Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005
Issue link: http://baristamagazine.epubxp.com/i/659497
While different manufacturers have employed various methods to control and manipulate pressure, Synesso has approached the issue with a focus on simplicity and reliability. Essentially the brewing cycle has been broken down into four stages: 1—Line pressure pre-infusion 2—Ramp-up to full pressure 3—Full pressure: 9 bars 4—Ramp down to 0 pressure With these four stages, we can dial-in, through a few taps of the grouphead paddle, the precise shot very intuitively. While in Manual mode, we can focus on dial- ing-in the perfect shot, and then tap and hold the grouphead to switch to auto mode and pull the same consistent shot automatically across all groupheads. This is a game-changer in terms of speed in a busy café like ours. Understanding the various changes impart- ed on the espresso through the subtle manipu- lation of pressure is not an easy skill to master. While shot dose and brew time used to be the barista's primary focus, the ability to experi- ment with pressure profiling opens up a new world of experimentation. It is for this very reason that the MVP, when combined with the Hydra's pressure profiling, creates a manage- able workflow for the barista who needs both speed and control over nuance. HITTING THE TRACK The MVP Hydra is beautifully focused on being the barista's perfect tool. Information on current mode, shot stage, and shot time are shown right at eye level, keeping the barista's focus in the most effective area of the machine. At Case Study, we usually start our morning in Manual mode. As mid-morning approaches and we start to get slammed, we put two of the three groups in volumet- ric mode to help with speed, while leaving the single group in Manual mode should we need the control. Saving the recipe on a grouphead and storing it for later recall couldn't be more intuitive. Of course, we can still manually adjust our shots through Synesso's "keypad on a leash," which is a small keypad stored under the machine and attached with a cable, that can be used for all the extra tweaks and fine-tun- ing, including the ability to quickly make adjustments to stored profiles. As the baristas' experience with pressure profiling grows, they will understand which small tweaks to the profiles will produce their intended results. Learning the nuances in fla- vor that the different extraction stages provide will likely be the steepest part of the learning curve for baristas who are new to the MVP. NEXT LEVEL BARISTA-ING Becoming intimate with your espresso machine is a necessary part of working a busy bar and producing stellar drinks. Every nuance of the machine becomes evident when you're pulling 500 shots a day. At Case Study, we've found that the MVP Hydra is an evolutionary machine that combines some older concepts from previous models with new approaches to workflow which together create a masterful ergonomic cockpit that any barista can slip into and master. —Wes Russell 29 www.baristamagazine.com