The Weirdest & Scariest Custom Espresso Machine I Own

[@KeesvdWesten]

Kees remembers it as a good fun project, building this espresso contraption for the good cause. Thanks for showing how to actually use it, even if it is once only!

[@denniskatinas]

Hey Kees, James, wouldn’t it be cool for you two to get together and build one of these as a tutorial for all of us, parts lists, tools needed, everything. I like to build one!

[@asdcdweadasd]

If I blow myself up while building one of these, I'm blaming both of you. Absolutely brilliant

[@denniskatinas]

Luca Bernardi you can blame me, as long as you dont hate me haha.

[@thecainer64]

I think it is awesome! I would use that thing all the time. Too cool.

[@greywolfblooddoom664]

How can i startbuilding these! I need to learn how to do this

[@GPflashclass]

I've never seen James happier in a video than when he rang the bell on his machine :)

[@UncleSkiBum]

Dude I would love a bell on my machine!! Ding, orders up 😎

[@6122ula]

GP ...The bell is rung when the Coffee ☕️ is ready ...🕶

[@marcojimenez2725]

2:02

[@slickstretch6391]

You must have not yet seen the video where he turns a krispy kreme donut into coffee. When he first tries it he giggles like a little kid.

[@tigersnigel]

I used to work in this shop in Edinburgh where we had a lovely three group kees van der westen mirage idrocompresso spring lever machine. I emailed Kees a couple of times to ask about some advice on maintenance on the groups (lots of fun re-greasing and seal replacement that needed doing now and then) and he always got back with super helpful instructions and ended all his emails with "All the fat crema, Kees".

[@Farmeraap]

Of course a Dutch espresso machine maker uses a bicycle in his build

[@phichuu1160]

@ maybe the wooden shoe was meant to be under the drip tray instead of the white tub 😂

[@nicholasroos3627]

Hmmm. I'm starting to wonder if this is why bike theft rates are what they are there.

[@mattbell9591]

Super interesting to see you display some of your technical/engineering knowledge. It's easy to forget all the stuff that goes into making a shot!

[@ardensvirens]

When you need your morning shot and all you have is an IED.

[@darianelwood5946]

Cristian Rogers that’s actually pretty creative

[@greebatic]

Improvised Espresso Dispenser

[@martinkulik9466]

no need for a morning shot if you know how water tastes from these crappy e61 machines. luckily I stopped using mine after few months. now my hot water touches only porcelain along with coffee. no need for a shot that has bad water

[@MRmatt2504]

😂

[@mrjenybean]

That cracked me up bro hahaha

[@Bulleht]

I repair espresso machines as my dayjob, and this is so fun to watch! Especially, with the e61 groupheads.

[@davidmcdaniel6270]

Please fix my CC1!!!

[@dannyanderson6472]

the lack of safety valve combined with manual fill didn't ring ay alarm bells though ?? recipe for destruction. I wouldn't turn my back on it for a second, but then why would you, id want to be using it. every time I scrap a machine I think about doing this

[@benekl7266]

@Bulleht can you please tell me where you get your copper piping, valves, gages and connectors from? Haven't got/found a reliable source yet. Thanks in advance 😊

[@chrisjason38]

@@benekl7266 grainger

[@habit5538]

Holy shit I am so early, James I just wanted to say you are at least 90% of the reason I have a coffee addiction

[@jameshoffmann]

As long as coffee is lots of fun, that’s great news!

[@habit5538]

@@jameshoffmann Absolutely, and it has gotten more fun with each of your videos!

[@00nix87]

I'm soooo with ya!!!

[@YaamFel]

Same here haha. Weirdly I got james recommended to me before getting into coffee for other reasons, but he has been huge on my journey

[@Tazdingo01]

This makes me want to build a steampunk coffee maker. Activated by a rolling a marble. Haha!

[@talisolin]

Sounds like something to add to the wintergarten machine

[@Gildaaaaaaas]

@@talisolin Exactly my thoughts when reading this comment, what a crossover it would be

[@grahamsales1249]

Thank you for your concept. Its not hard to do. Graham (Electrician) NZ.

[@danielbateman6518]

I think all espresso machines should have a bike bell, it's just a nice touch.

[@doctorhani]

😂😂😂

[@AronBagel]

In my experience, Kees van der Westen machines are kinda like the Alfa Romeo of espresso machines - they’re quirky, can be a nightmare to maintain and keep running, something is always broken, but they’re pure eye candy and will simply just make you happy.

[@Irsyad711]

or Mini Cooper

[@bjorngerlach7829]

Every time he says “I hope you have a great day” it just really warms my heart. Can’t explain it...

[@Jackcat626]

Okay so I’m watching this video and all of a sudden an ad comes up for the Breville Bambino and it’s very sterile and nice and then it flicks back to James @4:57 hunched over this absolute contraption and fuck it really showed the how far some people will go to be creative with their coffee also gave me a good laugh

[@thanhnamnguyen5280]

imagine hitting the bell in the morning and say "It's COFFEE TIME !!!"

[@meneereenhoorn]

Or dinging when the espresso is done for your customer :).

[@ThisIsWideAngle]

And you scream COFFEE TIME at the top of your lungs like a caffein overdosed maniac.

[@DerHerrMitR]

"How do you like your coffee?" "It is complicated."

[@DigitalicaEG]

Using anything but a clear incandescent Edison bulb in this thing seems like blasphemy.

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

Shoulda used grandpa's old incandescent Christmas lights, wrapped all the way around the heated piping of course.

[@ultrademigod]

I think it's called a clear incandescent Swan bulb.

[@DigitalicaEG]

Funk Cult pretty sure it's called an Edison bulb.

[@ultrademigod]

@@DigitalicaEG Maybe where you live. But in the country where the clear incandescent bulb was invented it is named after the person who invented it, not some thief who stole the idea and then took credit for it.

[@DigitalicaEG]

@@ultrademigod it's not called a Tesla bulb unfortunately. It's called an Edison bulb everywhere. Google it

[@apprenticecreative6759]

"Gonna make some espresso with this espresso machine. Just need to build an espresso machine and we're good to go!"

[@oliverpicton4268]

The advert in this video was talking about Nespresso and their new innovative coffee, and in sat here about to skip and return to a world champion barista play with a coffee machine made from a bike. Now that’s innovation :)

[@devoid42]

As a maker nerd myself, and a lifetime coffee lover, this makes me happy on the inside. There is just something so pleasing in having complete control over the process and knowing exactly what is happening while you are pulling the shot.

[@TheHslade3]

🥺 I knew the machine at once. If not for the UK specialty community, we would likely not have made it through the post-fire rebuild. Thank you, James.

[@ile_klikow]

I can't believe you've called this ugly. It's so raw that it actually is beautiful. I'd like to own the hell out out this machine

[@unlink1649]

Why does James have a full blown workshop and is completely cool with fiddling around with mains? This guy keeps surprising me. There is definitely more to him than just coffee

[@inês01]

when the world is apocalyptic but you still need your morning coffee

[@DB-kl6xs]

this comment has a heavier weight right now then when you first wrote it. I love the steampunk look of this mashine! Hope you´re staying healthy.

[@NeilBraun]

Oh my... If I had that thing I would have so many burns I would terrify children and I would never ever go to sleep again. I can't believe this, I'm in love with an espresso machine.

[@williambennett6526]

"That's kind of a thing" and "just a little bit unconventional". The statements are civilized and understated accompanied with the all important eye stare. I love the subject matter but equally the intelligent delivery. Quality stuff James. Love your work....from Billy down under.

[@ManuelDornbusch]

So the next thing after the "I roast the coffee beans myself" tribe is the "I weld my own single boiler cycle machine" tribe

[@SeanDion]

And I will be randomly giving this away to someone on the Patreon...... Pretty sure I heard this in the video, right, right? ;) Thanks for all the great content!

[@darianelwood5946]

Sean Dion I hope so, much better then the junk delonghi I have at home

[@jorge23483]

I'm afraid any custom will retain this Espresso machine fearing is a Weapon of Mass Caffeine Distribution🙌😂

[@jamesb.ofdesertdistrict567]

Sean Dion I’m in the Patreon

[@sonny9390]

Darian Elwood I use to have a delonghi now I have s highly unstable gaggia slight improvement

[@darianelwood5946]

Sonny Bell I have one of the lowest models tho

[@PetrosArgy]

I've been thinking about ways to rebuild my (almost) 30 year old Astoria and make it fun. This is giving me some inspiration! Thanks!

[@LegendsWorkshop]

I just saw this. Love it! If you look at the top of the steam boiler, there's a thermosyphon adjuster to allow you to adjust the group idle temperature based on your shot pulling frequency. If you spend some time with it using a Scace device, you can certainly adjust it to a perfect temperature for pulling either one shot without flushing, or several. What a fun project: cf. Picasso's Bull's Head, Duchamp's Readymades, a true functioning work of art made with one of the Netherlands' iconic bicycles.

[@sunzaolive]

Am I the only one love these steampunk machines and James' glasses! I found these two elements match each other quite lovely!

[@MohanKumar-xn9vr]

How mad Max would make his espresso 😂 Also, I think I may have an addiction to your channel. Been going through some withdrawal for the last few days.

[@manveruppd]

I always thought Mad Max would use salvaged car components :D

[@TrevorDyck]

James, what a treat. Thank you for sharing this with everyone! I love functional one-off fabri-cobbled apparatuses like this. It's weird, it's unique, and it functions!

[@tomgimon5267]

“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.” - Hunter S. Thompson

[@calaphos]

I love that glas window showing the boiler water level! I want one of these on my machine now :)

[@moi7748]

Wow! Bloody brilliant! I'd really love to have one of those - as a plumber I suppose I could build one, as its pretty simple really. Thanks for showing us it - great video 😁👍👍

[@stuartcarden5402]

This is definitely how Doc Brown makes his coffee in the morning :D

[@jaysteels]

I can dig James' descent into a mad coffee scientist; post-apocalyptic mad max machines, microwaves, the lot

[@muthi_hib]

02:06 "How good is that!!" + The expression = 💥🏵️💐🌼

[@matt014908]

So much more stunning than many coffee machines, should be in use everyday

[@fmclips877]

It's like watching LTT but with coffee 😂😂

[@jameshoffmann]

JCT doesn’t have quite the same ring...

[@doctorpc1531]

@@jameshoffmann This does remind me - any chance you might do a video on what one can do to achieve the best (or least bad) results with the absolute bottom of the market, sub-100 dollar espresso machines? We're talking De'Longhi EC115M, Saeco Poemia, Gaggia Viva Style, etc. Might as well then also explore the cheapskate's coffee grinders - the Krups GVX212's and Cuisinart DBM-8s of the world. Questions that might be explored here include how to avoid mistakes that would make the coffee produced even worse than it need be, how to align the few aspects of control you do have (dose, how long to run the shot, whether to heat the machine up to steaming temperature even for brewing (my father used to do this all the time), grind size, tamping) to give you the best chance of pulling at least an alright shot (or one the flaws of which are more easily masked by milk), which aspects of a setup like this should one first consider upgrading (eg. try cheap grinder coffee in a more upmarket machine or well ground coffee in a cheap machine), that sort of thing. An evaluation whether these sorts of things are ever a good option or should one always always always just save up or buy used could also be interesting!

[@AlbertoRestifo]

Nah, he didn't drop anything

[@twinkboy]

yeeeeees jamse's coffee tips fucking love it been binge watching his vid's for 3 days now and you just made me realize what it is i love so much about this channel

[@fmclips877]

@@jameshoffmann JCT have better rig .😆😆

[@inhouseprod]

Was really hoping the bicycle bell would ring when the boiler reached temp.

[@Dorrinator]

I would ring the Bell like everytime I made a Shot of Espresso! This is such a great idea for an Espresso machine, just love it!

[@mistafishman]

I feel like I’m having a fever dream, seeing a bench test video as if I were watching water-cooled PC overclocking on a tech channel but it’s coffee.... Pretty good dream

[@DanielVSL]

That thing is amazing, being able to see all the bits and pieces in a machine is almost always a thing of beauty.

[@Faebske]

Oh shit, I only drink coffee once per month but I am bingewatching this channel for the last few days... your content is just too good

[@944obscene]

This is fantastic. Should definitely be used for entertaining, and as a conversation piece. I love my equipment, and leave it out in the kitchen because I feel it adds an aesthetic that friend's homes lack frankly. If I had that thing, I would be obsessed with it.

[@dedikilcool]

I got to hand it to you, you are the "David Attenborough" of coffee. Really, I can close my eyes and listen to you explain in detail the mating habits of heat-exchange coffee machines (which is different then dual-boilers of course). I like drinking good coffee. I never took interest on making it. Thank you for making coffee such an interesting topic.

[@TheKurtlocker]

I want that thing so badly! Thanks for sharing. It’s awesome to see custom pieces of kit like that...makes me want to get creative...

[@krszm]

2:05 I don't know why but I'm super happy hearing that RING RING sound :D

[@HPBlakeney]

Seeing this makes me want to build the steampunk espresso machine I came up with a while back. I have no idea where to start with building in, but I still want to try.

[@IMAWriterRobJ]

Excellent vid, and during this Covid period, a seriously nice distraction. Kees is brilliant.

[@rodrigorivera8224]

Excellent video, thank you very much for it!

[@polsifter]

OMFG! Saw this years ago at a cupping when Square Mile were based at Pritchard’s Rd. asked then if it worked and I was assured it did... fast forward 5?6? Years and here is the proof that it does... #amazing Love this video and thanks James for firing up the olde beast of a machina!

[@BubbaLichvar]

What a glorious, weird, unique, and dangerous contraption. I love it.

[@rumidude]

Again, it was informing as well as entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a mater of fact I hit the like button only a couple minutes into viewing because I knew it was going to be fun. Thanks for sharing your frankenstein espresso machine with us. And thank you to Kees van der Westen for building that beautiful piece of art.

[@darrenwan4095]

Your next series needs to be “James designs and builds his own espresso machine” with about an hour of you imploring the viewers to never try this at home.

[@graphene1487]

You must get so many offers to purchase this machine. So fascinating and raw.

[@TheVulgarOrge]

2:06 the realest joy I’ve ever seen on your face.

[@Evral5]

As as Barista and small batch roaster who is constantly studying after years of experience with many machines. As an oxymoron, this is the most beautiful, dirty steam punk espresso machine I've ever seen. As far as operation, yes, it's terrifying. Thanks for sharing.

[@liddlyy]

I think this is just the video to show perspective students of coffee about how an espresso machine works. Thank you James!

[@HermannKerr]

That is one beautiful espresso machine. I am a person who has several commercial espresso machines sitting around with no manuals. One I know doesn't work - the pump doesn't work but the second one is suppose to and it came with an external pump which might have been just for line pressure. Most importantly I don't tend to react to fear in fact it tends to draw me in. I get a real kick out of your video blogs.

[@GlowGlobe]

This was great. Would love to see more videos about machine mechanics. Would be great to learn about water for espresso too; source and filters etc. Thanks for all your work James 🙏

[@rudetuesday]

I saw this video was up, so I made a pourover and sat down to enjoy both coffee and vid, and scarcely needed the coffee. What an alarming-looking machine! This was fun.

[@thomaskoch8608]

I don't know why, but this machine is so much fitting to your personality, James!

[@FrogRider]

Thanks James, it was super fun watching you work that beast of a machine.

[@JoshCunningham]

really appreciate the content and quality so far. Thank you!

[@sayari2547]

Great content to, that is one sexy beast of a machine. Also wanted to point out how on point your choice of music is especially given subject matter, keep up good work.

[@jameshoffmann]

Thank you!

[@Gasnar]

This is probably one of my favorite videos you have made! Keep up the good work!

[@taylorfenton96]

Saw this in the entrance to the roastery when I visited, I've wondered about it ever since!

[@mikescudder4621]

I love that beast of a machine! I'd happily use it daily. Art and coffee, a good way to start the day!

[@annagreen809]

Having just watched the hilarous fiasco that was your smart coffee scales review, it was very cathartic to see you here clearly having a great time playing with a favourite toy :) keep it up!

[@trumanseverson]

watching that beautiful fluffy coffee drop at 9:43 was the most satisfying moment here.

[@MikhailKong]

Is it just me, or do we want to see more "engineering James"? This has a Wintergatan-esque feeling about it~

[@bboulette08]

I love that video! Waiting for you to run that machine since forever.

[@baptistekreyder]

I remember the night you bought this weird but sensational machine. Watching your videos, I was wondering whatever happened to it. Was it ever used to make coffee ? Now I know ! Cheers

[@jannsander]

Just awesome! The builder has to be a genius...

[@JonPeterson]

Awesome! I want to build one now...

[@ruanvorster3845]

Just want to say. So love your passion for coffee.

[@panp1222]

I am in love with that Espresso machine, it look awesome and unique

[@hanzohcafe]

That was cool Sir James! Looks like it makes better espresso than my breville cafe roma haha! Btw I am still in the process of reading your World of Atlas! Awesome book so far! 😎

[@HumanJesse]

omg i am a huge kees fan! this art piece reminds me so much of the il bruto. one day i hope to own a custom like this.

[@_intrepid]

Wow! That's a cool workshop and an awesome machine.

[@jameshaulenbeek5931]

That's amazing! I love it! I really enjoy seeing how things work, so this machine is quite beautiful to me.

[@Losetheblues]

This is so awesome that I yet have to find words for just how awesome it is.

[@_alex_fleming_8580]

James, this is the greatest thing I have ever seen ! Well done on this vid !!!

[@HADDDOCK777]

As someone who works with mechanical systems, heat systems and fabrication every day, this is bliss.

[@mistersilly9012]

i'm really pleased this ended up in the possession of someone who knows the details of espresso machine mechanics

[@adamtousek7622]

Mad James: Espresso road. You should sell it in an auction. I would love to have this kind off hellish machine.

[@Thekidfromcalifornia2.0]

I love the “level” I love the hands on feel.

[@ArmandoFaust]

Dramatic steam, i want a t-shirt with this! Merry christmas 😍

[@CannedLaughter00]

That is probably what the first espresso machine looked like. It would have been hilarious to see the machine put on the actual bike itself, so you can ride around and make coffee XD

[@jameshoffmann]

That would be pretty cool and incredibly dangerous!

[@brentroman]

Ismael or if you could power the boiler by riding a stationary bike. Bike powered espresso!

[@AvivRaphael]

@@brentroman so cool!!

[@CisIP1862]

@@brentroman My back-of-the-envelope calculation says that it takes 10 stationary bikes to power a Moccamaster, so I reckon you'd need twice that amount to reliably cope with the peak demand of an espresso machine.

[@lantermandrums]

that thing is incredible. thanks for the video james!

[@user-nm8nh3kq8y]

The only thing more scary and wonderful than that machine is James's grinning.. 😂😂😂

[@tidalkingv]

That is simply amazingly awesome. I would like to see more weird, scary coffee machines.

[@karinagray6538]

How have I managed to miss this video? 🤔 How quirky! Aww boys and their toys. Love how excited you got getting this up and running. Clearly in your element. If my machine ever breaks down, I know who to call! 😂

[@innesdunbar]

As soon as James rung the bell I clicked the Like Button!

[@brendanhayes5565]

I think all coffee machines should have a bell, what an amazing thing this is, love it.

[@darrenlepper1473]

“How good is that?!” So good. So cool.

[@Vveegaa]

Pleeease use this amazing thing again!!😍

[@amomentsemotion]

This is truly amazing! Makes me feel that I could possibly build one of these myself.