BeanScene Magazine

You have to admire a fellow like Craig Hiron, who gave up a successful career in the film industry and his life savings to pursue a dream of producing his ideal coffee maker.
This wasn’t just an indulgence; it was going to consume Craig’s life for several years - and still does. He didn’t know at the outset that Otto was going to be the product, but a friend’s suggestion fired Craig’s imagination. 

Leading Sydney design studio, Tiller Design, which helps turn innovative ideas into compelling products, took a look at Craig’s old Atomic and with the help of Professor Allan Wallace, a professor of thermal dynamics and mathematics, came up with the prototype that evolved into the sculptural, fluid design that is now Otto.

Is Otto just a reworked Atomic? Well, yes and no. Appearances can be deceiving; Otto’s brewing system “could have been put in a box” (Craig’s words), but he decided to give the Atomic a “rebirth” and some of the differences are listed below:
• Otto produces a true espresso shot, full bodied, with a genuine crema, not tricky basket stuff either.
• Pressure capability is five times that of the Atomic.
• Otto has an independent boiler, bolted into the base, with a 100 bar pressure rating.
• From this boiler there are two hoses attached – one for steam, and another for water. The two hoses meet at a fluid delay valve, forcing the water to pressurise before meeting the grind. During the pressurising process the independent group head is fed with steam, enabling preheating before the extraction begins.
• The flow of water up to the head is automatically regulated, pursuant to an espresso shot, as opposed to traditional stove top extraction.
• The steaming capability is the same as that of a commercial espresso machine, 1.5 bar, continuous. And again, without tricky shut-off gates or other gadgetry, real ongoing steam pressure.
• The weight of an Otto is three times that of an Atomic – all that stainless steel, and the entire brewing system, including the group head is independent of the housing of the body, opening a revolution in thermal stability in the realm of stove top extraction.
• Otto has no moving parts. The only moving thread is housed in the steam assembly, leaving Otto in a category of its own – the “almost no maintenance” category.

So, you can admire a work of art while watching your coffee brew. And, you will wait a little longer than it takes for an average group head to pre-heat before it’s ready for extracting. The timing of the perfect shot however, is unique to traditional espresso extraction. At 3 bar, the shots are produced in 40 seconds and the shot needs to drip, not pour. The calibration is very specific and was key to the four and a half year design and development process. When asked about this, Craig says that it was almost serendipitous in the way it came about – 3 bar just seemed to give the taste he desired. Another point of difference is that the grind required is finer than that of most commercial espresso grinds. This forces the longer duration of the extraction, much like the concept of infusion being applied to so many commercial machines now.

Is it expensive? Not when you consider how well it is made and the fact that it will last the rest of your life. Stainless steel is more expensive than other metals and more time-consuming to work with. It takes one person an entire day to polish one machine. Apart from the hose clamps, which are German, every part is custom-made. The handles are high-density, glass-filled nylon (the same as Scanpan use) and every seal is made from Dupont Viton.

All this means that servicing needs are minimised; there are no electronics or moving parts. Even the head seal is designed to be used twice by reversing it in the head. Otto gets hot of course, but even if you cool it down quickly with cold water to get ready for the next cycle, the cast stainless steel will not warp or buckle. Craig tells me he cycled a machine 1,000 times before launching Otto to market. The machine was plunged into cold water between cycles and still works perfectly, being enjoyed by a mate of his on a daily basis.

Otto means “wealthy” in German– Craig certainly isn’t that yet, although he probably deserves to be. I like to think that the wealth is actually conferred to proud Otto owners in the abundance of considered design and intricate workmanship. This is an offering of pure satisfaction, in using what is essentially a fine instrument and most importantly, the joy of a seriously great shot of coffee.

As Craig says, “ritual is back.”