Coffee Appreciation

Does anyone remember a link that somebody posted on here to an in-depth tech article about Nespresso? It was a long time ago now and IIRC the main bits were that Nespresso had spent years researching the science behind the perfect crema, and maybe I'm mis-remembering, but they were suggesting that a Nespresso machine with good coffee in compatible pods would actually be a reasonably good home espresso solution.

So, I've just picked up a not working Iberital MC2 (sold as such). Any ideas on where to start with my troubleshooting?

Not working how? No power, Power but no movement? Help us out with the triage bro

Literally nowt. Plug in, fuse checked apparently. Power on and grind button pressed delivers no sound or sense that motor is straining.
Can rotate burrs freely by the nut on top with a spanner - shows resistance, but not so much that would seem unreasonable.

We have the Bonavita Mini, a tiny puff of smoke comes out of the switch when it boils, works great though.

Can you get to the erectronics to see any obvious cooking of components? Unplug it first!
Don't play with 240V unless you know what you're doing.

Go through the connections step by step with a multi-meter?

Don't know what the electronics look like on those but assume they're fairly simple. Start with a visual check for blown components or bad solders then break out a multimeter and do continuity checks. Probably a good chance it's a dead motor.

This is the first step, once I've bought a multimeter.

Only thing I can see is the slight discolouration on this resistor.

Can’t figure out how to remove the brushes on the motor - will need a bit more disassembly to get in.

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Mine has an intermittent fault at the dispense button. This is below the chute as you'll know, and isn't sealed so gets coffee grounds behind it. I find that pulling it off and giving it a good blow can get it back into action.

Missing Bean has been on my list of roasters to try for a while and as I’ve never seen a Gesha priced so low, now’s that time! I just ordered 500g.

Hoping their roasting is as good as their packaging!

https://www.themissingbean.co.uk/shop/geshacolombiasantarita

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Looks like it's been getting warm, but that might be quite normal. Do you have a multimeter?
Any idea what that black thing with the wire coming out of it is? Looks like it might be some kind of reed switch or thermal sensor?

Give it the sniff test - anything smell burnt?

Measure resistance across the motor windings (should be a good few ohms, not open circuit, not short circuit).

Check all the connectors, anything loose? Reseating things is never a bad idea if the plastic hasn't gone brittle.

Can you measure continuity from the plug pins to where the wires join the circuit board? That at least eliminates the plug, fuse and the flex and will help you understand the circuit layout a bit more.

The other thing to check is whether the control switches are closing the circuit - how to do that depends on how the switches work.

Oh and give it a thorough clean - you often notice things when you're cleaning that you don't notice if you're just looking (same with bikes).

Did you order the Felicita Incline scales? I got caught up in all this thread hype and they arrived today but I can’t find any auto timer function...?

I did! Ha, you’re having the exact experience I had.

I searched all over reddit and other places trying to work this out the other night. I found the info in, wait for it...the Acaia manual!

So it turns out they are even more of a copy of the Acaia scales than I realised. You need to enter the config mode to turn the auto settings on.

1. With the scale off. Hold the power button until you see “Set-u” while still holding the power button, tap the “T” button until it reads “Sleep”.

2. The T button cycles through menu options

3. Power button enters into that option

4. T button toggles that option, eg on/off

5. So you want to turn on mode 3, mode 4, mode 5

6. Power button takes you back to the menu list

7. In the list view, hold the “T” button to save.

Now turn scale off and on and the auto modes are there. Holding the power button switches modes and you’ll see the icons on the right side change as you cycle through: drop, drop and square, triangle and square.

Ironically after all of that, the feature I wanted, auto tare only mode, isn’t even on this scale. Those modes above would work great for espresso, but for V60, stopping the pour for the bloom stops the timer and messes everything up.

Here’s the menu options from the Acaia lunar manual. Not all are in the Felicita but it’s almost the same.

You can even turn off that irritating beep!

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Where did you order them from?

Climpson and Sons for £85. I think Clifton had them in stock too.

They’re good, super responsive and fast. Just have to be ok with the ethics of them clearly ripping off Acaia’s IP. And definitely only buy through a third party, I don’t foresee customer service existing from Felicita direct.

The arc model might be even better suited for espresso because of the size.

Thank you! Will probably go for that. I already have a Hario gooseneck one but cba boiling it on the gas everytime my SO wants a cuppa

I have the Bonivita, it’s great. If you are planning to make a lot of V60’s, you can buy little rubber flow restrictors to put on the inside of the spout to get a consistent slower pour.

Climpson out, Clifton want £170 for the $140 Arc. Yeah, thanks but no thanks UK markup.

#ripoffbritain as always. Looks like north star roast at £140 for the arc is the cheapest.

The incline is still kind of small, 16x13 cm

clearly ripping off Acaia’s IP

Hmm, they're US registered whereas:

Registrar: Alibaba Cloud Computing (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Registrar IANA ID: 420
Reseller:
Domain Status: ok https://icann.org/epp#ok
Registrant City:
Registrant State/Province: Guang Dong
Registrant Country: CN
Registrant Email:https://whois.aliyun.com/whois/whoisForm
Registry Registrant ID: Not Available From Registry
Name Server: DNS11.HICHINA.COM
Name Server: DNS12.HICHINA.COM

Cliften have Acacia Pearl White for £144 but it's out of stock.

Also, I want my scale for espresso only I don't do filter, pour overs, etc. so it needs to support weighing the portafilter.

I don’t do espresso, so tell me what it needs to do to support the portafilter? Maybe it can.

Free shipping... Allegedly...