We Made A Modular Espresso Machine

In this video, we introduce the Epoch manual espresso machine, and share some of our design and manufacturing process.
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[@chronovaengineering]

Hi everyone, thanks for checking out our video! If you have any questions about the espresso machine, let us know in the comments below.

[@aarondavidson6409]

There should be an option to pin this to the top of the comment feed :) Amazing work, looking forward to hearing more!

[@janeblogs324]

Where are based/from Chronova?

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Jane, we’re based in Hampshire, England.

[@smartwatchonpluto]

You could easily make a activated charcoal water filter from this.

[@nightowl9792]

I am appalled to see that you are charging £750 for one of these units, not even assembled, or with a base or handle! That’s almost double the price of the aram and the robot, which are almost identical to your designs… plus, that’s the kickstarter price, so there isn’t even any guarantee that you’ll send the products!😢 how can you possibly justify such an outrageous price?

[@MrCrazyChemist]

Perhaps you could send one to James Hoffman, maybe he'll review it and give you lots of exposure.

[@kajetanjawr995]

thought the same thing xd

[@chronovaengineering]

We will reach out to him and see if he’s interested. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@nathanfauvette2151]

There's little to no chance he will, he doesn't do Kickstarter projects as far as I know, Lance Hedrick might though.

[@weatheranddarkness]

@@nathanfauvette2151 He's reviewed or participated in a few.

[@felicityfoo6240]

@@weatheranddarkness I believe the kickstarter campaigns he has reviewed are mostly posted years/months after the product has been released. If not mistaken, he reviews product variations that the end consumer receives to have an accurate user experience

[@TheBookDoctor]

Genius pressure gauge. I love really clever designs like that which turn "unwanted" aspects of materials into something useful.

[@weatheranddarkness]

It's the same theory as a torque wrench. Which in a way is the same concept as how a mechanical dial gauge works too, just with parts at different scales.

[@gelo1238]

I think this was used in early torque wrenches

[@mikairu2944]

Did I watch a 17 minute ad for a nearly $1000 machine that doesn't even ship to my country the same day I purchased a semiauto espresso maker? Yes I did.

[@soundmindtv2911]

The torque wrench design for estimating pressure is really clever. I love it

[@canowyrms]

These look like fantastic products - a lovely intersection of engineering and coffee. I love that end-user DIY is so highly considered and accommodated. I would love to see James Hoffmann give these a go - please see if you can get in touch with him!

[@error.418]

Or Lance Hedrick for that matter

[@lephtovermeet]

I'm honestly quite impressed with your manual machining ability. Those are some high precision old school techniques and I'm glad people still remember and use them.

[@QWEEKEN73]

That is so cool! I think the use of fundamental application of physics over a need for gauges is such a neat idea. Interested in seeing where this goes!

[@jimsvideos7201]

The Helix is a eureka moment; it could make this wonderfully accessible to users with limited upper body strength or mobility.

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

Its a copy of Spinspro, a manual helix espresso machine.

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

Actually, there seemed to be even an earlier version. Aram Espresso Maker, it was featured on James Hoffman channel. Its identical to this, even in shape.

[@SantiagoLuz]

All of this is fascinating! Impressive! You solved two main issues of ARAM espresso machine that bothered me the most. Water temperature and pressure reading - this one in such elegant way!!! Awesome!

[@IOUaUsername]

I want one of these that mounts to the kitchen sink or bench like a faucet/tap as a fixture in the kitchen. It would pair beautifully with a boiling water tap system. Maybe a hydraulic pedal tucked under the cabinetry at floor level. Baby oil is food safe (just upsets your stomach) and used in mountain bike brakes.

[@Myrkskog]

As a furniture maker and woodturner and someone that has long been tempted with mechanical coffee machines, this is so cool. I look forward to it's release!

[@slothsarecool]

Amazing, really cool to see all the engineering details, I’d definitely pick one up whenever they become available

[@rhubarbpie2027]

I *LIVE* for well-engineered mechanical devices with elegant simplicity. I wish your team all the success you deserve!

[@jaguirre940]

looks amazing and really enjoyed the assembly/explanation bit it honestly looks like joy to use and cant wait to replace my faulty delonghi with this!!

[@mehrdadhaghighi5140]

This is just beautiful!!!

[@liamosuilleabhain9965]

I presume it's already addressed in following versions, but the cuts at 5:59 could cause some fatiguing at the corners. Lovely machine.

[@patkirk960]

Bothered me too. Radius at the ends of the thinned section is a must

[@igordemetriusalencar5861]

I love my Aram!! I will check it out, I see the inspiration.

[@_brutalista]

Looks very interesting, I would seriously consider this if it's in my price range. I like things that are built with an intent to last.

[@johnmoorefilm]

Lovely stuff will do

[@TheBrokenEclipse]

I love the thoughtfulness and the simplicity you have given the design.

[@davidec.4021]

Can’t wait for James Hoffman to get his hands on this

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Beautifully designed and executed. An inspirational pair of espresso machines. Good luck with the Kickstarter campaign 👏👏👍😀

[@btudrus]

Is it plastics inside - that white cylinder? If so, do you have a better alternative, maybe?

[@BillBroadley]

Certainly looks like it, I read the kickstarter page, some forums, and watched the youtube videos and couldn't find anywhere that mentioned the material.

[@JoshuaRilliet]

Bonjour, je ne suis pas amateur de café ni de thé mais vos machines je les trouve magnifique, superbement réalisées, un savant mélange de beaux matériaux et de belle technologie certes "simple" mais d'une efficacité redoutable. Bravo et merci pour la vidéo explicative de la construction, l'ancien chaudronnier/mécanicien en tous genres que j'étais, apprécie de regarder ce genre de vidéos bien filmées, bien montées et agréables à visionner.

[@reeciep]

James Hoffman reviewed the Aram Espresso Maker about 3 years ago which uses a principle similar to the Helix

[@benjaminabbottscott]

Gorgeous.

[@user-vl1xv1tu8n]

Perfect !

[@J.C...]

Nice bookmatch! 👌

[@koyomifebius3219]

All i can say is impressive!

[@jalfredprufrock1915]

This deserves to be open source

[@onlooker774]

Looking forward to seeing it mass production...

[@phpn99]

We now need James Hoffmann to review the designs

[@allenng2348]

Saw this and got excited...went to their website and saw their other work (a good sign for a KS campaign)...then saw that their other work is all €5,000 - €10,000...not hopeful that this will be at a price point in which I'll still be interested. :-(

[@Plan3tBob]

£750.

[@evrythingis1]

@@Plan3tBob And makes coffee worse than a $15 french press LOL

[@Plan3tBob]

@@evrythingis1 :( Shame it is so expensive too as I love the idea of what it is and how it's made. However I couldn't justify the cost and if I did go for a manual it would likely be something which is on version 3-4 by now to iron out the kinks.

[@cjfthistle]

Please, can you give us an idea of price? Even a ballpark figure? I need to know if I can afford to dream of owning one!

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Christopher, we’ll be offering several tiers ranging from DIY kits priced around £750 up to £3000 for personalised machines. One of the middle price tiers will be a finished machine for around £950.

[@michaeldimmitt2188]

@@chronovaengineering Thank you for a clear answer. It really helps us dreamers!

[@elitedeciel]

@@chronovaengineering Though I really think this is going to be great product, it's above my current budget. But it's a beautiful design!

[@lorimcquinn3966]

@@chronovaengineering The pricing is very close to established market options which have established parts back-up and no PTFE chamber. I'll have to pass although it's interesting to say the least. Good luck.

[@ultimantninja375]

love the idea just wish it was in my price range

[@FURIOUSAM31]

I'm Italian this looks great

[@POTThaesslich]

beautiful design, the pressure gauge works similarly to a torque wrench I have for my bike. Great product, alas I fear it'll be outside my price range.

[@BenJoelLush]

Fantastic

[@binder946]

I love the fact you designed a simple durable machine that can last over many generations. I really think it should be bought back the art of forever machines with multi generational life.

[@error.418]

Yeah, my very first concern was temperature control. Glad you discussed it, but would certainly like to hear more.

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Username, we have some additional temperature tests planned, from which the detailed results will be published on the Kickstarter page.

[@error.418]

@@chronovaengineering Super appreciate it, thank you!

[@1943vermork]

I stopped using ROK espresso lever machine because of the lack of pressure gauge and poor temperature stability. I’m now using Flair 58 equipped with the heating element and fitted a temperature probe to make sure I’m pulling a shot at 94C. And even with all that, there is quite a learning curve and tricks to use for the heat consistency. Also, I highly recommend using a puck screen. Lever machine destroy the puck when transferring the water from top to bottom. Else you end up with crazy channeling and a dirty mess to clean. Love the screw system but I can already see it will most likely be too slow when priming the piston (losing heat and time) and then purging after. Manual lever machine are quite time consuming when used regularly.

[@ll-tb2tg]

will these be for sale to the general public after the kickstarter? The epoch helix looks like the best manual machine I've ever seen! Wish the algorithm had shown this video to me sooner

[@benzac119]

Really love what you guys did. Not just only highlight the craft and care that goes behind the the product but also manage to be completely honest about how it work and how it will deliver. Very rare for kickstarter project indeed.

[@SantiagoLuz]

Absolutely!!! This is fascinating!

[@champs1076]

Wow that's "Aram" 2.0 - impressive 👏Also, I don't bother if it has some eletric component in it, like in the Flair58 for pre-heating the system ☕

[@cascaderetriever7618]

Beautiful! I want one! the plastic cylinder liner scares me. So many plastics leach pfas and stuff into hit fluids. Will it be available in stainless liner?

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

Several similar design in aliexpress, not sure where the novelty lies? In the helix design maybe?

[@dator36]

Do you think you'd be able to design a box to disassemble the press and store it easily for travel?

[@TomatePasFraiche]

Ah man, I'd love one of those but too expensive for me. Good luck with the project, it looks amazing already!

[@paulie-g]

They're too expensive for anyone, period. $1200 is robbery unless you consider this an object d'art. You can get an excellent pro-level machine with a manual lever for that money.

[@markrainford1219]

@@paulie-g Not for poor people, that's for sure. But they will sell thousands nonetheless. The kind of people who spend three grand on a boiling water tap aren't going to blink an eye at this. Once one person in a wealthy circle buys one, they'll all have to have one.

[@KarooD]

A very inspiring design - congratulations! A query: Does the metal piston ( and conrod ) result in any significant heat loss; and, if so, would a more efficient material for these components perhaps be preferable? This would minimize the preheat cycles required; especially in a camping/camper environment.

[@marcuspagel]

Beutiful design. We need to get James Hoffmann to review these!!!

[@CaptZenPetabyte]

Seriously #wishlist ❤

[@JeffRAllenCH]

Made me thirsty for s coffee just watching it! Looking forward to ordering one.

[@MassDynamic]

sometimes a simple machine is the best machine.

[@hohinlam7996]

engine bros for the win love it

[@jslanfranchi]

Interested to see how this goes! Good luck to you, very smart approach to the pressure gauge.

[@methylmike]

Uhhh, guys, holy shit! This is art

[@PeterSpringhall]

Looks very interesting but I’m too late for kickstarter. When do you think the lever version would go into production?

[@Ti_Flame]

Is the Material only in prototyping Out of Aluminium?

[@user-yj6nb2xl3g]

James Hoffman = Heat Managment

[@danielzaytsev644]

any idea when it might launc? very cool product and very cool video!

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Daniel, the campaign is now live on Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/chronovaengineering/epoch-the-modular-manual-espresso-machine

[@user-ji9mt7wt3d]

I love your design idea and I'm interested to buy one for using in my home. May I ask about the price and do you shipping to another country ? . Thank you very much 😊

[@WTFA54]

This is such an elegant design and I'd love to see other coffee content creators get their hands on this to help your project grow! Some other big figures who've looked at other manual brewers are Lance Hedrick, Kyle Roswell, Morgan Eckroth, and The Real Sprometheus! Looking forward to the Kickstarter!

[@LyndanTylor]

Is there a away to buy this since the Kickstarter is over?

[@The88Cheat]

So. Cool.

[@JustTony72]

As a manual espresso lover. This is deeply satisfying

[@playmaka2007]

Would love to see James Hoffman get his hands on this!

[@cricocoo]

Instead of kickstarter, maybe you could organize full week workshops for people to learn metalworking, woodworking, espressoworking and end up with their own personal machine. Good luck!

[@micmike]

Nice, it would be a great project to build the entire press.

[@tom9836]

can the height be higher to allow more space for a digital scale + cup under the basket?

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Tom, yes, one of the optional add-ons is a riser block which increases the clearance under the basket.

[@seongtaekbpang7545]

Request fromSouth Korea I watched your product yesterday. Do you not have any more products left for sale? How much will the item be? And shipping? Thank you

[@ChrisKramer_]

Where can we buy one of these?

[@jonaskuhn4001]

Is there any difference to the Flair?

[@chornykot03]

looks great, how much water can fit into the tank?

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Leonid, the max volume is approximately 90ml.

[@zconiglietti]

What's the white cylinder made out of?

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Dusan, the cylinder liner is food-safe PTFE.

[@brandonb417]

Two questions: 1) Why would there be a higher concentration of water in the center of a larger, 58mm, basket when water always seeks level, and pressure does not favor one side or the other, it is a uniform force over an area, the only time you get uneven distribution is in flow where wall friction reduces flow at the edges, I can't imagine flow is so high it would cause this. 2) For forces, couldn't the mechanical advantage just be increased to make it easier to pull the shot? Seems like the large amount of accessories for 58mm filter baskets would push a move toward that end, such as a jack leveler. I've been using one of those with my double boiler machine and it is a life saver.

[@kevingrant5904]

I would love to buy one of the lever press ones. I hope your kickstarter works out. I’ll definitely buy

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Kevin, thanks for your support! The Kickstarter is now live and accepting pledges: www.kickstarter.com/projects/chronovaengineering/epoch-the-modular-manual-espresso-machine

[@amirmwsc]

very interesting

[@DavidM2002]

Gorgeous. Brilliant ideas and designs. I notice that when you lock in the coffee grounds holders that it turns counter-clockwise. I find that very counter intuitive. Certainly counter intuitive to the machine that I'm accustomed to. As for mounting bases and your comment regarding narrow boats, you could also make a bulkhead mount to keep it off the counter entirely.

[@chronovaengineering]

Thanks for your comment David. We opted for the counter-clockwise lock to maintain compatibility with La Pavoni portafilters, which also lock this way. Great suggestion re bulkhead mount. We will look into that if there is enough interest.

[@MasterOfNone2023]

This is an amazing piece of design and engineering. Will you be making the plans available for purchase? I'd love to try making one once I finish getting my shop set up for machining

[@paulie-g]

They're charging $1200 for it, so my guess is a big, fat "no". Yes, it's well-engineered and well-machined, but the price is insane.

[@DeLucaEspressoRepair]

I would close to try this machine ☕

[@08yannch]

last generations? uses custom one way valve when it wears out replacement will be all but impossible, aluminium torque bar with no way of re-calibrating (aluminium being less than ideal as cyclic loading will have a grater effect as compared to a ferrous metal), custom pivot bushing sure it will have a long service life but if it is damaged during service or use it will be all but impossible to replace, and custom lead nut i like how you glossed over this part in you're video leading me to believe you are aware of its shortcomings.

[@noberubes]

What is the water chamber made from? What would be the max shot volume of water?

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Philip, the inside of the chamber is food safe PTFE (aka Teflon) and the maximum chamber volume is around 90ml. Hope that helps!

[@xaytana]

I'm curious what the cylinder liner is. I presume it's a ceramic material by the looks of it, I'm not sure what the proper name for the descriptor actually is but it has that slightly 'milky' look to it that some ceramic compounds have, and the thermal properties it'd provide. My only concern with this is price, considering these manual lever-pressure machines only come out of boutique companies of low volume and high cost; and I'm afraid sticking to the mantra will forever keep these within a very specific niche of the market, when in reality these are so simple and could be so cost-effective that anyone could have one on their countertop if they weren't a boutique item for the niche of the philiacs.

[@chronovaengineering]

We’ve tried both Acetal and PTFE for the liner. The examples you see in the video are the latter. PTFE is ideal because of the low friction properties but also its dimensional stability when submerged in water. We certainly considered ceramics. The challenge would be manufacturing them to the required tolerance. Thanks for watching!

[@stemazzo84]

Looks amazing! As with all manual levers though, I have a concern regarding heat loss. At minute 3:20 you show the read out of the brew temperature. So after 2 preheat you say the brew temperature is 95c. In this 30s while you brew your shot, would you know how much does the brew temperature drop? Say from 95c to 85c?

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Stefano, we have some further temperature tests planned and we’ll publish detailed results on the Kickstarter page. Right now, the thermocouples we used were located above the piston and in the cup, so the direct brew temperature will be somewhere between those temperatures. Many manual lever machines lack sufficient insulation to maintain high chamber temperatures but our chamber is walled with PTFE, which is a very effective insulation material.

[@stemazzo84]

@@chronovaengineering super!

[@yassersoopee4355]

Please let me know how I can get one in South Africa :)

[@michahalczuk9071]

Everything is fine and dandy, but why is *manual espresso maker multiple times the price of electric one?*

[@Lycanta]

It's just this one. The competitors are a lot cheaper 30-50%. This machine looks very nice but it is way to expensive.

[@cadthunkin]

Just found your channel a few days ago. Every video is so good. I'd like to know more about the electronics behind the little cnc mill you did. I've used arduinos for 3d printers but you mentioned a cnc shield. thx

[@stevenbeamish5739]

How far away roughly is it before I could get my hands on one?

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Steven, we’re launching the Kickstarter project at the start of May and plan to start shipping out batches from December this year. (Or if you happen to be in London tomorrow, you can come and test the machines on our stand at the London Coffee Festival!)

[@PetrusEskelinen]

How long does it take to preheat the chamber?

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Petrus, Personally, we normally use a single 30-second preheat which aligns nicely with the time it takes to do your puck preparation. But if you want to maximise the chamber temperature, two preheats are best.

[@warmooze]

Absolutely gorgeous piece of engineering, but why does it lock the wrong way?

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi warmooze, our machines are compatible with La Pavoni portafilters, which lock right-to-left.

[@hevancleifrasson5923]

Aram espresso sends a hug

[@gregchan2543]

I am very much interested, it is a very clean, simple and ingenious way of making espresso, how could I invest in this project to bring this to the market?

[@user-qk9yd1rb5g]

將成為一個 精美 實用 收藏品

[@michaelandersen7535]

What material is the cylinder liner? It looks like PTFE, but I think people are sort of against PTFE for food things these days, so I'm curious what you chose

[@michaelandersen7535]

I trawled through the comments and found one where you confirm it is PTFE. I personally don't have anything against PTFE at these low temperatures, but I do like the idea of something fully metal and wood. Something about polymers feel less "heirloom" to me. But I suppose you can't win: stainless steel would cause issues for brewing temperatures

[@michaelandersen7535]

Regardless, absolutely beautiful design. And elegant in its manufacturability. Congratulations and I wish you the best of luck in the Kickstarter

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi Michael, A lot of misinformation regarding PTFE has been circulating in recent years. Early versions of PTFE were manufactured using a chemical known as PFOA, which may damage the liver in high doses. According to the CDC, PFOA was phased out from PTFE manufacture many years ago. (Source: www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/PFOA_FactSheet.html) The other common concern relates to the fact that extreme overheating of PTFE (over 300 degC) can cause the polymer to break down but using boiling water (100 degC) keeps the temperature far below this threshold. There is no evidence to suggest that PTFE would present any safety concerns in this application. To quote the American Cancer Society: "Other than the possible risk of flu-like symptoms from breathing in fumes from heated cookware with non-stick coatings, there are no proven risks to humans from using these products. While PFAS can be used in making some of these coatings, it is not present (or is present in extremely small amounts) in the final products." (Source: www.cancer.org/healthy/cancer-causes/chemicals/teflon-and-perfluorooctanoic-acid-pfoa.html) Hope that helps!

[@simonkwan3074]

Wonder what the cost would be to make the liner from an engineering ceramic such as aluminium nitride?

[@lvvlw8056]

@@michaelandersen7535 Almost perfect!

[@The_Loathsome]

This looks amazing. I would consider having an option for an unstained and unfinished handles. I sanded the lacquer off my Flair 58 handle and put a mix of rosewood/Purple Heart stain on it and it absolutely pops.

[@pigetstuck]

plastic liner?

[@matthewsmith5883]

I love the pressure readout! So much neater than a gauge. Do you think that it's worthwhile to preheat your cup before putting the coffee into it? Or is this just a waste of energy

[@xaytana]

Except it literally is a gauge, it's just packaged to be more aesthetically pleasing. Flexion-based gauges have been used for quite some time, the only new thing here is how its packaged, and really the only reason why it'd be potentially worthy of a patent in the first place. If it's even patent-worthy then, as it's just flexion and lever amplification, the actual patent is probably for the machine as a whole, especially as how the gauge is an integrated part to the lever arm itself and not a separable device, of which then it would be patent-worthy; and probably what allows the machine to exist without infringing on similar machines' IPs. Preheating cups is also fairly common practice, as to not thermally shock what you're brewing, if you're drinking the brew straight. Look at Eastern methods of brewing tea, _everything_ involved gets preheated and rinsed, modernly some derivatives of these brewing methods also have a 'tea pet' of which changes color depending on temperature. Coffee, and really anything that is hot-brewed, should be treated the same way, as to not produce unfavorable tastes; much similar to how brewing too hot or too cold will affect the brew itself. Although I'd also argue that coffee is much more sensitive to temperatures and shock if you're drinking plain coffee, this is also why people will commonly add creamer and sugar, to offset any off-tastes; similarly, this is also why cream and sugar is added to tea, though modernly this hails from a period where pre-modern compressed tea would've been nearly undrinkable without cream and sugar, the basis of this comparison is the bitter notes that both coffee and tea can produce, though coffee can also produce sour notes if not at the correct temperatures. The only real time this isn't relevant is if you're making espresso-based cold drinks, where there's such a disparity in the volume of ingredients that the milk base will cover any off-tastes produced by blanching fresh espresso and really only leaving tasting notes from the brew and crema; you see similar things with fresh milk teas, though milk teas are also typically a much stronger brew to retain the tea's flavor that would otherwise be almost entirely masked by the milk, so it's not a direct comparison, but also shows why espresso is used instead of typical coffee for these drinks. It really just depends on what you're drinking and how you're drinking it, but in reality it's far better to keep everything at similar temperatures during the brew and letting it slowly come down in temperature as a whole to your preferred drinking temperature, even if doing so is more effort and a 'waste' of energy.

[@chronovaengineering]

Thank you! We preheat the cup. Since espresso cups are so small, it takes very little energy to do so.

[@dreamvisionary]

Beautiful looking machines.

[@abdulhamidwalidabdulhamid2353]

The hand drill.

[@rgalete]

How is this design different from the ARAM coffee maker?

[@chronovaengineering]

Hi rgalete, Setting aside the modularity of our machines and comparing only the Helix with the Aram, these are the main differences: 1) The Epoch Helix is more rigid than the Aram and the pillar will not bend during use. 2) Our machines are compatible with a standard portafilter size, so you can buy different portafilters or accessories. Using a portafilter instead of a threaded basket holder is also a lot more convenient. 3) We use a coarser thread pitch on the Epoch Helix, so it takes fewer turns to extract the espresso. 4) The Epoch Helix includes a pressure indicator. 5) The Epoch cylinder is thoroughly insulated so you can maintain higher brew chamber temperatures than with the Aram. There are probably additional differences but without testing or disassembling an Aram, we can’t compare those aspects directly. Hope that answers your question!

[@igordemetriusalencar5861]

Thas was what I was thinking about, don't see much difference from Aram, besides the inspiration, but need to see and test it.