Espresso Machine Innovator Mavam Unveils the Mach 2 and ‘Cupping Gun’

The Mavam booth at the recent SCA Expo in Boston. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.

Seattle-based commercial espresso machine maker Mavam has launched the Mach 2, with inventive steam- and water-activation features among other technological advancements that build off Mavam’s on-counter Mach 1.

Mavam has also for the first time taken aim at the back of the house, introducing the Cupping Gun, a tool designed for roasters and shops with cupping labs.

DCN caught up with Mavam founder and product creator Michael Myers to discuss the innovative new releases, both of which were on display at the SCA Expo in Boston earlier this month.

The Mavam Mach 2 Espresso Machine

The Mavam Mach 2 grouphead. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.

While Mavam made its big splash in specialty coffee circles with its under-counter systems — equipped with a patent-pending heated transfer system for maximum temperature stability — it has always also offered the Mach 1 as an equivalently featured countertop solution.

“A lot of people ask me for the countertop machine because they love the Mavam quality of espresso, but they don’t have the space, or they have an existing cafe where they can’t have an under-counter option,” Myers told DCN from the Mavam booth in Boston.

Mavam Piano Key Activation. Buttons on each side of the group can be depressed for water flow. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.

The Mach 2 builds upon the original on-counter model with a few new features and updates. Most noticeable are the new machine’s innovative group and steam activation methods. The Mach 2 introduces what the company calls Piano Key Group Activation. Two long buttons wrap around each group for the user to press down like piano keys to start the flow of water. Steam is activated by “Slap Activation” buttons on the sides of the machine, rather than by knobs or levers.

Baristas can control the power of the steam with a knob on the top of the machine. To start steam, the barista pushes — or “slaps” — the button the side; steam stops upon slapping again. Both the group and the steam buttons utilize Hall Effect sensors that the company said are rated for 20 billion cycles.

Mavam founder and product creator Michael Myers (left) shows off the “Slap Activation” steam feature. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.

The Mach 2 otherwise maintains plenty of features and components popular to the Mach 1, including strain-reducing 1/8-turn portafilter engagement, and brew options that include pulling shots manually, volumetrically, or by the company’s time-based “Chronomass” system. Individual pumps for each group offer independent brew pressures per group. The machine’s two screw-removable side panels are built for easy access, and the whole thing is oriented for speed, stability and relative ease.

“Our clientele are high-volume cafes,” said Myers. “That’s what these machines are designed for — throughput.”

The Mavam Mach 2 espresso machine keeps a low profile at only 12.5 inches tall. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.

Despite being an on-counter machine, its low profile — at 12.5 inches tall — is almost as low as the groups on the under-counter system. It also uses many of the same internal components as the under-counter system, including the heated hose technology.

“We do believe that temperature stability is the holy grail,” said Myers. “There’s no point in this machine that hot water is not being heated.”

Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.

Orders for the Mach 2 are currently being taken and the machine is ready to ship, according to Myers. The 2-group version is priced at $16,000, or $19,000 for the 3-group.

The Mavam Cupping Gun

The Cupping Gun takes the heated hose technology in a new direction — specifically the direction of the roaster’s or Q grader’s cupping table. The system heats water first in a 5-liter, 4,000-watt boiler, then transfers it to a second 2-liter, 2,000-watt boiler, and then through the patented heated hose and out through a handheld spout at the end of the hose.

The system can be plumbed or it can draw water from jugs, which Myers said would make it an asset to users that cup with specific or specially prepared water in an area where water quality may be different or inconsistent.

A prototype of the Mavam Cupping Gun. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.

He added that while the Cupping Gun is not designed or intended for pourovers, it’s also not impossible to tweak it for that purpose. In fact, Mavam’s UK-based Europe Operations head Lewis Maillardet used a flow-restricted Cupping Gun to win the 2019 UK Brewers Cup championship and compete for the world title in Boston this year.

“In our industry, cupping, in my opinion, is one of the most important things for QC and for buying green beans,” said Myers. “Right now there’s no device currently available that’s going to give you temperature stability. This can deliver temperature-stable water the minute it touches the coffee bed, for every coffee it touches.”

The Cupping Gun is expected to carry a $6,500 price tag and is currently going through its final testing and certification phase. Myers said should it will be ready to ship this summer.