Kees Van Der Westen - Mirage

Ronin

It will be worth the wait ACg, even it is just for your sake. It will be a pleasure to use. I suspect better coffee awaits tho, I'd appreciate a small write up if/when you have time

derrilex

on 1367639457:

Gotta respect a guy who puts his money where his mouth is.....

Totally agree OG but, will Joe sixpack know the difference ? Nope. Will sales go up ? Maybe initially but only as those in the know drop in to spy the hardware. Is it worth it ? Hells yes. Go hard Pat  :thumb: :thumb:

askthecoffeeguy

It remains to be seen what if any impact the machine will have on trade I do know that when I first encountered the Mirage at Mecca in Sydney some years ago I was drawn back to the same spot time and time again, party because I was fascinated by the machine, but mostly coz the coffee was awesome I do know that I've already put in a 40hr week at the cafe so far this week and I'm back at work today (and that doesn't include admin or grabbing supplies / laundry pickups etc) So if I'm going to spend a lot of time doing something that I love, and away from my family, then it might was well be on some fine equipment indeed that I'm going to get a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction from And if others dig what I do - then that's an added bonus! ACG

derrilex

You can always solve the "away from family" issue Pat by putting them to work  :D :D

askthecoffeeguy

on 1367712888:

You can always solve the "away from family" issue Pat by putting them to work  :D :D

dont worry my 4 and 7 yr olds clear glasses from tables and help me plate up for the coffee rush!

derrilex

That's the way :thumb:

Koffee_Kosmo

Hi Pat I spoke to the Cafe owners of the KVW Mirage They said to take care around the machine during use and especialy at clean up time as staff would cut themselves on and around the many numerous sharp edges KK

derrilex

What's a bit of blood in exchange for the bling ?

askthecoffeeguy

on 1367906978:

What's a bit of blood in exchange for the bling ?

I've bled plenty to pay for take bling '

derrilex

See what I mean  :D :D

askthecoffeeguy

I'm up on the Sunshine Coast at the moment - hopefully new machine will be installed by the time I get back on Wednesday ! Also, I wish I could get away with charging $4.5 for a cappuccino !

derrilex

Standard price up here Pat and in the most part its rubbish too

Lacehim

on 1368356549:

I'm up on the Sunshine Coast at the moment

WHAT!  You didn't even let us know you were coming!   I hope you popped in to see Tim Adams down in Caloundra!  I haven't been yet, but Kelsey seems to be living there! Not where you are going for coffee,  but I usually pay $3.50, maybe the odd extra $1 if it's something special as a treat (Clandestino do this now and again).  Once my Mrs paid $5.50 for a coffee at some jumped up organic shop in Peregian.  I couldn't believe it, and I've never been back.  It wasn't even the best coffee I've had! Hope you enjoy your stay anyway, and at the Rainycoast... Oh, I meant sunshine coast!  :laugh:

Kelsey

Pat, if you're in the Caloundra region give me a yell and we'll pop into Lamkin.

askthecoffeeguy

Thanks for that just up here for a whirlwind trip with the fam - spent the day in the Noosa National Park yesterday - couldn't believe that a medium coffee cost $5 in Noosa and $6 for a large ! Back to Melbs tomorrow !

Koffee_Kosmo

on 1368497760:

Thanks for that just up here for a whirlwind trip with the fam - spent the day in the Noosa National Park yesterday - couldn't believe that a medium coffee cost $5 in Noosa and $6 for a large ! Back to Melbs tomorrow !

Sounds like Perth prices on another thread

askthecoffeeguy

had a few teething problems with the machine prior to installation - aiming for this coming Tuesday!

Brett H

Camera at the ready Pat.... :thumb:

askthecoffeeguy

Now we're shooting for Thursday ... I'm starting to wonder if its ever going to happen... But it's been 4yrs in the making - I guess a few more days can't hurt...

Brett H

on 1369122284:

Now we're shooting for Thursday ... I'm starting to wonder if its ever going to happen... But it's been 4yrs in the making - I guess a few more days can't hurt...

  Seriously, I don't know how you're being so patient. 

askthecoffeeguy

on 1369126519:

  Seriously, I don't know how you're being so patient.

I'm not at liberty to go into the details but the machine was not ready to be installed for reasons which were beyond our control, yes we've done some modifications to improve the machine, but other delays are not of our own making All I can say is that quite a bit more work than originally anticipated has been required to bring it up to specifications - needless to say the machine should be as good as if not better than new condition when it does actually go in A rumor has it that the Mirage may be being installed at 4pm tomorrow - but I'll believe it when I see it! P 

askthecoffeeguy

ok first day of trade today with the new beastie on the bench and the coffee that its making is just terrific! we're using 22g VST baskets which are just lovely to work with and state of the art Everpure Extra Large Claris Water Filtration systems with the machine, along with a dedicated hard wired 32amp circuit, foot pedal activated steam power, and the optional flat additional cup holder on top bit of a steep learning curve this morning, and still a couple of variables that I want to iron out - but there's plenty of power on demand, which means that we're able to pull some awesome shots the machine definitely feels a bit more 'mechanical' to use than what I'm used to - you need to actively drive and manage the variables, but the trade off is just awesome coffee splashed out and bought some Costa Rica Geisha to put through the machine - and I really enjoyed it as both a long and short black - although the long black seemed to draw out the fruit more, which was just lovely! photos to follow!

mycuppa

The most important question is Pat............. Have your burnt your hands or fingers against the group when hitting the volumetric buttons ?

askthecoffeeguy

on 1369471652:

The most important question is Pat............. Have your burnt your hands or fingers against the group when hitting the volumetric buttons ?

my hands are immune to the relatively modest amount of heat generated by the groups, but I imagine that more delicate parts of the anatomy might be more susceptible ...

Brett H

Looking real nice!  Now, next time you take a picture of the cups please make sure the pretty barristette is in focus!  :pan :stir

askthecoffeeguy

on 1369480698:

Looking real nice!  Now, next time you take a picture of the cups please make sure the pretty barristette is in focus!  :pan :stir

your wish is my command, sir!

Brett H

Nicely played Dr Pat!  Before KK tells me to stay on topic what's the initial feedback from staff?

askthecoffeeguy

on 1369487338:

Nicely played Dr Pat!  Before KK tells me to stay on topic what's the initial feedback from staff?

well... It was just me and Mich on the tools yesterday, (Michelle is my manager and head barista), and she's used the same machine before at Degraves Espresso It was a bit of a steep learning curve for me at least at first - in terms of functionality we set the machine up with similar presets to what we've been working with, but frustratingly, if the groups havent been used for a while they tend to underextract quite badly, unless you do a considerable purge I spoke to the tech about this today and its something which is not supposed to happen and in theory can be fixed, so we'll be all over that on Monday Also the steam takes some getting used to, as with lots of curves in the steam wand, moisture tends to gather, and a good purge is required before each extraction, otherwise that added moisture ends up in your milk, diluting it and making it less creamy but the foot pedal is great to use for steam on demand and it frees your hands up to do other things as well, and its great for show as I tell my customers that the machine runs on voice prompts and that it only responds to a kiwi accent, and that it loves St Kilda, but not Collingwood, as demonstrated by a lack of resolve to do anything when the C word is mentioned... but onto the coffee... its a really interesting machine to work with, not the least of all because, although the groups are at the 'usual' height, the rest of the machine is chopped down, featuring a very low profile, and this combined with  the exposed groups, means that the feel of the machine is very accessible, and hands on: you are meant to get in there and to interact with it and even though its a shiny beast with lots of linea edges, the coffee it produces feels very 'soft' I dont really know how to quantify this except to say that the water softness with the amazing filtration system really makes more of a difference than I would've otherwise anticipated, and the slow-ramp (line pressure?) pre-infusion in the groups means that its a good 10sec plus before each extraction starts to pour, and when it does it comes out at a slow, measured trickle building to a more continuous and 'solid' pour and the first thing that you notice is that the coffee is a lot redder (more red!) than what I'm used to - even more so if you're using a single origin Costa Rica, or Equador coffee, as I did yesterday - but also with our blend which has a fair smack of El Salvador in it... And the hot water tap has a cold mixer put through it - I'm not sure if its adjustable or not but the water that comes out is perfect for long black coffees, and for making tea, but its just a tad too cool for preheating the cups, for my liking also the switch for the water tap is just a single tactile push button on the far right of the machine, which acts as an on / off button - so you have to control the volume of the pour each time, which can slow you down a bit (but not as much as I thought it would) - but it does require added concentration and focus, when I'm used to having three programable buttons for my hot water tap: one for preheats, one for long blacks, and one for tea but its the shot quality which is the main thing that I'm excited about - you dont expect it to be exponentially better than what you're used to working with - but it is in intangible ways its not something which you stop and thing about too much, and I dont intend to, except to say when you try the coffee that the machine, in conjunction with the operator, produces, you're (hopefully!), forced to stop and take notice I had about six coffees from the machine yesterday ranging from half lattes (same amount of coffee with half the usual amount of milk), to espresso and long black With the Costa Rica Farami Geisha (which I bought retail from Proud Mary for $112 for a kg!) - the flavours were unbelievable - its like a strawberry and chocolate fruit bomb exploded in your face! Both an espresso and a long black of the above provided pronounced fruit flavours combined with balanced acidity, and a silky and complex mouthfeel, which sounds like BS, I know, but they're flavours which make you stand up and take notice, and the same can be said to having an espresso of our Thursday's Child, house blend In short the machine is capable of producing exceptional coffee, the quality of which is tangibly an improvement on what I've been used to working with (which I already thought was pretty good) - so I'm hoping if it grabs my attention to this extent, then I'm not going to be the only one to notice Had a coffee aficionado yesterday describe his long black of the geisha yesterday as possibly the best coffee he's ever had, and he's had the same coffee elsewhere, so that's pretty high praise I reckon!

Brett H

How fantastic mate!  Qualitative change is a subjective beast but we only have to read the enthusiasm of your post to know that there is improvement over and above what was undoubtedly an excellent prodict to start with. Kudos!  I wish you many compliments from your patrons!

askthecoffeeguy

as a side note the volumetrics seem to have worked themselves out (could be that I was still hungover on the saturday after late install Friday night !) and the machine is working beautifully! let me know if you're in the area Crema punters, and I'll either pull you a few shots, or, better still, you can run your own! P