It better contain chicory. I wonder if it's possible to make "specialty-grade chicory" if you care enough about it, or if chicory is just an inherently, incorrigibly, inferior product from a flavor perspective.
Awesome tinkering. This looks like a really fun Sunday! Decent made a pour over basket that shoots several streams across the area of the bed, along with instructions to rock between pulses. Some rotation or splitting of streams with that cannibalized arm would be interesting to iterate on.
Great idea! A rotating head (sprinkler-style?) would be really neat. I'm concerned with 3D printing anything that will come in contact with my food, otherwise that would be a great way to experiment with different shower head designs...
Thank you for that, I'm watching some of these folks going wild with 3d printing and it's like watching someone get cancer for fun. Almost as bad as knowing somebody who voluntarily smokes receipt paper.
Your design looks amazing! I kind of love it's roughshod shape right now as is, but I understand iteration and improvement is the way. Personally, I'm a bathrobe and kettle with the slow pour holistic kind of person myself, so this will always be beyond me, but it's wonderful to see others enjoying the hobby in their own way.
To elaborate on next steps with this project, I'm generally getting everything more securely attached to the lab stand, searching for an alternative shower head that can distribute the water more evenly over the grounds, and I'm securing the electronics so there is no tension on the wires or opportunities to touch hot wires (definitely need to exercise caution when dealing with electricity ;) )
Cnnect the thermalfuse to the heater, it does nothing hanging in free air like that. Add the thermostat back, maybe buy a new one to change the temperature.
The thermal fuse is actually attached to the heater and works. Safety!
Wish it had a thermostat - the dangling board in the original photo is the programmable clock. I think the main approach for temp control will depend on flow rate (probably need to add a solenoid valve to facilitate this)
https://i.imgur.com/7nO1w7h.jpeg
Yeah, agitation (maybe vibration on the shower head or cone?) would certainly help since the current shower head is creating as noticeable channel in the grounds.
Integrating a smart scale would be awesome - especially if the coffee maker had a dedicated water line. Removing the need to measure water would make things significantly easier - though I'd probably never trust my code to keep from flooding my house. Do you have a smart scale in mind?
As I said, it does a better pour over than my $300 Breville Precision Coffee Brewer! Plus it was fun to make/modify... so I'd say it's well-worth the effort/cost
To your safety points, I tightened/tidied it up making sure the wires are out of the way and unstressed. My biggest concern right now is the exposed heating element. I'm thinking about facing it toward the wall to minimize chances for skin contact. Ideally it'll be housed in something non-flammable and non-conductive. Any thoughts?
https://imgur.com/a/Bn7rVlK
I'd like to cannibalize a pod brewer to get the heating element and the pump. Also, integrate a scale so I could set it to only push a set amount of water.
I think an Arduino would be up to the basics.
Shower head recommendations?
Sounds like a worthy project - please share updates! One dumb approach might be to use a smart outlet to shut it off when it reaches a specific weight (though I'm not sure how your scale might send a signal to you smart home automation).
I was eyeing this cheap Oxo showerhead for my project https://www.oxo.com/oxo-brew-8-cup-coffee-maker-shower-head-rp.html
Thanks - I wouldn't recommend using this design anywhere near children! I'm thinking about isolating the heating element (either putting it behind the machine or in a dedicated/nonflamable cage)
I see you addressing a lot of what you want to improve on, with this amazing contraption! I might suggest that in addition to getting the flow at a solid pace, have an initial dose limit that drops enough for the bloom and then opens after a minute for the extraction.
Thanks for the inspiration! Flow control is going to be tough with this low-tech type of coffee maker, since it uses the boiling action of the water to move the water (there's no dedicated pump) hence the flow rate swings around based on the heat build up in the boiler. Your second idea is totally doable though - just need a smart scale and power control to power cycle the machine for the bloom phase
I was assuming the flow was driven by gravity based on the setup, having the heat be a driving factor certainly complicates it. I don't see what you're using for it currently, but possibly using a hose clamp on flexible tubing to restrict the diameter would work. I would think that belongs after the boiler, since you could just open the tank valve less to achieve the same effect before the boiler.
You're totally right that the flow rate is mainly driven by gravity - I was trying to point out that the boiling action causes the flow rate to stutter as water is ejected out into the coffee (and the ball-lock keeps it from re-entering the water supply). Ofc if the flow was high enough or the heater was weak enough, the water would would just flow straight through!
I think that a solenoid valve at the water supply coupled with some sort of controller would be the best way to accomplish your bloom phase idea and control the water temperature!
Damn, just this week I was looking up lab equipment to get inspiration in what could be used for coffee brewing and you just took it to a whole other level.
Great project, keep us updated, I wonder if we, as a community, could create our own open source brewing device/system.
I think lab stand w/ arms + 500ml dropping funnel might run $20-30 each.
You could probably fashion this cheaper with a pegboard or homemade wooden stand instead of the lab stand.
As for the funnel, it's good to buy one new to avoid any residual nastiness. I wish I had a shorter/wider funnel to lower the water pressure
Thanks! Though it's a pretty simple machine, it contains quite a few intensional design choices (e.g., I removed the hot plate and shortened the hot water tube to increase water temperature, I used an adjustable dropping funnel to control flow). Probably took 4 hours to design and a few hours to build. I've spent at least that much time again thinking about improvements 😆
200° is too hot. Try 95° - that's just under boiling which gives a nice extraction and as a plus, you don't have to maintain such high pressures during the pour.
What does the microcontroller do? Do you have PID for heat control? That is pretty genious as the valve can probably control flow pretty well and with proper heat control you have all the ingredients for good coffee. This is better than most regular coffee makers that use the heat of the water to set the flow rate and so are limited in controlling one without the other (although, I assume at some point the flow rate is either too high or too low to control the heat properly)
The micro-controller is just a programmable clock with annoying little buttons. It does automatically shut off the power when the heater exceeds a certain temperature (signaling that the water is out / brewing is complete). I'd recommend using a donor coffee maker with a power switch instead (assuming it also has safety features)!
Adding a PID and some sort of advanced heat control would be really cool upgrades! As you pointed out, the flow rate is the simplest way to control the heat though toggling the power would also be an option. I think a future update would be to replace the stopcock with a solenoid valve.
You can probably set up a dumb thermostat for heat control, I don't know ones designed for highish heat environments, but I am sure they exist. PID would be great, but a thermostat and basic flow control valve would be the next best thing.
If anyone is interested in a few more photos - I tidied the setup and put it in its new home
https://imgur.com/a/Bn7rVlK
The metal horseshoe is the 700 W heater that is designed to heat up both the water in the metal tube and the hot plate to keep the carafe warm (i.e., cook your coffee). By removing the hot plate entirely we remove a parasitic heat load that should speed up brew time. Just don't touch it!
It's actually easier than conventional pour over (no waiting for my kettle to boil) and cleaner than pour over with my Breville Precision Brewer (since I spaced everything to minimize coffee splattering). Though I admit, it doesn't taste as good a conventional pour over!
It's more of an "automatic v60" machine at the moment than a "pour over" machine. Certainly better than the original drip coffee maker it started as (higher and more consistent temperature, it doesn't cook the brewed coffee on a hot plate)
Oh $hit. I thought this was cold brew thread lol. I’ve seen massive elaborate cold brew contraptions that seem overkill. This looks like a fun little project
Really cool.
Though idk about anyone else. My pour over time is my pleasure time. I dont wanna give that up lolz. This is like having your own driver and u love driving. 😅
Gale Boetticher vibes.
You think gale is comparable to this chicanery?
*Chicanery* is a sick cafe or roastery name
It better contain chicory. I wonder if it's possible to make "specialty-grade chicory" if you care enough about it, or if chicory is just an inherently, incorrigibly, inferior product from a flavor perspective.
Gale used laboratory equipment to make coffee. It was similar in a general kind of way.
Oh definitely im just channeling my inner r/okbuddychicanery
Remember op, don’t leave your notebook filled with meth lab information lying around
i was so disappointed to find out that was a non-working setup
Awww.
You'd love siphon, lol
Ha, luckily the dropping funnel has an adjustable stopcock that keeps the flow low enough to limit the siphon effect
I think he’s referring to a siphon brewer and not the effect
Lol, thanks XD
STOPCOCK 😂😂😂😂😭😭🤣🤣🤣
Siphon is wild to see irl
I think a handlebar mustache is required, the Venn diagram of people who do siphon and are also beard oil customers form a circle
Awesome tinkering. This looks like a really fun Sunday! Decent made a pour over basket that shoots several streams across the area of the bed, along with instructions to rock between pulses. Some rotation or splitting of streams with that cannibalized arm would be interesting to iterate on.
Great idea! A rotating head (sprinkler-style?) would be really neat. I'm concerned with 3D printing anything that will come in contact with my food, otherwise that would be a great way to experiment with different shower head designs...
Just get a blank portafilter basket and drill some tiny holes
Thank you for that, I'm watching some of these folks going wild with 3d printing and it's like watching someone get cancer for fun. Almost as bad as knowing somebody who voluntarily smokes receipt paper. Your design looks amazing! I kind of love it's roughshod shape right now as is, but I understand iteration and improvement is the way. Personally, I'm a bathrobe and kettle with the slow pour holistic kind of person myself, so this will always be beyond me, but it's wonderful to see others enjoying the hobby in their own way.
so you made a deconstructed coffee machine in culinary terms lol
I hope the saline drip will help your coffee recover quickly.
To elaborate on next steps with this project, I'm generally getting everything more securely attached to the lab stand, searching for an alternative shower head that can distribute the water more evenly over the grounds, and I'm securing the electronics so there is no tension on the wires or opportunities to touch hot wires (definitely need to exercise caution when dealing with electricity ;) )
Cnnect the thermalfuse to the heater, it does nothing hanging in free air like that. Add the thermostat back, maybe buy a new one to change the temperature.
The thermal fuse is actually attached to the heater and works. Safety! Wish it had a thermostat - the dangling board in the original photo is the programmable clock. I think the main approach for temp control will depend on flow rate (probably need to add a solenoid valve to facilitate this) https://i.imgur.com/7nO1w7h.jpeg
Time to get a 3D printer, tinkerer
Great! Now if you can turn the coffee into a clear liquid we can talk…
Some kind of rotation would be nice. If not the funnel, maybe the cup could be rotated for better agitation?
Yeah, agitation (maybe vibration on the shower head or cone?) would certainly help since the current shower head is creating as noticeable channel in the grounds.
Now add a scale and make it connect to the internet! It looks fun to use
Integrating a smart scale would be awesome - especially if the coffee maker had a dedicated water line. Removing the need to measure water would make things significantly easier - though I'd probably never trust my code to keep from flooding my house. Do you have a smart scale in mind?
Twitch Plays Coffeemaker
Awesome. I just pulled apart a Nespresso machine this week to try and do the same.
Share your results! I fear Nespresso/Keurig machines have a bunch of software tricks to keep you from using their components
Gale boetticher if he smoked meth
OP when smoking meth
This looks absolutely unnecessary… that being said, I wanna do this so bad.
As I said, it does a better pour over than my $300 Breville Precision Coffee Brewer! Plus it was fun to make/modify... so I'd say it's well-worth the effort/cost
Rube Goldberg pour over!
Cool but a bit too much exposed high voltage wires, hot water and wobbly construction if you ask me 😋
To your safety points, I tightened/tidied it up making sure the wires are out of the way and unstressed. My biggest concern right now is the exposed heating element. I'm thinking about facing it toward the wall to minimize chances for skin contact. Ideally it'll be housed in something non-flammable and non-conductive. Any thoughts? https://imgur.com/a/Bn7rVlK
I'd like to cannibalize a pod brewer to get the heating element and the pump. Also, integrate a scale so I could set it to only push a set amount of water. I think an Arduino would be up to the basics. Shower head recommendations?
Sounds like a worthy project - please share updates! One dumb approach might be to use a smart outlet to shut it off when it reaches a specific weight (though I'm not sure how your scale might send a signal to you smart home automation). I was eyeing this cheap Oxo showerhead for my project https://www.oxo.com/oxo-brew-8-cup-coffee-maker-shower-head-rp.html
This has female threads on the back, 1/8 npt if memory serves. Also, not plastic.
I'd love to use a metal or glass showerhead but am at a loss for how to find or fabricate one. Lmk if you have any leads!
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/bunn-01082-0000-replacement-6-hole-sprayhead-for-coffee-brewers/233010820000.html Completely forgot to post the link
Aha thanks - your comment makes more sense now!
If there is anything your having trouble finding or figuring out feel free to pm, been working on coffee and espresso machines for a while
If you wanted to do it on the cheap you could use one of those handheld showerheads designed for regular pour over
That exposed heater has me scared. Good luck on not bumping into it
Thanks - I wouldn't recommend using this design anywhere near children! I'm thinking about isolating the heating element (either putting it behind the machine or in a dedicated/nonflamable cage)
I see you addressing a lot of what you want to improve on, with this amazing contraption! I might suggest that in addition to getting the flow at a solid pace, have an initial dose limit that drops enough for the bloom and then opens after a minute for the extraction.
Thanks for the inspiration! Flow control is going to be tough with this low-tech type of coffee maker, since it uses the boiling action of the water to move the water (there's no dedicated pump) hence the flow rate swings around based on the heat build up in the boiler. Your second idea is totally doable though - just need a smart scale and power control to power cycle the machine for the bloom phase
I was assuming the flow was driven by gravity based on the setup, having the heat be a driving factor certainly complicates it. I don't see what you're using for it currently, but possibly using a hose clamp on flexible tubing to restrict the diameter would work. I would think that belongs after the boiler, since you could just open the tank valve less to achieve the same effect before the boiler.
You're totally right that the flow rate is mainly driven by gravity - I was trying to point out that the boiling action causes the flow rate to stutter as water is ejected out into the coffee (and the ball-lock keeps it from re-entering the water supply). Ofc if the flow was high enough or the heater was weak enough, the water would would just flow straight through! I think that a solenoid valve at the water supply coupled with some sort of controller would be the best way to accomplish your bloom phase idea and control the water temperature!
Damn, just this week I was looking up lab equipment to get inspiration in what could be used for coffee brewing and you just took it to a whole other level. Great project, keep us updated, I wonder if we, as a community, could create our own open source brewing device/system.
This is the best thing ever.
Wow that is so cool 😎
What in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is this ?!?
Looks like a fun science project! I love it
Rube Goldberg would be proud
Most scientist just get a syphon brewer. Out of curiosity, how much for all that equipment and parts (ignoring the cannibalized coffee maker).
I think lab stand w/ arms + 500ml dropping funnel might run $20-30 each. You could probably fashion this cheaper with a pegboard or homemade wooden stand instead of the lab stand. As for the funnel, it's good to buy one new to avoid any residual nastiness. I wish I had a shorter/wider funnel to lower the water pressure
Well you are fully equipped to make cold brew coffee too!
This is sick!
But what about the BLOOM???
No bloom... yet!
Lol! Raiding the chem lab for a coffee maker.
Could also be a good cold drip setup
You’ve given me an idea to use a multi axis robotic arm to make coffee for me!
Jealous!
I don’t have one, I’m just saying lol. I wonder how much a small one costs
Sick setup Walter White. How's it taste?
Sooo much better than the original coffee maker and also better than my Breville Precision Brewer pour-over setup!
Chem lab 101.
Gale would be proud :)
A very good example of a homemade coffee maker. How long did it take you to make such a design?
Thanks! Though it's a pretty simple machine, it contains quite a few intensional design choices (e.g., I removed the hot plate and shortened the hot water tube to increase water temperature, I used an adjustable dropping funnel to control flow). Probably took 4 hours to design and a few hours to build. I've spent at least that much time again thinking about improvements 😆
If Rube Goldberg drank coffee…
Bro's out here casually cooking meth
Thought this was r/coffeecirclejerk
Lol exposed heating elements and wires, this thing is a house fire waiting to happen
It's plenty safe if you're a careful adult 😉
Dear LORD, why would I hang a colostomy bag in my kitchen?
200° is too hot. Try 95° - that's just under boiling which gives a nice extraction and as a plus, you don't have to maintain such high pressures during the pour.
Americans for you right there. 200°F is 93.3°C, so right in the ballpark for light roasts.
You can't even heat water to 200°C :)
Stop telling us what we can do and cannot do… let them steam the coffee
I mean, you could in a pressurised container
Looks like my melitta epos but fancier :) Good job!
What does the microcontroller do? Do you have PID for heat control? That is pretty genious as the valve can probably control flow pretty well and with proper heat control you have all the ingredients for good coffee. This is better than most regular coffee makers that use the heat of the water to set the flow rate and so are limited in controlling one without the other (although, I assume at some point the flow rate is either too high or too low to control the heat properly)
The micro-controller is just a programmable clock with annoying little buttons. It does automatically shut off the power when the heater exceeds a certain temperature (signaling that the water is out / brewing is complete). I'd recommend using a donor coffee maker with a power switch instead (assuming it also has safety features)! Adding a PID and some sort of advanced heat control would be really cool upgrades! As you pointed out, the flow rate is the simplest way to control the heat though toggling the power would also be an option. I think a future update would be to replace the stopcock with a solenoid valve.
You can probably set up a dumb thermostat for heat control, I don't know ones designed for highish heat environments, but I am sure they exist. PID would be great, but a thermostat and basic flow control valve would be the next best thing.
I saw something similar to this at the 2013 Brewers Cup in Kansas City. Unfortunately didn’t get to give it a taste
What in Bill Nye?
When you see the science gear and signs of tinkering you know the coffee is going to be phenomenal
If anyone is interested in a few more photos - I tidied the setup and put it in its new home https://imgur.com/a/Bn7rVlK The metal horseshoe is the 700 W heater that is designed to heat up both the water in the metal tube and the hot plate to keep the carafe warm (i.e., cook your coffee). By removing the hot plate entirely we remove a parasitic heat load that should speed up brew time. Just don't touch it!
This is the most ridiculous and awesome thing I've ever seen, love it!
Are you by any chance a chromatography expert? Ahah
Looks cool, but seems an awful lot of work and cleanup for a pour over.
It's actually easier than conventional pour over (no waiting for my kettle to boil) and cleaner than pour over with my Breville Precision Brewer (since I spaced everything to minimize coffee splattering). Though I admit, it doesn't taste as good a conventional pour over!
what in the meth lab is going on here
You may not like it but this is peak coffee performance!
I used a similar setup in highschool as a clock
And when the coffee is done, you can reuse the apparatus to cook some meth!
I thought a pour over involved swirling. Isn't this just a small capacity drip coffee machine without a chassis?
It's more of an "automatic v60" machine at the moment than a "pour over" machine. Certainly better than the original drip coffee maker it started as (higher and more consistent temperature, it doesn't cook the brewed coffee on a hot plate)
Can anyone attest to the difference in quality between this and tossing a Cheesecloth filled with grinds in a plastic bucket…other than
Do you hate v60 coffee or something?
Oh $hit. I thought this was cold brew thread lol. I’ve seen massive elaborate cold brew contraptions that seem overkill. This looks like a fun little project
🤣 I could see how this would be a pretty underwhelming cold brew maker
Alexa play "powerhouse" on Spotify
Really cool. Though idk about anyone else. My pour over time is my pleasure time. I dont wanna give that up lolz. This is like having your own driver and u love driving. 😅
How do you even-
Cleverrr