If I were to spend another €2500 on an espresso machine, it would be for a Decent espresso machine. What is delivered here is a coffee playground that is unmatched. The Decent espresso machine could be as disruptive to the ambitious home market, roasteries, and even gastronomy concepts as the Ikawa turned the sample roaster market on its head.
This article was created after a 4-hour test of the Decent. Patrizio Frigeri visited us at the Coffee Academy and guided us through the different functions. Patrizio is a two-time Swiss vice barista champion (2012, 2013) and works as an engineer and roaster. He has been pulling his espresso with the Decent for half a year now.
Appearance, standard equipment, and options
The Decent arrived with its own roller case, including all necessary tools. If you've ever loaded or reloaded a professional home machine like the GS3 from La Marzocco, you'll miss your workout or turn green with envy. The device is assembled in just a few steps.
Included: an Android tablet for control, and the software can also be installed on your own hardware.
Two glazed ceramic bowls serve as a water reservoir and drip tray. One might argue that these are less stable than a plastic container. But who hasn't wondered how to clean the plastic water container in their Dalla Corte Mini!? The ceramic bowls are open and of course dishwasher safe.
A handle screwed onto the front of the machine solves a problem – it compensates for the machine's light weight. Lighter espresso machines often rotate when being locked in.
Finally, a scale connected via Bluetooth to the tablet and espresso machine. We later use this to calibrate the milk jugs and control the machine.
The machine comes in various configurations. The DE1+ variant is designed for private households. The Decent Espresso DE1Pro targets offices, home baristas, and restaurants. With additional kits, the machine is connected to fixed water and external boilers as the DE1XL model, making it ready for heavier gastronomy applications.
The machine measures 22.5 cm in width, 42.5 cm in height including the panel, and 48.3 cm in depth, accounting for the protruding handles of the holder and portafilter. The machine weighs 13 kg and is delivered in a matching case.
The housing is entirely made of metal and well-crafted. The portafilters and baskets are, unlike many high-quality dual-boiler machines in the price range above €2000, extremely precise and microscopically inspected. Professional tampers of 58.5 mm size can be used.
The first espresso – what's that rattling?
Technically, we need to mention a few more things to fully describe the machine. But before we get lost in those depths, let's pull the first espresso.
It rattles, stutters, and produces sounds we've never heard from any espresso machine. What is that? Every vibration pump is loud. But the Decent's sounds are unusual. It sounds the way specialty espresso tastes if you're used to dark, Italian espressos. But today we don't want to win an acoustics prize; we want to evaluate coffee. Besides, the reason is that the phase-shift control doesn't put the vibration pump under full load but rather uses it according to the desired pressure curve.
We brew a "classic Italian espresso". But we could also replicate the profile of a lever machine or go completely off the beaten path. With the control software, you can build virtually any pressure profile of any espresso machine.
With just a few adjustments, you can change the duration of the pre-infusion or turn it off. We start with a rising curve at 4 bar and then continue with a pressure of 9 bar.
For the espresso, we use our filter coffee Alessandro. It's roasted quite light and tastes way too sour with this profile. Conventionally, we would now adjust the grind size, change the brew ratio, or switch coffee. Not with the Decent.
Adjusting profiles instead of adjusting the grinder
Of course, we can also work conventionally with the Decent. If we continue with the "filter coffee", we could, for example, grind coarser and switch from a brew ratio of 1:2.5 (20 grams of coffee in the portafilter, 50 grams of espresso) to 1:3 (20 g in and 60 g out). Adjusting the brew temperature could also help if the espresso machine allows it.
With the Decent espresso machine, we change our approach. We switch from a pressure profile to a flow profile.
Pressure profile vs. flow profile in an espresso machine
Most espresso machines work with constant pressure over the duration of the brew, for example 8 or 9 bar. Some have a pre-brew phase due to their design. Pressure profile machines allow you to control the pressure during the brew. This principle exists in espresso machines for the home market, like the La Marzocco GS3 MP, and of course in commercial machines.
The Decent allows a different type of control, namely flow control – controlling the flow rate at the output. Instead of controlling the pressure, it is adjusted to the actual output speed. If water flows too quickly through the coffee cake, either because the grind size isn't fine enough or channeling occurs, the machine reduces the pressure. This results in less aggressive extraction and increases the likelihood that the espresso will be more enjoyable than it would have been with a "normal" pressure profile.
The machine essentially repairs imperfect grind size or sloppy leveling and tamping. Of course, it can only do this partially, and proper preparation of the coffee is equally essential for truly good coffee.
Water mixing and temperature control on the Decent
Directly above the shower head, the Decent controls the water temperature. An integrated temperature sensor constantly communicates with the software and adjusts the mix of hot and cold water to the desired temperature. This is the only way the Decent principle works: controlling and anticipating the inputs. Other espresso machines integrate the control shortly after the boiler or thermal unit and program the temperature based on standard deviation accounting for expected heat loss until the water outlet.
The Decent has two thermal blocks built in, one for brew water and one for steaming milk. By the way, this doesn't work simultaneously because the pump used is fully utilized in both cases. The thermal block principle has advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include the fact that no large water tank needs to be heated, making them more energy-efficient and faster to use (about 5 minutes on the Decent until the first espresso). The disadvantage is often temperature stability. But this is less due to the thermal block itself and more because these are often installed in cheaper machines where corners are cut on temperature control units and sensors.
Decent follows a similar approach as Sage and demonstrates what's possible when you don't let a thermal block heat itself alone but flank it with sensible tools. Used in this way, I think there's a lot to suggest that thermal blocks and related systems (thick film heaters) will displace boiler systems as the supposed crown of achievement in home espresso machines.
Play with me – setting and saving profiles
The machine's adjustment possibilities are nearly unlimited. We brewed an espresso with a brew time of 50 seconds. It was really delicious. Scott Rao, a virtuoso in extraction matters, writes in his blog about extensive brew pauses that he builds into the middle of espresso brewing. This is reminiscent of filter coffee brewing, where you also pause for degassing or blooming.
The possibilities with the Decent in terms of flow, pressure, and temperature are so enormous that you can easily get lost. Fortunately, you can rely on the pre-programmed profiles, and you can also consult the community, which I'll discuss further below.
By the way, the Bluetooth scale also plays an important role in control; it communicates with the software and weighs the actual amount of espresso in the cup. The scale is robust and part of the machine package. The scale is similar in function to an Acaia but looks more like a rougher tool in appearance. I accidentally dropped it on the floor, which didn't cause any lasting damage. The scale enables volumetric control. For example, when 40 grams of espresso is in the cup, the scale sends the stop command to the espresso machine.
You can also steam milk
If you've just spent many weeks developing a new brew profile, you might be less interested in the Decent espresso's milk steaming capability. But here too the machine performs well. Thanks to its own heater, steaming can begin immediately after brewing (though not in parallel due to pump capacity).
The Bluetooth scale comes into play again here. The pitcher size for different jugs can be programmed. Then you place the milk on the scale. Based on your own preferences, a steaming duration can be programmed. Optionally, a temperature sensor can be used that also communicates with the software.
In our case, we simply positioned the pitcher once and inserted the steam wand into the milk. The machine then steamed the milk to a silky, latte-art-capable microfoam. This was slightly too voluminous for Philipp's taste, although we didn't make any fine adjustments.
Community and Decent diaspora
A highlight of the Decent is certainly the community that gathers on a Basecamp platform. Many users as well as founder John Buckmann provide direct feedback to users and support them with problems and challenges. Some users, like Damian Brakel or Scott Rao, contribute to the knowledge, profiles, and development. The software has open programming interfaces, and so many mods and skins are available that provide individual views and functions for the machine.
Errors and improvement suggestions are also collected on the platform. As a result, Decent has since developed further builds and hardware updates itself, such as a grinder stand that weighs the ground coffee and feeds it into the software.
Sharing profiles is reminiscent of the Ikawa principle or Artisan. In both cases, roast profiles can be shared with a community and advance everyone.
Pros and cons and conclusion
As you can see from the article, I was excited about the possibilities the Decent offers me. The variety of functions is gigantic and the playing field enormous. Options can also overwhelm. The machine is only suitable for you if you can also ignore options.
If you're looking for pure, simple functionality and preferably just one button, this machine isn't right for you. If you don't appreciate digital formats, you won't be happy with the Decent at the moment either. If you're setting up the machine in a museum or a noise-sensitive environment, the acoustics are probably problematic.
If you want to learn something about espresso, challenge yourself, and perhaps discover new things, the Decent is a big step. For coffee schools, roasteries, and coffee aficionados, I can't imagine a better espresso machine in terms of value for money.
As coffee makers, we'll set up one of these machines in our school and integrate it into our courses. We can also write some more videos and tests and guides for you regarding espresso extractions.
To the Decent Espresso website: https://decentespresso.com/
From the failed ZPM Kickstarter to Decent Espresso. Article in the Barista Magazine.
We have no economic relationship with Decent. As always, we write, test, and tinker freely; in this case, after testing the machine of our friend Patrizio Frigeri, a passionate Decent Espresso user.
