omaneo.MIA

The omaneo.MIA is the plain answer to a question that is almost always asked the wrong way round at the start. It is not "how much technology do I get for my money", but "what can I keep working on". And to that the MIA answers with a number: 58 millimetres. That is the measurement the barista world builds to — from bottomless portafilters through precise baskets to distributors. Start here and you do not outgrow your machine, you grow into it. The second serious point is temperature. A PID controller holds the brew temperature at a fixed 92 degrees. That is not a marketing word: without that constancy, every good cup is a coincidence you will not find again the next morning. That the 92 degrees are fixed and not selectable is, in this class, the more honest solution than four vague steps. On the pump we stand by our reading. 20 bar describes the pump, not the pressure at the coffee; around nine bar at the puck is the target, and that is exactly why the over-pressure valve sits in the way. The figure on the box is thereby explained rather than disputed. It is operated with seven push buttons and a rotary knob, and read off an LED display that runs the extraction time in seconds and puts the brew temperature next to it. It is not a touchscreen — and it does not need to be. Those seconds are the real tool: only with them does trying things out become a recipe. What is missing belongs in the picture just as much: there is no built-in grinder. For 58 millimetres a proper grinder is worth having, and here it comes from outside. Pressure profiling and a plumbed-in water connection are another class. On tank and boiler volume we have no dependable figures; so we state none. Who it is for: for a serious start in the portafilter world, where the accessories grow with you later instead of being replaced. Anyone who wants a finished milk drink at the push of a button is better served by a bean-to-cup machine.