Espresso Upgrade Gives You More Data With Your Caffeine

Whether you take it as a single shot or a double, a great Barista want’s to know the details on what’s happening with the espresso machine. [Tobi] was happily generating the morning cup when he realized that the needle-thermometer on his machine wasn’t working any longer. Instead of shelling out a lot of money for a direct replacement, he built his own display and controller for this espresso machine (translated).

He had a few goals with this hack. Obviously he needed to replace the temperature meter, but he also wanted a colorful display and some timing options. He was able to get his hands on a nice little OLED display that would fit in the vacated opening and it only cost a few bucks. He’s got his own mini-mill which came in handy when fabricating a board to host the ATmega16 which drives add-on, but he also used it to make a bracket for the screen replacement.

Now his machine is fixed, looks a bit more modern, and it has more features which are shown off in the video after the break. If you’re looking to add some custom circuitry to your coffee ritual you may also take some inspiration from this similar espresso machine hack.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niTbSq3WpN8&w=470]

7 thoughts on “Espresso Upgrade Gives You More Data With Your Caffeine

  1. Nice project, but google translate fails here.

    “The machine has to be able to design a completely wonderful and enough pressure to actually scold also espresso machine.”… What?

  2. Love the project but yes Google translate made that a very interesting read. I couldn’t help notice his largish aluminum T slot plate he has as the base of his CNC. I’ve been looking for one just like that. Anyone have any idea where to buy a 1′ x 1′ section?

  3. Oled display did not cost “only a few bucks” .
    It’s roughly 7$ for the oled and 7$ for shipping to Germany.
    Sorry but in my world, 15$ is not “a few bucks”.
    It’s still pricey for just a display… but I have to admit, it looks nice.

  4. wants*

    Want’s would be “want is” or possibly referring to the barista’s want.

    BONUS FACT: “barista” is not a proper noun and doesn’t need to be capitalized.

    I know this is picking nits, but I remember when HAD was one of the really well-written sites I’d frequent and I miss that.

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