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MiiCoffee Apex First Look: What's Inside? (Part 1/2)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ค. 2024
- In this video, we look at the highly anticipated MiiCoffee Apex espresso machine. This is a 58mm brew group, with PID function built in, and even two separate heat circuits: one for brewing and one for steaming. We unbox the Apex, see what it comes with, check the build quality and features, and finally we take off the back and top plate to get a view of the inside. What is the boiler made of? How many pumps? Is the max pressure regulated? Finally, I show me using the machine for the very first time.
• MiiCoffee Apex Adjusti...
• MiiCoffee Apex Espress...
Edit: I misspoke, of course it's steam going between the thermoblock and the steam valve, not water.
-- Products used/recommended in this video --
(these are affiliate links that help fund videos like this, at no extra cost to you)
► MiiCoffee Apex (directly from MiiCoffee):
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► MiiCoffee Apex (Amazon if you prefer):
🇺🇸 amzn.to/485t0gA
► My Storefront: www.amazon.com/shop/tomscoffe...
► Delonghi Kit: kit.co/tomscoffeecorner/delon...
► Gaggia Kit: kit.co/tomscoffeecorner/gaggi...
► Breville Kit: kit.co/tomscoffeecorner/sage-...
► Grinder Kit: kit.co/tomscoffeecorner/grind...
► Camera Kit: kit.co/tomscoffeecorner/studi...
Machine source: provided by MiiCoffee
Beans used: www.martermuehle.de/m-espresso/
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:30 Unboxing and Contents
3:33 Quality and Features
5:53 Disassembly
6:45 Inspecting the Components inside
14:06 Commissioning
14:43 Max Pressure
15:27 Espresso and Cappuccino Demo (first time)
----------------------------
*DISCLOSURE: The above Kit.co and Amazon links lead to Amazon, and since I am an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
#TomsCoffeeCorner #Espresso #HomeBarista
How to Adjust Water Flow for a better espresso, and reduce channels: th-cam.com/users/shortsYlQQwRaDPOo
MiiCoffee Apex Espresso shot with Water Flow limited to 4ml/sec: th-cam.com/users/shortsmkrEAlBseck
This is an interesting one. Can't wait for part two. As always, thank you!
Love your videos. So informative and interesting!
Thank you for the video, Tom, it was very informative!
I found it really cool to see the machine from inside and it is exactly what I would do when I get a machine - open it and see how is it built.
Looking forward to this! Thank you!
Explained it like a true Engineer I like it.👍
soo looking forward for this review O.O!!!
I love how elaborate your reviews have become, Tom. Really a super interesting look into the inside with very good explanations and I like that you stay very real.
As far as I know the manufacturer of this machine is Guangdong Shunde Corrima Electronic or just Corrima.
Thanks for the feedback, and for the info on Corrima. Cheers!
Those thermostats on top that you were wondering about are really safety switch thermostats. IfF the boiler gets too hot they open and then close again when the temp is back down.
Thanks Tom, very detailed technical information and the inside look. This thing is definitely going to shake up the market. I'm curious to see if/when there will be the first hacks for the mainboard. ;-) The technical basis looks very reasonable.
Kafmasino already hacked this machine. I did a review on that in 2022.
Thanks for opening it up! Was curious how the components/assembly compared to GC.
That screw adjustment is probably just a flowrate adjustment valve - it won't and isn't meant to change the extraction pressure.
What you need to do is to adjust your grind to hit the desired extraction pressure (e.g. 9 bar).
With your typical ULKA pump, this will usually mean the flowrate is too high (Usually, about 17s - 20s including 5s preinfusion for a 1:2 ratio).
So this screw adjustment basically allows you to slow the flowrate down at 9 bar (or whatever else you prefer like a turbo) without relying on an OPV to kick in.
You are correct, sir. I played with it today, and got these results:
How to Adjust Water Flow for a better espresso, and reduce channels: th-cam.com/users/shortsYlQQwRaDPOo
MiiCoffee Apex Espresso shot with Water Flow limited to 4ml/sec: th-cam.com/users/shortsmkrEAlBseck
Hi Tom this is a very interesting machine. Regarding the double safety bimetalic thermostat on the boiler is an extra measure if the accurate temp sensor and main board malfunction and the boiler still has power on the element. The boiler will stop heating and not explode. Tks waiting for part two.
Thanks for the explanation! I see that the new Gaggia Espresso also has these bimetallic thermostats on the thermoblock...
I have this machine. Installed an OPV valve and the pressure now is 9 Bars steady. If you need info how to do it I can provide information. Cost around 25-30 Us$ and less than one hour work.
Oh nice! Which OPV did you install, and where did you install it? Just after the pump?
The parts from China's well known webstore. Install the OPV to the pump with a 1/8 brass T section, male centre and female the rest. The valve is adjustable. For the relief water line from the OPV you need to unblock the blank connection to the water tank and install a 200mm Silicone tube which is 8mm OD and 5mm ID.
The OPV is adjustable and made from brass.
Cann u share a link? I need an opv for a barista express
The webpage name ends with "Express"
@@sjorlando7282
I prefer the non-burn wands, not so much to protect my fingers but the milk sticks to the "burn" wands and make it harder to keep clean.
nice inside look, interesting combo of thermoblock and a boiler.
Cause single boiler machines takes a decade to raise temp for steaming, and brewing temps will be unreliable.
Price is fair, but reliability, parts, and repairibility is a question. if you could test the actual brew temp, pressure, and how fast does it steam milk would be nice.
I think the thermostats are there from the basic model, back in Indonesia they have two versions, one with PID and one with normal thermostat operated boiler
I think they are for safety. Since these can switch off the heaters without any electronics and it wouldn't surprise me if they would be wired in-line with the heater. Thermo sensor needs the PCB to act.
Thermostats=overtemperature switch... Protective device, in case of failure of a component that might cause an unsafe condition... So for example your thermal probe is bad, reading low, would cause heater to overheat... Need something to keep from burning the house down. The adjustment screw is a flow screw, it will affect the pressure in a shot by letting the shot flow to help cap pressure, so your sweet spot will be toward the restrictive side. If the gauge is on the upstream of the flow screw, you won't get the right reading, if the flow screw is upstream of the gauge, the gauge will read the portafilter pressure.... So the flow screw can be used to influence pressure in conjunction with your tamp method/quality, so you have to do some work to develop your technique to tune the pressure.
3:35: it’s good that the drip tray is plastic. Not prone to corrosion, far less prone to leakage.
The whole pressure issue is preventing me from buying this as my first machine, I initially wanted the Gaggia but since this came out with all the features I am pretty sure this is the one! Looking forward to the next part.
I wanted to capture my first impressions, but now that I've played with the water flow, and reduced it, I am getting some much better results:
How to Adjust Water Flow for a better espresso, and reduce channels: th-cam.com/users/shortsYlQQwRaDPOo
MiiCoffee Apex Espresso shot with Water Flow limited to 4ml/sec: th-cam.com/users/shortsmkrEAlBseck
Those white things are not thermostats; they are over-temperature switches. Usually, they install two: one auto-resettable and one single-use with a higher temperature setting as the last resort.
Thanks for that! They look like thermostats to me, but it wouldn't fit with the PID technology. Makes sense they they're overtemp switches. Cheers!
Great that you took the machine apart. Most on this platform just want to claim its better than X machine without going into the hardware and long term of the machine and why it is or isn't. Features and build mean nothing if the machine doesn't work.
I love your reviews. Have you ever considered making a review of the relatively new "StoneEspresso Machine£?
Thank you! But, those are expensive…I’d review one if someone would give me a loaner.
M2Coffee is how i would read it.
wondering how this would compare against hibrew h10a
Hi from Brazil!
Can anyone tell me what exact bottomless portafilter fits this???
Besides just Neouza (the exact description type).
Hi Tom, im new here, and i am looking to buy my first espresso machine.
I was thinking of buying a used gaggia classic or a Lelit Anna PL41TEM.
Yesterday , i noticed the legato turin and i believe is a nice machine.
Which one should i buy?
Do you know if we can buy the Turin in Europe (Germany) ?
Or do you have better machines to suggest?
Thank you!
Hey Tom, Happy Holidays. I was wondering what’s the difference between the Delonghi ECP 3630 and the 3620, are they the same machine? I can’t find any differences and I’m not sure which one to keep.
AFAIK, they are the same. Maybe just slightly different housings, or drip trays but that would be it.
Hi Tom where do you buy a machine or one like this in Europe? More specifically Denmark. I see them shipping from the US to som eu countries but is there any eu retailer which sells them directly?
I included a link in the video description. You can buy directly from MiiCoffee. Shipping to EU is like €120, but fast and from FedEx. You'll have to pay import fees too though. Those are like 35% in Germany, if memory serves me right.
the big brass valve on top of boiler, what is that?
Hey, recently I opened my delonghi dedica group for cleaned and I wondered how much screw should be tightened?
Just nice and snug - not too tight. Cheers!
Hi Tom, can you confirm there is a temperature sensor connected to the boiler in additional to the two thermostat on top of the boiler.
Yes, there's a thermocouple probe on both the boiler and thermoblock.
Can you do a tutorial for the La Micro Cimbali Ottone?
Sorry, I've never heard of that one!
Looks like a Kafmasino One that you had reviewed one year ago...but without the tablet screen 😛
Can you please compare them?
Thank you very much for your amazing job ☕
Yes, they are the same, but this has a manometer. I don't remember if the Kafmasino had a flow control valve though.
@tomscoffeecorner - Is there any difference between the MiiCoffee Apex and the Turin Legato machines that would lead to buying one over the other? Thanks
Nope. The only difference is that the Legator has just a 1 second pre-infusion. But neither pre-infusion works properly. Cheers!
I get such a huge "rep rap community" vibe from these guys, which is to say maker/3D printing people. When I browse their site, it is apparent they are open source folks, or at least influenced by it. So when I saw they make a machine for about $500, which is not cheap, but not expensive, I thought, "Oh, I bet this thing bats like a $1000+ unit". I imagine their goal was a lot like other projects, but instead of cheapest components, they said, "What are the most budget friendly but high quality components we can combine to hit above our weight".
The pressure against full resistance can't be a good judge of pressure during use, right? You said you had a blank or something in there to block it?
That's the way you really see at what pressure the pump is operating at. Normally you use a blind basket for back flushing
static pressure (a.k.a. blind basket) will always equal the one the pump's running at (if no OPV is present) no matter what flow rate is set. if yoe're extracting, however, the system's not closed, pressure can escape and flow does matter and thus the max pressure can be set by that screw. just look at any e61 with flow control.
Conventionally, one would adjust the max pressure via OPV, as a kind of pressure gate. Anything over 9 bar for example would be diverted back to the water tank, or to the input of the pump. In this case, you can reduce the water flow, which ultimately reduces the pressure during an extraction. See here:
How to Adjust Water Flow for a better espresso, and reduce channels: th-cam.com/users/shortsYlQQwRaDPOo
MiiCoffee Apex Espresso shot with Water Flow limited to 4ml/sec: th-cam.com/users/shortsmkrEAlBseck
58mm Portafilter makes it possible to buy many accessories. I bought the Delonghi ECP 3420 using a Eureka Mignon Manuale at your excellent suggestion! I use a Normcore Bottomless
Portafilter with an IMS Basket. IF I bought this MiiCoffee Apex or the Gaggia Classic Evo Pro would a 58mm Portafilter give noticeably improved espresso? I'm getting good results with the ECP 3420 ( using 16grams )
but I am wondering if upgrading to a machine with 58mm Portafilter Vs. 51mm will be worth it? Thanks Tom!
It might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't feel PF size makes a difference, it's how you use it! Puck prep and a good grind, and good beans are key. I worked in a super fancy cafe once, and they had Dalle Corte machines with 53mm PFs. What's nice about the Apex is the adjustable flow rate, and settable PID over the ECP or GCP.
Thank you! I’m enjoying the ECP and do use fresh coffee and do my best for good puck prep!
Well pressure is force per area and a 58mm PF has almost 30% more area that a 51mm one. With a smaller PF you run into the same issues that higher pressure which is more channeling.
This machine looks very interesting. But it seems complicated to receive it in France. And for after-sales service it seems even more complicated.
Well, you'll have to pay import fees. In most EU countries, I think that'll be around 35%. And you're right about after sales service...I really don't know how that would work. But that goes for any MiiCoffee or Turin product, or Alibaba for that matter, as the sellers are not in the EU.
Hi Tom, where can I buy this mashine in Germany? And is it possible to use this mashine with 230V?
I have a link to the MiiCoffee website. You can order from them - it will come from China. Yes, my machine is 230V. Cheers!
@@TomsCoffeeCorner Hi Tom thank you. In the mean time MiiCoffee answered me. They will start selling the machine via Amazon early next year.
Sorry but any know if this machines identical to Kafmasino? Thank you
Yes, it's the same besides the water flow. And Kafmasino includes a smart control via app.
1st look you go into incredibly detailed inner workings of the coffee maker is this necessary. From the back view I can see the stainless steel side panel is warped/bend? @nd should be more interesting, I noted from previous reviews, you cannot adjust the pressure externally it is set at 15bar. May be you can go inside and adjust? Can you, yes. Do tell us. It is important to lower it to say 9 or even 12bar? the screw is to adjust the water flow rate. Finally, is it worth the money, Yes? can it give consistently excellent coffee? yes?
Hi there! I decided to mix it up for this video, and look at the interior first, because I’ve seen other videos that people are curious what components are being used. How many pumps? Is there an OPV? What is the boiler made out of? Things like that. I’m not expecting this video to go viral, but I’d like just for it to be a resource to the people who are curious about what they are getting for their money.
Please, let us know if there's a way to adjust the pressure down from 14 BAR
Not currently. You'd have to install an OPV.
🤥@@TomsCoffeeCorner
What bottomless PF are you using in this video?
That's a Neouza. Cheers!
The original manufacturer is Corrima
Thanks for that!
I need to know how good is the espresso that this machine can produce... why didn't you go the full way and calibrated well the beans to tell us exactly how good can the shots on this machine be??
How does it compare to the rancilio silvia
Imho, favorably. It's better in most regards, but with no heritage, and spare parts are questionable.
Is there a part 2?
Here: th-cam.com/video/qbwTo9tBmcM/w-d-xo.html
I wonder if the issue with build quality is that your unit is just...bent? The basic superstructure looks like it's listing to the right...
Was looking at buying this machine, also know as Turin but can't get it in Europe. Seems its only available in US. None of the European countries links work off the Turin website which sends warnings to me.
so....is it a reliable coffee espresso for a coffee maniac? does it need to have something else install to it so i can brew a good creamy coffee? cause if it needs' then why i buy it? thats what am asking?
I think it will be reliable, yes. But I cycle through the machines all the time, so I cannot comment on longevity from an empirical standpoint.
It's interesting that all these TH-cam videos over the past few months have been raving about the Turin, MiiCoffee, Gemilai... that has been around for the past 5 years. So, why now? My guess is that Turin (Espresso Outlets house brand and really the only thing they almost ever have in stock) is trying to capitalize on the recent success of the DF64 grinder. And all these TH-camr's are, shock, bought and paid for.
Why Turin and MiiCoffee are gaining momentum.
It’s a shame to see the stock pressure so high. With an 18 second shot you would want to grind finer, but I notice that it was spraying. In my experience that has been a issue with an excess of pressure. Please let me know if you find a way to adjust the pressure because I was interested in this machine.
Well, I had it dialed it for the Sage Dual Boiler, which also has a manual pre-infusion, which helps also to avoid channeling in my experience. But if you look at the manometer during this extraction, I think it was around 8 bar. I think I'd have to updose and grind a little finer. Max pressure however is not adjustable afaik. Cheers!
the stock pressure just mean you have to get a beter puck prep because in reality the pressure is determine by the grind and the consistancy of your puck, its just that if you grind too fine it will go higher than the 9 bars but if you puck prep is good and that your been is dial corectly there no need to have a 9 bar pump i fact i dont really like 9 bars pump because when you grind too fine they shock the machine and everything block but with a higher pressure pump the liquid will still pass you it will not be a mess to clean, but with the nanometer you will still be capable to see that you have grind too fine
Seems that both of you feel like it’s a puck prep problem. That’s good news! It’s much easier to do a little better puck prep than it is to change the OPV.
Or add a dimmer for flow control
Check this out:
How to Adjust Water Flow for a better espresso, and reduce channels: th-cam.com/users/shortsYlQQwRaDPOo
MiiCoffee Apex Espresso shot with Water Flow limited to 4ml/sec: th-cam.com/users/shortsmkrEAlBseck
I think “Mi” is a branch of Xiaomi. They have lots of products branded as “Mi”.
I’m not so sure about that. Xiaomi is a pretty big company, I don’t see them making this little niche machines…
Hi, thanks for the video of the internals. I have a suggestion for part 2, try to unscrew the shower screen and look at the hole where the water comes out. In one of the reviews of the Kafmasino One, it was mentioned that the machining for that part is a bit odd
th-cam.com/video/i-fYZkd6-gw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=T5QEZ3Y2pqaJ1RrN&t=456
I will have to take a look at that. I remember the Wired Gourmet saying something about that...
Hey, can you give me your opinión about de casabrews 5418 or do a video about it.
Sorry, but I have not ever done one of those machines before. I’ve never seen them in store either. Have fun with your choice!