How to get the best out of your Rocket Espresso machine

Small coffee roasting startup?

When you do the numbers, if you want fair remuneration for your work and time, you need a roaster of at least 5kg capacity. Even then most won’t roast at anywhere near capacity. The Phantom does.

Here’s where you can make intelligent choices and have the opportunity to get 5kg out and also profile it to get the best from it.

Support Aussie industry by buying local and you get the bonus of local support in return. Consider the @cratechnology Phantom 7kg. Here are some happy snaps of some in production.

#phantomroaster #coffeeroastersaustralia #buylocal #aussiemade ...

So a couple of weeks ago, we purchased the @weberworkshops Spring Clean™ somewhat out of curiosity. This new product is like a naked portafilter without a handle to which is added a 250ml blind filter.

When you look inside, there is a spring-loaded stainless plunger and a couple of o-rings to seal things and allow things to move smoothly.

Add your backwash detergent and load it to the group and you essentially get to run a super long 250ml backflush. In the slots at the base, a little indicator band changes colour to let you know when to stop running the pump and when it's safe to remove everything.

1. It works
2. I was near AUD $500 landed.

Positives/Negatives
1. On arrival, ours was pretty sticky and we were getting only about half volume. I pulled it to bits a couple of times and with further food lube it has settled. Better, but not perfect.
2. The incomplete backflush was leaving a fair amount of boiling water in the assembly. Mark down one burn, though not severe.
3. The colour indicator band? Just some tape stuck to the base of the plunger assembly. I was surprised by that...
4. Casting around the base of the plunger? Rough. Decidedly "un Weber" in finish.

Will l use it? Yes..
Bang for buck? 🤷‍♂️ Five hundy is a heap of folding

Should it perhaps have a handle for safety like a regular portafilter? I reckon it would have been a good idea. There will always be a burn risk if you're not hyper-vigilant.

Will the idea get ripped off by other companies who make it sufficiently different to get past the usual regulators and at a lower price? I suspect it's a near certainty if there's not a patent pending on it... ...