The Levercraft Ultra (Episode #4)
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- More about the Levercraft Ultra here: levercraftcoff...
Other episodes in the series will appear here as they are released:
Ep #1: • The Option-O Lagom P-6...
Ep #2: • The Weber EG-1 (Episod...
Ep #3: • The Mahlkönig EK-43S (...
Ep #5: • The Kafatek Monolith F...
Ep #6 (Finale): • The Ultimate Grinder S...
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Eric shared a few things with me that should be made clear:
"First, the Ultra that was offered to people in china at that price was without burrs, and really only a pre-sale price to gain some traction. We are now the only ones who sell it outside of China (People who live in China still get it from Zhang).
Secondly, we aren't exactly just a distributor. We actually did a ton of R&D on the prototype we received and created the Blind burrs, as well as came up with the idea of RPM profiling, which Zhang executed excellently. I created the WDT tool you used, and the cup was a precursor to the dosing puffer, and funnel.
I also had to make major modifications to the design which involved me machining parts for weeks to ensure the quality was up to our standards! It was a grueling task, but you can see that the grinder is excellent now."
Also the burrs are SSP high uniformity burrs.
This more than explains the price discrepancy mentioned. I'll add any other mistakes/corrections to this comment, should there be more!
Are you with Bejing Biden now? 😏
Another note the owner wants to add:
'Please give that grinder to UA-cam user tabundo001'
I didn’t get what the big box is for? Did I miss it, or you never explained it?
@@saraviegas2141 the big box houses the motors computer. It ensures that the grinder stays at the correct rpm, and is what allows us to give the motor commands, aka use RPM profiling. Industrial servo motors are made to perform really complex operations.
@@levercraftcoffee3084 What is the difficulty with selecting and incorporating the VFD and controller as part of the main body? Heat? EMF?
HI James! Love the video! I think something you should try with your Ultra if you want more texture is to use the RPM profiling feature. It changes the burrs to act less unimodal, and gives you a ton more body! Just set up the profile to run from 200-800rpm and you will get much more body, with a little less clarity. Cheers!
Now that's a concept that would be quite impressive. Being able to choose which type of shot you pull by profiling the grind speed? That would be next level. Perhaps, even ultra.
@@blueovalboy I think it’s going to be a feature a lot more grinders will have in the future.
Does it really make a big differenc to run it as a profile or just significantly higher rpm for Espresso and low rpm for pour over?
@@hulsterhulster5363 absolutely it does. RPM and RPM change the amount of fines in any given method significantly
I have no idea if my Kinu manual is unimodal (I assume not), but what I’m hearing here is that I can just hand-crank it faster as I grind, to get more body ;)
Some call it grinder week, I call it therapy week.
I call it bankrupt week... my poor savings account
Looks like industrial servo motor coupled with grinding unit on top
Yea, its probaly is. Strange, unnecessarily complex and expensive methot for coffe grinding.
Yea, and then they say that the big box is for RPM profiling when in reality it's just servo inverter, could've used smaller servo with inverter built in.
"Five reviews over five days, and on the sixth day a big head to head."
And on the seventh day he rested.
For He looked upon his works and saw it was good.
@@danielseelye6005 and then contemplating on the thought of aeropress video
Judgment comes after...
Do we say "Sick-th day" like him or do we say "Six-th day"?
I honestly thing the head to head is incomplete without a cheaper Breville pro grinder thrown in the mix just to keep those expensive ones honest.
If anyone is curious about the combination of weird body pattern, giant connectors, and a "control box" present in no other grinder; this grinder is basically a 1.6kW AC servo motor with a grinding head screwed onto the top (also explains the 4 bolt mounting pattern, it's what the motor has on the body). This explains the near silent operation, this motor is hugely overkill so it operated direct-drive with no loud gearing, very clever coming out of China where these motors are shockingly cheap. The control box is likely just an off-the-shelf servo drive/amplifier (would love to see inside!). At any rate this is a very neat home application of industrial-grade gear.
Watching a new James Hoffman video every morning with my coffee in hand:)
Blissful morning
Now this machine I *LOVE* . I'm an engineer, and this is a good combination of all aspects. Aesthetically good, so quiet, unique design features, and does its job perfectly.
@Aaron Morrow It is a servo AC motor. The external box is the controller for the servo motor.
It starts to feel like the discussions photographers with rangefinders, people specialising in fine art prints and audiophiles have and I love every second of it.
Did you see his video on developing film with coffee? Loved it!
@@michaeldimmitt2188 Of course!
This video series shouldn't have me feeling jealous. **looks at his
8:12 - that majestic rush of coffee 😱
I watched it over and over and over - majestic 🦄
Hey Mr. James! You should also try the Bentwood Grinder! And the company send the grinder - usually - in seven days after payment! It's a grinder that uses a unique set of burrs (63mm)
Yeah, some people at the Decent Diaspora is moving to the Bentwood Grinder, looks a interesting grinder...
Agreed! I wish see a test with that grinder there are not so many reviews testing the Bentwood
This one appeals to me the most so far. The engineering is very elegant, and I cannot believe how quiet it is. I feel like if you can put the grinder on top of the power box, it's still smaller than the other grinders, and if your kitchen accommodates putting the power box elsewhere then you really get a nice compact countertop setup.
Congratulations on hitting 700k subscribers James! You deserve this milestone so much!
I'm really looking forward to see how all of these grinders compare and contrast in the showdown. they all seem to have something that would make workflow unique and intresting
Congratulations on 700,000 subscribers!
it just servo motor attached to burr and that's why the motor is so quiet.
the heatsink on the grinder is heatsink for the motor.
that big black box one is amplifier or the controller for the motor.
and the small box is just display, switch and dial button for speed of the motor.
im seeing this from the perspective of electrical engineer.
I honestly didn't think I would find a simple coffee grinder series interesting, but I really do. I love these videos. Please do more like this in future. Perhaps a comparison between the espresso machines that would pair well this these grinders in the home kitchen.
"to help to decide which one you might aspire to own" - knowing damn well I'll never be able to afford any of these.
The current price for Ultra in China is about 1900 USD and the quantity is extremly limited, the 1100 USD is the start-up price when several years ago the prototype hasn't been made.
I would like to have seen the Ceado E37Z-Hero in the mix in this Grinder Showdown
On the 4th day of grinder week James Hoffman gave to meee
Thank you James for including closed captioning in the video - it's really nice to have that for the hearing impaired coffee nuts that watch your videos. Cheers!
As a industrial robot service technician I recognized that motor right away. It’s the same motors used to drive robot arms. Looks very similar to what’s used on a yaskawa(motoman) robots. I suspect the big box is the servo amplifier electronics and the little box is for the encoder.
Thank you James for providing these unbiased grinder reviews and I look forward to the showdown. I am hoping that you will be able to provide a similar review platform covering grinders that handle coarser grind brew methods (French Press, Hario Kasuya V60, etc). I currently run a Baratza Virtuoso + for these methods and am curious about what is out there with a price point going up to $1000 max.
For a disruptive tech to become adopted by a large crowd, it needs a creative audience to start it of. This grinder looks like a playful (but excellently engineered) piece of tech to get creative with. I'll swap my EK43 with this one any day!
It looks like the electronic projects that I used to build as a kid using off-the-shelf aluminum cases and slotted pan-head screws.
It looks literally like someone took a stepper motor used in CNC machines for moving the axis and turned it into coffe grinder. This is the ultimate grinder for all enginneers :D
Wow! A grinder I haven't heard about! If I hadn't just gotten my Niche, this would've been at the top of my list.
I've gotta say someone is putting engineering before marketing with this one and it shows both in price and design. Love the passive cooling for the motor and external power supply.
This looks like a grinder set on an industry servo. Explains the control box and the radiator fins as well. Just look at some of the machining videos on youtube (e.g. ThisOldTony). If true this thing can do a lot more than currently advertised/available to the user.
Loving this design and thank you for the in depth review
I have no intention of buying one of these coffee grinders. I don't even have an espresso machine.
I watch your videos because you are so passionate about coffee - oh and the British accent helps
Yes I had one of this directly from China manufacture with SSP high uniformity which I'm focus on espresso in my small coffee bar which perform well for 2 months.
The set in this video is slightly different from the version I own, maybe I had the earliest model so the rpm control is directly on the big electric box but in exchange I have an infrared remote control which I can hide the box under counter and stick my controller on the grinder body to improve the workflow and space management.
It's really quite even grinding is make really low noise compare to my other single dose like eg-1
All these grinders here (tried and had 3 out of 5) are crushed by one that is not published in the comparison, and that is the Bentwood Vertical 63. Try to taste anything from it and you will easily understand why.
Did anyone else’s jaw drop at how quick it grinds?
Kafatek coming up by the looks of it!!
A few more RGB lights and we’ll finally have The Gamer’s Coffee Grinder.
Hi, James, glad you find this gem is China. I just ordered mine back in Oct and received it before the holidays. Maybe is will ease those potential buyer's mind, It's around 1700 USD in china when I ordered it, I think the 1100 price is for early birds and there was a change in model (the older one has the control nob and start/finish build-in the electrical box). there is few things I know about this grinder. 1st, it works with other burrs eg. ssp high-uniformity/low uniformity(?), ek43, ditting k804 and etc..2nd, the fin is part of the industrial servo motor it uses in the grinder(which usually has this kind of fin for cooling). I'm not trying to defend for him, I understand people are paying a premium for it. But it's hard for a small shop to bespoke a servo motor shall for them. I have never had my ultra to direct compete with other premium grinders, so I can't wait for your upcoming videos. And I really love your works and thank you for sharing.
Where do you buy from in China ? What’s the name of the product/ company there? I have friends there that can buy and ship to me
You didn't end up explicitly explaining the other large box, but I assume it does the variable rpm thingo.
James, I've really been enjoying the grinder week review, looking forward to the Kafatek and the weekend showdown!
At this point, I’d just listen to anything James said. It’s always so.......compelling. Anything, I’ll listen.
8:13 ; that looked incredibly beautiful
I would Love to get my hands on this grinder , since its capable of grinding Turkish coffee , what a beautiful unit
it doesn't aknowledge the existance of filter coffee!!! WOW what a quote! This is the reason why i'm following you so closely! if you want to make a book of james hoffman quotes, please put this one in! thanks man!
The box is necessary as this grinder is basically an upright DC motor with burr set strapped on top (industrial DC motors have their electronics housed separately for obvious reasons) . Quite clever and typical for a Chinese product, taking standard parts to push the price down yielding higher profit margins.
Watching James Hoffmann I feel a little bit like we're all spoiled children, just fussing and complaining about all these little details and not being grateful for the amazing videos he always put together... but that's our job... and we revel in it!
I've got a set in China!
1. About price. That price you said in the video is the early bird price set, and burr price is not included. I buy it at a much higher price but still affordable(it changes, I'm not sure about the price right now).
2. It is for filter. A V60-01 can sit perfectly on the portafilter folk and also I have a perfect-fit dosing cup. I use my set mainly for filter.
3. My set is almost the same as the set in your video, but Eric's set seems better aligned overall.
4. The motor. It is too quiet, and I've left it open for many times. Under this circumstance, the RPM profile helps because it will stop the grinder automatically.
It looks the most "industrial" grinder so far with 3 black boxes and not many curves in sight yet it is not for commercial use. Has the air of a device made by Doc Brown in his inventor shed.
As a Texan I was hoping you would go over this one!
Would there be a downside to putting the bellows on the scale, dosing into it, placing it on the grinder, then pressing? Seems like you wouldn’t need an extra dosing cup at that point.
That’s how we do it Connor!
Hello James, Love the review. I know that price is really important and it is almost impossible that a cheap grinder is as good as one of those high-end machines.
I own a Vario and when I am reading some threads about aligning the burrs, some of the owners claim that a Vario after proper alignment, can beat grinders that are at this price range. I know that most likely it is not possible, but I still wonder how big the difference is.
I am just wondering is it possible for you to do a test about cheaper grinder comparisons? Thank you
A well unthought design.
Lets see which one off those companys will still exist in 10 years, which machines will need repears (until) then and which wont be able to be repaired since parts wont be abailable.
700K 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
The Hoffman clan grows! To 1mil we go!
700,000 coffee beans... amazing.
“...ramp up or down, at different speeds as you desire.”
Wife thought I was watching a vibrator review.
Why is the Ceado E37Z Naked/Hero Coffee Grinder not in this series?! Would have expected it to be absolute top tier and in the showdown :)
I really wanna see James try some of the black rifle coffee company's stuff I have heard good things on it just haven't taken a dive to try it
Will you also test the Mahlkoenig E65 GbW? This is definitely an interesting top-end machine for the home-barista ;)
This thing looks like it belongs in an expensive music studio
I like your vids Hoff, but some volume equalization from intro to the main video might be a nice touch.
I know it's a nice machine and all, but it has that distinctive black finish and screwed-together-metal-boxes construction style of something made in China. It looks very much like the cheap electronics I've bought off AliExpress.
hi james just wondering if u could help me out. would be better to invest in a better grinder or a better espresso machine?
These are great videos. But I wish you were talking about how long it takes them to grind coffee. You even cut away when you're grinding which is a bummer. I own a Super Jolly and enjoy its speediness compared to some of the consumer grinders I've owned in the past. I'd definitely consider grinding speed when buying one of these machines.
Looks like someone just bolted a grind chamber on top of an industrial servo motor and forgot they needed a speed controller and operator pendant.
What is the big box again? I don’t think James explain it? 🤔 He just mentioned it as a controller? But I thought the controller is the small box (to control the rpm).
This would suit me
Hey James
Can you do a tour of the square mile rostery because you made one when you just moved into the new place and then you said you were going to make another one when you are settled
Thank you
The aesthetic of this grinder is very industrial and I would not put this in my kitchen. I also think it could have been made in the USA at that price point. My Feldgrind at the $125 I payed for it on sale is looking better and better all the time.
How come my blade grinder from bed bath and beyond didn’t make the list
Unimodal burs with grind size profiling could be amazing. Have a 2nd motor that can adjust grind size automatically.
I have no idea if “grind size profiling” would actually make more delicious coffee, but I really really hope someone builds this so people fanatical enough to dedicate the time could tell us...
I'm always interested as to what coffee you're using in the black bag is!
Looks like a Red Brick bag. shop.squaremilecoffee.com/products/red-brick
How can you even justify spending that kind of money on a grinder? About $2500 out of my price point 😱
There is one sentence in this video that is more important than anything else. 10:55 - “It makes very nice coffee”... and look at the deep, genuine infatuation in James’ eyes when he said it. That’s why I’m buying one. That’s why I buy any piece of coffee gear - I want very nice coffee. I’m not buying it to Instagram my coffee corner.
This looks like a phat heatsink
James, i can't go back to week long waits for uploads after this!! How do we solve this problem 😅❤
I would love to see a testing of the mahlkönig e65s gbw and hear your opinion about it!
700k!
I wish thry had a more reasonably priced version without the rpm control.
Thought that said lovecraft
Oh my god, what's with that cheap looking metal porta filter holder? It pisses me off!
The speaking rate of this video feels rather faster than other. I wonder how many shots does James have before he start recording.
An adequate number.
It looks sort of Star Warsy, but with all the boxes and cables and fins, the daft cup, and the sort of bib-lookalike implementation of the portafilter holder, this just doesn't appeal to me at all as a package. The 98mm burrs however...
That thing is essentially a giant CPU-cooler. All the way from the 4 mountpoints at the top which are very reminiscent of the mounting points onto a motherboard, to the giant heat sink in the bottom. It does not help that it has what appears to be a giant external psu with thick cables running to it. What will it be today, sir? A cappuccino or an overclocked Ryzen 5?
The Ryzen can heat the water
@@cameronknowles6267 Naah it's too energy efficient ;)
That is sexy looking grinder
So, is the big box just a power supply?
So I think this probably has been suggested to death, but I’d really appreciate a video on low-budget coffee essentials, that don’t suck. I can’t imagine to spend anywhere near hundreds or even more than a thousand bucks (be it pounds, euros or dollars) for a simple grinder and other essentials, given that it’s buying that or eating for one or two months and paying rent.
It’s great that you are doing these giveaways, but it’d in general be helpful to actually have options, even if they aren’t perfect, rather than hearing that every “cheap” gadget or machine sucks and can’t brew decent coffee. Is there a way to use cheaper tools in a better way or are there products kn the market which are affordable, yet well-made? Love your videos, have a good day.
Already done
Didn't know I wanted a 'distribution tool'
Made my own with wine cork and some hair pins !
Is Levercraft out of business? Read some sad stories on different forums. Can't seem to get my hands on one of these, might have to send mr Zhang an email?
Differences between the models (apart from burrs) are still unclear.
Yay
My Mrs thinks I’m in love with you this week...
Music at the beginning is wayyy too loud James
Do we say "Sick-th day" like him or do we say "Six-th day"?
"But that's my job job... and I revel in it" and we like it that way ☆
With a wry smile and a bit of a glint in his eye? 😂
The look on his face was priceless! 😂
Can someone make a GIF out of that sentence?
Almost as strong as "Because I'm a fancy man"
I came looking for this comment 😂
I own a Levercraft Ultra and it's been an absolute joy so far. I use the variable RPMs to produce different grind distributions for espresso and filter coffee, and at a thousand dollars cheaper than the other 98mm burr grinders, it's an excellent value. Eric did an astonishing job transforming an otherwise okay grinder into a marvel of precision engineering, and he's been an excellent resource for taking my espresso brews to the next level.
Hi Miguel, I was wondering where could you get the cheaper version? Instead of through Levercraft?
@@albertl2452 If you read through the comments you'll see the Chinese version is now around $2k with burrs, so after shipping you wouldn't save much (of course it might be the sensible choice if you live in China).
Could you tell me what is the big black box is for? I understand the grinder itself and the control unit. But what does the big part does?
@@qdzsy Power supply
@@qdzsy I'm thinking the "motor" of the grinder is actually an A/C Servo, similar to what is used for axis control on CNC machines. If I'm correct, that would make the black box a servo amp.
“It’s quiet. Shockingly quiet. Beautifully quiet.” - my dad in quarantine, after buying his wife tons of art supplies.
What an absolute galaxy-brainer
reading between the line(s)...
she is not your mother?
I'm a 19 years old apprentice in IT, drink the coffee from my mom's "cheap" coffee-machine but I'm still watching a video series about 2000+€ grinders. You're a fascinating man, James. How you articulate your thoughts, how the videos are made. It just feels very high quality. Keep it up!
It looks like the coffee grinder Darth Vader would own.
For if you like your coffee a little on the dark side.
@@willbrophy2160 if i could like this twice i would
Lol, that’s exactly who I was thinking about when I saw the design!
I first thought it was a 3D printer or something interesting not a method of drug delivery.
I love the different grinders, but I could use a 101 lesson on what exactly the different burr types mean for the grounds. What IS the difference between conical, flat, unimodal ect to the coffee beans/grounds
Agreed.
agreed, that would be an excellent topic for a stand-alone video
agreed!
He did a video on grinder basics.
ua-cam.com/video/7QYlExoEpvA/v-deo.html this other James video goes over some basics of how burrs differ! Hopefully this should help u out a touch
"It doesn't seem to acknowledge the existence of filter coffee" - said with the utmost seriousness
Hm, I know how it feels.