Presso Smartshot - Soft Teal

This is a great tool to quickly dive into a coffee and experience it through the lens of an espresso shot without a crazy amount of money, time, or equipment.

I love this product, and my wife loves it more because it's not a huge ugly machine that sits in the kitchen as it easily stores totally out of the way. It makes great coffee and the only drawback is I need to put it in the microwave for a few moments to heat it up to drinking temperature, but other than that it's absolutely a keeper.

I am really impressed with the simplicity of the machine and the quality of the coffee it brews. The Smartshot allows for the use of a simple blade grinder while still achieving really nice espresso shots. You can use pre-ground coffee (for drip makers) but I find that a little bit coarser than espresso grind makes the perfect shot.

I don’t know that comparing it against capsule machines actually makes sense, but it certainly gets attention. It looks very well built. It’s easy to use. And I think that it should be used as you have designed it. And that is using it through the pressurized basket that you provided. Definitely preheat the portafilter. Very easy to do because you also have to heat the water. Nice product looks good is very simple. You just need boiling water for it. The biggest secret is to use good freshly ground coffee.

My beloved spouse likes coffee, but with a minimum of effort and steps that even a 4yo could follow. For this reason, the goal is to make a cup of coffee as quickly as possible sans thought because my spouse is pretty useless first thing in the morning. A pod coffeemaker works: insert pod, press the button, mwuh-mwuh-mwuh, and behold, "good-enough" coffee is ready!
But what if we live off the grid on a Montana homestead, or in a tent while camping, or on a cattle drive? With this device, we may be on to something! In my experience playing with the SmartShot, a decent shot can be produced with some workflow changes that can be executed while bleary-eyed in a living environment that's 10C (50F).
First, although the SmartShot's marketing material says otherwise, you still want to dial in the coffee's grind size for optimal flavor. Sure, you can use whatever grind you find on the market shelf, but you're relegated to whatever flavor that yields. Although dialing-in takes experimentation, once it's locked in, you can grind out a half kilo ahead of time and store it in an airtight container. Just scoop, press, and enjoy!
Second, during coffee preparation, you really wanna soak the portafilter in boiling hot water, otherwise the cold steel and ambient temp will suck the heat (and flavor) out of your beverage as it is pressed and extracted. But I have heard, to do that extra step diminishes the simplicity of the SmartShot as compared to a pod-making device. Yet, if you're off the grid...
Between those two updates in the workflow, I think the SmartShot will yield a decent extraction. It's very well engineered and simple to use. But if my spouse is unable to figure it out without some training, that stove-top drip coffee-maker seems to suffice. "That's okay, honey, I'll make some for myself later."