Review: mypressi TWIST™
A first look review of the mypressi TWIST™
Since it’s launch towards the back end of 2009, followed closely afterwards by a barrage of awards and endorsements, including the SCAA Best New Product 2009/2010 *1, I have wanted to get my hands on the mypressi TWIST™. This desire was also partly fuelled due to my travelling*2 and partly due to the hype.
My opportunity came at Hotelympia 2010 where I met the CLS team*3, the official UK distributors for mypressi TWIST™ who were exhibiting
I had been sceptical that a hand-held device retailing for approx £120 could produce a consistent extraction with temperature and pressure stability to rival a domestic espresso machine selling for several times this price.
Upon opening the box I was greeted with an assortment of shower screens, baskets and spare seals and the mypressi TWIST™ itself.
Looking somewhat like a normal portafilter, the mypressi TWIST™ is a self contained, pressurised chamber, holding freshly ground coffee, hot water and an 8g N20*4 charger (as used in Mosa™ cream whippers)
The mypressi TWIST™ completely dismantles for ease of cleaning, and more importantly pre-heating prior to extraction.
Making a coffee using the mypressi TWIST is a simple 4 step process, following the principles of espresso extraction
- Pre-heat (optional but recommended & don’t forget to preheat your cup too)
- Grind (espresso grind)
- Tamp (firm – equivalent to a normal espresso tamp)
- Extract (just pull the trigger and let the fun begin)
Now that we know how it works, how did it perform?
The first coffee I made was using pre-ground coffee, hot water poured through the mypressi TWIST™ and a pre-heated cup.
The water went in at 96c and the espresso was extracted and entered the cup at 86c. A 10 degree temperature loss but I figured the extraction took place at approx 90-92c so within the ballpark of a Gaggia Classic or Aeropress™ extraction.
I used 14g of coffee and obtained an 18 second extraction for 31mls liquid, which started off thinly and had about 2mm of crema on the top
The second coffee I made, within 2 minutes of the first coffee was much better, achieving a 4 degree temperature loss (as the internal parts had retained the heat from the first extraction), but a much better looking and tasting espresso.
For this shot I ground fresh coffee, using 16g and obtained a 23 second extraction for 29 mls liquid, with approx 3-4mm of crema on the top
The third coffee made 2 minutes later was almost identical to our second extraction +/- 1 second
The fourth coffee made another 2 minutes later behaved the same way as well
I attempted a 5th, to see what happened when the charger expired and found that the pressure started well, then fell away after about 6 seconds into the shot, so we had to discard the espresso and coffee grounds, which was a lot less messy than I imagined.
Pros
Highly portable
Stable temperature and pressure
Easy to assemble, dismantle and clean
Cons
Plastic tamper (although this fits snugly into the basket)
53mm basket
For best results the top chamber, portafilter ring and extraction chambers all require preheating (for the first extraction at least)
What we would like to see
58mm basket version
Steel tamper included
Charger indicator (indicating number of charges remaining)
Battery (or electric) powered pre-heating
Metal extraction chamber
Different colours
Espresso quality will vary greatly by user and we recommend trying various techniques, grind sizes, dose weights and pressure of tamp
Above all we recommend using freshly ground coffee and the quality of your grinder will still influence the quality in the cup.
The mypressi TWIST™ opens up almost unlimited infusion opportunities, therefore I can see that the mypressi TWIST™ may find it’s way into barista competitions for signature drink preparation, or more importantly into the hands of mixologists, cocktail, bar and restaurant staff.
Could the mypressi TWIST™ be the device that introduces espresso to the dessert menu?
I can’t wait to introduce this product to a number of people who have been toying with the idea of home espresso making but were not confident in their ability to make coffee.
The mypressi TWIST™ in its current form will help introduce more people to speciality coffee and raise awareness of the taste nuances of coffee, with its clean, uncomplicated extraction. I cannot wait to see how the mypressi TWIST™ evolves.
Footnotes:
*1 SCAA – Speciality Coffee Association of America - http://scaa.com
*2 100+ nights a year away from home in both 2008 and 2009
*3 Catering & Leisure Supplies Ltd – http://www.creamsupplies.co.uk
*4 N20, also known as Nitrous Oxide or Laughing Gas, is a food-safe colourless, non-flammable gas
Further reviews and photos can be found on Coffee Forums UK
48 hours until the 2010 UK Barista Champion is announced
Last weekend saw the UKBC South East Heat held in London (at Rich Mix in Shoreditch / Bethnal Green)
22 of the top Baristas from London and surrounding areas were competing for a chance to progress to the UKBC Semi Finals & Final this Sunday/Monday (28Feb/01Mar) at Hotelympia in London
Some photos from the event can be found here
The full listing of scores for those who made it to the Semi-Finals can be found on the SCAE website, along with more photos.
The venue was the perfect size for this event. There was a range of seating options and vantage points for spectators, a number of display machines with both competitors and enthusiasts pulling shots over both days, and the chance to meet with other coffee lovers.
Coffee Forums was tweeting pics of the action and the links to these images and commentary can be found here
Coverage will continue this weekend.
It’s hard to put into words the atmosphere at the event. Electric and progressive would be 2 that I would use.
The signature drinks were interesting (espresso based with other ingredients added – no alcohol though) and the latte art pretty good too.
It was great to see new faces competing, and introduced to me a number of new cafes to visit over the coming months.
An abundance of volunteers were on hand over both days to assist in preparing the venue and ensuring the machines were cleaned between competitors, running cups off stage, timekeeping, and providing assistance where required, to make the event a success.
Volunteers are also required at the World Barista Championships 23-25 June 2010 at Caffe Culture. Registration of interest is now open. Click here to volunteer.
In little over 48 hours the UK Barista Champion for 2010 will be announced and preparations will begin in earnest to retain the title for another year.
Show your support by visiting Hotelympia to cheer your favourite competitor on, or by joining the SCAE or engaging with the sponsors of the UKBC event, whose donations have set the foundations for a successful competition in 2010.
So many beans, and not enough hours in the day in which to drink them
2010 has got off to a roaring start and our diary has been pretty full so far, and there is still a lot to look forward to.
Since the New Year we have conducted a number of training sessions for new cafes and home baristas, giving them an insight into the exacting processes of making a coffee and introducing them to tastes, sounds and smells that might otherwise have been overlooked.
It’s always rewarding to see the beaming smiles of those who have made their first espresso based drink, that they are proud to put their name to. In some cases we have helped a home barista master the art of stretching milk, correct tamping faults and most importantly of all, keep their machine clean.
We’re itching to find the time to vist a newly opened cafe in Oxfordshire whose team were eager to learn to make a coffee using a semi-automatic machine, and thoroughly enjoyed making their first Mochas within an hour of being shown how to turn on the machine and setup the grinder.
Although the mid-week coffee tasting events have tailed off there is still a hive of activity, with baristas preparing for the UKBC South East Heat on Feb 19 and 20, all with their sights set on gaining a timeslot for the UKBC Finals on 28th Feb/1st March at Hotelympia.
To gain FREE spectator entry to the UKBC Finals, pre-registration is required at Hotelympia.com
As we have done our weekend cafe crawls we have been fortunate enough to bump into a number of UKBC competitiors getting in practice ‘on the job’ and have attended special workshops and run-throughs at Kaffeine.
This year the baristas seem to be so much more organised, with sensory scoring sheets being filled in and feedback being sought from all levels of spectator, from enthusiasts to industry peers.
The signature drinks (which to some are a contentious issue) have been really well thought through, and I hope that some of them make it onto the menus for the cafe the competitiors work at, although some are quite time consuming to create, but could complement some of the cafe’s food offerings.
We have been inundated with good coffee lately, with new season crops arriving at a number of roasters. Our postie has been remarking on how nice his delivery van is smelling and today we treated him to a coffee-to-go.
Inspired by a James Hoffman tweet in late December, we have embraced Daytum and created a site to chart our coffee consumption for 2010. Results will be shared in a future blog entry but the results to date are quite intriguing.
Our Flat White consumption figures are ‘up’ at the moment due to checking out the ‘new drink’ that Starbucks and Costa Coffee have embraced and released into the UK market. I feel like I grew up drinking Flat Whites as they were on every cafe’s menu when I lived in New Zealand, replacing the double shot latte as the drink of choice for the masses in the mid 90’s.
To find out what we are up to in between blog entries make sure you follow 5M Coffee on twitter @5mcoffee or @getnoticed
A clean start for 2010 (Steam Wand Cleaning)
Harbouring bacteria may be harming your profits
A few seconds spent cleaning a steam wand might be the difference between profit and patrons for coffee shop owners.
All too often coffee shop staff are steaming milk / hot chocolate and not cleaning the steam wand afterwards, resulting in milk residue and bacteria being caked to the steam wand and transferred to fresh milk, potentially leading to a loss of patrons (not to mention the taste and aroma degradation of the drink itself)
5M Coffee, in partnership with a growing number of coffee training companies in the UK, has embarked on a campaign to raise awareness of the effects of a dirty steam wand.
This is a customer led campaign and reminder cards can be obtained directly from 5M Coffee’s website or any of the participating companies.
So far, over 150 cards have been distributed to our campaign partners and we’re actively seeking more companies to join us in giving free advice to those who request it, and to help improve the state of steam wands.
2010 is an important year for the UK coffee industry. All eyes will be on us in the run up to and during the World Barista Championships. We all need to do our part to raise the image and quality of the coffee industry and its members.
To get onboard and help spread the word, or to request your FREE Bacteria Cards contact us via email , Twitter , or visit the 5M Coffee Website to find out more.
2009 Wrap-Up
As 2009 draws to a close we are reflecting on an eventful year for 5M Coffee Company.
Earlier this year we formally welcomed our first customer, and since then 5M Coffee has provided numerous home barista training sessions and have a number of dates already pencilled in for early 2010. In addition to this, we have helped a number of cafes and mobile coffee operators improve their skills.
There has been a growing awareness and appreciation of good coffee and the recession has helped grow the drink at home market. Thankfully though, people are still drinking coffee in cafes, restaurants and meeting venues. Although times are tough and a number of well known coffee companies have ceased trading or had to reinvent themselves to meet an ever-evolving market, there remains an air of optimism.
An opportunity arose in October for Glenn Watson to attain the SCAE Level 1 Brewmaster status, and we are now talking to a number of interested parties who wish to attain SCAE Gold Cup accreditation for their filter coffee in the New Year. To find out more visit our Gold Cup pages and view the short animation we have put together.
To fully enjoy the spirit of Christmas we will be closed between 24 December and 04 January. However, online reservations for training can still be taken during this period. Just click to search for available dates and times and you will be guided through this process. We will do our best to respond as quickly as possible.
Our 2009 home barista training rates will be held until 31st March 2010. For more details visit our Training page.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all 5M Coffee’s clients in 2009 for your support, and to acknowledge the encouragement and feedback of all whom we have come into contact with.
2010 promises to be an exciting year for 5M Coffee Company and the coffee industry in general, and we hope to share our ups and downs with you.
Footfall (can you rely on this alone to turn a profit?)
“Location, location, location”, a phrase we are all familiar with. Many cafe owners would have spent countless hours searching for just the right location, near a bus stop, opposite a pedestrian crossing, at a junction, opposite a hospital (and the list goes on), but not everyone seems to have that mindset.
I have visited a small number of cafes recently who on the face of it do not seem to have given the aforementioned concept much thought, but seem to have adopted the ‘build it and they will come’ approach.
I must confess to not having had the time to sit at some of these cafes for any extended period of time - over days, weeks or months - and it very well may be that when I visited it was an unnaturally quiet period. However, that said, it must be very difficult to break even or turn a profit when consistently selling less than 10 coffees per hour.
When you consider that the wages bill, rent, electricity, insurance etc would dramatically eat into the already tight, and ever shrinking profit margins (as the cost of consumables increases but the price of a cup often stays static for many years, or may be dictated by what those in the immediate vicinity are charging for a ‘cup’) you start to question the economic viability of the venture. However, bubbling just under the surface is optimism, and more often than not, a strong belief that the quality of the product being crafted in their premises will bring in repeat business and referrals.
Those in the know (or have acquired the taste for a decent cup of coffee) will often take short detours to get their fix, but when starting out, a new cafe owner cannot be sure just how far people will come from to drink their beverages. Therefore, the obvious choice would be to pay a little more for a guaranteed footfall past, to, or through the main entrance of the shop or stall.
Can you rely on footfall alone to turn a profit?
In the next article I will explore demographics, and show that you cannot rely on footfall alone to draw in the customers.
Piccolo heaven in the East End of London
Yesterday I spent the day drinking Piccolos, Cortados, Flat Whites and Espressos in the East End of London.
Starting my day at Gwilym’s cart in Whitecross Street, I spent an enjoyable hour and a bit chatting to Gwilym and Jenni. My first coffee was a flat white with a beautifully poured Rosetta, accompanied by a delicious chocolate croissant.
From my vantage point I could see people approaching the cart and it was a great place to see how peoples mood changed when they realised that they were only a few steps away from a great coffee. Their moods transformed, lifted, and you could sense the excitement and expectation as they approached, smiles forming and ready to place their order and banter with the baristas.
A trend I have noticed is that passionate cafe / cart / shop owners seem to effortlessly impart enthusiasm for their product onto the consumer, and Gwilym’s clients were no different. They asked questions about the coffee, the milk, the rosettas or tulips and even about the machine, eager to learn what made them want to return time and time again.
After a lovely creamy Piccolo it was time to head to Spitalfields market to meet up with Photographer and Podcaster, and ex-Barista, Brian Jones (starbarista).
Brian introduced me to Taylor Street Baristas, at 1A New St, London, EC2M 4TP, opposite the entrance to Liverpool St station, where I was treated to a lovely Piccolo (image here). Taylor Street had a good vibe about it and made good use of space. Taylor St uses a bespoke blend from Union Coffee Roasters. You have to try it!
Our next stop was Present on Shoreditch High Street where we ogled the stunning Victoria Arduino lever machine, expertly operated by Mattias Björklund, the current Swedish Barista Champion, and enjoyed a finely crafted Cortado.
I waved goodbye to Brian at the top end of Brick Lane and made my way to Nude Espresso, for a bite to eat and to try their new East blend, being formally launched to their clients. This was my first visit to Nude and I was surprised at how big the cafe was, bucking the trend of ‘micro-cafes’ that we have come to know and love. With plenty of seating, ranging from 2 person spots to communal tables and wi-fi, there is a space to suit everyone here.
There were a number of well known industry figures in attendance and I got the opportunity to meet Instaurator, the author of Espresso Quest as well as Jeremy from Union Coffee Roasters, whose blend I had enjoyed earlier at Taylor St Baristas.
My final coffees of the day were a Piccolo and and Espresso before heading into Covent Garden to meet a friend for dinner.
I can thoroughly recommend a walk in the East End and will be sure to return the these cafes in the very near future.
Surrounded by coffee porn…
Yesterday I paid Paul at CoffeeHit a visit at his new premises in Brockley.
The showroom was larger than I expected and it was great to see so many products and parts in one place.
Most of us are familiar with coffee suppliers websites, with nice images of the products, but many of us never imagine the scale of the operation behind the scenes.
Having the ability to touch and feel new parts and products that are often upgrades from the standard offering is an important part of the buying process. Throw in the knowledge and passion of the retailer and you have a winning combination.
I was in awe of the (at least) 3 dozen teflon coated portafilters laid out nicely on the newly fitted workspace and although my credit card was twitching in my pocket it remained under control (for the time being…)
Teflon Coated Portafilter available to purchase from CoffeeHit
It’s not often you get to explore the beauty of the high end domestic use Vibiemme espresso machines, but I was shown not one, but 2 fine specimens that are available for purchase (more twitchiness from aforementioned credit card…), as well as items from the Cafelat range.
Whilst CoffeeHit are not the only online supplier to the UK cafe industry, they maintain a highly visible presence, often sponsoring barista events such as UBF and have a Twitter account with regular tweets and contributions.
Visit the CoffeeHit website to browse and buy at extremely keen prices. Check out the continually changing web specials page too.
An opportunity missed
Whilst out shopping today (loitering around the coffee machines section of a major department store, checking out new features and familiarising myself with new domestic models on the market) I watched a transaction take place for the sale of a brand new Gaggia Classic.
The elimination process of which machine to buy had begun before I entered the store and the first words I heard were “If you won’t be too stressed trying to learn how to make coffees with this machine then I will buy it for you”.
As the transaction was taking place in a store where I do not have a commercial deal I did not feel it was right to offer my services, but this has bugged me all the way home.
The proud new owner of a brand new Gaggia Classic machine, who appears to have used a pod machine before and has seen people in his local cafe use a coffee machine, is expecting ‘cafe quality’ results from a machine that he is unfamiliar with, and some of the fundamental items bundled are not fit for purpose (to achieve making a coffee to his expectations).
At the tills the question was raised “If I am unable to make good coffee with this machine can I bring it back for a refund?”
Sadly the answer was yes, with an administration fee attached (presumably for claiming this is now an ex-demo machine?)
I have started to research the commercial managers’ details for the store in question to see if there is an opportunity for me to assist their clients in learning how to use their new machine.
Surely there must be instances like the above taking place across the country on a daily basis.
If the machine ends up back on the shop floor then there is a cost element to the business, but also an opportunity (and a liability) to re-sell the machine.
However, referrals of new clients, who book a training session in their own home, leads to a referral payment to the store and a much decreased likelihood of seeing the same machine again.
More money for the store, less paperwork to deal with and the chance of getting the clients custom for updgraded parts / accessories has to be the preferred option. Lets hope Monday’s discussion goes well.
If you know of a store that sells home coffee machines that could benefit from an alliance with 5M Coffee then please drop me an email. You will be rewarded for your efforts
Introducing people to new coffee and brewing methods
This weekend I went fly fishing with the members of a UK fly fishing forum. We camped overnight at a fishery in Leicestershire and spent 2 days trying to outwit the residents of the lake (Rainbow Trout).
My boat partner on each day both had an interest in coffee so I purchased a number of coffees from different roasters and brought them along to try and for them to take home afterwards.
In addition to these I had been enjoying a Cascara from Square Mile Coffee Roasters and for ease of brewing brought this along with me, knowing that 100% of the people I was camping with would not have tried this before and could benefit from a caffeine boost in the morning after a heavy night on ‘alternative beverages’ the night before.
As we were camping we had an abundance of heating devices, ranging from gas burners and hobs to Kelly Kettles (also known as Volcano Kettles – which are rapid boiling kettles using fire through the main cylinder and the water contained in an outer shell), so hot water was not going to be a problem.
I bought along my Bodum Assam Teapot which is great for brewing loose leaf tea. This had sufficient room for the dried coffee cherries to expand and rehydrate and holds enough water for at least 2 cups.
The Cascara was a hit and no-one could believe the range of flavours in the cup. Many had no idea how coffee was produced so a number of people were educated in the process.
The smell of the whole bean coffee that I had bought as gifts for my boat partners filled the car and was a talking point as many had not experienced the smell before, knowing coffee only through their instant coffee fix every day.
The look on peoples faces when they smelled both the roasted coffee and Cascara and the debate that followed about the aroma and taste was encouraging.
I can’t wait until next year when I will bring along a hand grinder, aeropress and a moka pot and give some people their first experience of coffee that is not from a jar.
Sadly the coffee didn’t help us catch any more fish than we usually would…
