HiBrew H4C. Pretty good does a lot of things great but not perfect
I've always been intrigued by the Outin portable espresso machine but they didn't ever quite tick all the boxes for me. I tend to favor higher brew temperatures and that always seemed to be a negative with the Outin. I actually liked the idea of using Nespresso original pods for a quick and easy caffeine hit but I also wanted a regular ole 51mm unpressurized basket. Cera+ and iKape were also intriguing with their higher battery capacity app control and adjustable pre infusion but if I got that nice nude unpressurized basked I couldn't get a nespresso pod holder. Then the HiBrew H4c was released. It added user replicable batteries to adjustable brew temperature and 100ml water tank capacity. Digital timer on the display was a nice touch. What finally had me pulling the trigger though was I found out you could pull the whole head off and swap the pod/pressure basket head for a 51mm unpressurized basket head you can buy as a kit
So I paid $119 for the basic package with just the brewer and pod/pressure basket. Then another $45 on Aliexpress for the ultra kit which comes with the 51mm brew head, basket, tamper, and dosing funnel.
Nespresso pods. Some people look at it as a crappy shot of espresso. With the 100ml tank I look at it as a nice little 1/2 cup coffee machine. I set the brew timer to 55 seconds which will drain the whole 100ml tank and with an original nespresso pod it makes a nice strong 1/2 cup of coffee for a quick pick me up.
Pressurized basket is the problem child for me. Either I make really weak shot with no crema or the pressurized head unscrews itself and pops off mid brew. I can't screw the head on tight enough to prevent it from popping off. The first one I tried I bought from walmart.com. I emailed HiBrew for support and their response was their support is based on where you bought it from and I had to contact WalMart for support. So I returned it and bought one from Amazon.com since they had a dedicated support email. Same problem with the pressurized head unscrewing and popping off with my new Amazon version. By this time my unpressurized 51mm basket arrived from China so I threw that basket in a drawer and haven't look at it since.
The 51mm basket is great. With the adjustable brew temperature giving me another lever to adjust to get a good extraction I've been able to pull from pretty good shots with it with medium to dark roasts. In an effort to save counter space this will now be my main source of espresso.