The Coffee Sample-Size Paradox, What Is The Dialing-In Tax For The S01B-9BAR?

We have some insights.

Drinking my latte this morning, I had a bit of a thinking on getting some new roast beans. Just a thought, it is more than just getting some fresh new roast beans.

Imagine a coffee drinker who is very mindful of cost and value. She wants to get some fresh beans (new roast) from a local roaster, so she goes to a shop and buys a small 50g or 100g sample of fresh-roasted beans. The price for that tiny bag is basically could cost as much as a huge bag of coffee from Costco. It’s the coffee samples.

But then, she gets home and faces a major problem: The Sample Size Paradox.

The Test Shots

On a standard espresso machine, the first 1 to 3 shots are usually wasted. If her basket takes 18g and she misses the grind size twice while trying to find the good taste and sweet spot, she has already burned through 36g to 54g of her 100g sample. Before she even gets a good cup, half her money is in the sink, gone!

Most home coffee machines are a fixed, you need the dial and find the right grind size. They have a fixed pump pressure and a very narrow window of success. If the grind is slightly off, the machine chokes or it gushes. You can't get the shot right in real-time. Not sure if you can test the machine with the new beans with a half-cup size. Not likely to work.

The MeeBaa S01B-9BAR can help a lot here.

This is where the design of the S01B-9BAR changes the math. I don't see it just as a regular espresso maker tool, but as an good tool that makes your every expensive coffee bean count.

The MeeBaa S01B-9BAR reduces the dialing-in tax through decoupling pressure from grind precision.

With the modular filter stack and manual control on the flow rate, there is no more fear of failure. The user should start with a coarser grind, no need to worry about it as too coarse. There is a little chance that they have to throw those expensive beans away. The machine allows them to control the flow rate and the pressure manually. As, the user is picking a coarser grind to start with, that she would not likely to face the choking problem with the S01B. Fresh beans are full of fresh CO2 gases, like gas bombs. The real-time manual push on the machine is going to see the great output espresso, extracted.

The second shot, the user can increase the grind size, if she wants to make different shots with a variation of different grind sizes. As long as the grind size is not too fine, It is going to be safely working well and still results in the good shot range.

Impact on the Local Coffee Roaster Ecosystem

The user may likely to visit the roaster more and try out fresh new roast beans. She may also likely to make espresso or latte more on her own.

Analogy Here

When most of the cars are two wheel drive and a new car is coming to the market with 4 wheel drive capability. Yes, we just need to make a reasonable assumption that the driver knows where the 4 wheel driver button is and why she needs to turn it on. The same situation for the meebaa s01b-9bar, with a manual flow rate control for a much coarser grind size, a longer extraction time is needed, the user needs to know the basics on the extraction in order to use it correctly.

Most espresso machines are like 2WD cars—they work best when conditions are already ideal.
The MeeBaa S01B-9BAR adds a kind of ‘4WD’—manual flow control—that lets the user maintain traction even when the grind isn’t perfect or the beans are unusually fresh.
But just like 4WD, it only works if the driver understands when and how to use it.