30% BETTER. NEW MINIPRESSO GR2 PORTABLE ESPRESSO REVIEW
ABOUT A DECADE AGO WACACO* BOUGHT OUT THE MINIPRESSO, THE FIRST PORTABLE ESPRESSO DEVICE THAT REALLY GOT IT TO WORK. UNTIL THEN, STRONG COFFEE WAS A MATTER OF MOKA POTS, WHICH DID THE JOB WELL (AND STILL DO) BUT THE MINIPRESSO REPLACED THEM WITH TRUE ESPRESSO WHICH HITS A SPOT NO OTHER FORM OF COFFEE CAN.
THE MINIPRESSO WAS ONE OF THOSE RARE THINGS THAT WAS DONE RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, AND EVEN THOUGH VARIANTS AND SPECIALIZED VERSIONS CAME AFTER, THE ORIGINAL DID WHAT IT WAS MEANT TO DO UNCHANGED AND UNBETTERED FOR A LONG TIME, WHICH IS IMPRESSIVE IN A WORLD AS HYPERFIXATED AS THAT OF COFFEE.
DETRACTORS POINTED OUT THAT YES, THIS WAS ESPRESSO, BUT ONLY BARELY CROSSING THE LINE BY THE VECTORS OF PRESSURE, VOLUME AND THEREFORE CREMA. LATER VERSIONS LIKE THE PICOPRESSO AND NANOPRESSO TOOK THINGS FURTHER INTO REAL ESPRESSO TERRITORY AT THE EXPENSE OF WEIGHT, FIDDLINESS AND SIMPLICITY, COMPLETING A SMART MARKET DOMINANCE THAT SAW OTHER ATTEMPTS BUT NONE OVERALL BETTER.
WE GOT ONTO THE MINIPRESSO WHEN IT WAS A REVOLUTION, AND STILL THE ONLY REAL CONTENDER AT THE TIME. SINCE THEN WE HAVE USED IT AND ITS SIBLINGS ALL AROUND THE WORLD AND WAY OUT ON EXPEDITIONS, TO THE POINT WHERE WE PANICKED ONCE HAVING FOUND WE LEFT IT AT HOME. IF YOU’VE NEVER HAD ESPRESSO SHOTS ON A REST DAY IN HIGH CAMP IN TIBET AND STARED UP INTO THE MOUNTAINS THEN YOU HAVEN’T LIVED, CERTIFYING THAT THESE THINGS WORK ALL THE WAY FROM THE AIRPORT TO A TENT CHOPPED INTO SNOW. THEY EARN THEIR WEIGHT ON ALL BUT THE HIGHEST OF CLIMBING – CERTAINLY TO AT LEAST AN ADVANCED CAMP – BECAUSE THEY DELIVER A HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT, WITH MAXIMUM BUZZ FOR MINIMUM WATER NEEDED AND GROUNDS CARRIED, THINGS THAT KEEP EXPEDITIONS ON AN EVEN KEEL. THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE FOR A STICK OF INSTANT, BUT ANYTHING UP TO THAT MAKES THE GR2 OUTPEFORM ALL COMERS INCLUDING MOKA POTS, AEROPRESSES AND ANY DRIP SYSTEM AND WE DEFEND IT.
SEEMINGLY RATHER THAN PUT OUT YET ANOTHER VARIATION, AFTER TEN YEARS AND PROBABLY MILLIONS OF ESPRESSOS MADE, THE DESIGNERS FOUND A WAY TO MAKE A GOOD DEVICE BETTER, AND CAME IN WAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE WITH IMPROVEMENTS. THESE ARE NOT MINOR UPDATES AND THINGS LIKE NEW COLOURS, BUT A SERIOUS OVERHAUL THAT PUSHES THE MINIPRESSO GR2 AN IMPRESSIVE WAY FORWARD. IT MAY BE THE COFFEE TALKING, BUT WE THINK THESE UPGRADES ARE AMONG THE BIGGEST DEVELOPMENTS IN ANY GEAR WE USE, AND ARE AN EXAMPLE TO OTHERS FOR WHAT A TOP LEVEL DESIGN PROCESS CAN BE.
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WEIGHT STRIPPED OF ALL THE ACCESSORIES NEITHER NEEDS AND THAT ARE SOON LOST ANYWAY, THE GR2 IS 105g LIGHTER WHICH IS ALMOST 30% OF THE PREVIOUS WEIGHT. PUT ANOTHER WAY THATS A DAYS WORTH OF GAS, 600kcals, 3 KARABINERS OR AN ANCHORS WORTH OF ROPE. THAT EQUATION SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.
SIZE THE REDUCTION IN MASS CORRESPONDS TO THE CHANGE IN SIZE, AND THE GR2 IS CLOSE TO 30% SMALLER THAN BEFORE. THE ORIGINAL WAS ALREADY SMALL, SO 30% BELOW THAT IS A BIG DEAL, AND IT NOW FITS INSIDE A POT AS A NEAT LITTLE SET. IT REALLY DOES FIT INSIDE A POCKET NOW.
VOLUME THE WHOLE POINT OF ESPRESSO IS BANG FOR YOUR BUCK OUT OF A GIVEN VOLUME OF GROUND COFFEE, AND THE GR2 NOW HAS A BASKET THAT’S ALMOST FULL SCALE. NOW IN A SINGLE SHOT YOU CAN GET WHAT YOU DID OUT OF TWO FROM THE PREVIOUS VERSION, WHICH IF YOU MEASURE YOUR WAKE UP ROUTINE BY SUCH THINGS IS 50% LESS FIDDLING.
THE GR2 HAS AN 18g BASKET, SO NO LONGER FEELS LIKE A TOY. THERE IS A SPACER THAT REDUCES BASKET VOLUME BACK TO 8g – WHO THE HELL WOULD USE THAT? – AND THE PUMP SEEMS TO HAVE INCREASED VOLUME PER SQUEEZE TOO, TO GET THE WATER PUSHED THROUGH.
SIMPLICITY THE FIRST ONE WAS FIDDLY, BUT JUSTIFIABLY SO, AND NEEDED INVERSION AND GETTING THINGS PERFECT OR HOT WATER COULD BE SPILLED. THIS WAS ANNOYING IN A HOTEL BUT COULD BE DISASTROUS IN A SMALL TENT, AND WAS SOMETHING THE PICOPRESSO SOLVED WHEN IT ARRIVED AND WE ASSUME A MAJOR DRIVER OF THE GR2.
NOW THE WATER JUST POURS IN AND GETS CAPPED OFF WITH NO REORIENTING OF THE DEVICE, WHICH MEANS NO SHIFTING OF THE WATER AS IT HAS TO ENTER THE PUMP MECHANISM AS IT GOES STRAIGHT IN AS IT FILLS.
THE ALL-IMPORTANT BASKET MESH NOW TOO IS FAR SIMPLER, WHERE BEFORE IT WAS A COMPLEX MASS OF PIECES IN ORDER TO GET THE RIGHT PRESSURE AND WHERE IF IT COULD GO WRONG IT WOULD. THIS HAS BEEN REDUCED TO JUST A FEW PARTS, THAT ARE EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO CLEAN AND TROUBLE SHOOT, MAKING WHAT WAS ONCE A MYSTERIOUS MECHANISM NEEDING A SCREWDRIVER TO GET AT, SOMETHING THAT CAN BE FIXED IN A MINUTE IN THE FIELD WITHOUT A TOOL.
EROGOMICS WITH COLD HANDS AND BALANCED IN A CRAMPED TENT, ERGONOMICS ARE MORE THAN JUST USER SATISFACTION, AND THE GR2 HAS DESIGNED OUT LOTS OF LITTLE THINGS THAT ARE NOTICEABLY BETTER ONCE GONE.
NOW, THE TANK FULLY EMPTIES, UNLIKE BEFORE WHERE A SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER WAS ALWAYS LEFT, ELIMINATING SOMETHING THAT WAS A REAL ISSUE WHEN USED IN REAL COLD.
THE ELIMINATION OF 30% OF THE MOVING PARTS NOW MAKES IT A 2 STEP PROCESS, WHERE THE PORTAFILTER NO LONGER NEEDS FITTING, SO THERE ARE ONLY TWO THINGS TO SCREW TOGETHER, CLEAN AND GET RIGHT. DISSASSEMBLED THERE ARE FEWER BITS TO MISPLACE, DROP AND FREEZE, AND THE LARGER BASKET IS FAR EASIER TO FILL AND DUMP OUT EVEN WITHOUT THE SUPERFLUOUS COLLAR.
OTHER STUFF MUCH IS MADE OF CHANGES IN THE POLYMER IT’S MADE FROM, THE NEW STUFF BEING BIODEGRADABLE, WHICH IS GOOD, ON TOP OF SURVIVING LONG USE. THE OLD ONE COULD TAKE A BEATING, AND WE PULLED OURS APART SEVERAL TIMES AND IT ALWAYS WORKED, SO WE ASSUME THE GR2 BEING SIMPLER MEANS IT ALSO HAS LESS TO BREAK.
IF THERE IS A DOWNSIDE IT IS THE COLOUR, OLIVE DRAB MAKING IT HARD TO SEE IN A PILE OF GEAR, BUT NOTHING THAT CAN’T BE SOLVED WITH SOME STICKERS. SOME KNURLING ON THE RESERVOIR CAP WOULD HELP A LOT WITH COLD HANDS, AND IN AN IDEAL WORLD THE INTERIOR WOULD BE A LIGHT COLOUR SO IT’S EASIER TO SEE AS IT FILLS, BUT WE KNOW THESE THINGS ARE DESIGNED FOR USE NOT SPECIFICALLY IN HIGH, COLD TENTS AND BIVYS.
THE COFFEE 18g WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER THAN 12g, AND 18b OF PRESSURE WILL ALWAYS PUSH OUT MORE LIQUID GOLD THAN 8b, MAKING FOR SOMETHING THAT DELIVERS BETTER THAN WHAT MANY PEOPLE HAVE SITTING ON THE BENCHES OF THEIR KITCHENS. WHAT WAS REAL ESPRESSO BEFORE, IS NOW GOOD ESPRESSO BECAUSE IT CARRIES MORE FLAVOUR AND CAFFEINE, WHICH IN THE BLEAK AND DESPERATE WORLD OF MOUNTAINEERING IS A QUANTIFIABLE ADVANTAGE.
THE GR2 LIKES A VERY FINE GRIND, AS DID ITS PREDECESSOR, AND THE PUMP FEELS TWEAKED TOWARDS AN AMOUNT OF PRESSURE AND TURNOVER THAT IS AS SMOOTH AS A HAND PUMP WILL BE. THE CREMA WITH DECENT BEANS EXPRESSES THICK AND TAKES ITS TIME TO SETTLE, AND IT FEELS LIKE A REAL SHOT. THIS IS FELT WHEN ALTERNATING SHOTS BY HEADTORTH IN THE SMALL HOURS, WHERE LEVELS ARE REACHED FASTER AND WITH LESS MESSING ABOUT TAPPING OUT GRINDS ETC, SO MORNING STARTS CAN BE MORE ABOUT THE DRINKING RATHER THE EXERCISE IN MINUTEA.
THE ADDICT WHO REALLY CARES WILL FIND THE INCLUDED CUP INADEQUATE AS IT COOLS MUCH TO FAST, AND MAYBE SOMEWHERE OUT THERE A BETTER CUP EXISTS THAT FITS INSIDE THE PUMP FOR STORAGE ONCE ALL THE ACCESSORIES GET LEFT BEHIND.
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OVERALL WE GIVE THE GR2 FULL POINTS, IN THE WAY ANY ADDICT DOES WHEN GETTING A HIT IS MADE EASIER. FOR US COFFEE IS A SERIOUS BUSINESS, AND LIKE OUR TENTS, TOOLS, DOWN GEAR, HARDWARE AND PACKS ANYTHING THAT LETS US LIVE BETTER HIGHER UP A MOUNTAIN WE APPLAUD, IN THIS CASE WITH A DIRECT AFFECT ON HUMAN PERFORMANCE, TEAM MORAL AND – LETS BE CANDID HERE – RELIABILITY OF GUT FUNCTION.
WE ARE HAPPY IF IT TAKES ANOTHER TEN YEARS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION, THIS ONE WAS WORTH THE WAIT.
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*WE HAVE NO AFFILIATION WITH WACACO, PAID FULL AMOUNT, AND RECEIVED NO REPLY WHEN WE APPROACHED THEM, PRESUMABLY BECAUSE WE ARE NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH INFLUENCERS.