Field Trip: Slayer - Part 2

Kat & Gail hit the road and visit Seattle Espresso Machine Co., creators of the Slayer commercial espresso machine. In this second installment, we talk with Sam of Equal Exchange and one of Slayer's creators, Eric, about sustainable coffee, what direct vs. fair trade is and discuss the 'third wave' of espresso.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• slayer
• pressure profiling
• reviews
• demonstration
• equal exchange
• fair trade
• direct trade
• third wave

[joeldamianicigan]

I made a comment about a one-group machine on SlayerEspresso's YouTube channel and they responded stating a one-group home machine is in the works. When I probed further, they didn't really respond so go figure...

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@joeldamianicigan Cool to hear! - Kat

[joeldamianicigan]

I wonder if they're working on a single grouphead machine for the home enthusiast. A great video detailing what "third wave" means and moreso, how important these independent roasters are in producing quality coffee.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@joeldamianicigan As far as we know, Slayer have no plans to create machines for the home market, focusing only on commercial espresso machines. - Kat

[JmanEspresso]

Bar pressure, allowing you to move the paddle slightly one way or the other, to whatever pressure you like.

There is no doubt in anyones mind, the Slayer machine is a really innovative design... Thats for sure...

...the things I would do to get some time on a Slayer....

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

You should visit them! They love enthusiasts :) And a trip to Seattle is always fun :) - Kat

[JmanEspresso]

Oh a trip to Slayer would be great. Im planning a west coast trip for next summer, so Im going to have to give them a shout and set something up now.

Ahh coffee.. Is there anything better?

[JmanEspresso]

There are some aspects of the slayer and a paddle group LM that are Similar, mainly, that you can have the paddle work at two different pressures.. Your PI pressure, and your brew pressure.But on the Slayer, IIRC, you can set each group to whatever PI pressure and whatever Brew Pressure you want, without having the other groups be affected whatsoever.LM is now working on a new machine with a paddle group, which gives absolute full pressure manipulation, from Obar, to full,

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

I believe the main innovation is being able to set the pressure profiles independently on each group. But if the guys themselves read/see this and want to clarify, I'm sure they will :) - Kat

[apera0915]

didn't la marzocco have paddle controls that did basically the same thing, pre-infusing at variable pressures? I would be careful about suggesting that this is a new invention (or a unique type of machine) if that's the case.

Looks like a great machine though!