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  John O'Shea

  7 years ago

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  This seems like an addition to the "pointless use of concrete" category that's so popular recently. Concrete is an incredibly polluting material due to the massive amounts of carbon resulting from the cement production process. Using it for anything that you don't expect to last decades or centuries, after which time it may have offset it's carbon footprint, is reckless. I'm all for material experimentation but only to the end of finding new or novel uses for which the material is suitable. Even most eco concrete simply offsets it's carbon footprint a tad quicker.

  
  

  I make plaster and concrete moulds regularly as part of my job, this looks like the aggregate mix was wrong, the mold wasn't vibrated enough and co-efficient for expansion/contraction of whatever mix used was simply ignored causing clear deformations and loose material intersections. The kickstarter also mentions the patina the "natural" concrete develops, which leads me to believe the concrete is not sealed. This simply could not be food safe. If any contaminates caused mould to develop on the surface of this machine it would be nigh-on impossible to effectively wash. If this complies with CE certification I'd be shocked (and so would you potentially if the device were to get wet).

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  Porter Gieske

  7 years ago

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  After viewing the video on the kickstarter site, I am convinced that this machine has a number of disadvantages.  A single boiler espresso system separates the brew and steam functions, resulting in 2 main issues.  One is having to wait for the boiler to heat to the steam temperature level, and two, having to then cool the boiler in order to create another shot. 

  As for the choice of materials, that is more of an opinionated decision.  There is a solid reason many espresso machines use stainless steel, its because it cleans easily and remains clean for years.  Concrete is porous, would liquid coffee and grounds not create a problem here?  I have also just now read that coffee stains corian, requiring a hassle for remaining clean.  

  How are these materials honest?  

  I have cut and pasted the text from the FAQ section of the kickstarter site, that answers? a question concerning cleaning: 

  "Please note that concrete is a raw material and should not be saturated completely. As a raw material it will change color over time and develop a patina, which is what gives it the unique character. The brass on the Corian model will also need some care and attention."

  
  

  That, right there, is the honesty I was looking for.

  
  

  The video captures the creation of a shot of espresso in 11 seconds.  That beverage is therefore junk.  I realize that it is just for video demonstration, but if the design research and development was 4 years in the making, more effort could have been spent in the video to convince me that these folks take coffee seriously.

  
  

  There are retail units available that function identically to this machine, for less.  There are also espresso machines available for the same price, that offer more functionality, like a hot water outlet, a cup heating surface, and a pressure gauge.  

  https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/espresso-machines/semi-automatics?dir=asc&order=price

  
  

  
  

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