My first coffee shop job was at Kidd Coffee, a small franchise in the middle of nowhere Ohio. We were forty-five minutes away from the nearest city and thirty minutes away from any other coffee shop. We offered four coffees year-round: mild coffee, bold coffee, decaf, and “Highlander Grogg,” a vanilla and hazelnut flavored coffee. We brewed them in big batches on our row of Bunn auto-brewers and let them sit for four hours, or until a customer complained that their coffee was cold, whichever came last. I had no idea where coffee came from or what it even was. Once, a customer asked me if we had any Colombian coffee. I stared back at him blankly and asked, “What is that, a flavor?”

This scene plays in my head whenever I see an auto-brewer, which has become the symbol of bad coffee since the emergence of the third wave coffee movement. Experiences like mine were the general standard for brewed coffee until forward-thinking professionals led us all into the golden era of by-the-cup brewing, an era that may be on the verge of another reformation – back to auto-brewers.

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Several of our beloved Slayer 1.0 clients have wondered what 2.0 changes they can retrofit to their machine. Well, wonder no longer! Below is a list of all 2.0 retrofittable parts. (If you missed the news about our new Slayer 2.0, jump to that article here.) Not all 1.0 Slayers need all upgrades, so read on to see what best fits your Slayer’s needs. Things to consider include the age of your machine, upgrades already installed, any issues encountered, and the amount of time since your last preventative maintenance repair. We recommend doing preventative maintenance every four to six months, so if your Slayer is due for a PM it may be advantageous to do so with the retrofittable parts listed below.

As with all espresso machine repairs, please be sure to read the Owner’s Manual first. If you own a Slayer and need a copy of the Owners Manual or the Slayer Preventative Maintenance  Manual, please contact us. Important safety information is listed at the beginning of the manual. There are also informative videos in the Preventative Maintenance and Troubleshooting sections to help with repairs and maintenance. Please be sure to watch the important video titled, “Changing the Valve Inserts & O-Rings Within the Group” as well as the link listed on that video’s page to “Bent Needles on the Brew Gauges.” The videos require a password, which is listed in the manual under the Preventative Maintenance section. If you have further questions, get in touch through our contact page.

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We were inspired by one of our employees, Molly Soeder, to make a modification to the drain pan. This was clearly inspired due to her (former) responsibility of having to clean and maintain the 2 group on our bar. In the past, coffee grounds would collect on the left side of the drain pan due to the slope of the pan. It was her suggestion to simply add a reverse slope to the other side, causing the grounds to flow into the drain. Great idea…and so the Molly Drain Tray was born :)

We’ve also had numerous requests for the ability to lower the overall drain tray assembly. So we’re now offering the option of a lowered drain tray bracket, which is 1/2″ (1.27cm) lower and provides this additional distance between the bottom of the group head and the dray tray.

Click either picture for a larger view

Thanks for the suggestions everyone – keep it up, we’re listening!

Slayer Pre-Brew Timer Option

This is one of our newest options available on Slayer, a pre-brew timer.

When you press a button under the group you engage the timer. When engaged the time is quickly and easily set with a rheostat, located below the drip tray, and controls the Pre-brew phase of the extraction. After the time expires the machine automatically kicks into full pressure.

If desired, the barista can still move the actuator back to the pre-brew position to lower the pressure towards the end of the shot. Each group is independent and can have different times or simply be turned off and the group is back into full-manual mode.

This option is great for extremely busy cafes, but would also be useful for cafes where there is only one barista who’s needing to manage the bar and till as it allows them to focus on various tasks without having to watch for pre-brew saturation.

I did a quick YouTube and Vimeo search and came across the following videos from Australia, Singapore and Canada. I really enjoy seeing people from around the world using and enjoying the coffee they’re making on their Slayer.

Enjoy

Campos Coffee – Australia:

Bean Drinking – Australia:

Cup Specialty Coffee – Australia:

Jimmy Monkey – Singapore:

jimmy monkey cafe & bar from Eileen on Vimeo.

Slayer coffee machine- The Best! from Eileen on Vimeo.

Thor Espresso – Canada:

Here is a video someone made from SCAA 2009, when we launched Slayer:

I just happened upon a video from Dark Cloud Espresso in Chicago. The cafe looks great and they’re pulling shots by weight, which is great. Check it out here:

Also, Coffee Supreme in Melbourne Australia just finished a custom paint job on their Slayer – SWEET! Gloss Cherry red paint, white GT striping and a killer gold logo. Nice work Justin! Check out all the pics by clicking on the pic

Now, heres something that I LOVE…videos that were shot and published by proud Slayer owners through out the world!!

Check it out

Bean Drinking, Australia

Lots more videos after the jump…

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Bean Scene Magazine (click here to view)  in Melbourne featured Slayer as the cover story for their November issue.  The article was an over-the-top free association on Slayer and I just loved it.  I especially enjoyed the way Steve captured the essence of Slayer as “an irrational exercise in exuberance” because this joy in creating a new super-functional machine that celebrates the human element illuminates our path even now.

You can read everything in the issue, but one final feature of the article worth noting is the way Slayer the machine is described in the context of the important new ways independent roasters and retailers are considering their business.  They are making money with coffee, raising the bar on quality for their customers, and doing good at origin through innovative thinking and exploration. . . and action.  Even if you are not roasting your own coffee, it is possible to align your cafe with an independent Third Wave roaster who is.

My thanks to Steve Agi, the editor of Bean Scene, coffee fanatic, and beloved “caffiend”.  Your article was terrific!

Eric in Seattle

(Slayer’s 1.4 gallon dedicated preheat tank supplies buffered 193 degree F water to brew & steam tanks)

In newer generation espresso machines, brew temperature stability is achieved through three features:  independent, but relatively small brew tanks, PID for temperature control, and a supply of pre-heated water to each brew group.

On most machines with independent brew tanks the main water inlet to the espresso machine comes through the steam tank, and there is no cold water inlet to brewing.

On these machines, the steam tank supplies pre-heated water to each brew group through a heat exchanger (HX) that draws heat from the steam boiler and distributes it to where it’s needed. This happens in real time as you pull shots. During peak periods this hot water draw can be as high as 12-16 oz per minute.

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