MOONRAKER

Our Love Letter to the art of Espresso
$275
$475.00
$475 USD $
USD $475 USD $
Edition | Ultra Edition

Overview

Perfectly calculated spirographic movement for flawless powder homogenization; we combined the art of espresso puck prep with the engineering of a Swiss watch. The MOONRAKER® rewrites the book on WDT and espresso puck prep as we know it. 

Availability & Delivery

MOONRAKER is now in stock!

Materials

The MOONRAKER is made of all premium materials. The casing is machined and anodized aerospace grade aluminum combined with machined and polished stainless steel. All of the needles are medical-grade stainless, wrapped with copper alloy springs. The ULTRA edition utilizes a solid brass movement (gears), whereas the STANDARD edition is crafted with an anti-static glass fiber reinforced and food-safe polymer. Both editions use embedded neodymium magnets to retain the needles, which also allows for quick replacement. The top surface is chemically-strengthened and back-printed glass, allowing you to peer directly into the MOONRAKER to watch the magic happen.

What does it do?

The Weiss Distribution Technique (or WDT) has been documented on the online coffee forum home-barista.com since 2006 as a method utilizing needles to break up clumps and achieve perfect "puck prep." The MOONRAKER takes that concept and mechanizes it with a calculated and calibrated spirographic movement to ensure perfect homogeneity. While other WDT tools create endless trenches along the same path, the MOONRAKER's patent-pending mechanism endlessly randomizes and homogenizes the coffee bed. There is no better way to prep for tamping.

Included in package

  • One MOONRAKER, pre-loaded with 10 needles
  • One Caddy, solid machined and anodized aluminum.
  • 20 spare needles (mix of long and short)
  • One Coffee Brush

Compatibility

The MOONRAKER is designed for optimal compatibility with our own Unifilter and Unibasket products. It will work just as effectively on most standard 58mm portafilter baskets with rounded or rolled lips, but not on those with flat (90 deg) shoulders.

While it is optimized for 18-22g baskets, larger and smaller basket sizes can be accommodated by cutting the length of the included spare needles.
 

Recommended Pairings

01 00

Spare Needles

$10
$10.00
$10
$10 USD $
Extra extras for peace of mind.
size
View Product

Unibasket

$85
$85.00
$85
$85 USD $
Unifilter extraction, drop-in basket form.
size
View Product

The EG-1 Grinder

$4,095
$4,095.00
$4,095
$4,095 USD $
Premium grinding for out-of-this-world coffee.
finish
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The MOONRAKER is where watchmaking, astronomy, and physics all intersect with espresso tools. It is our sincere LOVE LETTER to the art and science of espresso.

The MOONRAKER story.

Thoughtful Details

The Spirograph Movement

With all existing products the pins are always on a circular track, so more turns will only result in compacted grooves being formed in the coffee bed. With the MOONRAKER, the more turns performed the more the powder is randomized/homogenized. In our testing, 2+ turns is sufficient for a perfectly prepared coffee bed.

The Spirograph Movement

The Spirograph Movement

The Spirograph Movement

With all existing products the pins are always on a circular track, so more turns will only result in compacted grooves being formed in the coffee bed. With the MOONRAKER, the more turns performed the more the powder is randomized/homogenized. In our testing, 2+ turns is sufficient for a perfectly prepared coffee bed.

Easily Swappable Needles

Easily Swappable Needles

Easily Swappable Needles

The MOONRAKER uses two gauges of stainless needles, 300 and 200 microns respectively, which are configured at 2 separate heights to break up clumps deep in the bed and rake the surface effectively for a flat, tamp-ready surface. They are held in by neodymium magnets so they can easily be pulled out and swapped in a matter of seconds.

Varied Needle Depths

Varied Needle Depths

Varied Needle Depths

Good homogenization requires deep-bed mixing combined with top-bed mixing. We carefully calculated, simulated, and thoroughly tested needle length combinations to come up with the ideal mix.

Perfect Extractions

Perfect Extractions

Perfect Extractions

Taking the guesswork out of the pre-tamp preparation means you'll be seeing a lot more of these: perfectly extracted shots without channeling, higher extraction yields, sweeter flavors, smiles on your face as you sip on a perfectly balanced espresso.

Standard vs. Ultra

Standard vs. Ultra

Standard vs. Ultra

The two are only different in the materials used for the movement (gears). For the STANDARD edition, the gears are molded from a food-safe, self-lubricating, and antistatic polymer that ensures a lifetime of smooth use. The ULTRA edition, with a nod to its watchmaking roots, features solid brass gears with resin-filled text and lap-finished surfaces.

Technical Specifications & Details

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Technical Details

  • Size: 75mm diameter x 65mm height (2.9" x 2.55")

  • Weight: 300g (STANDARD), 405g (ULTRA)

  • Material (body): Stainless 304, Anodized Aluminum, Chem-strengthened glass.

  • Material (needles): Stainless 316 with Cu springs.

  • Material (base): Anodized Aluminum with microfiber foot.

Technical Details
02

Moonraker Maintenance

Your Moonraker should be able to spin with just a finger. If it doesn't, here is how you disassemble and make it smooth again.

What you need:

- 3 strong magnets (neodymium are best)

- Mineral oil (baby oil is the same)

- Q-tip

- Clean paper towel

- Tweezers (optional) for taking out needles, etc.

Technical Details