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
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Comments
Thanks Youri
The reason I added the basket size to the Cons was mainly due to personal preference (I have 58mm tampers, replacement baskets etc) and am still working on my 53mm extraction methods and tamping pressures (thicker puck issues). I will also need to buy a 53mm tamper (something that has been on my wish-list for sometime)
If I had owned La Pavoni or worked on La Spaziale machines then the 53mm basket size would not be an issue.
However, the size of the basket in this instance is probably right for the pressure capabilities of the mypressi TWIST™. Anything larger than a 53mm basket will require a redesign to the water chamber and N20 charger size (perhaps moving to 16g chargers vs the 8g chargers that are used)
It’s hard to find fault with the machine and I have already improved on the initial shots pulled after only a few days.
Thank you for the great review. Yes, you are correct that 58mm wouldn’t have worked. We did shoot for it initially but that small addition in diameter has a large impact on the management of the forces in the device. It would have been a lot larger and heavier, and incapable of pulling 4 shots from the same size cartridge.
Hi
I just bought one and I got great results using the pressurized basket not the regular one because the filtration on the regular basket was bad. It was like a French press with visible coffee particles and it produced a much better crema. what do you think?
Hi,
Nice review. Just wondered why you think a 53mm is a con? Any specific reasons for this?
Thanks,
Youri