10m challenge #5: 17 espressos=102 per hour !
In this Ten Minute Challenge John makes espressos on a coffee cart with one DE1XL machine, two Niche grinders, and pre-weighed bean doses in paper cups. Result: 17 espressos in ten minutes, which is equal to 102 espressos per hour (17x6=102).
Lessons learned:
- for the first few minutes I'm work with both Niche grinders in parallel, preparing two portafilters at a time. This was a big speedup, but I lost that work-flow after a few minutes, and reverted back to one-Niche running at a time. Since I had plenty of spare portafilters, I should have been able to continue with two-at-a-time.
- 17 espressos were made in 10 minutes, which averages out to 35 seconds per espresso, or 102 espressos per hour. Given that the Londiunum shots run for about 30 seconds normally, it's not likely I can go much faster. Average delay between shots was thus about 5 seconds.
- I had dialed in the grind in the black Niche, and set the white Niches to the same grind setting, thinking it would be the same. It wasn't: it was coarser, and so my white-Niche shots ran fast for 2 shots until I corrected this. I should independently dial in each grinder so they have the same end-shot time, and not rely on the Niche grind setting number.
- Pre-weighed doses was a massive speedup, with only 5 seconds of “idle time” between each espresso shot. It's unlikely I'll be able to go any faster, since espresso takes ~30 seconds per shot, unless I bring in another espresso machine.
- What about lattes? Our next challenge will be with another barista joining me, and she'll be dedicated to steaming and pouring milk. I don't know that she'll be able to keep up with the speed at which I'm putting out espressos (every 35 seconds!).
My speed goal with the DE1 is:
- 100 espressos/hour with one barista, and one DE1XL. Done!
- 100 lattes/hour with two baristas, with one DE1XL (for espresso) and one DE1XXL (for milk). Still to be proven.
-john
Updated 2021/03/03