30 July 2021, 09:27 PM

Here is the full Zoom recording of last week's: "Latte Art (Basic Tulip & Wiggling practices)" with author Dennis Hew and Paul Chan

**>decentespresso** · 30 July 2021, 09:29 PM

Next Zoom: this Saturday evening (USA)/ Sunday morning (Asia)

Decent Espresso Pour Overs : V60 and Kalita and the DE1 pourover basket, with Decent's Paul Chan

You might want to watch Scott Rao's video beforehand:

---

Time of Zoom call:
- San Francisco, CA, USA - Sat, 31 Jul 2021 - 18:00
- New York, NY, USA - Sat, 31 Jul 2021 - 21:00
- Melbourne, Australia - Sun, 1 Aug 2021 - 11:00
- Hong Kong Time - Sun, 1 Aug 2021 - 09:00

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8198633530...RaVm15Q1kxZz09

Meeting ID: 819 8633 5307
Passcode: 132763

**>decentespresso** · 2 August 2021, 06:31 PM

In the spirit (har har) of the Star Trek Drinking Game https://tinyurl.com/trekdrinking I give you ...

The Decent Espresso Drinking Game

take a small sip if:
- you see a post in social media that says "decent is the Tesla of espresso"
- you see a post in social media that says "john is the Steve Jobs/Elon Musk of espresso"
- you see a photo of the Decent and Niche in the same photo
- the model you want is currently out of stock
- someone asks "what's the price?"
- someone asks "when is it shipping?"
- someone asks "can it steam and brew at the same time?"
- someone asks "where can I buy it?"
- someone asks "is there an ipad app?"

drink a shot if:
- you posted to Instagram a photo of a latte sitting on the group head
- you've read Ars Technica on your Decent tablet
- your DE1 legs were bent in transit and Decent sent you a replacement
- - you see a comment that says "I've been making blooming shots on my ...."
- take a shot for each hour (on average) you're on Diaspora daily
- you've made espresso extractions above 23%, two shots if 25%, and 3 shots if 27%.
- you use the beta version of the DE1 app
- you've bought sku code 888 https://decentespresso.com/c?filter=888

drink two shots if:
- an app update has more than 100 files to download
- you serial number is under 100 and your machine has never had a problem
- you use the nightly version of the DE1 app
- you have a 2nd machine at your summer house
- you 3D printed yourself an accessory
- you're on a first name basis with Sheldon, Luca, Johanna, or Enrique.
- you built your own coffee cart

drink three shots if:
- you see a comment that says "I can do that with my E61"
- you have a 3rd machine on your yacht
- you're making and selling accessories to others
- you've started roasting and selling your beans to other DE1 owners
- you cut a hole in your marble countertop to put your Decent into
- you've modified your van or mobile home to permanently have a Decent in it
- you own three or more coffee grinders

finish the bottle if:
- you wrote a twitter-bot to post every time you make an espresso
- you've written your own app, skin or extension
- you're on the super-secret beta hardware group
- you've been the recipient of SKU code 889 https://decentespresso.com/cart?filter=889
- you've repainted your entire machine to some custom color
- you've written a web spider to calculate exactly when your machine will be ready
- you've hacked the Decent website to try and purchase items that should only be available to Decent admins

Please add to the fun, and suggest your own rules!

**Budgiesmuggler** · 12 August 2021, 07:39 AM

Hi John - when are you going to remove the “Australia pricing” for products sold into Australia? Currently the DE1Pro is approx USD 1,000 (AUD 1,300) cheaper in New Zealand (excluding tax and shipping) than Australia because of the Australia markup.

removing the markup will prove the DE alongside similar specced machines and make it more competitive in the Australian market.

i know a lot of Australians resent companies that price gouge us by charging higher prices. I understand you originally put this in place when the DE was first launched to cover the additional customs and other approvals, but these no longer seem to be a concern.

it would be amazing if we could but Decents at the same price as everyone else!!

**338** · 13 August 2021, 05:36 PM

Budgie, John mentioned the cost of doing business in Australia and 3 or 4 years ago he mentioned he was going to get Australian electrical approval (which is unique and therefore costly over the number of units sold). I didn't see any announcement but maybe that is the cost? Have a look at your machine and see if it has the above RCM.

Of course if it isn't I have even more respect for John as a businessman, giving good enough service he can charge someone $1,300 more than their neighbour and still they speak evangelically about the product! Not so pleasing as a prospective purchaser.

Attached Files

**>decentespresso** · 13 August 2021, 06:37 PM

That question comes up quite a bit, and probably the best answer (and conversation) about it, is here on Home Barista:
https://www.home-barista.com/advice/...0.html#p746037

As an aside, USD prices are going up USD$100 for our v1.43 product line, but AUD price remains unchanged.

**>decentespresso** · 14 August 2021, 09:34 PM

Espresso Log now for Decent Scale

The impressive "Espresso Log" app has added support for the Decent Scale: https://espressolog.app/ https://decentespresso.com/scale

On the Decent Scale forum I run https://decentespresso.com/decent_scale_request I asked Alex, the app author:

Can you write a bit about how your "Auto Tare" works?
The reason I ask, is that my miserable experience with "auto tare" on another company's Smart Scale, caused me to decide to move this feature in the "smart connected device" so that it could be iterated, improved, versioned, etc... and "actually work".
"Auto tare" seems like not-that-easy a feature to program, with for instance, perhaps a "sensitivity" setting needed. Espresso might start with a few drips, for instance, that are barely detected if you have a noise filter.

He replied:

This "Auto-Tare" feature has two sensitivity settings:

Weight
- Tare when an object heavier then the set threshold is placed or removed from the scale

Time (delay)
- Execute tare after set delay when (above) conditions are met (or still valid).

If the brew dose isn't set, only positive weight changes trigger "auto tare" to prevent issues like; if a barista places a portafilter, tare executes and then removes it (moves it to a grinder) than places it back on the scale. (workflow quite often encountered in coffee shops)

This together with the "Shot Recorder" feature that automatically starts and stops the timer using sensor data makes a completely hands-free operation of the app.

The "Shot Recorder" checks the available sensors and chooses the best algorithm for the job depending if you have a pressure transducer, scale or both connected to the app.

Gorgeous job Alex, and you've marvelously made my point, that I believe fancier scale features are better done in a proper piece of software.

**>decentespresso** · 15 August 2021, 07:11 PM

Paul Chan's advice on making pour overs with the Decent, short video clips:

Why a Decent pour over?
Here i go over the benefits in brewing with the DE1. We talk about temperature stability and overall consistency.

How the DE1 helps with pourovers
Those that have made manual pour overs an act of Zen will know how we have to multitask at times. Until it becomes muscle memory. For new comers this can be a challenge. The DE1 and the V60 preset lets you focus on the key areas like agitation during blooming.

How Brew equipment affects your brew
We look briefly into what material your brewer is made from Glass or ceramic, plastic or metal and how it affects your brew. Also a little insight on which will be better brewing darker or lighter roasts.

V60 view and Brewing
Get a closer look at the Decent making a V60 with the pour over basket. We go into the level of agitations needed in order to achieve those high EY brews full of flavor.

V60 the gateway to light roast coffee
Here we discuss how we shared light roasted coffee between baristas. At a time where it was rare to find good light roasts and what we did get wasn't to be wasted.

Scott Rao's V60 preset Graph Analysis
A dive into the graph details of the Scott Rao's V60 profile

Ensuring a good spray
A little clean of the pour over basket will be required from time to time. This is to ensure a straight spray emanating from the shower hole. If the spray wavers or is not straight then it is likely that it is not creating enough turbulence either. Sometimes its not coffee grinds but a spec of calcium build up.

XL and XXL for larger brews
Here John brings some great details regarding the performance of the XL and XXL for making larger brews. Also how the other models can still keep up using the pre tank heat feature.

and the entire 2h zoom call:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g_9YZNioBs

**>decentespresso** · 16 August 2021, 08:44 PM

Podcast: The Curiosity Project interviews John

Listen at: https://tinyurl.com/decent-curiosity or with your favorite podcasting app.Podcast: The Curiosity Project interviews John

Announcement

Decent Espresso Machines (DE1) - Any thoughts?

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