Thank you for putting in the effort, time and knowledge to create some amazing, honest, great quality videos.

5:00 there is a new feature, that make this possible. You can adjust flow or pressure restrictions. Like don’t go above 9bar. Limit flow to 2ms and so one. That way you get good coffee out of it every time. Afterwards you can see your data on the screen and adjust it to be even better. Example: flow restricted to 2 ms. Coffee comes out at 2ms. Taste good, but on the Graf you can see that the pressure went only to 5bar. Grind a little bit finer. Repeat the process. Now flow is 2ms but pressure went up to 9bar. Perfect 🤩 Just a example

Hi mr Hoffmann, I agree with your points about the machine - especially the Analysis Paralysis part. I initially thought this would be easier than it is. I've made espresso at home for several years and it is a hobby. But this machine, with the profiles, can behave in thousands of ways. And when you try to keep up with a small change in a profile, which means adjusting the grind, amount of coffee etc... it can be a bit too much. But that is also _exactly_ the point of this machine. You can get so much more information about what is going on and adjust to that. And you'll learn a lot. So patience _is_ needed but only if you want. See, I think this _could_ be as simple as a GS/3, if you want. You can choose _not_ to fiddle with profiles, pick one of the easier ones, set your grind to it and just press the espresso-button and be done with it. But I do miss buttons. Anyway - excellent video, as always, and I'm looking forward to hear more about coffee. Thanks James

Wow thats a pretty crazy setup! Thanks for the review - I've been learning a lot from your videos!

5:15 what a honest comment. I am a 3rd wave barista too, and I am happy that I found your videos, reliable and proved guides, you are a great person James

I was definitely hoping to see it in action more. It would be great to see a video of you sharing some of the most interesting profiles you have come up with and how they affect the extraction process. Let's see some experiments! Cheers

I just ordered mine and i am excited. After mulling over what feels like every possible option, this seemed like a no brainer.

I'm torn between wanting to completely geek out on this machine and learning everything I can on espresso and it's future potential and wanting a beautiful, E61, blingy, eye-catching decorative piece with slightly more intuitive and potentially unreproducible capabilities like the Lelit Bianca. For me, espresso machine functionality and aesthetics have always held nearly equal sway.

This looks to me like a great training tool. It is difficult as a trainer to create the visualisation of the process currently so I look forward to adding this to my training armoury one day. And the case is great - I can envisage barista trainers all over the world packing their change of clothes somewhere in that box for an overnight training session somewhere :) Great video James Cheers

*We just retired a 10 year old Keurig, similar to the new one **MyBest.Kitchen** the old one had a LCD display, but this new one seems like it is a little better as far as features. Turn it on, load it up, press the button and wait for the cup to fill. Much quieter than the old one. The amount*

Hi James! This is Shin from Decent espresso again! Firstly, thanks for this great review! I really enjoy watching your youtube videos! And this one is the second one about our product! So exciting And secondly, I'm wondering if it's okay for you that I put korean subtitle on this video. Plus I edit the video to put Korean subtitle for uploading on facebook and korean community. And of course I'll link this video to let people know where the original video comes from. Thanks!

wow.. just came back here after watching your video today on a nespresso. your videos have refined so much especially with the sound quality

Thanks for all you do for the coffee audience! Amazing content! I've been in this hobby for 10+ years and very few can deliver quality info about coffee and coffee making like you. Please do a follow-up on the decent espresso machine...and on good home roasting machines and roasting coffee. Thanks in advance!

As usual... another great review. However, in fairness to the Decent it has been close to two years since your last Decent review. I can appreciate your reservations on doing reviews on the Decent, because as you have stated previously... you don't typically drink espresso nor do you even have an espresso machine in your home! That said, many of look to you for your wisdom and honest feedback, both good and bad. As you know the Decent V1.4 now has buttons "so to speak" an option that was not available on the model you last reviewed. Granted a lot of the key points you outlined in your last video still apply, i.e., the potential for complexity, the weird non espresso machine sounds it makes, that it's not a miracle machine that makes excellent espresso every single time but rather is capable of making some really bad espresso just as well. Maybe just a short 3 to 5 minute recap covering any new highlights (or lack thereof) as well as suggesting that people watch this video should they be looking for further insight.

When I used this machine at the MICE earlier this year I thought it had one clear use: training. For people that run barista training, and want to move from basics to more advanced espresso making, the extra data and transparency in what's actually going on in the puck is super helpful. I can't imagine seeing a decent on bar any time soon, but in training spaces, heck yes!

Hey James, could you make the update video you suggested at the end? I would be super interested to see where the journey is going!

100% would love a revisit on this

Hi James, thank you very much for the review. Your work is amazing. I'd really love to see a further video about the decent machine..

Great review, as always James thank you.

if i ever win the lottery, first thing im doing is paying this guy to make me the best coffee of my life

Thank you James for another excellent insightful review. I’m tempted with the DE1 but nervous about becoming even more OCD about my coffee making. Having mastered my E61 so I can produce good coffee I am trying to resist the temptation of becoming even more of a coffee geek. We will see!

Another vote for an updated review please. So many new profiles and features, it would be great to see what you think now.

This is an old product review so maybe no one is looking at it anymore. I'll make a long story short. During my ten month espresso journey, I had seen the Decent and thought it was a weird looking laboratory machine. It wasn't long after I made a significant investment in a prosumer machine that I saw this product review. I started looking at everything I could find and decided the Decent has my name on it. So I sold my four month old machine and as of this moment I'm about a week away from receiving my DE1PRO. I've made a commitment to myself not to let the Decent become a black hole but to use it wisely... As I wait for my machine I'm already part of the owner's community (the Diaspora) and it is great. The commitment of John Buckman and the Disapora is that everyone with a Decent will make "decent" espresso. Thanks James!!

Can you revisit this machine after 4 years?

Thanks James, interesting stuff. I've been intrigued & attracted to the Decent machines, but haven't bought due to availability time-scales. Treated myself to an ACS Vesuvius with pressure profiling capability. It's a wonderful piece of kit. Wish I could find more profile data to try out on it however. Love your videos btw.

I really considered this machine and the big things for me was the quality and finish of a machine at this price point (it’s developed by a software engineer and not a mechanical engineer), some of the finishing for me was not upto standard and felt like an advanced prototype rather than a production unit. Also for me you are buying into a product that is still in development, so you as a customer will be used to develop it and test the longer term robustness of the machine. It’s a very very exciting and cleaver product and hats off to Decent for releasing it.

Just discovered your channel - enjoying it very much. I shared it on my favourite social media platform - Vero - only to find you are on there too. I look forward to seeing you on there as we have a great interactive community who definitely love their coffees!

I like to imagine that when James gets near a Decent machine, it's like someone just started a game of Civilizations and suddenly disappears from the face of the earth for a couple of days.

Hi James, any chance you would review the 1.4 ? A revisit if you will. I believe I've seen the machine on your desk in recent videos, I'm awful close to "pulling the trigger."

Wait, you dont have a espresso machine at home, that’s the reason I came to you: I was looking for a daily espresso driver 😂

I have just recently sold my example of one of the first Londinium machines from 2012, a very nice machine which seems to have become more and more complex since then. If I decide to buy another espresso maker, I will be looking at the Strietman.

This is so cool! The possibilities are endless. It can potentially be operated remotely. Or get a recipe sent right to the unit. Collaboration in real time from across the world. So rad! Cheers! ⬛️

I've been loving my DE1+ -- the shot repeatability is unparalleled to any other machine I've used. Although my experiences with flow profiling haven't been great. For some reason, a grind that works great with pressure profiling will cause the machine to go up past 11bar (beyond the top of the scale) and choke the machine. It baffles me.

Can you do an updated review

@James Hoffmann, do you think its time for an updated review if you still have the decent?

I'm using decent espresso De1+ V1.3. It has head controller. Great features I think.

Im not sure if I care about the data. We track so much information already. I love waking up and using my Rocket Appartamento and just focusing on 1.5oz in about 25 seconds. That's all I need. Amazing review as always.

James what camera do you film with? The intros are always amazing

James, 5 years later I'm just now watching this. Do you still not have or want an espresso machine at home? What is your most preferred method for doing coffee at home and why? Has anything changed in your preferences since you made this video?

I keep watching the b-roll again and again

I get the telemetry aspect - but it removes some of the feeling; the mechanical simplicity of manipulating heated, pressurized water to create a coffee. I work in tech - i live in UI/UX worlds full of data, bugs, APIs and logic all day long. I drive a manual shift car, i like mechanical shift bikes, and i like that me - the user, am the most crucial part of the process of making coffee. I can definitely see that something like this is inevitable, and eventually will lead to entirely different ways of thinking about and making coffee. I just prefer a more analogue world once in awhile.

I waiting for this

Hi James, which machine would you choose to create your most perfect espresso?

In electronic field, we got a term “software defined” mean the outcome is heavily dependent on how we program the hardware. For example you can receive a airport ATC radio with a digital TV USB just with different software. This is exactly a software defined espresso.

I was considering this machine. Having seen you review, I think not. I just want to make a coffee and get on with my day

Hey fella, it would be good to have an update on your view of the Decent DE1 Pro (the current basic machine) - Come on, you know you want to!! 😁🧡

James, if you have an option to pick up machine 1- Decent DE1 2- La Marzocco linea mini, which one you would pick?

I'm left with the impression that while James really appreciates the capability and potential of this machine, he doesn't love it.

this is probably an odd question, but where do u get those banging instrumentals? Thanks

I have to - irony - point to one thing in the "Seattle School of Software Engineering": 'it's in the next release.'

Look no more guys, it’s a $3400 machine, and obviously it’s the most inexpensive option among the DecentEspresso product lines

You've already reviewed the Apple of espresso makers... The Oracle touch. Ironically, your complaint there was you didn't have enough control. But, that would be the difference. If Apple made an espresso maker, there would be things they'd hide from you, that they would never let you have control over. It's actually kind of a prerequisite of user experience. There's almost always an exchange of control for ease of use.

More about this machine please

Have Decent, by now, created within the software a simple mode? Whereby when in the simple mode you have very few options. Basically you power it on, press start, stop and steam. The buttons may be slighly bigger than usual. Or possibly bloom, start, stop, steam.

Hey man, really love your videos. As a coffee and barista expert such as yourself, what's your top recommended espresso machine you would suggest for someone at home. I really would appreciate your input since you definitely know what your talking about.

Overall, excellent review and only a couple minor quibbles. Before my Decent I had a Quickmill Anita (E61) and it was much louder than the DE1 so I don't understand the noisy comment by you or so many other people even on the Decent forum. Albeit, it is a different bunch of sounds. Second, the complicated bit and being all-consuming. I know someone who has a Decent that basically uses the same beans, same profile, has done two posts on the Decent forum and has kept his involvement minimal and experimentation minimal/to-none. While I would say that an inquisitive and coffee curious mind might get sucked in, they probably would do that with any machine. I think some of the truly innovative and unique hardware characteristics should have been highlighted. For instance, no machine I know of is mixing and delivering water at such exacting temperatures using a temp probe almost right in the portafilter. That is an amazing feature - maybe the most amazing thing about the machine in my mind. And, the fact we know what the temp is and can vary it even throughout the shot at different stages is sort of mind blowing from an engineering and control perspective. Thanks and Cheers!

Wondering if James still doesn't have an espresso machine for home

Hey something I just noticed: am I seeing right that you have to connect the screen to the machine with a CORD?! Like they adapted the Android OS for some cheap tablet and just stuck it on there? It’s not actually embedded into the machine and you need to charge it? That’s some serious design hell, compared to the rest of this thing, which otherwise looks nice.

James, I don't think I've ever seen it anywhere, but what kind of water do you put in your machines these days?

this is only like $1000 cheaper than the Linea Mini. Which one is better for a bog standard espresso? Coming from a La Pavoni, I just want something easy.

The price of this machine is ridiculous now, I remember when James first announced he bought it, he paid $2,200 USD for it, I'm looking to buy it in Canada now and the cost with taxes is $5,000 CAD. Dream is over for sure :)

It would be nice if they would implement a "simplicity mode" 😁

an integrated display with a few very nice buttons that have a nice klicky feeling - especially the start button - would have been better. AND a bluetooth interface for your own tablet that can show all the fancy stuff - only if you like

Would you ever review the la marzocco gs3?

Hi James, really enjoy your vids. I’m a home espresso ‘enjoyer’ and always looking to find ways to improve my shot pulling skills. Given the measurements avail from Decent, here’s bottom line question: How does 1:2 shot frm Decent taste vs an ‘analog’ machine, like La Spaziale, or even ECM or Synkronika (ok, these are not too analog)? The last 2 have flow control but nowhere near the measurement to control pressure, flow rate, etc., which for someone like me, would be an beneficial tool to create different profiles and learn the shot effects of changing variables. However, it comes down to taste. All things equal, does it taste the same, worse or better than these other brands?

time for a revisit?

Would love to see a comparison with a gaggiuino. Would you mod your 250€ espresso setup based on a old gaggia classic ?

hmmm.. I'd have loved one to play with on a slow shift!

Would love an update if you’re still using with current firmware.

Easy to identify the Kahlua bottle on the right, the bottle on the left is Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur.

I think this is an intriguing machine but it makes a niche subject even more so..much more so imo. I like milk drinks as much or more than straight espresso so the Decent is just not even in my ballpark. That being said, if future machines can incorporate this tech into easier end games then I might be more interested.

I like your vidéo first for thé sujet ''le café '' Segondly i'm french and i don't know of you know (maybe if one day you tak a holiday in France.) But the french people don't speak english .... And when some vidéo liké this ave good speaker like you do it is very good for me toi understand . So thanks you

Would this espresso machine do good in a commercial environment?

The wordiness of the British is truly spectacular. Great review though, appreciate the production quality and work that went into it.

re: "who this is for" - This is a lab machine, plain and simple. I see it fitting best into professional academic and R&D settings. A professional student could learn a lot from this by analyzing the shots they pull. An R&D specialist could use this to eliminate a lot of variables and build a more complete picture of what they're researching, giving them valuable, unambiguous data to forward off to academics and help in engineering.

I made the mistake of watching only the first part of this video where the founder of Decent talked about a $999 machine. You need to go all the way to learn that they now only make machines that start at $3,499. I found this out after exchanging emails with Decent. So don’t get too excited about a $999 espresso maker.

James, you should try the machine agin… since a lot of reviews are popping up, I would be curious about yours 🧐

single or dual boiler?

It's defo going to end up with people going down loads of rabbit holes not dissimilar to roast curves. I just hope the focus will always be on what tastes good rather than flow profile for profile sake...

Anyone know who makes the bookcase in the background?

What an unbelievable plot twist: He doesn't have an espresso machine at home... I would have expected an entire room dedicated to espresso machines, grinders, special coffee aging boxes, etc. I'm totally confused now.

Would love to see how this compares to Eversys Cameo c’2 !!! Or your thoughts on this machine.

Is there something like a "barista" mode? I'd think having a cut down interface for a commercial environment would be great. Basically, profile each coffee you'll use and have limited controls.

Hi , is this machine able to do a pre-infusion as long as 25-30 seconds ,slow ramp from low to high P (8-9bar), keep it there for as long as the coffee allows you to, then go down finishing the extraction at 5-6 bar ? I am very interested to know .Thanks in advance !

Hi James, I am from India and a big fan of your work. Keeps me glued and I learn a lot. Is it possible for you do a review of DeLonghi Dedica 685? It is the most affordable mid range espresso machine India and it would be really awesome to know if it is a bang for the buck! Thanks for the awesome videos you make and the honest opinions you give. Cheers!

6:55 Give this man a like, hit that button already.

James, how about an update to this, because quite a few things you mentioned here are dated or not true anymore.

Daunting was the word you were looking for there.

Older video but the comment about the charge cord for the tablet has me think that a magnetic adapter plug could be a handy upgrade. There are magnetic adapters for lightning/type c/micro usb that convert a plug port to something more like the magsafe charge ports on mac laptops.

I'm a biologist, not an engineer. At the heart of coffee is the bean, embodying influences of genetics, soil and climate, altered by activities of harvesting, washing, drying, bagging, storage and transport. Then we roast it and smash it mechanically. Thus the wish for a scientific approach that stimulated this machine (see ZPM video) is built upon a continuously variable substrate, being ground beans. The holy grail at the end of the espresso rainbow will always be just that, at the end of a rainbow. Good fun chasing it though.

You said you're pretty careful about the water you put into your coffee machines - what water do you use and why? Thanks.

I like playing with variables and am ready to upgrade. However, I think this machine will dominate my life which I don't want. Maybe a Profitec DB will be better suited for me. but I will always be eyeing this machine and wondering what if.

Great review James, although I have to say it was weird watching a review that doesn't show much of the product. Don't get me wrong, I love your insights but I think they could have been better paired with some B roll

Is the Decent forum open to all or only for owners, if open what is the URL?

But does it have vim bindings?

That's such an interesting machine... I thought the pump was actually really quiet on that thing, but it does sound weird compared to other machines.

Hey James. Is there a reason why don't want an espresso machine at home?

Golf analogy (because EVERYONE loves a good golf analogy). The quip about bad coffee from a good machine reminded me of a conversation I had with a scratch golfer a while ago (Im no where near scratch!); Scratch golfer: "Your good shots are just as good as my good shots but its your bad shots. Its our bad shots that is the difference between us. Mine aren't as bad as yours. Yours kill you." And so it is with coffee and this machine I guess. A bad shot from this puppy is still gonna be better (well, one would hope) than a bad shot from a machine costing £39.99 from Argos.

Just curious, but why don't you want an espresso machine at home? Do you just prefer different brewing methods?