In the description I have a link to purchase for 10% off and I get a kickback as well! Thank you for watching and let me know if you have more questions. Enjoy your coffee!
This was on sale on Amazon for Black Friday so I picked it and a nice hand grinder up for a 'home espresso starter kit' setup along with a nice stainless steel tamp. Just made my first cup and there's a lot I liked about the process although I think I ground my coffee too finely for the pressurized portafilter and my shot ended up tasting like cheap student espresso (very strong, bitter, etc) so I'm gonna have to dial it in before I can make a verdict. Having seen how others like yourself use it I think I'll get better results next time, thanks!
Hi Josiah! Thanks for the honest review! In the video, you mentioned that you've managed to achieve a dry puck, which essentially removes the major nightmare of cleaning the Mirage. Can you share how you did that? Thanks!😄
Yeah of course! Maybe I’ll make a short for this because visual really helps. So I unscrew the spout, then there is the middle spring piece. If you wiggle it, you’ll hear pressure start to get released. Sometimes it will wiggle loose enough for the pressure to release with without removing it completely. Other times, that middle piece will shoot out. Watch your hand because the liquid is hot! When the pressure is released, just continue pumping the remaining water out!
Have you found a naked portafilter upgrade for this espresso machine? I saw a video of someone using one. I have the Wacaco picopresso, which comes as a bottomless portafilter portable espresso pump. Have you ever heard of it? I watched your video to compare it to what I have, and preferred mine because it is bottomless. Do you preheat your portable espresso pump? I do preheat mine; I’ll run a few empty shots of hot water through and let some hot water sit in the chamber to keep it from sapping the heat when I make my shot.
I have tried finding on on my own that fit but it was always slightly off. But I think there are some people overseas that make one you can order but often times it was in a different language. I just didn’t get around to it. The company said they were making on themselves but I haven’t followed up! I have been wanting to try the one you have!
Great review but for the same price you can get a flair and get a great esspresso every time. But! Lol it's not as easy to carry about.. but lol if you really need to walk about with a grinder, scales, kettle (or flask of hot water) and a spoon how portable is it really... but lol I really love my aeropress (I no it doesn't make esspresso) and the coffee is as good as your beans and grinder and the cafe down the road do amazing esspresso with body, sweetness and taste and have the machine to do it. I've never had or tried a "portable" esspresso maker (coffeejack) that says 9bars or 15bar that can show you proof. Great video 10/10 great channel definitely be back 👍
Thank you for the feedback! I’m slowly making more content! But work has been wild this year! I do enjoy this little guy, but I can’t wait until they make an unpressurized version
Hey AG. So it’s kind of difficult to explain. I remove the spout, then the small piece with the spring that opens up with pressure can be removed. Be careful though! Sometimes it sort of releases the pressure and stays snapped in. Others, it shoots out. Hot water will still be in the staresso. You’ll hear the pressure escape. Just start pumping all the water out
Have you gotten around to making coffee with the unpressurized staresso basket? How is it? I'm interested in this espresso maker because it's less than half the price of Flair Neo in my country.
I don’t believe they released it yet I’ve been keeping an eye out. I’ve experimented on my own but I need to play around more with the basket size so I can’t give feedback on a third party method yet
I bought a gen two and I found it to not work good at all. I have no idea what exactly the problem with mine was. Out of the box it made espresso okay like (4/10 too slow was the biggest problem) but i felt could get better. Took it apart and cleaned it and put it back together, and it wasn't getting pressure. I guess I lost a gasket. But fortunately there were a couple extra in the box so I fiddled around and found where it went belonged and tried again and got the crappy 4/10 espresso, tried adjusting threaded outlet on the bottom because that controls the spring seal tension and I would either get the same too slow pull while fully threaded or instantly lose my bar pressure. In the end the best I could get was that first drink, maybe my pump was deflective or something. Overall it was a horrible experience and i will never buy another staresso product. Like if i was out camping with the thing and started having trouble with my pull i would lose my mind. I'm just going to stick with the aeropress, maybe one day I'll get a 9barista.
Hmmmm interesting. Man I’ve taken mine apart fully so many times and haven’t come across that issue. The only time I came across issues was because of ground size. If it’s too fine it might be too slow. I’ve done that before trying to experiment and find it’s limits. The aeropress still isn’t a bad choice at all and I regularly use mine. I would say try messing with the ground size. My best experience so far was using a size that I use for my aeropress. I’m using the 1Zpresso jx and I do two full rotations. I’ve put sever different blends of coffee through the staresso and have had pretty good results with each.
@@JosiahDuenes ah that might have been it! haha I was using a coarse espresso grind never though of going coarser. My reasoning was that I knew that grind works perfectly in my regular machine with that particular bean so I sort of assumed I had that dialed in but you are totally right. Still I was extremely dissatisfied and frustrated with my experience.
Yeah the grind size is different for the statessso until they release the bottomless unpressurized version! There we might be using the same grind size you’ve dialed in. Hopefully that helps but dang I’m sorry you had a bad experience 😔
Josiah,, underneath were the 2 little ports are you can see there is a gauge from 15 to 20 but they are not numbered where did you set yours at.. thanks chris
I think so. They are making a newer version that won’t be pressurized, don’t know when and that also might be an even better option. Personally, if I’m staying on a budget, I prefer to stay on the manual side of things. Less money is spread out over parts. The cheaper espresso machines leave a lot to be desired at the same price range. If you can afford it, starting with a gaggia or something in that range will be even better. But I’ve been enjoying this for months already at home and don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. I keep my home set up super small for now as I’m working on a bar.
Oh man that’s a good question! Honestly probably. The reason comes down to portability. It’s easier to take with you and takes up less counter space if needed. However, I will say it is probably more fun to use the neo! I should do a test with them!
Interested to see what you go with! I talked with staresso and they were looking at making and unpressurized version, I recently got a basket to fit the staresso as well (not from them) and I’ll do some testing! You will need a grinder capable of espresso for that though!
@@kyle13342 That is a good reason! I am still looking at getting a flair but it isn't a priority! Especially because I picked up a barista express for home for super cheap. I just need to fix something in it which I am doing now. Previous owner didn't do much to take care of it!
In the description I have a link to purchase for 10% off and I get a kickback as well! Thank you for watching and let me know if you have more questions. Enjoy your coffee!
This was on sale on Amazon for Black Friday so I picked it and a nice hand grinder up for a 'home espresso starter kit' setup along with a nice stainless steel tamp. Just made my first cup and there's a lot I liked about the process although I think I ground my coffee too finely for the pressurized portafilter and my shot ended up tasting like cheap student espresso (very strong, bitter, etc) so I'm gonna have to dial it in before I can make a verdict. Having seen how others like yourself use it I think I'll get better results next time, thanks!
Yes you do need to go courser! I’ve tried finer and it came out terrible and sometimes didn’t come out at all!
I keep it at the same courseness as I do for my aeropress coffee. Which is almost two rotations on my 1Zpresso jx. Or like a medium-fine grind
Hi Josiah! Thanks for the honest review! In the video, you mentioned that you've managed to achieve a dry puck, which essentially removes the major nightmare of cleaning the Mirage. Can you share how you did that? Thanks!😄
Yeah of course! Maybe I’ll make a short for this because visual really helps. So I unscrew the spout, then there is the middle spring piece. If you wiggle it, you’ll hear pressure start to get released. Sometimes it will wiggle loose enough for the pressure to release with without removing it completely. Other times, that middle piece will shoot out. Watch your hand because the liquid is hot!
When the pressure is released, just continue pumping the remaining water out!
Thanks for the tip!! Can't wait to try that out! 😄
I have the second gen basic staresso and although Im missing a lot of body i love it.Simple and easy and on the go
The body on this isn’t bad! But yes, that might not bother me too much. Using the aeropress would lack body but it would still taste great!
For me had no issues with the cleaning part. But thanks for the video
Good to hear!
Podrías hacer un video de cómo se seca la pastilla, gracias
Have you found a naked portafilter upgrade for this espresso machine? I saw a video of someone using one. I have the Wacaco picopresso, which comes as a bottomless portafilter portable espresso pump. Have you ever heard of it? I watched your video to compare it to what I have, and preferred mine because it is bottomless. Do you preheat your portable espresso pump? I do preheat mine; I’ll run a few empty shots of hot water through and let some hot water sit in the chamber to keep it from sapping the heat when I make my shot.
I have tried finding on on my own that fit but it was always slightly off. But I think there are some people overseas that make one you can order but often times it was in a different language. I just didn’t get around to it. The company said they were making on themselves but I haven’t followed up! I have been wanting to try the one you have!
Great review but for the same price you can get a flair and get a great esspresso every time. But! Lol it's not as easy to carry about.. but lol if you really need to walk about with a grinder, scales, kettle (or flask of hot water) and a spoon how portable is it really... but lol I really love my aeropress (I no it doesn't make esspresso) and the coffee is as good as your beans and grinder and the cafe down the road do amazing esspresso with body, sweetness and taste and have the machine to do it. I've never had or tried a "portable" esspresso maker (coffeejack) that says 9bars or 15bar that can show you proof. Great video 10/10 great channel definitely be back 👍
Thank you for the feedback! I’m slowly making more content! But work has been wild this year! I do enjoy this little guy, but I can’t wait until they make an unpressurized version
@@JosiahDuenes it does look like the only portable esspresso maker that can actually make and used the pressure needed to make esspresso. Great video
i guess not constant, sinusoid pressure makes espresso taste worse. After the dose got wet you should give a constant 6-9 bar pressure to extract.
Hi you mentioned about making dry puck. How did you do that on the staresso?
Hey AG. So it’s kind of difficult to explain. I remove the spout, then the small piece with the spring that opens up with pressure can be removed. Be careful though! Sometimes it sort of releases the pressure and stays snapped in. Others, it shoots out. Hot water will still be in the staresso. You’ll hear the pressure escape. Just start pumping all the water out
Have you gotten around to making coffee with the unpressurized staresso basket? How is it? I'm interested in this espresso maker because it's less than half the price of Flair Neo in my country.
I don’t believe they released it yet I’ve been keeping an eye out. I’ve experimented on my own but I need to play around more with the basket size so I can’t give feedback on a third party method yet
I bought a gen two and I found it to not work good at all. I have no idea what exactly the problem with mine was. Out of the box it made espresso okay like (4/10 too slow was the biggest problem) but i felt could get better. Took it apart and cleaned it and put it back together, and it wasn't getting pressure. I guess I lost a gasket. But fortunately there were a couple extra in the box so I fiddled around and found where it went belonged and tried again and got the crappy 4/10 espresso, tried adjusting threaded outlet on the bottom because that controls the spring seal tension and I would either get the same too slow pull while fully threaded or instantly lose my bar pressure. In the end the best I could get was that first drink, maybe my pump was deflective or something. Overall it was a horrible experience and i will never buy another staresso product. Like if i was out camping with the thing and started having trouble with my pull i would lose my mind. I'm just going to stick with the aeropress, maybe one day I'll get a 9barista.
Hmmmm interesting. Man I’ve taken mine apart fully so many times and haven’t come across that issue. The only time I came across issues was because of ground size. If it’s too fine it might be too slow.
I’ve done that before trying to experiment and find it’s limits.
The aeropress still isn’t a bad choice at all and I regularly use mine.
I would say try messing with the ground size. My best experience so far was using a size that I use for my aeropress. I’m using the 1Zpresso jx and I do two full rotations. I’ve put sever different blends of coffee through the staresso and have had pretty good results with each.
@@JosiahDuenes ah that might have been it! haha I was using a coarse espresso grind never though of going coarser. My reasoning was that I knew that grind works perfectly in my regular machine with that particular bean so I sort of assumed I had that dialed in but you are totally right. Still I was extremely dissatisfied and frustrated with my experience.
Yeah the grind size is different for the statessso until they release the bottomless unpressurized version! There we might be using the same grind size you’ve dialed in. Hopefully that helps but dang I’m sorry you had a bad experience 😔
Josiah,, underneath were the 2 little ports are you can see there is a gauge from 15 to 20 but they are not numbered where did you set yours at.. thanks chris
Hmm what are you referencing exactly. Is this for the gaggia or the staresso?
If the staresso, I don’t recall seeing a gauge 🤔
Which grind type suitable for this?
Since it is a pressurized system, I use a medium fine. Similar to what I’d use with an aeropress.
is it better espresso than entry level home espresso machine?
I think so. They are making a newer version that won’t be pressurized, don’t know when and that also might be an even better option.
Personally, if I’m staying on a budget, I prefer to stay on the manual side of things. Less money is spread out over parts. The cheaper espresso machines leave a lot to be desired at the same price range. If you can afford it, starting with a gaggia or something in that range will be even better. But I’ve been enjoying this for months already at home and don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. I keep my home set up super small for now as I’m working on a bar.
Hi! would you suggest this over the flair neo?
Oh man that’s a good question! Honestly probably. The reason comes down to portability. It’s easier to take with you and takes up less counter space if needed.
However, I will say it is probably more fun to use the neo! I should do a test with them!
@@JosiahDuenes thanks for your input! I'll give it some more thought on which device I should really get
Interested to see what you go with! I talked with staresso and they were looking at making and unpressurized version, I recently got a basket to fit the staresso as well (not from them) and I’ll do some testing! You will need a grinder capable of espresso for that though!
@@JosiahDuenes so I kinda went with the flair classic because there were no local distributors of the staresso brand here. Loving the flair so far🤘
@@kyle13342 That is a good reason! I am still looking at getting a flair but it isn't a priority! Especially because I picked up a barista express for home for super cheap. I just need to fix something in it which I am doing now. Previous owner didn't do much to take care of it!
you provided a very honest review. thank you very much for your contribution. #ImfromBrazil
Of course, I try to for everyone. I enjoy in depth reviews to answer all my possible questions. Thank you for the kind words!
Can u compare it to Flair Neo
Yes looking at buying some other manual espresso machines!
0:39 why would you pull a shot of delicious espresso and then pour hot water in it?! 😱
In the morning, I prefer an americano! Something I can sit and enjoy while I get to work!
@@JosiahDuenes this is what americanos are for! I also like to do that in the morning.
@@vpsaxman 🙌
@@JosiahDuenes hi, I just watched your review, and it's very helpful. Thanks!
For Americano, how much water did you add to your espresso?
@@trinugrahasukanto it’s been a while since I’ve measured but about 150-200 grams!
This interview was a snooze fest. I could have fell asleep to this content. Yikes bro.