Closed: Cafe Solo, 1 liter, Traveling Road Show and Lottery

[ScareYourPassenger]

The winner drawn by PSpain is...5.  BLZRFN.

+1 on the congrats!

+1

 

+1

[blzrfn]

Dang, I need to go buy a lottery ticket.  I'm gonna need it with another female joining the house in a couple of months.  The shoe budget is already out of control with two lovely ladies!   

[blzrfn]

You lucky duck, congrats.

I've got you beat, though, I have four women in the household now (not counting the dogs) and in march three of them will be teenagers.  It's truly a blessing but there are some times I'm happy to go out to the garage to roast coffee and find sanctuary.

Well my older daughter just turned ten and she still enjoys hanging out with me.  We have a library date this afternoon after I pick her up from school.  It won't be too long, unfortunately, until I am not as cool to be around.  I guess that is when I will start looking for recommendations for a pump action shot gun, I hear cleaning these in the open when boys come to visit helps send the right message.  (where's the hillbilly emoticon?)   

[BoldJava]

Let's get a 1st look going on this.  I won't cup it head to head against other types of preps.  I will leave that to others.  My goal here was to:

1)  Get an Eva Solo in play (on the market for 8 years -- nary a discussion here)
2)  Evaluate it - thumbs up or thumbs down

So on with the show.

Everything came at once this week:

• 40 lbs of beans for Feb group cupping
• Silex spring syphon filter I nabbed off eBay
• 5 lbs of Gesha
• Eva Solo

[BoldJava]

Eva Solo has a "top of the line" product mix for home products (bird feeders to coffee).  Danish firm -- sleek European look.  Eva Solo focuses on fashion/aesthetics as well as function, sort of like Peter dressed up for a gala affair. Full line here: http://www.emmohome.com/evasolo.html


Packaging reflects high-end.

[BoldJava]

Surprisingly smaller than I envisioned.  1 liter pitcher.


The box rattled when UPS handed it to me.  "Oh, oh."  Not to worry -- the cap, (center right) had become dislodged from its recessed slot in the box and was rattling around in there.

That's a neoprene sweater on the right.  Not visible is the furnished plastic paddle/spoon for stirring.

[BoldJava]

Size?  One liter.  9 inches.  Note, the bottom has heating ridges (see pic above), as if you can keep it warm on the stove.  Not going to try that. 

(1)  Keeping coffee warm with external heat is a very bad idea,
(2)  There are 9 gents after me.  I don't need a science project cracking on my stove.  Let the winner try it, if he desires.


The second shot is of the filter.  The coffee does NOT go in it.  Coffee is placed in the carafe and crowned with 200* water.  Then, you stir and place the gasketed filter on top of that. The filter keeps the grounds from pouring with the finished coffee.

[BoldJava]

Eva makes a big point of insulating the carafe during its recommended 4-minute steep.  I found it putzy to put on but here it is, dressed and ready to go out into our snow.

[BoldJava]

OK, coffee time.  61grams for a liter.  Grind?  Right between a pourover and a presspot.

[BoldJava]

Water -- let's pour the heat to it and see how the pot turns out.

[BoldJava]

A required pairing, in my humble opinion.  Get the coffee OUT of the carafe and into a thermos if you are not consuming the entire carafe at once.  (Czarina drinks her coffee later in the morn).

[BoldJava]

Prep
1) put jacket on carafe
2) preheat carafe with hot water
3) take 1 liter of water to boil
4) grind 61 grams of coffee between a pourover and press pot grind.   Put ground coffee in empty carafe.
5) fill to 3/4 full with boiling water, couple of seconds off boil, let bloom for 20 seconds.
6) stir down for 10 seconds with provided plastic stir rod
7) pour additional water to middle of throat (33 oz)
8.) give a quick stir and insert the filter and then the cap
9) let rest for 3:30-4 minutes
10) pour (leave cap on -- it self-lifts) into a preheated thermos
11) enjoy


Initial Observations
This is a classy looking rig.  Danish outfit though there isn't a mark on it or the accompanying literature on where product is made. It is impressive to the eye.  It would be nice at the dinner table with dessert. As nice as that is, I found the neoprene sweater very putzy and I might tend to not bother putting it on.  With my Chemex, I threw the wood collar away because I found it a pain in the rump (I just use a kitchen towel).  Long term, I could see the zipper possibly becoming problematic. An option for press pot fans is a cover...   http://www.koffeekompanions.com/ ) or take a look at Bodum's coat, http://goo.gl/XTZh9

The coffee sits below the filter, just as it does with a press pot.  The filter is used as a restraining device when the brewed coffee is poured.  When you seat the gasketed filter, it doesn't feel like it is secure, even though it is.  As you pour the coffee, rotate the carafe a bit.  Different angles will open up the restraining grounds and more coffee will pour.

      Pro:

• Superior materials and quality craftsmanship
• Cup quality - excellent
• Very straight forward
• Cleaner cup than press pot
• Intuitive
• Comes in variety of sizes: .6 L, 1 L, and 1.4 L (this 1 liter actually provides about 30 oz coffee) 
• Insulated for better extraction
  
  Con:
• Putsy neoprene, zippered cover
• Clean-up (and difficult cleaning)

Clean-up:  Clean up is similar to all press pots - messy.  Take the cap off and the filter out.  Swish some fresh water in it and pour outside or in toilet. Your hands won't fit inside the carafe.  Drop a moist, soapy dish rag into the beaker and shake.  Cleans right up. (Note:  Consider a product call Dishmate.  It is coconut oil based and rinses extremely clean/leaves no soap residue to interfere with coffee taste.  http://www.ecos.com/Dishmate_Almond.html

Summary:

This is an excellent product, though pricey.  It produced a cup that was equal to or superior to the vacpot cup that we have had all week.  It made the coffee sweeter than vacpot (both of us individually remarked on that).  It is just a touch lighter in mouthfeel than a press pot, with just a few less fines.  Those tell-tale fines are there but I am not bothered by them in a press pot, let alone a Eva Solo.

Recommendation?:  Excellent cup, attractive product.  Gets a recommended "buy."  (Purcchased from http://prima-coffee.com.  Shipped quickly.  Easy.  $90.  Nice product for gifting.

[jbviau]

Nice write-up. I've always imagined the Solo would be too hot to hold when pouring sans jacket (and so never bothered trying).

[BoldJava]

I will update the 1st Look post above to include these items from this a.m.'s observations:

1)  Gasketed filter.  When you place it in the throat, it doesn't feel seated.  It is.
2)  Cap.  When pouring, ensure that all the brewed coffee is out.  Turn the carafe 180 degrees and pour again.  You are likely to get more coffee.

[jbviau]

I will update the 1st Look post above to include these items from this a.m.'s observations:

1)  Gasketed filter.  When you place it in the throat, it doesn't feel seated.  It is.
2)  Cap.  When pouring, ensure that all the brewed coffee is out.  Turn the carafe 180 degrees and pour again.  You are likely to get more coffee.

Re: (2), yup, I've observed the same thing. I've seen some baristas pour from these while slowly rotating the carafe.