Yes I know that Ascaso upgraded the spec on its espresso machines back in September 2009; so this isn’t exactly new news. But still I though it was something worth talking about. So I decided to compare the equivalent pre-upgrade machine against a brand new Pablo (before the Update this used to be called the Basic).

So what’s changed?

As standard, Ascaso now fits all of its espresso machines with a solenoid valve. But also: the UK distributor for Ascaso, Fairfax Coffee, has chosen to switch from importing machines fitted with the ‘versatile’ system (which can use both ground coffee and ESE pods) to the ground coffee only system.

Now the versatile system uses ‘supercream’ pressurised portafilters. Which Ascaso boost: guarantees a creamy coffee (no matter how badly you prepare it! – okay I added the last bit myself). The coffee only machines, like their commercial counterparts, don’t have this cheat.

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We’ve recently started to stock an alternative portafilter to the standard one shipped with Handpresso espresso machines. So I thought it would be a good idea to put the new Intense portafilter through its paces.

The Intense portafilter is designed to slow down the flow rate for a more intense (hence the name!) extraction. The difference between this and the standard portafilter is that this one simply has fewer holes – i.e. fewer holes the longer it takes for the water to flow through.
 

I can immediately see the point of this portafilter for the ESE version of the Handpresso. The biggest problem with ESE pods is that they brew too quickly, resulting in an under-extracted brew. So something that slows the process is going to be beneficial. However with the Domepod (ground coffee) version, I’m not quite sure of the advantage yet, as flow rate can already be controlled by altering the grind size of the coffee.
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