Crem One Dual Boiler machine any good?

[birdhouse]

I think I’m probably heading away from this machine. Not the iteration for me.

Why is that, what are you looking at now? Or are you saying if you were to buy this machine you would wait for some updates?

[coffeechris]

Beautiful.... a real improvement on the old boxy Expobar which was one of my first machines.

PLease update us with how its going and what shots are like.

Meanwhile, Enjoy it!!

Chris

[crazyhakins]

I think I’m probably heading away from this machine. Not the iteration for me.

[roosterben]

Keep it up also enjoying how you experience with this machine. How about a couple of shot videos? Would be nice to see/hear it running a couple of profiles and even see the steaming in action.

This along with a Decent would be on my radar for the next machine upgrade, not many reviews around at all outside the Dave Corby videos.

[birdhouse]

Thanks Mal its a beauty, been enjoying it today.

I don't think this will satisfy people who want Decent levels of analysis/control, but it will probably appeal to people like me who want to retain a classic look and have DB PID, genuine non plumbed preinfusion, and repeatable volume based profiling.

Thanks for your review and information on this machine, I'm fairly close to buying one and I feel like I'm thinking how you are.

[alexcs]

Well it’s been almost a week with the machine, and I’m struggling to find negatives.

I really need to figure out a plumbed solution, water tank is smaller than the vbm jnr and refilling fairly regularly.

You need to purge the steam wand for a while to really clear it of wet stuff, not sure if that’s normal for DB, I’m only used to HX which didn’t seem to do that.

3 hole wand tip gives me better, faster steaming than the 2 hole, getting better at it, quite controllable but a big change from the vbm in a good way.

Got the supplied 18gram basket and a jet black convex tamper working really well now, no spurts, generally 18.5g to 36-40 out working nicely.

I find it hard to describe how enjoyable I’m finding the espresso compared to vbm, it seems to be more consistent and depth of flavor has increased. I’ve started to manually profile for most shots, preinfuse at 2bar and end usually at either 6 or 9 bar, sometimes in between. It’s very easy to control, I don’t really enjoy the standard walk up shot in comparison which ramps to max pressure.

Having got this model, I would probably not opt for the lower models without the profiling and the rotary pump. The value is completely in that for me, if I wasn’t interested in profiling I dare say there are many other machines in the 3-4K range I would prefer from a proven/looks standpoint. I’m happy with this choice over a DE1 at the moment mainly due to legacy looks again, the next step up is the R91 for me and that wasn’t really justified without trying profiling.

I’m definitely a convert, having the flexibility and repeatability of set profiles has given me renewed interest in espresso/enjoying the workflow.

I think if Crem really wants this to succeed it will need to provide good software for profiling editing etc, publicly available firmware, maybe even Bluetooth options that attach to the usb port to remove the need for cabling. It feels like they have this great machine but released it before considering the UX and target market ie. people who are very close to purchasing a Decent, or falling back to a paddle lelit or profitec. It’s kind of in between and is the best of both worlds, but that’s a personal opinion.

[level3ninja]

The review linked in #20 states that it is plastic and why that's a good thing. Well worth a read if you're considering one.

[crazyhakins]

I was told that the crem one's chassis and the tray is made out of plastic. Can anyone confirm? They do look really nice though

That is what Dave Corby says in one of his videos. I recall him saying the base is plastic. https://youtu.be/y_2qyTqX9jI

[goms]

I was told that the crem one's chassis and the tray is made out of plastic. Can anyone confirm? They do look really nice though

[alexcs]

A VBM Domobar Jr

[crazyhakins]

Think Ive got it dialled in with my previous double basket and cafelat tamper, I guess you really get muscle memory with these things, 5 years of the same machine will do that I guess. Will have to do the hard yards with the supplied baskets etc. for now im just happy its pulling great shots.

Tried a couple of 6bar max shots this morning (manual mode, 2bar preinfusion until output through thebasket, fairly quick up to 6bar for rest of shot), quite interesting results, compared to 9-10bar it seemed to produce rich dark output until the end of the shot, 19g in 40out. Normally I would start to get lighter colours appear around 25-30g. Im currently on a kg of zeds espresso, these shots tastes incredibly chocolatey particularly in milk, to the point its more hot choc than coffee.

The pump noise at 6bar is almost non existent

Very interesting to play around, will keep me occupied for a long time I think. Thought I would keep talking about it, there is basically nothing on the net about this machine apart from DaveC's review and youtubes, might help people make a decision either way. Hope people dont mind.

Alex, what did you come from before getting the Crem One?

[crazyhakins]

Please do! Amazing lacking of info online for a machine that is readily available and balances old and new world espresso making.

This review is extremely detailed and I've found it quite helpful for understanding how the machine works https://coffeeequipmentreviews.wordp...6/crem-one-2b/

[alexcs]

Im happy with this one, slow ramp to 6 bars. Steam is good, art as usual is bad.

[robertshepherd]

Please do! Amazing lacking of info online for a machine that is readily available and balances old and new world espresso making.

[alexcs]

Think Ive got it dialled in with my previous double basket and cafelat tamper, I guess you really get muscle memory with these things, 5 years of the same machine will do that I guess. Will have to do the hard yards with the supplied baskets etc. for now im just happy its pulling great shots.

Tried a couple of 6bar max shots this morning (manual mode, 2bar preinfusion until output through thebasket, fairly quick up to 6bar for rest of shot), quite interesting results, compared to 9-10bar it seemed to produce rich dark output until the end of the shot, 19g in 40out. Normally I would start to get lighter colours appear around 25-30g. Im currently on a kg of zeds espresso, these shots tastes incredibly chocolatey particularly in milk, to the point its more hot choc than coffee.

The pump noise at 6bar is almost non existent

Very interesting to play around, will keep me occupied for a long time I think. Thought I would keep talking about it, there is basically nothing on the net about this machine apart from DaveC's review and youtubes, might help people make a decision either way. Hope people dont mind.