Thoughts from the 1st Look.
There is a slight manufacturing imperfection on the "grounds bin" filter. Looked at it very closely and decided that it wouldn't affect the steeping one iota. Totally superficial, cosmetic and of no consequence. Fly with it.
1. High putz factor. Will appeal to those interested in ritual, tactile nature of the prep.
2. Seems daunting. Second pot, though, was a breeze.
3. Need to play with water/coffee ratio. Not quite satisfied.
4. I have hearing deficit. I need to do an open pot boil to simulate the time/sound. 15-18 minutes seems about right for this med-hi temp setting.
5. Clean-up was easier than I thought. Over my shoulder, I already caught a "that's one prep you get to clean up." The Czarina also leaves me the Espro to clean up after.
Taste? For those of you familiar with it, this mimics a mokka-pot-light. The body is not quite as husky or full as a mokka pot but the mouthfeel takes on that same element of a slight dryness. We used mokka pots for about 1.5 years before I branched out. Good cup, though not quite as hot as I like a cup to come off the prep. Need to rework time/boil parameters.
Good purchase; good fun. I will play with it again tomorrow and then get off to HC4U.
B|Java