Meraki Espresso Machine Review

Introducing the Meraki Espresso Machine

The Meraki Espresso machine is a dual boiler espresso machine, with gravimetric grinding, and gravimetric espresso extraction. That means that the grounds are weighed as they are being ground, and the shot is weighed as it’s being pulled. Very nice.

Meraki comes from Greek, and it means to do something with passion. That is the motto of this Chinese company, based in Shen Zhen. In this blog we will see how this motto reflects on the product that they have developed. Whatever the case, it has been in development for over 2 years now, and the model I have is the culmination of their efforts thus far. Let’s take a look at its design and features.

Price and Availability of the Meraki

When Meraki first announced its dual boiler espresso machine, it got a lot of attention, especially at the Kickstarter price of $1099. A dual boiler at that price is pretty much unheard of, and since then they have brought the machine to its current MSRP price of $1,799. That is still quite a bit of money for most people, but for a dual boiler with its gravimetric features, that’s still quite competitive.

Meraki has finished the Kickstarter campaign, and is taking normal orders and delivering machines in the USA and the EU.

If you are interested in the Meraki, and want $100 off, please use the coupon code: TomsCoffee100

Design and Features

Looking at the Meraki, it is essentially three cylindrical towers, one being oblong. The left side is the conical grinder (made by Timemore), the middle contains the brew boiler and group, and the right cylinder encases the steam boiler.

On top of the machine sits a circular touch display from which the machine can be operated. Both the brew group unit and steam unit also have paddles on top, that function as boolean switches, either on or off. These paddle switches allow the user to use the brewing and steaming independent of the screen. Too bad the grinder cannot be triggered manually as well.

Popping and arching out of the top of the steam boiler is a very large and long gooseneck type of steam wand. This steam wand is awesome. I mean really awesome. It has 3 holes, provides absolutely excellent and dry steam for texturing, and includes a temperature probe in the head, so that you know the current milk temperature as it is heating up. The Meraki also allows for automatic milk steaming, that stops at the set temperature, and since the gooseneck steam wand is so long, you can just point it into the top of the milk surface, and let the machine go to town.

Build Quality

People seem to be most curious about the machine’s build quality. How good is it, considering most of the body is made out of ABS plastic?

Well, I think it’s important to point out that this machine is made of different materials: ABS plastic, stainless steel, and aluminum.

For example, the brew and steam boilers are both made out of stainless steel. So are the steam wand, the grinder exit chute, the brew group, and the portafilter.

The Meraki also employs some aluminum, as the drip tray is made of a die cast aluminum alloy, and the brew group casing is made out of anodized aluminum.

Finally, the base of the machine is a riffled ABS plastic, as is the drip tray.

Anyway, actions speak louder than words, so check out the video below, where I do a full teardown on the Meraki espresso machine!

What does the Meraki come with?

Thankfully, the Meraki finally comes with just about everything you need to get started on your espresso journey. All that is really lacking is a knock box. The machine comes with the following:

• 18 gram Meraki branded filter basket
• Stainless steel portafilter with removable, dual spouted bottom
• 350ml milk pitcher
• 58mm tamper
• 58mm leveller
• Barista towel
• Tamping station
• Directions

The Grinder

The grinder is actually a collaboration with Timemore, which is great because Timemore has really made a name for itself in the grinder arena. The 37mm conical grinder is stepless, and it has an encoder, so that the controller knows where the grinder is set up.

Another trick up its sleeve is the inclusion of a de-ionizer. This is a super nice feature to keep the grounds fluffy and static free, which helps with workflow. I do also find however that grinders with a de-ionizer are slower in grinding. This one seems to be an exception to the rule however, grinding at about 1.5 grams per second.

Meraki by the way decided to keep the grinder separate from the rest of the machine, on its own column, to keep the beans away from heat and moisture, which is a thoughtful design standpoint, when comparing to a Breville Barista Express, or Lelit for example.

I have found in my tests, that the Meraki’s grinder does a pretty good job at making nice fluffy grounds, in an expedient manner. I get my 17 gram dose in about 10 seconds.

The Brew Group

The stainless steel brew group actually also has its own PID control, keeping it at a warm, but not hot, temperature. I think I would prefer it to be hotter for my shots, but being just pretty warm to the touch (around 50) is safer, in case you happen to have children in the household.

The Meraki also comes with a water spout, for hot water. This is located just behind the brew group (hard to see in the picture below).

The Steam Wand

The steam wand on the Meraki is so far the best I’ve used. Up until now, it was the Breville Dual Boiler, that provided me with the best and driest steam for texturing milk, but the Meraki is even better. With its 3 holes, and the aerodynamics of its head design, it’s almost too easy to texture milk! This of course does not guarantee latte art, as the pouring still takes a lot of practice. Nonetheless, the milk texture is excellent, and that is the first step in being able to pour latte art.

Additionally, the steam wand has a thermoprobe at the tip, so that you know the milk temperature (at the surface of the milk, anyway). This also allows you to steam automatically. Just set down your milk canister on the drip tray, position the wand, and press play.

In the example shown below, I steam about 175ml of milk up to 60 degrees Celsius, and the Meraki only added 14 grams of water. That is some dry steam, considering most machines I’ve tested add 20-40 grams of water.

The Dual Scales and Gravimetric Dosing

Probably my second favorite feature of the machine are the dual scales. I just love how convenient it makes it for me to not have to move and tare my scale between weighing for grinding vs brewing.

This is true gravimetric dosing, meaning that if you choose to stop at 30 grams, the machine weighs the shot and just stops at the desired dose, regardless of flow. This is awesome, because most cheaper machines use a water wheel to count flow, which often leads to inaccurate volumetric dosing.

The Meraki with its gravimetric dosing is on the ball, each and every time.

What about a solenoid, pre-infusion, PID and flow control?

Of course the Meraki comes with a solenoid valve to release pressure off the puck after the extraction.

The Meraki does also come with a lower pressure pre-infusion, shown in the video below. Choose your pressure and time, and the rotary pump does the rest.

As for PID, yes, there are 3. The brew boiler has a PID control, the steam boiler has a PID control, as does the brew group head.

Despite all these good features, there is unfortunately no flow control, and also no direct pressure read out. Therefore, you just have to trust that the system is set at 9 bar. It’s kind of a bummer that there is no option with this smart machine to control flow.

So how does the Meraki perform for Espresso?

I would say that the Meraki performs quite well for espresso, which is to be expected with the included PID, the heated brew group, and Timemore grinder. I have gotten shots with excellent texture and good flavor depth. So far, I’ve used generally med-dark beans.

One thing I think could help get even more out of this machine would be pressure profiling. In the current version, it’s not included, but I think it would enhance the espresso even further, if they’d add it in a future update.

The RFID is a cool feature. It reads the bean profile from a little RFID sticker, and then sets the temperature automatically, as well as the dose amount. It also suggests where on the grinder to set the grind fineness. This is for sure neat, but we’ll have to wait and see how this develops over time, as more and more roasters add their profiles.

How does the Auto-frother do for Milk Foam?

This Meraki steam wand is just excellent – maybe the best feature of the machine. It performs great in manual mode, as well as in automatic mode. It’s also easy to clean, as it’s non burn. I really like that it includes a temperature probe, but the best thing is simply how well it gets a whirlpool going, all on its own. It’s just incredibly easy to texture milk with this stem wand.

Competitors to the Meraki?

Some people have been mentioning the new Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier as a contender, because it is also an “all-in-one” machine. While both of these machines have grinders and can make espresso, the Luxe Cafe can actually do a lot more than that, making also brewed coffee, rapid cold brew, and cold milk foam. Check it out below:

I suppose the closest contender to the Meraki would be the Breville Barista Touch Impress, with its included grinder, screen, and excellent steam wand. Of course the BTI is not a dual boiler, and does not include scales. It also doesn’t have RFID.

All in all, I think the Meraki is a very unique product, and I will be very curious to see how it’s accepted by the market, after the Kickstarter campaign.

Specifications

Here are the specs of the Meraki:

• 375 x 375 x 420 mm (width x depth x height)
• 15 kilos in dry weight
• 300 ml and 550 ml stainless steel boilers
• 2 liter water tank
• 2-3 minute start up time (until steam is ready)
• PID control for brew boiler, brew group, and steam boiler
• 2 year warranty
• Designed and made in China

Pros and Cons of the Meraki.

This is a pretty great espresso machine, at least so far. I think we will have to wait some months and years, to see how the longevity is. But the machine itself and its function, is great.

Verdict

It’s honestly a pretty awesome, ingenuitive machine. I have been having a lot of fun playing with it, and making videos with it. The dual scales are for me a game changer. The rotary pump is more pleasant to hear than a vibratory one. And the milk steamer will really help practice latte art.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen, how the market will receive this product during the Kickstarter phase, and afterwards when it is being sold for the MSRP. I hope for the company that it will be successful, because it performs great!

Price & Availability

For a long time, people could only sign up for the Kickstarter offer on the Meraki. In the meantime, the company is in full production, and taking normal orders.

The MSRP is $1,799, but I can provide a $100 discount code: TomsCoffee100

Click the button below to go to Meraki’s website and read more about the espresso machine.

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