How-To: Make a cheap portable espresso machine
posted February 15th 2005 2:00PM
Thought we'd mix things up this week with a low tech How-To courtesy of Hack A Day editor Jason Striegel:
I spent the weekend trying to design a small espresso machine that you can make from readily available parts. What has a homemade espresso machine got that an $800 Williams Sonoma special doesn't? $770 dollars in your bank account, high-design PVC tubing, and a caulk gun. You probably have a caulk gun anyway, so let's just make that $785 in your pocket and a fine piece of caffeinated gagetry that you can impress your friends with.
A caulk gun? Hey, if it’s good enough for Taco Bell guacamole and sour cream, it’s good enough for a fine and delicate espresso, right?
If you just want a nice strong cup of coffee, you can use the homemade espresso machine sans caulk gun too. Just force the plunger manually and don’t tamp the grounds as hard. It’s perfect for backpacking! There’s nothing like brewing a shot or two of espresso atop your favorite 14er… so I’m told.
Ingredients
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Lengths of 1 1/4-inch and 2-inch PVC tubing
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Various pipe joints shown in the above picture (hereafter reffered to as a, b, and c from left to right). You’ll need two of the bottom right, and a part that mates two 2 inch pipes together (d, not shown).
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PVC cement, and teflon tape
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Some sort of stopper that will make a sealed fit in a 1 1/4-inch tube
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2 inch diameter portafilter cup
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Caulk gun
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Hot water and finely ground coffee
Construction
Feel free to skip this section if you want to see the device in action and don’t care about the details of its
assembly. The assembled product is shown above and is comprised of three parts: the plunger, the portafilter
attachment (where the coffee goes), and the seal/compression chamber. Joint b on the portafilter attachment and
joint a on the compression chamber screw together to form as seal and can be seperated for cleaning. The
portafilter is sandwiched between joints d and b (which are cemented together with a small length of 2-inch pipe.
The seal is provided by two c joints affixed end to end. Part c has a small ridge inside of it which exactly accommodates the 1 1/4 inch plunger. I use two of these end to end so that the dead space between them provides a small buffer for any water that slips past the first seal. We don’t want anyone getting squirted with pressurised hot water. The very top of the seal unit is removed and affixed to the bottom of the portafilter unit. This keeps the length down and prevents the filter basket from striking the end of the caulk gun.
Preparing Your First Cup
Just like any espresso machine, you’ll want to grind your coffee and place the appropriate amount in the filter
basket.
You can then tamp down the grounds with the plunger unit. The amount of coffee you use and the pressure with
which you tamp it down will determine how much pressure is needed to force the water through the grounds and out of the
machine.
To operate, the two halves of the machine are then screwed together and filled with water to just below the bottom
seal. The plunger is inserted and the entire unit is loaded into the caulk gun.
How It Works
A typical espresso machine circulates water past a radiator, heating it to just under boiling temp. The water is then pumped through the coffee at about 12 atmospheres of pressure. When the coffee exits the system and depressurizes, small co2 bubbles form and rise to the top, creating a reddish-brown foam.
With this machine, you’ll heat your water seperately and then just pour it in. I highly suggest you pressure test the unit for leaks with cold water before trying a hot water run. You are the pump, so you will control the pressure in the system. It’s all dependent on how hard you tamp the grounds and what rate you force the plunger through. You probably won’t be producing 12 bar and I double.. no.. triple suggest you pressure test the system if you are even going to attempt that kind of pressure.
It takes about 20 seconds to produce a couple shots of espresso. It’s black, strong and, surprise, it tastes
like an espresso. You probably wont be winning any taste-test competitions, but the hack value counts for
something, doesn’t it?
Ok some of you are totally missing the point, one or 2 cups isnt going to kill you, if it does you didnt have crap for an immune system to begin with and were going to die anyway. Some one took the time and engineering creativity to do this, they have stated that modifications need be made. To those who were blindly critical of artistic creativity: lets see you do better, i wanna see a 8 head hand held espresso machine thats easy to operate and made of department of health and wellness approved materials. Until each of you can do that, STFU!
To the guy that made this: Rock on i love it, but using metal instead of pvc would be a good idea. But unless you're drinking 8-10 cups a day it shouldnt be a problem, afterall a little death never killed anyone.
To all of you "omg i'm goint go die if i drink this" people, lighten up, do you have any idea how many contaminants get into tap water, do you know how relaxed restraunt health codes are? I work in food service, i can remove raw meat from a 35 degree F refredgeration unit and let it set at room temperature for nearly 20 minutes before i approach my first health code violation. Oh and the collendar i use to strain the blood/water off of raw meat? PVC.
Rolls eyes
Shakes head
Walkes off to find caulk gun
~Solet
Acctualy I think meat can be stored at 45F before there is a violation. And BTW this idea is awsome
Hi...Im posting from latin america where everything goes that way..so, not impressed on such a gadget..but Jason,I own a La pavoni piston coffee maker that work on the same princple...just need more work.And those guys recommending 10 bucks machine.....come on!!
PS no 10 bucks machine get espresso.
Crazy tool... but, for 30&, I would prefer a simple steel moka pot (which has the advantages of avoid the dangerous Pvc).
Jim :)
I truly admire creativity. How about stainless tubing instead of PVC?
haha i LOVED that... too bad no crema, better luck next time.... brought a smile to my face :)
and sorry for all the idiots out there that dont understand the fun in a 'hack'
Yes, it is a crap idea. There have been a few comments about PVC. It is quite scary really.
A quote from Greenpeace.
"PVC is a chlorinated plastic that poses numerous environmental and health problems. Numerous toxic additives used in PVC products contribute to contamination of the environment and the dioxins released by incineration of wastes to contamination of the body".
Greenpeace 6 Sept 2002.
Anyway, it is dangerous stuff and should be banned. Check out www.greenpeace.org to find out more on PVC.
To all you who say to lighten up, it's just a bit of fun, blah, blah, blah. PVC use should not be encouraged in any way or seen as not posing any problem. Even the manufacture of the stuff harms our planet. If you don't believe it, do a bit of research.
where to start.. :^)
instant espresso = horrid ass (this couldn't possibly be worse)
No one claimed that this was in any way superior to walking your ass down to starbux or using an espresso pot and/or machine. As about half of the posts understand, (Solet, you kick ass.) this is about experimentation, ingenuity and creativity. Hooray for goofiness like this. I love it.
Oh yeah...Greenpeace is hardly the place to cite for unbiased scientific info. Don't get me wrong...I used to do work for them. But they're clearly biased and it lends zero credibility to your argument. (You're right, btw.) :^)
where to start.. :^)
instant espresso = horrid ass (this couldn't possibly be worse)
No one claimed that this was in any way superior to walking your ass down to starbux or using an espresso pot and/or machine. As about half of the posts understand, (Solet, you kick ass.) this is about experimentation, ingenuity and creativity. Hooray for goofiness like this. I love it.
Oh yeah...Greenpeace is hardly the place to cite for unbiased scientific info. Don't get me wrong...I used to do work for them. But they're clearly biased and it lends zero credibility to your argument. (You're right, btw.) :^)
I WAS a chemist, and I think jason striegel was correct in his assertion about plastics.
http://www.ppfahome.org/pvc/index.html
Trolls... your tap water comes to you via white PVC pipes. CPVC is chlorinated PVC - it is no less "toxic" than PVC, but it is better suited for higher temperature service.
Greenpeace is one of the least valid sources of information on earth.
When you are trying to learn something, please consider the source... omgwtf69 might claim to be a rocket scientist, but if he tells you that the water pipes in your house are leaking radiation into your brain, he probably isn't a scientist at all, let alone a "rocket" scientist.
Don't take my word for it - check the link... or even call a plumber.
Oh gees, its about time that point was finally made.This Form was hard to read without saying "WTF" 10 times.I'am the plumber... You can ask me, and yes PVC is used to pipe domestic potable water to your homes and businesses. PVC is not just in sewage and drain pipes. Some of the opinions are so strong and don't know what on earth their talking about.
Maybe you guys are right? PVC is affecting you and your offspring? These "anti-pvc" views were not researched . It doesn't harm or kill you to ingest water from PVC.The thing is PVC is not commonly allowed above ground,it's a buried only pipe because it becomes brittle in the sun.
It may have a nasty manufacturing process but, so does galvanized steel piping. How about leaded and non-leaded solder for copper pipe? We still use the older buildings that used these materials.
No this isn't armageddon but,yes we ingest mild toxins throughout our lifetime.
pvc is not your killer... now lets go have a smoke.
If you heat regular PVC tubing, it produces gases which are poisonous to humans.
CPVC is used for hot water aplications, but still produces the deadly gases when heated to the temp. needed to make a cup of espresso.
This 'invention' is a recipe for death.
35. I'm laughin' myself off of my chair...my sentiments exactly! What has happened to our society that we've completely lost our sense of wonder, curiousity and imagination? Two words for everyone out there who didn't think this was a hysterical invention and commented in "concern"...LIGHTEN UP!