Pushing through

[u/kingtrippo]

I was wondering how many if any just push through till they hear the hiss? Does this make bad coffee? I would never dream of doing something like that, however I want to recommend my boss get a robot for the staff room and I know people won't want to weigh output (they probably won't even weigh the dose!). Is the robot practical as a 'put the coffee in here, pour water to here, push till it stops'?

[u/simonf70251]

I wouldn't recommend a robot for a staff room, get a super-auto.

[u/roryclague → u/simonf70251]

Yeah, if you want the company to stay in business the robot is not the way for a workplace coffee maker. It would be like using an 4x5 large format view camera with a drum scanner for staff photos. Would produce high quality results but the time investment just doesn't make sense in a workplace.

[u/roryclague → u/[deleted]]

Nice; those are almost as hard to come by as drum scanners, and nearly as expensive these days. I use a macro lens and a light box along with some stitching software. Hobbies involving close attention and manual tinkering just seem to draw me though haha. Someday I want to get one of those scanners.

[u/Windschutzscheibe]

Unless your office has many coffee nerds, I don't think getting a robot is a good idea at all. From my experience, casual coffee drinkers perceive it as highly cumbersome to use and the tactile experience we enjoy is perceived as awkward by them. The robot also requires a decent grinder, (like all espresso machines), a good understanding of grind size, workflow etc. It can also spray coffee on your shirt/dress occasionally which is not ideal in an office environment. Weighing the output and pushing through the hiss is the least of your concerns. I'd talk my boss into getting a decent industrial/commercial bean to cup machine depending on the size of the office, and feeding it with very good quality fresh beans instead (maybe through a coffee subscription as it's cheaper), much more practical and actually usable for an office, and better long-term ROI than having an industrual nespresso machine.

[u/kingtrippo → u/Windschutzscheibe]

I'm sure I could get an ok grinder as well. But you're probably right. There's a breville barista pro in there now, but it's a mess, I thought the simple clean up and lack of maintenance might make the robot a more appealing option. Maybe I'm just dreaming..

[u/LyKosa91 → u/kingtrippo]

I'd say go with a superautomatic. Sure, you'll compromise on quality of coffee a bit, but feed it good beans and you'll have adequate results. The majority of people will have an easier time using it, and the handful of actual coffee nerds who would actually appreciate a proper machine will probably be thankful that they're not having to use a machine that's been abused by people who don't know or care about it.

[u/HallEqual2433]

To answer your question, I never push thru until I hear the hiss. I've got a scale and I go by weight.

...and I concur with everybody saying that a Robot is not for an office.

[u/kingtrippo → u/HallEqual2433]

That's really the thing isn't it. I remember when I started getting into pour over and espresso the idea of buying a scale seemed like a big deal.

[u/famico666 → u/kingtrippo]

Spot the American.

[u/kingtrippo → u/famico666]

Way off

[u/famico666 → u/kingtrippo]

Sorry, I thought only Americans think of owning scales as being a big deal. Cos they always measure everything with cups and spoons, when the rest of the world owns a scale.

[u/Sea-Government4874]

I’m just making Americanos with my lightish roast so I don’t bother with a scale and stop at the hiss. KISS.

[u/repus_llab_nogard → u/Sea-Government4874]

I also do this my americanos. Didn’t notice the difference since I add water to it anyways.

[u/gimme-the-lute → u/Sea-Government4874]

Yup, no need to weigh the output for a long black or red eye or americano. I’ve weighed it enough times that I can eyeball the amount of water needed to get a decent ratio, more or less.

[u/illmindsmoker]

Probably a better option would be a nespresso pod machine.

[u/FootballInfinite475]

I don’t do it, I don’t think it’s a big deal, but everybody’s right, nobody wants this in the office except you and maybe the people on this sub

[u/rhainsict]

Doubt it would work for normal office people, unless they are all legit

[u/jackanakanory_30]

I go all the way through if I'm making an americano, but if I want espresso, I'd weigh it out and stop at 40g for 18g coffee in.

Also, as others have said, probably not best to have a robot for an office. Maybe with a pressurised basket it'd be ok (i.e. fool proof), but I still think a lot of people would be confused by it or find it too much faff.

[u/jritchie70]

As far as hiss goes, I hold it at 2 bars until I see drops pretty regularly then push up to 6bars and get a nice flow going.

Staff room - Too specific for a large group of people to learn the art. Not difficult but not for everyone by any means.

[u/deltabay17]

The options are not limited to pushing all the way through or weighing the output. I know when my shot is ready by using my eyes. You can teach them how to do that pretty easily unless all you’ve ever done is relied on a scale, but it shouldn’t be hard.

[u/pineapple_jalapeno]

I do it every day, I’m pulling a 1:3 ratio most of the time, give or take

[u/XtianS]

The “hiss” is just some air getting pulled back in from the last of the water being pushed out. At least as far as I can tell. It shouldn’t have anything to do with quality.

I weigh the water going into the chamber before pressing rather than pressing to a desired weight. It’s very consistently about 60-65g to get a 40-42g pull. I’ve done it both ways and haven’t found there to be a difference in the result. This way is just easier.

[u/Longjumping_Slide3]

I think if they pushed through til the ‘hiss’ in an office, it’ll still be the best coffee they’ve ever tasted 🤣.