The K2 Pro portable coffee maker is the latest generation of portable coffee makers from IKAPE and Ceraplus. It's the most advanced portable coffee maker in every technical respect. It can be used at home or in the office, and can be carried outdoors. The following is a comprehensive test of the K2 Pro's performance parameters to understand its performance.
Extraction Performance Tested Using the Included 58mm Bottomless Basket
The IKAPE K2 Pro is a portable coffee maker equipped with a 58mm bottomless basket. It is compatible with all commercially available 58mm coffee machine accessories, such as coffee tampers, espresso dispensers, wdt tools, and dosing funnels. Therefore, for home use, existing tampers and dispensers can be used directly.
- This test used dark roast beans, 18g of ground coffee, and a grind size typically used by home espresso machines. This will depend on the grinder you use. If the extraction isn't ideal, try adjusting the grind size several times. This is generally the same grinder used with a semi-automatic espresso machine.
- Use the IKAPE V3 coffee tamper and gravity distributor to perform puck prep, just as you would with a semi-automatic espresso machine. Screw the puck prep basket onto the portable espresso machine
- Add 60ml of room-temperature water. Press and hold the power button for 3 seconds. The battery indicator will flash. After 180 seconds of heating, all four battery indicators will illuminate, indicating a temperature of 92°C. Unless connected to the app remote control, the default setting is to start brewing immediately after heating.
- After brewing begins, a pre-infusion mode is available. Add a certain amount of hot water and pre-infuse for 3 seconds (you can set the pre-infuse time to up to 6 seconds on the mobile app). After pre-infuse, the concentrate will be extracted. The pictures below clearly show a perfect extraction with rich oils. Thanks to the pre-infuse function, there is virtually no channeling or spraying during the brewing process. Concentrated coffee extracted from dark roasted beans is suitable for lattes and retains a distinct coffee bean flavor.
- Using medium roasted SOE coffee beans to test extraction and flavor retention. Using a grind size similar to that used in a home semi-automatic espresso machine, with 18g of beans, oils were low, but channeling was absent. The coffee flavor was clear, and flavor retention reached 90% compared to a semi-automatic machine.
Testing with a 58-34mm variable diameter basket
Recently, variable diameter baskets for coffee rings have become popular. Using a 58mm group head, various basket sizes can be changed to 49mm, 38mm, or even 34mm. While retaining the same 18g/20g of coffee beans, the coffee grind can be ground coarser for a clearer coffee flavor.
1. This test used an IKAPE 58-34mm variable diameter basket. The grind size needs to be coarser, as the purpose of the variable-diameter basket is to allow the machine to extract coarser-grinded coffee beans. Normally, the grind size should be increased one notch above the normal setting.
2. During the puck prep process, you don't need to use a coffee tamper; simply use a distributor to smooth the surface of the ground coffee.
3. Tighten the basket onto the machine normally and extract with 93°C hot water. Because the basket is deep, no concentrate will appear during the pre-infusion phase. All the hot water injected during the pre-infusion phase will be used to soak the ground coffee. After the pre-infusion phase is complete, you should see the perfect extraction result shown in the image below.
Bluetooth App Functionality
Heating Extraction Mode
Heating-After Extraction Mode: Start heating. After approximately 180 seconds, extraction will automatically begin, without the need to restart. This is the default mode and remains in this mode even when not connected to the app.
Heating-Only Mode
In this mode, the portable coffee machine only heats up; after heating, no espresso will be extracted. Extraction-only mode
In this mode, you can directly add hot water to brew espresso.
Pre-infusion function
You can set the pre-infusion time and adjust the desired infusion time based on the type of coffee beans and the amount of coffee grounds used.
Water flow control
You can set the water flow rate for extraction. This feature, which is common in home semi-automatic coffee machines, allows you to adjust the water flow based on the type of coffee beans and the amount of coffee used. This feature can also be implemented on portable coffee machines.
Extraction time
You can set the extraction time according to your needs, and the machine will automatically shut down after the extraction is complete.
Overall, the IKAPE K2 Pro portable coffee machine offers features that other coffee machines don't, bringing more enjoyment to coffee.
