The Best Home Espresso Machine? Meraki Ultimate Espresso Machine V3

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Who has backed the Meraki machine?! Let me know👇and feel free to ask any questions below!

[@ibrahimseyam5292]

I'm thinking of getting the white version to match my white bar, but I can't find how much bar on portafilter during the process, any clue?

[@nickscoffeestudio]

You mean how many bars of pressure the machine runs at? It's 9 bars. You have the option of pre infusion at 3 or 4 bars. The white unit looks really great!

[@ibrahimseyam5292]

@nickscoffeestudio that's exactly what I'm asking for! Thanks Nick! Will go for the white version.

[@drnickriviera999]

I backed it on Kickstarter. Pumped to get my first real espresso machine and up my coffee game.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Haha, Accidental pun about being pumped about a machine that "pumps"! :D Hope you enjoy it!

[@adamton7274]

This is a very tempting all in one machine. I'll definitely be following it to see how early adopters feel and are supported post purchase.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

I’ll have some more content out on the Meraki soon ;)

[@laookon234555]

Thanks Nick, after your video I am even more looking forward to receiving my black version soon. Thanks a lot for this very informative video!

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Amazing! Hope you enjoy it as much as I have :)

[@Nodiggy]

Sold my original Oracle and was going for the Oracle Jet but going for the Meraki now. Thanks! Great review!!

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Nice! Hope you enjoy it :) What colour are you thinking?

[@SilverstateHobbies]

same i was getting the Jet but decideed to go this way now im waiting though...lol

[@Frants.A]

Like your thinking. I have Barista Touch and was considering the Jet. Meraki currently doesn't ship to Thailand so likely I will wait a year or so. Maybe even wait for a v2.

[@brettj80]

I have backed this project, and very much look forward to receiving the black unit!

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Nice one! If you have any questions let me know! :)

[@axelferia]

you just blew mind by saying that 2:54 , after doing research all day, i was considering getting the opus grinder regardless but now i might not have to after all.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

I will say that there’s benefits of having a separate grinder. But I’ve found the grind consistency, speed of grinding, being stepless and having the scale underneath just make it so much better. Grind quality is comparable. Not much in it. Both 38mm concicals so no surprise there. The only downside is that you can’t use the grinder on the Meraki without the boilers beginning to heat up.

[@axelferia]

@@nickscoffeestudio truly can't thank you enough on how informative you are, thank you. I think i will get both Mekari machine and Opus grinder regardless.

[@luigiyang7268]

planning on getting my new espresso machine. Was deciding between Flair58+ with Nanoform or La Pavoni or Lelit Elizabeth......or maybe Stone. With this video, i guess ima order this right away. So much easier for a nice morning Latte without sacrifice too much on taste and workflow.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

As someone who also has a Flair 58+ and Nanofoamer Pro, the Meraki is just much easier to dial in right away. The Flair is epic, but takes a lot more patience to get right! The Meraki will work any time, whereas the Flair you kinda need to plan out your coffee more, take your time and enjoy the process... in my experience.

[@stephenv7706]

Hi Nick, after over 20 years using various Nespresso machines I decided to take the plunge into a home espresso machine, I was torn between the Sage Oracle jet or Meraki, as I only drink espresso/ Latte drinks I decided to buy the Meraki as it’s more focused on espresso making, the better grinder then the Sage and the weighting scales and beginner guidance swung it for me, so looking forward to receiving my black model in the new year, thanks for great video which explained it all in a way even idiots like me could follow 😉🍻

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Delighted to hear you found the video useful! It'll be a huge leap forward from the Nespresso set ups. Maybe a bit challenging to dial it all in for the first time if you're used to Nespresso, but it'll be worth the effort! Hope you enjoy the machine when it arrives :) Any questions, let me know :)

[@stephenv7706]

@ Thank you for your friendly encouragement, if I may ask after researching I’ve bought distilled water and third wave water espresso machine mineral mix and a knock box 😂 I think I should be all set now but was wondering if you know does a Normcore V4 tamper fit the Meraki portafilter as I think this might be the only other accessory I might need, thanks again for the enlightening videos, kind regards Stephen.

[@wsteele5864]

Just ordered one today. My Breville Dual Boiler is still running strong, so I will likely hang on to it in case longevity on the Meraki doesn't work out. Really looking forward to it.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Hope you enjoy it! Yeah one thing we don't know is how these will last long term, but fingers crossed. They seem to have really improved the build quality over the course of their prototype builds, so it's looking promising :)

[@stephenv7706]

Hi Nick, could you tell me if a Normcore 58.5 tamper fits the Meraki portafilter/ basket or do you need the 58mm size exactly, thanks Stephen and happy new year, keep the video’s coming mate I’m really enjoying them cheers.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Yes it does fit! The tools that come with the Meraki are 58mm, but the basket will fit with 58.5mm tools

[@derkling]

Waiting for mine to be delivered soon! I'm among the first 800 backers so, according to the delivery plans, I'm looking at getting it towards the end of January.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Amazing! You'll love it! Great to see so many backers checking in here :) Did you go for black or white?

[@derkling]

@@nickscoffeestudio the black one. The white is cool but I fear it will be even more subject to look dirty.

[@kylebigley2727]

backing meraki, excited to get mine in jan

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Nice one! What colour did you go for?

[@RustyHammer6]

Having a demo of setting the milk up to auto/ghost steam would be useful :)

[@nickscoffeestudio]

I have a list of upcoming shorts and that is on the list! Stay tuned :)

[@shizaccotube]

Can you fill two cups at once on this machine?

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Yes, you can fit two small espresso cups on the scale :)

[@konradskitchen]

Great video!

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Thanks for the comment! I see you're making some coffee videos too :) Keep it up!

[@konradskitchen]

@nickscoffeestudio Haha, I'm trying! Thank you for the support! :)

[@Itsameamario34]

This is probably the best review on there Meraki I've seen. You did a great job highlighting the importance of each feature, and showing the ease of steaming the milk.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Thank you, much appreciated! Glad you enjoyed the video - there will be more to come on this machine soon, particularly around temperature stability and consistency and grinder comparisons

[@Itsameamario34]

@ Subbed and looking forward to it!

[@1514134]

⁠@@nickscoffeestudioLooking forward to the temperature and grind consistency if it turns out positive there is no need to hold back anymore!!!

[@nickscoffeestudio]

@@1514134 Should have something released just after Christmas :)

[@maryam4779]

How is the cleaning process?

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Cleaning has been pretty easy. The grinder can be easily cleaned by removing the top burr. And you get a blind basket for backflushing. The machine actually gives you step by step process for cleaning in the UI.

[@internacionalnmangup]

Hi Nick - Great job you've done explaining everything in detail's. I am very impressed by this machine. Just curies to know since you already have the unit with you, is the body of the machine made out of plastic or aluminum? (I am aware that only grinders hooper is plastic) Thanks in advance

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Thanks for the comment! It's made of a mix of plastic and aluminium. The grinder and steam unit elements are made of plastic. The base / stem of the extraction unit is made of aluminium, and the top casing is plastic. All the paddles are now metal too. All the bits that should really be made of metal are made of metal!

[@nazardaniyel4994]

Have you tested a lot of more fruity lighter roast beans? Do you get the desired output? Price point aside. Would you go for this or the lelit Bianca v3?

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Lighter roasts are not yet a big thing here in Ireland. So my only reference is medium roast day to day. I did bring home a 200g bag of light roast from a trip to Spain which went well on the Meraki. I know you said price point aside - but even at that, the Bianca V3 and the Meraki are two totally different machines. If you make a standard shot with each one - 9 bars, no pre infusion, 30 second shot - you'll probably get roughly the same results. But with the ability to flow control etc with the Bianca, you will definitely make better espresso if you're being nerdy about it. With the Meraki you'll probably get 90% of the quality most of the time and it's a much simpler workflow. Important to note I've not used a Bianca V3, so this is just opinion.

[@nazardaniyel4994]

@@nickscoffeestudioI actually use it quite a bit my brother has one! while I do think it’s a great machine. I still don’t feel like I’m getting all the flavour profiles out of the beans as I would expect. Hence my thoughts on the meraki as you put it 90%. And he has a very capable grinder too. So I’m just wondering if ur managing to extract the right flavours as the bag of beans suggest. Not just a very good average tasting shot if that makes sense. I have a breville express now and I feel like I’ve reached a point where I can’t get more out of it. Especially if I buy more expensive beans

[@niekl.7156]

I ordered one! I hope it will be here in January. 🙂💪

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Awesome! What colour did you go for?! You won't be disappointed!

[@niekl.7156]

@ I went for the black colour. I’m so excited! 😃

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Great! Let me know if you have any questions on it :)

[@niekl.7156]

@nickscoffeestudio by the way. Great video!! Really clean, relaxing video and very well explained. Keep up the good work! You definitely deserve more viewers and subscribers for the quality of content. Greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Thank you! Glad you like the video :) I'll be posting more about the Meraki machine soon, tips and tricks and all that. Love The Netherlands! I have some good friends in Roermond - beautiful city!

[@sheiladlm]

Very informative 👍👍

[@junming4976]

Hey! Just wondering, are the scales detachable? That is my concern right now.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

No they're not, they are fixed to the machine. I can say I've never felt that I needed them to be detachable though

[@junming4976]

@@nickscoffeestudio Oh, I see! Thank you! I love the content, by the way, keep it up!

[@RustyHammer6]

I have one coming!

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Fantastic! Hope you enjoy it :)

[@ZainAmjad]

They gave a good reason for not allowing other portafilters; because it's a new product, they don't want situations where customers start reporting problems and the root cause is down to 3rd party products. They want to keep it closed so it's easier to enhance and fix any possible issues arising

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Yeah and this makes total sense from the manufacturer point of view. For the most part, the portafilter is excellent and I don't see any need to upgrade anyway :) Thanks for the comment! Are you backing?!

[@ZainAmjad]

@ that's great to know! Yep I'm backing 😁

[@nickscoffeestudio]

@@ZainAmjad Great stuff! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

[@grahamcousins1863]

if i buy it today will i get the newest version?

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Yes, any backers or buyers now will get the final production version

[@grahamcousins1863]

@@nickscoffeestudio Thank you!

[@rosemoon3190]

Nick, can you tell me the below? No one has been able to so far, including Meraki, which I find ridiculous. Want to back, but frustrated by this. 1) What's the special coating mentioned by Meraki on the steam wand that makes it easier to clean? Afraid it's likely teflon, which I don't want. 2) What all materials come into contact with hot water or milk? i.e. stainless steel, aluminum, plastic, teflon, Teflon, etc. If you could tell me this, I'd be so grateful. Hope to hear from you soon since backing time is running out fast.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Hello! To answer your first question - I don't know myself. I've sent an email to my Meraki contact asking this and hopefully will hear back soon. Your second question - 1. Water. The water tank is plastic. Both boilers are stainless steel. The high pressure piping inside is made of PTFE (teflon), same with the hot water spout, it's PTFE. Then the group and portafilter are stainless steel. 2. For the milk, same story, piping made from PTFE and the wand itself is stainless steel. I guess milk also comes into contact with the rubber seal where the temperature probe is built in at the bottom of the steam wand. Tom's Coffee Corner did a tear down video which might help in seeing the internals of the machine. I'll comment back here about the coating when Meraki come back to me :)

[@rosemoon3190]

@@nickscoffeestudio thanks so much!!! I'll keep an eye out for the remaining info! I wish someone would make an amazing espresso machine with health concerns in mind, aka no PTFE, aluminum, etc.

[@minecraft13149]

What grinder would you compare the built in grinder with? Is it anywhere near the level of a df64? Or is it closer to something like an encore esp?

[@nickscoffeestudio]

I have a fellow Opus which I used a lot before getting this machine. Grind quality is broadly similar, maybe the Meraki Takes the win by a margin. But the Meraki does much better in dialling in and retention and speed. I also have a Varia Evo which has the same burrs as the VS3 and Meraki is close on quality. I did a few shots on each to compare and got very similar results. The DF64 is a flat burr, so a little different.

[@mryoyo7741]

Is important piping is copper or metal?

[@nickscoffeestudio]

I will check and come back to you :)

[@mryoyo7741]

@ like from the boilers and connections

[@MortenRyberg]

I was so close to pre-ordering it, but two things keep me from doing so. 1: They removed the water filter, so I would have to descale very often, which is not good for the interior. 2: There is no repair service in Denmark. I would have to send it to either Sweden or Germany in case of service/repair, which is a big no-go!

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Fair points made. In an ideal world, we'd all use distilled water with TWW or similar additives. But yeah, not having the filter can be a little annoying if you're just planning on using bottled water / tap water. And I get your point about service locations - I'm based in Ireland and no coffee machine company has a presence here :(

[@acatwithwings8444]

Tbh, those water filters aren't any good. Does very little for scale.

[@johnbrotherton4382]

I have a silly question. But interested in a knowledgeable persons opinion. I own the barista touch. You think it’s worth the upgrade to the Meraki.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

If you are getting good espresso results from the Touch, and you're happy with how your shots are, then you need to decide if the upgrade is worth it. I've never used any of the Breville/Sage machines so I've no reference. If you feel like you've outgrown the Touch and want to upgrade, then yeah, the Meraki is going to be an upgrade with its rotary pump and stepless grinder. If you are getting the most out of your Touch, and you're happy with the coffee and want to get a bit more technical, I'd suggest you keep the Touch for everyday use and instead of upgrading to another dual boiler machine, go with a Flair 58 or something manual. It's a different experience and it will help you learn more about espresso! That's just my opinion, hope it helps!

[@hyomandibular]

Where would one get this serviced?

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Good question. I've asked about service repair locations, so I'll update you when I get an answer :)

[@danielfamadmin1450]

I am on the train 😅

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Nice! Which colour did you go for?

[@danielfamadmin1450]

@@nickscoffeestudio I choosed the Black One. But one more question: Do you know if there will be a basket for single shot Espresso, like about 8-10g?

[@nickscoffeestudio]

@@danielfamadmin1450 It comes with an 18g basket only. But you can easily get a single basket separately. Any 58mm basket will work in the portafilter :)

[@danielfamadmin1450]

@@nickscoffeestudio Ah this is a very helpful information! I thought other supplier won´t fit... Thanks! Can you recommend one?

[@N4PP4]

thanks! please however, your wabbling white table makes me nervous 😅

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Haha, I agree, I'm going to replace it soon, these little Ikea tables are not designed to have 30kg of espresso machines on them!

[@nori_zt]

Не сказав за ціну. Можливо якось опосередковано і назвав ціну конкурента. Але ціну цього шедевру так і не назвав. Я її точно буду купувати

[@nickscoffeestudio]

It's on Indiegogo right now for €1240. RRP is likely to be around the €1800 mark

[@Alpiina]

I really like your effort and quality of the Video. But please get a stable table. The shaking of the table is so annoying. Looking forward for my Meraki tho :)

[@nickscoffeestudio]

I completely agree! A new countertop is in the works for future videos. Doesn't help that the Meraki kit is like 15Kg though ;)

[@peterpan69]

I am the person who wants to press a button and get my espresso. and i drive a tesla. And I bet you would say something very different when sage or whatever sends you a machine to try out.

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Each to their own. I think my comparison is valid, and that’s all it is; a comparison. Our preferences don’t need to align. And if Sage ever do send me a machine to review it won’t change my preference in how I personally approach making coffee. So long as we all enjoy the coffee we make that’s all that matters 😉

[@stevesimeonidis5488]

Create Video! But you need get a better desk/table, moves a lot

[@nickscoffeestudio]

I know, it's on the list!

[@pepsico64]

Me✋️

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Amazing! Did you go for black or white?

[@tonysvensson6108]

Good until the crap about Tesla

[@nickscoffeestudio]

I think it’s a valid comparison, no?

[@tonysvensson6108]

@ No. Alot more enjoyment from a Tesla. Only the sound from GTI may be missing, sometines

[@nickscoffeestudio]

My point here is to state the difference to a beginner between having something that can be operated manually vs something that is fully automated. If you're into cars, having a manual gearbox means full control, but you need to know how to use it. The same way the Meraki gives you that control aspect, though you need to understand espresso. Both the Oracle Jet and Meraki make good coffee, same as how the GTI and Teslas are both good cars. The difference is in how you operate them. Some will enjoy one over the other. Both can be enjoyed immensely. But people tend to fall into one bracket or another.

[@haegarNL]

So you wanna be the 123.th Coffee Channel on KZbin? Well so far unfortunately I dont see any difference to the first 122.ones: some guy sitting next to a (delivered at no charge) machine and repeats the PR buzzword from the producer… no technical tests, no look inside the machine, no idea about important parameters like temperature stability. So disappointing that there are hardly any real test experts out there on KZbin 😢

[@nickscoffeestudio]

Thanks for the comment, I'll take being the 123rd (or 123th as you put it) coffee channel on KZbin. If you so desperately would like some information on different parameters, I'm sure I, or any other testers would be happy to provide that information if asked nicely. I might suggest to check your own temperature stability as a person. All the best!

[@TheMkoester]

Nick - why do you commit the same mistake as all the other youtube beginners? Why that damn music in the background? It is no good and total unnecessary!

[@Itsameamario34]

Beg to differ. I loved the background music. It was very relaxing and didn’t detract from his review.