Review: Aram Espresso Maker
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- Опубліковано 13 січ 2020
- For more on the Aram: www.aram.coffee/product-page/...
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Some animals can smell fear.
James can taste pressure.
Jokes aside, this is fascinating!
Tbh mostly clicked on this video to hear how James would pronounce my name if he ever greeted me irl
Your name is Aram espresso maker?
Would also like to know
@@ronaldmcjohnson5147
👦Daddy, why my sister's name Rose?
👨🏻Because your mother loves roses.
👦Thanks Daddy!
👨🏻No problem, Aram Espresso Maker
Let's be honest: Those B Rolls were amazing. It actually made me brew some coffee.
The thumbnail b roll was all it took
I made 4 cups after starting this vid hahaha
I bought one in the kickstarter. It’s still like new. It’s a tank. I had a learning curve. I dialed a lot with grind, dose etc… I pre heat it 3 times to the first coffee. From the second dose it’s ready. 21 grams of coffee to 45 grams out it’s my best receipt. I don’t use to make quick coffee. It’s part of my relaxing ritual everyday. Great machine imo.
Hey. I am considering buying one of these machines as it is very portable. I do however have one question. Isn't it a large advantage for this machine that you don't have to adjust the pressure to the puck like you have to with a pump machine? Doesn't that make grinding the beans a lot easier?
@@emillykkedeigaard5827 hi. you have more control in your extractions. but the learning curve isnt very east, at least to me. after few tries and adjustments you’ll make great coffee. but i dont use mine as a portable coffee maker. it stays at home in his base. but i really love mine.
Hey! Random question as I just bought a used one. Mine did not come with a shower screen nor a cup. I am a little worried it is not genuine. I'm curious how your looks
I love the design, the price is silly. For that price you could just get a basic home espresso machine and a cheap travel espresso machine, both of which could brew the 1970s coffee which we all want to see James.
YAS
Worth noting: despite being Brazilian, ironically someone coming from the same country WOULD NOT BUY IT, mainly because the local average wage is much lower than the American's one.
The irony of Brazilian coffee: historically one of the greatest coffee producers and even became economically dependant on it, yet there is not a single good seller of local good coffee that is easily accessible, to the point it is easier to IMPORT our own coffee, and the best products for coffee making made locally are insanely expensive and incompatible with its own country's economy. Again, it is easier to import from other manufacturers (Aeropress, for example).
@@NothingXemnas veio, não, recentemente a cultura de café no Brasil tem crescido bastante, e vc consegue facilmente achar multiplas lojas online que vendem café fresco e de qualidade( se em sua cidade não tiver), pode ser caro para nos, pelo nossos problemas socioeconomicos, porém café brasileiro no brasil ainda é mais barato do que nos EUA e afins
It's quite pretty, but it really should have two supports rather than just the one. It's fine if it's really over-built, but if not, it eventually deforms the support at the bottom where the stresses are highest, and then it can wobble.
@@NothingXemnas I was getting green un-roasted coffee from a co-op from Brazil. This last time there weren't any Brazil coffee to get. I had to go to Ethiopian. The company where I am getting my green coffee beans is called Sweet Maria. They are in California, and they get all the beans from co-ops. I do like the Brazilian coffee. Course my roaster that I had for some time just died. My second one. So I will see how I can improvise with my Nu-Wave oven to roast my beans now that I have 15 pounds of Brazil, and 10 pounds of Ethiopian.
Great video, as always! I'm from Brazil, and from the same city as the guys from Aram, so maybe I'm a little bit biased, but I do enjoy their espresso machine, and while it is expensive, I think the build quality and the fact they are a small company with mainly handcraft work, together with a great wood piece, justify the cost. Great to see a local product getting reviewed here!
The Solid Nick true, they aren’t a big company with a high buying power that can reduce their costs manufacturing thousand of pieces. They support the local market and put a lot of love and care on the hand manufacturing. Adding the fact that creat and develop a business in Brazil is really hard!
The problem is the upgrade costs from first model to this second. We helped develop and if we want to have the upgrade or update it would be another 80 to 100 bucks invested.
Spot on highlights, great review. We use ARAM commercially at our coffee shop on a daily basis for 2 years now. Regarding your comment about finding the start ot the screw's thread: take a look at the moon and the sun symbols, just align them and you should have no struggles screwing the filter. About temp control, yes, we do 3 scaldings before making the exctraction. The upside to that is that once someone at the coffee shop orders an ARAM other patrons get curious and also order their shots, so it is already warm and ready to go for a couple more extractions right at the customer's table.
That's it Franck! Great!
It seems very slow for commercial use... Would it be right to think two pulls could take 10 minutes?
@@xxskyla.violettexx the idea is to have an Aram as another espresso maker, never as your main. Maibe to offer one different coffee prepared with it.
@@RicardoMQA ah thanks for informing me
@@xxskyla.violettexx with electric grinder and shots one after another three in 6-7 mins
8:21 As Boris said "Heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work you can always hit them with it."
Boris the blade The bullet dodger ... good reference champs
Can we talk bout how the 70's brewer seems to have gained a spot on the shelf?
And the 70s coffee has gained a spot in James' version of hell.
Still waiting on some of that delicious, rancid 1970s coffee espresso James 🤔
I’m afraid you’ll be waiting a long time
@@jameshoffmann I'll ask again tomorrow.
@@jameshoffmann I shan't ever give up on this quest
@@puzzleginger I'll remind you to ask him tomorrow.
Just do it! It's only once.
I just received my Aram, i run two preheat cycles and then load up the portafilter and run a normal espresso cycle. I dose at 18gms of a light roast Panamanian coffee. I use the Comandante C40 at about 11 or 12 setting for espresso. I get lovely, sweet 36gm shots reliably and enjoy the process of “pulling” shots (screwing shots? Turning shots?). And it looks beautiful on my kitchen counter.
Nice to see a fellow Comandante owner! I've been using it with Kalita Wave 22 clicks on light roast with excellent results. Planning to get an Aeropress soon. I got the Red Sonja color, which Comandante do you have?
I love he speaks about the whole process. Not just the coffee, but the design and the experience. I think that’s a sign for a good content creator! Thank you James!
Universal way to find thread on any screw:
Put bolt (or whatever has thread) into screw hole and turn the wrong way until you hear and feel a click. You have now found the engagement point of the thread. Now you can turn the correct way without any chance of damaging the thread.
ARAM comes with a sign both in machine body and portafilter that should be aligned before turning it. It's suppose to help finding the thread.
Santiago Luz That’s a nice little feature but I’m quite certain that searching for the mark every time will be something the user will experience as obnoxious. You either have to bring up the device to eye level which isn’t something most people are willing to do. The other option is to lower your head to look at it while sitting on a counter or table. The previous applies again. If you look at people putting in a portafilter, nobody looks at the underside of the brew head. They all feel where the portafilter engages.
The main issue is that people don’t have the same basic technical knowledge as we used to have. In the old days most people knew how to screw without the risk of damaging threads.
@@RRWerken The signs are on the side of it, so you don't have to bring it up. But even aligning it, it's not perfect to match the thread start. During crownfunding campain, I suggested the creator to use "higbee thread", "higbee start" or "blunt start" on it. I saw that on a This Old Tony video ua-cam.com/video/qMrlyEreba8/v-deo.html - Unfortunately creator didn't use that, I suspect it would add more costs to it.
This should ideally have a two or even four start thread, and then it’d be almost impossible to misthread.
Aside from the brilliant opinions of the equipment, you've really taken into consideration on how to develop great lighting setups for camera. Great work, James! Your dedication to this channel clearly shows :)
That is one of the only espresso mashiens that speaks to me, because it is so elegant!
That is a beautiful piece of work 😄
The UA-cam gods have recently blessed me with your content, I've gotten hooked to your videos, thank you so much for everything you do 👍
I have one since last week. So far I like the experience very much. It is very easy to use and to build up pressure. As I prefer slightly darker roasts, I don‘t have a problem with the brew temperature. I will the brew chamber with close to boiling water and leave it there for 2-3 minutes while grinding the coffee and preparing the filter screen.
Nice machine so far. The first coffee was almost perfect - didn’t expect that!
That tactile feedback is one of the reason i love lever espresso machine.
I used to live in Rio, and in one of my favorite coffee shops they had this Aram machines, which you could order your espresso on it. It was some of the best espressos I had. But, yeah, I think the temperature thing might be an issue, I remember being a bit more acidic some times, but I don't really mind. I've being living in NYC for a year already, and haven't found yet as good coffee as I used to have there. Aram went back to the top of my wish list again after seeing this video hahah.
Is it expensive? Very, however it has to be noticed that the whole ethos around its production (made by hand, by local people paid fairly) was not covered in the review. Would I have this as my main brewer? No, however it really depends on the issue you are trying to solve and the areas in which you are willing to compromise. In my case I needed something manual non-intrusive to sit at my desk in the office and the Aram fitted the bill nicely. I pre-heat it twice and I am fairly happy with the consistency of shots I've been "pulling".
Same here.
That's it, Marco. Thanks a lot for the further words about production coast and sustainable issues.
In the other comments, people actually mentioned that this is a ripped off copy of the Portaspresso. If you really want to buy one, why not buying the original?
pre-heating twice sounds very irritating... what happens if you don't do this?
@@tfsparow if you are indoors and don't take too long as part of your workflow (pre-heat/grind/extract etc) preheating it once is absolutely fine in my opinion.
I'd need to have a coffee BEFORE using this contraption in the morning
So get two of them😆
Now there is an awesome pressure gauge for it, the pressure is shown by little concentric discs that rise up every 2 bar pressure increments, and people are also fitting pre heating coils, which makes it even more compeling
Any idea where to find these preheating coils?
@@hongtruong5516 I think you have 2 ways: the first is to contact a bunch of aliexpress sellers and ask if they could custom make a thin coil, which would be easier if you could find more people to buy from him. The second, which people also reported doing sucessfuly on the Brazilian forum, is to find the slimmest coil and drill one of the original Aram holes to fit it. If you have OCD you could also drill all of them. With an active heating element I don't see the larger diameter being too big of a problem
What a fascinating ,thorough and comprehensive review. Brilliant!
Some of the camera angles in this video were absolutely stunning. Keep it up James!
James let's be honest about this, when can we expect your "Aram Espresso Maker Powerdrill Edition Turbo" Video?
Mobo as well as powered manual grinder 😀
I know it's a joke, but I'd like to highlight it's really easy to turn the handle. It has nothing to do with manual grinding physical effort. For instance, you spend way less energy to brew in ARAM compared to Cafelat Robot.
Santiago Luz but for some it could be a bit “painful” to do so many rotating moves
@@askroller top of threaded rod is not in a fixed position as in manual grinder. It goes up and down. I think using a drill will make more trouble than it's worth.
Alton Brown is working on the power drill version.
Ooo, perfect timing. I just finished roasting some coffee, looked up and there was this. Seems like a fairly unique manual machine but definitely on the expensive side.
Love your videos! I've learned so much and have so much fun watching them. Really appreciate your humour 😉 greetings from a Salvadoran in Germany!
This is fantastic video - well structured, showing how it works with your own editorial comment and opinion. Thanks James.
I've waited literally years for a review of the aram
And I’m just so fascinated because my barista son is named Aram 🙌🏼
Thanks for another informative review, James. I’ve been pulling shots with the Aram for a few years now (I purchased it it right after the Aram team visited Seattle for the 2018 SCA). A few cons: it took about two months to arrive after ordering, with very little communication during that time. The tutorial was not very helpful so learning how to achieve a great shot is a bit of a crash course. I don’t think it would perform well at all while traveling. In my experience, pulling (or in this case pushing) a great shot requires more than what comes in the box. I use the Comandante for the grind- which needs dialing in because rarely will you have equal results between roasts; though I concede the likelihood of carrying multiple roasts in one’s carry bag may be a stretch for most- which further illustrates the point. In addition to the Aram, and a good grinder, you’ll need to heat your water to the right temperature (and the means to maintain that temperature), AND you’ll need a scale. Granted, all of this could fit into a custom made case- but it’s not really compact then, is it? Finally, it requires a bit of strength to achieve 9 bars in a timely fashion (and yes the seals will fail if used often at high pressure). The stand is really helpful in this regard- but again, not easily stored. In its current design, stabilizing it against one’s knee or in the air is unrealistic. Maybe if they updated the crank to something resembling the Comandante, this might be possible. Lastly, the craftsmanship and price tag accompanying it discourages me from taking it camping or anywhere else (and I actually brew coffee on most hikes I go on- using the Pourigami, a stove, kettle, and pre-measured beans which I grind with a spare Comandante, that I carefully pack- all of which weighs me down considerably. Of course, I could and have used fire, it’s not always an option nor easy to moderate the water temp).
That said, as a home manual espresso machine, I love it. It took significant trial and error to get it right, but having figured it out, I use it almost daily with amazing results. How fast is it? Several of my friends have machines in the 3-4K range and it seems they spend the same if not more time dialing them in as I do the Aram. I am not concerned with speed, I am concerned with quality outcomes. I enjoy the mechanics of it all. There is a reward at the end of measuring out the beans, hand grinding them, and then pressing them into a shot that automation cannot provide for me. Jay Leno mentions the relationship he finds from driving classic automobiles: they need his interaction to function, unlike modern cars where everything is automated and virtually operate independently. I submit, brewing espresso manually requires the same level of attention. It’s a craft, and depending what one puts into it will determine the outcome. If I were to upgrade, it would be to a Cremina... which I am secretly considering....
Would you mind sharing a little bit more about how you make you Aram coffee? I.e. how many grams you grind and the setting? How many turns up (all the way to the top) and how many turns down in making your espresso? Do you pre-infuse? I've just received my Aram and still trying to dial into making a good espresso. I understand it will take some trial and error. Thanks, much appreciate he help
That feel when you invoke the "UI/UX" element of an experience in use. 10/10 Would love to hear more of your opinions around the UX of the labor involved with machines, not just the product interaction itself. All in all, huge fan!
Hello, James;
Thank you for all you do.
I just saw this ( I think it is the 1st time).
Lovely machine but I'm on disability & could never afford it.
BTW, 2 tips for you.
When you want to start 2 threaded parts together without cross-threading, here is what to do.
Turn the part you hold backwards, as in unscrewing it while pressing slightly into the mating part.
You can feel the ends of the threads slip past each other & then turn it correctly.
Works great, always. [Unless you are drunk?]
To 'preheat' a part to make coffee put the part in (very) hot water or in a pot of water & heat it.
By preheating that way you can get the temperature desired.
Hopefully helpful.
Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!
I’ve been loving my Aram. It does take a bit to get it up to temp as you mentioned but the espresso it produces is so much more forgiving I’ve found than my big machine. Darker roasts do particularly well in it, producing a wonderfully creamy sweet shot in my experience. I find It’s less finicky with grind size adjustments and tamping, I suppose because of the manual nature of the extraction. I travel a lot (and was just too curious not to try) so I was ok with the buy but it it is pricey, no doubt. As always, thanks for the review!
Do you think this would be a good for my first espresso "machine" purchase? I love the design and it's small so I have space for it :D I can live through the price but it definitely is expensive.
@@gustavkjr7116 Perhaps the 9barista would make more sense?
Little caveat about the thermocouple set-up that may be worth checking:
Yellow connection are for Type-K thermocouple;
Green wire are usually for Type-S thermocouple
Using Yellow connector with green wire may actually lead to temperature measurement errors of few degrees;
That is an absolutely beautiful piece of engineering that I have absolutely no desire for. I love seeing interesting ideas in how to change everyday devices and I’m excited to see what comes next.
Dear James,
thanks for the video. I have one and I'm happy with what it does. About preheating, I "solved" by running as follows:
1. I put the water at 97º C in the machine, wait 2 minutes and empty it when placing it upside down. That's right, without turning the crank.
2. I put water at 97º C again, I wait 3 minutes, but now I don't need to turn the crank normally.
3. I put the water at 97º C and perform the extraction.
yes, it's a little frustrating, but I'm really happy with some really good espressos.
thanks for everything.
7:13 - James Hoffmann: "No corners have been cut."
Me, an intellectual: "But it's a cylinder..."
@@Patrick-hz7cz Yes, that is the joke behind the, “Me, an intellectual” meme.
@@Patrick-hz7cz r/whoosh
@@Patrick-hz7cz boomer?
Why some subtype of people feel the need to make others to think they should know stupid content as if this was a parameter of youthfulness?
Since when being stupid became a document?
Always the same loser type who use reddit tacky jokes as if they were fun. Always the same ones who still using them.
Nothing screams being outdated more than using the same jokes forever thinking they are fun.
@@razgvozd It is fuckin obvious it is sarcasm and a joke. At minimum, Patrick needs to lighten up and stop being so damn literal and learn how to understand humor.
The wood on the exterior is very aesthetic, you can't knock that
Yeah but that'll just make it a pain to clean. Even if coffee doesnt touch it, that's a no go for me.
@@mamaharumi It is no problem to clean. It is wood, not sugar. Just dry it after cleaning and you are fine.
You can give it a knock actually, it makes a nice woody sound.
@@mamaharumi knives often have wooden handles, do you have problems with keeping them clean?
Is that a knock knock joke?! Lmao
Really smart review. The critiques you made are insightful and really helpful.
About taste and shot size: this machine has a naked filter basket which produces a wide range of outcomes. For instance, the taste of the last drip is vastly different than first drops. My wife prefers the tailings when I make myself shots... I found the second crank produces strong coffee that can smooth out harshness when mixed together (I just uncrank and generate a second shot until all water is out of the chamber, which also creates an easy to clean, dry puck).
As a Brazilian barista, I've been waiting for this review for so long. I have played with it a couple of times, and I love the final result.
I bought it two weeks ago and I'm in love with it. I'm aware of the temperature problem so normally I do two rounds of pre-heating and the outcome is actually very satisfying.
So nice to see something from my country reviewed on your channel.
Love all of your manual espresso machine reviews. Price is a huge deal with these machines, where for me the whole point is to allow the average home consumer to get great tasting, proper shots at home without breaking the bank
Nice Review, the Aram looks indeed very nice.
My all time favorite is still the Lapavoni Europiccola.
Would be interesting to see that James think about it.
You don't have to turn the crank all the way up to let the water go out at pre-heating, one turn is enough. Also screwing the brew basket is not really fiddly, because there is a full moon on the Aram and a half moon on the basket. If you align them, you have the right position to srew it easily. But you are right, pre-heating takes some time. I always pre-heat twice and use 100 °C water and never had more than 93 °C inside the Aram. So temperature control and also pressure control is an issue. I also recommend darker roasts, lighter roasts come our very sour with the Aram. I use 21-22 grams of coffe with my Aram (it depends on the beans), after tamping the basket is filled up until the line. With turning the crank all the way up and down I get 50 ml in my cup (~1:2.3).
When you pre-heat can you just pour the water out of the top of the unit? It wouldn't help heat up the basket, but it seems like it would be a good bit faster and easier than having to crank it all the way up and down.
@@ClaytonSayer - Did you not even read the first sentence of their comment? _"You _*_don't have to turn the crank all the way up_*_ to let the water go out at pre-heating, one turn is enough."_
Can I ask what kind of "timing" do you aim for? I pre-infuse for 30 seconds (calculated from the first second I start to bring the crank all the way up), then take another 40-60 seconds to crank all the way down. 22g coffee to 50-55g output.
@@micahpbt9638 I turn the crank up and eleven turns down and wait for 20 seconds.
Some of the sharpest 4K footage I've seen in a while. Your lenses are on point sir.
Pleasantly surprised to see this is more than just a novelty. Really interesting and aesthetically pleasing product.
I tried Aram in São Paulo, and guess what? I had one of the best coffee cups of my entire life! Of course the coffee beans they used were awesome as well, so if you have ARAM + Good quality coffee bean, you are on the way to the happiness. :)
Em que cafeteira de São Paulo vc experimentou? Eu queria comprar, mas não sem antes fazer um "test drive"
Abraço!
@@ricardoferreira2130 Se valer ainda, na Catarina Coffee & Love na Vila Mariana!
Since I’ve just bought an espresso machine I would love to see another dialing in episode. Other than that keep up the good work, love it.
It's in the works!
I love the totally different direction they took with the style and functionality of this espresso maker
I really love the cinematography on your videos, I have watched quite a few of them and I don't even drink coffee regularly
"with the ancient money of temperature" 😂 Loved that one!
Thank you for another good review James. And I wonder you have any plan to review La Pavoni lever machine. It would be great if you review one of those.
A great looking machine, Very well demonstrated; I’d love one ☕️👍
production on this one is insane James. Good job.
Feels weird to see you test something that actualy taste good :D
This device reminds me a great deal of my Staresso V3 with it's hand pump instead of a screw.
The Staresso is more portable, much cheaper, and made of black plastic and metal. Very utilitarian in design (reminds me of a Star Wars Droid).
I am just starting to get it figured out for pulling my morning shots, and appreciate the new (to me) knowledge that the water temperature being high is so important for proper extraction of less dark beans. That explains why I am getting acidity when using medium roasts !
As a person who enjoys the routine of making coffee in the morning. Will Staresso give me a good time? I'm currently using Aeropress, but would like to try something that I can manually make espresso with.
@@NoahTeohZhengYi as far as that goes, it IS fun !
I am using a blade grinder and no scales, so results vary daily. I kind of like that too, though.
I have tried a couple of 15 pound electric pump machines, like DeLongie, but didn't like the lack of crema. I preferred the old Krups IlPrimo 4 pound I bought at a thrift store to those.
The Staresso produces (often) a very nice crema, but the resulting puck is very sloppy, at cleanup time.
1. Great jumper
2. It's a very beautiful and elegant device. Love the wood. And I wondered if the crank could make it easier to get more consistent pressure. Though I do like how the Flare has the option of a pressure gauge attachment.
3. Still, the price is beyond my budget when my Breville/Sage Bambino has nearly all I could ask for for a home machine, as a non-coffee professional, which I got for $95 less.
4. For travel, I still feel so much contentment with the lightness, versatility and ease of the aeropress.
The included glass, funnel, and THAT WOOD all get aces in my eyes.
Dear James, Thanks for the review. I think lots of people want a good compare video between, Flare. Rok, Robot and Aram. please consider this. You're AWESOME as always.
This guy brewing coffee through a 400$ manual expresso: "Tastes pretty good, tastes like the pressure is off, more heat would bring out more flavor."
Me brewing coffee through a sock: "This is amazing, I'll have 20 cups."
of course sock coffee is good lol
brewing cheap pre ground coffee trough a sock with _sorta warm_ water
*YEAH THAT'S PRETTY GOOD, IT HAS SOME NICE TEXTURE*
James Hoffman:
It just tastes like
*Sugar*
*Instant Coffee*
And
*Milk*
Brewed in a sock
fast forward and sock coffee is his favourite
Its "espresso"
There's a similar design made in Poland - but it's more robust, less of a luxury item. It's called Kazak Rota and it is priced at PLN 1500 (300 GBP).
Cena i tak zaporowa.
This is an era of manual espresso makers. ROK and now this. Which is excellent! Lots of choices between 200 -500 $ I am pretty happy with the ROK thanks to your recommendation
Love your videos James! I always learn so much
James: "...brewing in the 90's..."
My brain: Initial D
I love manual coffee makers. The price is a bit high, but I I will definitely get it!!
Thank you very much. Your video is very detailed, accurate and extremely useful to me. Once again, I want to thank from Vietnam. I wish you all the best. 💗
My morning brewing whilst watching your channel is now habitual.
Aram is perfect for home use! I am using everyday in the morning
I really miss to use this!
and do you have to pre-heat it multiple times?
James, the easiest way to find the start point of any screw is to start by rotating it backwards while applying slight pressure until you hear or feel a "click" this will guarantee you are indeed starting on the correct thread. All screws and bolts are designed like this. Cheers from the US!
I realise I've been subconsciously drawing inspiration for my living room corner design from your background
You have such a relaxing, lovely speaking voice.
'the ancient money of temperature' HAHAHAHA
Bob Zmuda, 100 doubloons.
The cost of actually paying humans to make something. It is absolutely beautiful. Kind of want to get one.
Love the man talking about the things I will never buy but cannot stop listening to
Thank you, love the way you present it
Try the Portaspresso, please. I have been using the Rossa PG since last year and it is superb for its price & pressure modulation capability, IMHO
Now please review the Portaspresso--both models--as the Aram is clearly inspired by it. Also, EspressoForge and Pink's Expression.
I agree. I had a Portaspresso for a while, mainly bought for a caravan trip, and loved it. I used it at the office for a while but eventually changed over for a Little Guy with the induction pad. It was definitely a step back in terms of espresso quality, but a step up in convenience.
I watch so many videos of yours. Yet I drink instant coffee because I can’t afford a machine. Yet I ljve vicariously through you!
James, preheat with boiling water you can reach over 90 C easily. Preheat twice with boiling water you can get up to 90 C. Depending on where you live ,Three times you pass 95C. With a little patience you can get several profiles for different coffees. There are factory test videos measuring pressure that reaches 9 bar easily
[chanting] 70s espresso! 70s espresso!
For real tho I love your videos and this looks like such a cool and different machine but far and away out of the price range of my student hiney xD
It's so cold where I live this morning that people are skipping work and school. - 44C. So I'm watching a James Hoffmann vid instead. Thanks man.
Wow, it's so cold you can go into a freezer to get warm.
I love the way it looks
Nice video James, i am from Brazil and I know the creator of Aram. I’ve talked to him a couple of times in Curitiba (South of Brazil). He is very passionate in what he does, a young guy with a lot of ideas for the future.
This is such a dangerous piece of equipment! If I get one, I swear I'll inevitably pour beans into it (and hot water in my grinder!)
I think I'd have nosed around a lot of the manual options and still ended up with the europiccola i bought used 13yrs ago.. its daft and infuriating but an amusing change from a synesso
Those damn pavoni's and their amazing and durable lever machines....
Great review, pretty cool espresso machine, fun and informative, thank you
Amazing review as always, however if may add, thermal-mass/inertia is a double edged sword, as while it requires more heating passes to reach the required temperature, it will retain more heat while making the actual espresso shot, ceteris paribus, so I wouldn't simply call a larger thermal-mass downright a disadvantage. Keep up the good work sir.
Great to see another of these manual espresso makers being rewieved :) Thank you! I am using Portaspresso Rossa Air for over 5 years (this design is "inspired" /if I can use an eufemism/ on original Portaspresso Rossa), and as much as I like the designers approach to Aram, I think that lack of pressure gauge is the largest issue from my POV .. I also have to do about two preheat cycles, but its pretty easy to pour the water in, and then out from Rossa .. probably you could also just pour it out, not having to wind it all up and down? The other one is probably because of material - Rossa is brass (and a really thick peace of brass) and after two short preheats the temperature drops to about 95-94 ... and it does not loose heat fast. Stainless steel is probably different in that regards.
You only have to turn the crank less than one rotation to let the water going out of the Aram. You don't have to turn it all the way up.
@@Araknalam that sounds reasonably easy. Do you know if it can be preheated enough to start with water above 95C ?
@@paveldruzba9824 I'm using boiling water (100 °C) but never reached more than 93 °C in my Aram (I measured it), even with three or four cycles of preheating. After two cycles I reach 93 °C. But some other owners of an Aram wrote they reached 95 °C after three cycles. So maybe it depends on how fast you are with filling fresh boiling water again and again.
@@Araknalam I would say that more important is how fast the temperature drops ... if you can keep the thermometer there for 2 minutes if you start on 93, to see how fast it drops?
ARAM and Robot owner here. I've been using both machines for a long time.
I do agree with JH about heat management. As for me, ARAM is capable of brewing light roasts, but you'll need to do at least 2 pre heat cycles (I always do it 2 times, no matter what roast profile, to have more stable temperature thoughout brewing). Not sure if people use lighter roast then I, which is totally possible, and for lighter roaster ARAM could be a problem.
About brewing pressure, it's really unfortunate they didn't include option to add a manometer (besides we insisted in request that). But I think 9 bar is not an issue to get. Actually, there are some users that used so much pressure that filter basket bottom got rounded!
@moo Yes, I am happy with it. Robot is the one I use on regular basis, specially because I don't like pre heating cycle of ARAM.
so, if you use the robot regularly, for what reason do you own the Aram? and I'm still confused about what happens if you only do one pre-heat?
@@tfsparow that's the same question my wife does to me! Lol
About pre-heating, if not done twice in Aram, you'll end up having more accentuate decrease of temp during extraction, which might cause unbalancing or under extracting your coffee. For darker roasts it should be ok to pre-heat once, but I would do it twice anyways, just using lower temp (again, more stable temp during the shot)
Dear Santiago, which one is tastier the robor or aram?
@@glaci78 I prefer my espresso from the Robot, but I think difference is not that big
One of my favourite channels!
I'm glad to see you've moved back to good coffee. I had to wince at your last two videos every time you took sips.
I'm even happier than you!
Blind taste of espressos made at different pressures.
Genuinely interested on how accurately you could determine them
Years of fighting with pressure profiling and running experiments have probably given me overconfidence. I think I could do under 7 bars, around 9 bars and over 10 bars - but it would be a fun test!
I would be really interesting to see a blind test between this, a lever espresso, and an aero press shot.
Aeropress would stick out like a sore thumb. It's less concentrated, less textured and it doesn't have crema. I'm not saying that's a bad thing but it's a fundamentally different brewing method to espresso
That's a rather unique design for a manual. Kind of clever as well, since it uses torque to generate the pressure - the longer the arm, the easier it'll be to build the pressure, but more difficult to use in the end - instead of leverage.
Tasting slightly lower pressure extraction, grind fussiness ... I never wanted this until seeing you using and talking about it as only you could. I see the carafe from the 70s is now part of your collection ready for another go ...
ya boy drinking espresso shots and knowing the pressure like a pressure gauge
James' sweater game is unreal.
Evan I live for his sweaters ✨
That music You are choosing is stunning.
Thanks for your reviews, I learn a lot!