Maespresso58 Pneumatic espresso brewer first impressions

A month ago, u/Ok-Taro-1085 reached out and asked if I wanted to review this espresso maker, so I agreed and I’ve been using it for a month now. You may have seen posts by u/thisisdavidfishman brewing espresso using an air pump https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/11gz81v/using_airpump_to_make_9bar_espresso/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1 He is the designer of the Maestri Maespresso58. This is my review.

I received in the mail a box of about 12”x12”x5”. Excitedly, I opened it to reveal a padded case, and inside it, the Maespresso58.

Now I had no idea of what to expect when I was told about this product but I was surprised to see a solid metal construction espresso brewer. It obviously looked very attractive and had great build quality. Moving further into the case, I found a nice WDT tool, an interesting puck leveler, and a custom portafilter with puck screen. Included with the package was a large black device about the size of a rechargeable battery pack with a rubber hose attached to it. No doubt this was an air pump. Also included was a little valve to allow use of CO2 cartridges (the kind you use for whipped cream). I was bewildered that I was being asked to test this stuff, but I got to work.

Now, a disclaimer. I already own a Picopresso with a full kit and I’ve brewed a lot of on-the-go shots. I’ve brewed in hotels and cafeterias and just sitting in the park. I’ve brewed in my work break room. I have my workflow down. In addition, I’ve built a Gaggiuino, heavily modified a Delonghi ECP, and roast my own coffee.

From all this experience, I knew the first challenge with brewing would be temperature stability. Maestri advertises that they do not have temperature stability issues, but if you touch the huge portafilter, you notice it has a fair amount of thermal mass.

Which brings me to my first brew. The poertafilter is integrated with the basket that has a mesh instead of holes in it. It’s tall enough to hold a standard 18g dose as well as about 100g of water. The main “body” is basically the stand, and the “head” — to which the poertafilter attaches and is fitted with a pressure gauge. The head also interfaces with the pump via a pneumatic connector. Easy enough.

I boil some water and grind some beans. I was using a Brazilian Yellow Ipanema Honey Bourbon roasted to a City+. I loaded it up and went into tamp with the included puck leveler — and instantly ran into a problem. Puck levelers are largely useless and this one was designed rather ineffectively in that you have quite a bit of trouble extracting it from inside the portafilter when you’re done. I decided instead to leave it be and used my own 58mm tamper (I forgot to add, the portafilter is 58mm, though not standard by any means.) Once tamped, I popped in the included mesh screen and poured in the hot water. At this point, I could not figure out how to plug in the pump to get it started. With plenty of finagling, I realized the pump was battery powered and I turned it on. (+1 for Maestri) Pressing the center button, the pump started raising the pressure to 9 bars, then cut off. The espresso started to pour, and eventually trailed off the pressure. I was using a 18g/30g ratio, and the pressure slowly trailed to 2 bars at 30g when I tried to cut off the shot but found that there was no way to do so. In a frenzy, I pulled the hose out. Doing so relieved all the pressure inside the head and created a really loud sound that terrified my dog.

The espresso, however, was there. There was wonderful tiger striping on the surface, and it drank quite smoothly and creamily. I reckon the compressibility of air vs water allows for a lot of the irregular pressure waves to be negated by the time the water reaches the coffee, allowing for a smoother extraction. Unbelievably, this quirky little espresso maker from an unknown brand really had something.

I continued to use the espresso maker. The WDT tool they give you is quite nice. The leveler is not. Time after time I would have to disconnect the pump hose to cut off the shot and that was inelegant, not to mention loud. The puck prep takes a bit more effort due to the deep nature of the basket (kinda like a sprover basket, really), and it generally feels a bit awkward every time.

After a week of consistent use, I got tired and switched to pour overs. Then, a week later, I wanted an espresso so I reached for the picopresso to see if it was any good. Now, I’m biased as I have a lot more experience with it, but I thought the shot was tastier. I’ve guessed this has to do with three things:

1. The picopresso has a 51mm basket. That leads to smoother, sweeter manual espresso, much like a La Pavoni.

2. The picopresso has a easier puck prep. Thanks to a removable basket, you’d puck prep in the picopresso exactly like any other machine.

3. Hand pumping. Without the ability to control temperature, hand pumping is the only way to have any control over the extraction. You feel the puck responding as the espresso flows down.

The Maespresso58 feels like a mechanical machine without water boiling capability. While it’s capable of tasty espresso, it feels more like a deconstructed espresso machine. Also, the site says you can pressure profile, but that’s accomplished by changing the pressure setting on the pump, which doesn’t exactly happen on the fly. Oh, also, the pump automatically only reaches the set pressure once. After that, it trails off unless you engage the pump manually. Finally, the pump itself is definitely a portable bicycle or automobile pump that has been repurposed.

Now, here’s the thing. Maestri have all but addressed most of those issues since then. The redesign has a better tamper, integrated WDT, and a pressure relief valve. And the Maespresso58 can make good espresso. So, the question is will it replace my picopresso? Not… yet. It still feels and behaves like a product in beta. Does the idea of brewing with air sound good? I think David has go something there. But at a $299 price point, it needs to compete with the picopresso and the cheaper Flairs. It may offer something for the college student setup. But more mature users may find the bicycle pump distasteful. I for one prefer my plumbing out of reach where I can’t accidentally slash it. That being said, I’m excited for the future of this product, and do encourage all to check it out.

by No_Leader1154