He worked with industrial design company Tiller Design, which consulted a mathematician to develop a brewing system that could harness enough pressure from a stove-top to deliver the type of coffee Hiron wanted to drink. A fluid-delay valve was used to control the temperature, timing and flow of water and steam before and during coffee extraction and milk steaming. Other stove-tops usually send the water through the coffee once it has reached boiling point, which can result in a burnt taste. Unlike aluminium stove-tops, OTTO is cast from stainless steel and weighs more than four kilograms. While more durable and hygienic, the thick base also makes for a slow caffeine fix. OTTO takes between six and 10 minutes to extract 60 millilitres of coffee, or two espresso-style shots. Those who want to press a button or satisfy hordes of dinner party guests need not apply. The signs are beginning to look positive for Hiron ? not just in Sydney and Melbourne, where a few hundred OTTOs have sold since August. Traffic on the global coffee blogosphere is growing. Forums anchored in places as far-flung as British Columbia are debating the merits of a machine that has so far had just one production run of 1000. The owner of The Brunswick East Project, Marinus Jansen, has bought 11 OTTOs, sold six and given one to his wife. "We were sceptical," Jansen admits. But he swears the coffee OTTO produces is similar to espresso (technically, espresso is extracted using at least nine-bar pressure, and OTTO musters three to four-bar).

Microbiologist and food blogger Emily Hart bought her first stove-top after watching Hiron demonstrate OTTO to customers at The Brunswick East Project. "I've always found stove-top coffee long and watery ? whereas this was like an espresso: dense and rich and smooth," Hart recalls. Is she having the same success at home? It took varying levels of heat and different grinds (she settled on a grind finer than espresso) before Hart felt confident she was heading in the right direction. "But being able to play around with it is something I really like," she says. If OTTO needs to pass a test, perhaps fellow Brunswick East Project patron Jonathan Lynch is it. "I'm considerably fussier than your average punter," he says. "There are only four to five places in Melbourne where I can buy a cup of coffee that I consider as good, or better, than I can make at home." Lynch, who says it took him a year to produce a coffee with which he was satisfied on his home espresso machine, already favours OTTO. "It's the texture of the coffee, particularly if you're drinking an espresso shot," he says. "I think it's because OTTO extracts under less pressure than most commercial machines. If you get the grind right, it has the texture of cream. It's just exquisite."

Criticism has focused on a near mirror-replication of the Atomic's iconic looks. Swinburne University academic Roger Simpson questioned OTTO's recognition by the Australian International Design Awards, calling it "unimaginative". Hiron says it was never his intention to reinvent the wheel but to create a re-imagination of one of the world's great coffee machines. And criticism, even from aficionados of the Atomic, has been muted. Tony Richardson is the author of the only book specifically about the Atomic. He describes OTTO as "a salute" to the Atomic, "but it is also very different in what it produces and how it does it". Richardson says fellow Atomic fans report OTTO's coffee is "somewhere between the very mild product of the Atomic and the fashionable, stronger brew from a modern 15-bar machine". Oddly, Hiron has found OTTO's looks are an obstacle. "People think it looks pretty but my biggest problem is making sure it's taken seriously." He has targeted specialist coffee stores and high-end kitchenware retailers, pounding the pavement to ensure those selling OTTO see their role as "educators" rather than retailers. Hiron says the message must be: "There is a way of extracting an entirely different style of coffee from a stove-top."

He says he could have poured his time, energy and money into a cheaper product with more appeal: "But I'm too passionate. I want to succeed doing something properly, without compromise." http://www.ottoespresso.com/