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Introduction |
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When WholeLatteLove introduced the Expobar Brewtus espresso machine in late 2004, interest was immediate and strong. But the details were sketchy. Was it a dual boiler machine? How big was the machine? Did it have an E61 group? How did the electronic temperature control work? Was the water preheated? Questions flew back and forth on the Internet as potential buyer interest erupted.
As the answers started trickling in, Brewtus quickly became one of the hottest selling machines among those at its pricepoint. But beyond the price, it also looked on paper like a great ensemble of the features demanding home baristas were all waiting for in a compact package. Fan sites were started, debates began.
The purpose of this review is to give you a seasoned view of the Expobar Brutus. I've been using it for eight months and have a good perspective on the machine and what it is like owning and using it. The review will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the machine, and will re-examine my initial impressions. By the time you are done reading this article, you will have a good understanding of what it would be like to own a Brewtus.
Though the focus of the review is the Expobar Brewtus, I will also compare it to a well known high-end heat exchanger machine, the Giotto Premium. The Giotto is representative of many prosumer heat exchanger machines. So, to some extent, this review will touch on the pros and cons of dual boiler and heat exchanger machines in a home environment.
Since this is my first formal review for Home-Barista.com, perhaps a little background about myself is in order. As a teenager in Israel in the early 70's, the culture of espresso has always been a part of my daily life. Espresso bars were everywhere, and the mystery of those cool looking machines added a special flavor to every cup. It was all straight shots for me, even then, and it cost me 50 cents to take a three minute round trip visit to Rome.
Many years later, now in New York, I bought a La Pavoni lever and started my journey into making espresso at home. When I upgraded to my first prosumer espresso machine, the Giotto Premium, I locked myself in my kitchen for a weekend, grinding and pulling shots, until I started slowly hovering above the floor. It took a ton of caffeine and about a thousand sink shots before I was able to produce what I considered to be an acceptable espresso. Three home roasters later, my walk-in closet has been converted to a green bean and espresso parts warehouse. I have a strong suspicion that if I shook that closet really hard, I could spontaneously assemble a whole new machine.
Espresso still has not revealed all its secrets to me. It is that combination of art and science that makes it so charmingly elusive and impossible to fully master. The exceptional shots I've had are all etched in my memory, and as time passes, the bar keeps going up. Like many others, I am engaged in an endless chase which I hope to never win.
But enough about me, let's now turn our attention back to the subject of this review—the Expobar Brewtus.
The Expobar Brewtus landed on my doorstep enclosed in a giant box and buried under a pile of packaging popcorn. A word to the wise: don't try to open that box in your living room. Those little white peanuts adhere to anything with or without a pulse. After an hour of cleanup, I was ready for our meeting.
I felt like I had been dating this machine online. I had seen the pictures, asked a lot of questions and it is now in my kitchen ready to be unveiled. As if to keep the suspense alive, the machine arrives from the factory completely covered with a protective polyurethane white adhesive sheet which encases the stainless steel exterior like Spandex.
With a slow drum roll in my mind, I started peeling off the protective layer of plastic. That tease went on for about three minutes before I was able to reveal the machine in its full glory. As I took a long look at it, I was reminded of my old architecture professor. He often said that a camel is actually a horse that was designed by a committee. It appears that visual presence and aesthetics were not a priority for the Brewtus Design Committee.
Honestly though, that's overstating it because I'm just too darn spoiled. After living with the Giotto Premium for a year, a quintessential example of understated elegance, anything short of an Elektra would be a downgrade to me. Other owners shower accolades of the machine's beauty in the Brewtus User Group Forum, so don't let my prejudices influence you too much.
Superficial issues aside, what redeeming values did I notice at first glance? Let's see:
As I made these mental notes, I kept reminding myself that it is the only dual boiler machine on the market under $1,500 and that every machine design is a study in compromises. In the case of the Expobar Brewtus, aesthetics and style were sacrificed to keep the price tag down. Fortunately I was able to add a little of that missing elegance to the machine with a few five minute upgrades (more details later).
The Brewtus is an E61 dual boiler machine. If you are familiar with the three main types of boiler designs for prosumer espresso machines, skip to the next section. Otherwise the following briefly summarizes them:
A single boiler machines without a heat exchanger: These have a single boiler that is used both for steaming and for brewing espresso. Steaming and brewing require different boiler temperature, and therein lays this design's weakness: You must wait while the boiler transitions from brew to steam temperature. For those who favor milk drinks such as cappuccinos, macchiatos and lattes, this machine will be inferior to all others in the prosumer group.
A single boiler with a heat exchanger: This variety allows for brewing and steaming in immediate succession but in some cases not at the same time, as a drop in steam pressure in the boiler during steaming can affect brew temperature. The boiler has to be very large to allow both to be done effectively. But a more relevant weakness is the added effort required to dial in different brew temperatures. Brew temperature in this variety is controlled by a combination of boiler pressure and flushing water through the group before the extraction, which "fine tunes" the brew temperature. Adjusting the boiler pressure requires some fiddling with a screwdriver; often you will have to remove a panel of the machine's casing to gain access to the pressurestat. Generally speaking, a HX machine has a higher learning curve because the barista must learn to bring it to the required brew temperature by flushing. Errors in flush quantities can deliver large variations in brew temperature performance.
A dual boiler machine: This variety aims to be the best of both worlds. It does it by having two dedicated boilers: One for steaming and one for brewing, which are independently controlled. Some dual boiler machines allow for easy brew temperature adjustments from a digital display on the front panel. Steaming and brewing can generally be done at the same time without significantly affecting the other boiler's temperature.
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Brew water pathway shown in
red; |
The key elements of espresso extraction are brew pressure, brew temperature, and of course the coffee itself. For some coffee blends, temperature variations of even one degree Celsius can transform an espresso dream into a swill nightmare. Indeed, controlling brew temperature has proven to be one of the more difficult controls to master and the focus of top cafés in the world. Unfortunately for the hapless home barista who doesn't have the luxury of owning commercial equipment, the difficulty of controlling the precise brew temperature increases with entry-level and prosumer espresso machines. The home barista who wants exceptional espresso but has limited time and budget must therefore invest considerable effort and skill to compensate for their equipment's inability to perform at the same level as commercial equipment. Well no more! The Expobar Brewtus brings the same advances in the uppermost commercial equipment to your kitchen, and at a price that won't require a lien on your mortgage.
The Expobar Brewtus takes the current prosumer dual boiler machine design one step further by introducing an important element: It pre-heats the water via the steam boiler's heat exchanger before it enters the brew boiler, as shown in the diagram to the right. This feature is essential to Brewtus' jump in temperature stability and control.
The pre-heated water has another side benefit: It is practically impossible to outrun the machine. A typical prosumer HX will give up the ghost after 8-9 shots in a row if done in rapid succession. Most machines need time to recover. Incoming cold water from the water tank reduces the water temperature in the boiler, which affects the boiler's ability to quickly recover. Pre-heating the water before it enters the brew boiler tackles that problem. The Brewtus is capable of delivering 30 shots in 30 minutes without blinking, thanks to the routing of the incoming water from the pump to a heat exchanger passing through the steam boiler. The near brew temperature water then continues to the brew boiler.
Brewtus' innovation isn't really new since a similar feature is available in top commercial dual boiler machines like the Synesso Cyncra and the La Marzocco GB5, and has been a common commercial modification for more than a decade. Expobar's innovation was the application of an existing proven technology and implementing it cleverly to fit a specific need.
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