Q&A with Decent - questions overview
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1. The Decent backstory
2. John's philosophy
3. Why Hong Kong?
4. The toughest part of the DE1 journey
5. The Decent Factory, today
6. Does Decent have any plans to open a factory in another country?
7. Why did Decent aim at growing slowly?
1. A cheaper DE1?
2. Decent retail stores?
3. Are we planning on releasing new versions of the DE1 soon?
4. Is there a DE2 model planned?
5. Will Decent Espresso machines ever have a boiler?
6. Is Decent working on a vibration dampener?
7. Real-time espresso control: USB-C stability, Bluetooth bugs, and community coding
8. Will the DE1app start making suggestions to the barista?
1. The early DE1 designs
2. All about DE1 reliability
3. What about mirror panels and mirror lips?
4. Why is there a tablet on the espresso machine?
5. Software means the machine gets better
6. Can you use the DE1 without a tablet?
7. How the DE1 measures
8. Why was the flow meter removed?
9. What's the benefit of more headspace?
10. Still doing the shaking test?
11. Could the tablet camera wake the DE1?
12. Two pumps for accurate temperature
1. Temperature stability on E61 and Decent
2. Comparing Decent to Breville and Lever machines
3. Will my shots channel less with the Decent compared to an E61?
1. Can water become stale/acidic in the water tank?
2. Should I leave my portafilter in the group head?
3. How to WDT puck prep correctly
4. Steaming milk for latte art
5. How to pour latte art
Questions overview
About Decent and its journey
1. The Decent backstory
What inspired John Buckman to start Decent Espresso?
How did a failed Kickstarter project shape the company's early days?
Why did Decent Espresso decide to build a machine completely from scratch?
How did the unique capabilities of the Decent machine evolve?
Who helped design the final product?
How did the final price tag change from the original vision?
2. John's philosophy
What actually motivates John Buckman as an entrepreneur?
Why did John choose not to prioritize maximizing profits with Decent Espresso?
Why does Decent operate without traditional distribution channels or resellers?
Why does John refuse to use the words "consumers" or "users"?
How has open collaboration shaped the Decent Espresso software?
3. Why Hong Kong?
What makes Hong Kong economically advantageous for opening a factory?
How does the local talent pool differ from the West?
Why is it important for Decent's engineers to "get their hands dirty"?
What unique legal and historical rights does Hong Kong afford to foreigners?
Is there a language barrier when working with Hong Kong engineers?
What is the office culture like among Hong Kong workers?
4. The toughest part of the DE1 journey
What metaphor does John use to describe the challenge of building the Decent espresso machine?
Why did early ideas about flow profiling turn out to be completely wrong?
How did the team revolutionize the concept of pre-infusion?
What was ultimately the hardest part of the Decent journey?
5. The Decent Factory, today
What are the main assembly zones inside the Decent factory?
What strict quality control tests does each sub-assembly go through?
How are final machine testing and voltage variations handled on the floor?
How has the physical size of Decent's operations evolved over time?
6. Does Decent have any plans to open a factory in another country?
What are Decent Espresso's future plans regarding building factories in other regions?
Why is the factory uniquely situated to utilize the local workforce?
How does individual employee dedication impact the manufacturing floor?
How does Decent handle parts distribution and logistics for international regions like the US?
7. Why did Decent aim at growing slowly?
How does Decent's growth strategy differ from the traditional Silicon Valley model?
Why did Decent intentionally limit early production runs?
How did external factors and market shifts impact production?
Decent's plans for the future
1. A cheaper DE1?
Does Decent Espresso have any plans to release a cheaper or smaller "mini" version of the DE1?
What are the operational challenges of increasing production volume for a handmade machine?
How does profit margin impact a company's ability to innovate in the espresso industry?
2. Decent retail stores?
Does Decent Espresso plan to open flagship stores or showrooms?
How does Decent approach product discovery and community interaction?
What are the benefits of the peer-to-peer demonstration model?
3. Are we planning on releasing new versions of the DE1 soon?
Are we planning on releasing completely new versions of the machine anytime soon?
Why does the machine keep getting more expensive every six months?
How are we improving our internal manufacturing processes?
4. Is there a DE2 model planned?
Is there a DE2 model planned or currently in development?
What is the limiting factor in espresso quality on the DE1?
What minor design and performance refinements is Decent focusing on?
How is Decent adapting the heating technology for commercial cafe environments?
5. Will Decent Espresso machines ever have a boiler?
Will Decent ever include a boiler to support simultaneous steaming and brewing?
How would simultaneous steaming and brewing degrade the user experience?
Does letting an espresso shot sit while steaming ruin the beverage quality?
What are Decent's core engineering priorities compared to traditional espresso brands?
6. Is Decent working on a vibration dampener?
Is Decent working on a vibration dampener for the espresso machines?
How do vibration dampeners work, and what problem do they solve?
How does the DE1's design minimize pump noise without a dampener?
7. Real-time espresso control: USB-C stability, Bluetooth bugs, and community coding
Will a USB connection enable real-time espresso shot control?
Why is real-time extraction control highly problematic over Bluetooth?
What is the "airplane mode" feature already hidden in the code?
How are we opening up real-time control to community developers?
8. Will the DE1app start making suggestions to the barista?
Are there plans to use the software to suggest adjustments for dialing in shots?
Why did Decent originally consider traditional espresso practices to be "pre-scientific"?
How has community experimentation revolutionized extraction profiles?
How does your choice of grinder burrs change the late-stage extraction profile?
The DE1 machine
1. The early DE1 designs
Who was responsible for the initial look of the Decent Espresso machine?
Why did the team change the design of the machine's legs?
What happened to the idea of an external, asymmetric water tank?
Why did the team abandon using a Pyrex glass drip tray?
2. All about DE1 reliability
How does the reliability of a Decent Espresso machine compare to a traditional commercial machine?
What is the biggest issue that destroys espresso machines, and how does Decent prevent it?
Why did Decent switch from traditional metal tubing to standard Nespresso-style connectors?
How are the internal electronics protected against heat and moisture?
Can a Decent machine be repaired easily by the user at home?
Why is the control tablet completely separate from the machine body?
3. What about mirror panels and mirror lips?
Why did Decent stop making mirrored front panels?
How thick is the mirror lip, and is it difficult to maintain?
4. Why is there a tablet on the espresso machine?
How does a screen solve the problem of physical device complexity?
Why is software iteration critical for an espresso machine over time?
What is a practical example of how app updates change the brewing experience?
How does steam profiling benefit users making different sized drinks?
5. Software means the machine gets better
How has the integration of software and hardware benefited early machine owners?
What makes the Decent Espresso machine fundamentally different from traditional equipment?
How did the community's understanding of profiling evolve after the machine's launch?
What long-standing espresso problems did the Decent machine help solve?
6. Can you use the DE1 without a tablet?
Can the espresso machine be operated without the tablet?
How does the tablet interact with the machine when it is turned on?
How do the tablet and the espresso machine communicate?
What is the best practice for managing the tablet's battery?
7. How the DE1 measures
What information does the tablet show when pulling a shot on the Decent?
What is a pressure profile and how does it mimic a lever machine?
Why do you have to build an espresso machine from scratch to capture this data?
How is temperature measured close to the coffee under high pressure?
Why is capturing an accurate flow rate so difficult in espresso brewing?
How did Decent Espresso solve the problem of tracking slow flow rates?
8. Why was the flow meter removed?
Was the internal flow meter ever actually used by the machine's firmware?
What performance benefit came from removing the physical flow meter?
Why did Decent shift from a closed-loop flow meter to an open-loop physics model?
Why aren't high-end, highly accurate mechanical flow meters used instead?
9. What's the benefit of more headspace?
What does "headspace" mean when talking about a coffee puck?
What are the main flavor benefits of having more headspace?
Why do some users want to eliminate headspace to make "sludgier" coffee?
How do dark roasts and light roasts benefit from different headspace layouts?
What is a "blooming shot" and why does it achieve such high extraction yields?
Why is a fast pre-infusion fill better than a slow one for blooming?
10. Still doing the shaking test?
Is Decent Espresso still conducting vibration shaking tests on every single machine?
What is the current quality control protocol for vibration testing?
What specific hardware flaws did the shaking machine originally uncover?
How did Decent Espresso fix the connector issue permanently?
11. Could the tablet camera wake the DE1?
Is it technically possible to use the tablet's camera to wake the DE1 up?
Are there safety or regulatory limits to waking the machine up automatically?
What other camera features did the team experiment with or consider?
12. Two pumps for accurate temperature
How does the Decent espresso machine control its water pumps differently than traditional machines?
What components are responsible for mixing the hot and cold water?
How does the machine make real-time adjustments to hit a target temperature?
Why is the internal tubing designed to be so narrow?
Comparison with other machines
1. Temperature stability on E61 and Decent
Why do the brewing temperature settings on a Decent machine seem lower than traditional espresso machines?
What makes it difficult to get consistent shot temperatures with a traditional E61 group head at home?
How does an electrically heated group head improve temperature accuracy?
How does the Decent machine adjust water temperature during a shot to maintain a stable coffee slurry?
2. Comparing Decent to Breville and Lever machines
How does the Decent espresso machine differ from the Breville Dual Boiler in terms of user experience and feedback?
Why is a flat "nine-bar" pressure profile considered problematic for espresso extraction?
What advantage do lever machines have over traditional nine-bar machines?
How does the Decent machine improve the extraction of light roasts compared to standard machines?
3. Will my shots channel less with the Decent compared to an E61?
Why is the Decent espresso machine generally more forgiving toward puck defects than traditional machines?
How does the group head and water dispersion design reduce channeling?
Why does the Decent team caution against using entry-level grinders (like the Baratza Sette) with their machine?
Is it possible to use the Sette for espresso with the Decent?
Other questions
1. Can water become stale/acidic in the water tank?
Will water sitting inside the Decent (DE1) water tank become stale or acidic over time?
Why do traditional boiler espresso machines struggle with "stale" water?
How does Decent's heating method prevent the water from tasting stale?
How does the firmware's water pulsing mechanism manage the tank water level for refill kits?
What are the benefits of keeping a lower, pulsed water level in the tank?
2. Should I leave my portafilter in the group head?
Why might you need to preheat your portafilter?
How should you effectively heat the portafilter and basket?
Is the Decent machine's group head different from traditional machines regarding thermal stability?
Why do some users experience temperature drops on the first shot of the day?
Where is the temperature probe located on the Decent machine?
3. How to WDT puck prep correctly
What is the correct way to perform WDT (Weiss Distribution Technique) for puck preparation?
How does "puck raking" compare to WDT in terms of extraction results?
Where can users find reliable examples of proper puck preparation?
4. Steaming milk for latte art
Why do you transfer milk between jugs?
Why not just steam in the larger jug to begin with?
What is the recommended steaming temperature and technique?
How do you achieve the perfect latte art contrast?
What is the purpose of different pitcher spouts?
How do you determine the correct amount of "chirping" (aeration) for different drinks?
How does non-dairy milk affect foaming compared to dairy milk?
What should you do if you encounter big bubbles when steaming?
Are there any tips for practicing latte art without wasting milk?
Why is it important to swirl the milk jug before pouring?
Does the pitcher spout design affect the final latte art?
What should a beginner do to gain confidence in their latte art?
What is the correct positioning when beginning to pour?
5. How to pour latte art
Why is immediate pouring important after steaming?
How can beginners practice latte art without wasting coffee or milk?
What are the differences between pitcher spout types?
How should a barista approach learning new latte art patterns?
Why is the coffee shot quality important for latte art?
Why are some baristas struggling to pour a large heart with a tail?
Does the pitcher holding style affect the pattern?
How do you achieve a consistent "whirlpool" effect when steaming?
Why does a barista sometimes get rough bubbles on top of the milk?
Should I worry about my espresso profile for latte art?
Where can I find more resources for learning latte art?
#Q&A #Decent #journey #philosophy #DE1 #overview
mirjam created 2026/06/29, mirjam updated 2026/06/30