Is the Cafelat Robot 58mm?
The Robot is shipped standard with the Professional Basket, a 58mm stainless steel basket that requires finely ground coffee from a premium burr grinder. This alternative, the Pressurized Basket, will work with pre-ground coffee or coffee ground by lesser burr grinders. Paul Pratt, the owner of Cafelat in Hong Kong and a noted espresso machine historical restorer and collector was familiar with the Faema Baby machine, and thought it was an intriguing, well thought out design idea.Handmade, assembled and tested in hong kong, the cafelat robot has no complicated electronics and is built from only premium materials like stainless steel. Add fresh ground coffee, boiling water from a kettle, a little practice and you can add great home espresso to your coffee skill set.Now the machine is here, and being sold in two variants — the Basic model, and the Barista model — after Pratt fulfilled his Kickstarter shipments. We’ve got one at CoffeeGeek, and we’re proud to present our First Look at the Cafelat Robot!
How much pressure does the Cafelat Robot produce?
The machine is more than capable of producing that magic 9 bar pressure, but lever machines prefer somewhere in the region of 6-7 bar. It might take some time to practice, but the Robot gives you the tools to produce great espresso shots. Deciding between a 15 bar vs 20 bar espresso machine isn’t really about choosing the “stronger” one. Both machines ultimately brew espresso at around 9 bars, the industry sweet spot for balanced flavor and proper crema. The difference is in how consistently a machine can maintain that pressure.Many machines advertise 15–20 bar pumps, but more pressure doesn’t necessarily mean better espresso; excessively high pressures can lead to uneven flow through the coffee, which results in poor-tasting shots. Often, these numbers indicate the maximum pressure, not the pressure realistically achieved during brewing.Nine bars of pressure, which is nine times the weight of air at sea level, is the gold standard for extracting consistently great espresso in a 25- to 30-second time frame. Any higher or lower level of pressure results in imperfect extraction, typically producing espresso that is too strong or too weak.Espresso is defined at around 9 bars of pressure. Some machines advertise 15–20 bar pumps, but that figure refers to maximum pump output, not the pressure used for brewing. The best espresso comes from a stable 9 bar; anything higher doesn’t improve flavour.Too much more than 9-bar can result in a burnt-tasting espresso, while too less than 9-bar will produce a weak and overly bright shot. When pulling an espresso shot, the barista should always start by achieving the recommended 9-bar of pressure.
What is the lifespan of a Cafelat Robot?
Each Robot is hand assembled in Hong Kong and comes with a limited 1 year warranty, however, with its solid construction, we feel that the Robot will last a lifetime. Robots can provide any manufacturing line with constant work, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Industrial robots do not need breaks or vacation, they can work continuously and extremely effectively.