Espresso machines

[crankles]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

yes if i'm in a hotel room. no for early morning 2x double caps while making breakfast/packing lunches/ getting kids in the car and out the door. speed is of the essence. of course, I *could* buy 4 of these and use a 2x4 for a parallel push!

[livingminimal]

Originally Posted by crankles

yes if i'm in a hotel room. no for early morning 2x double caps while making breakfast/packing lunches/ getting kids in the car and out the door. speed is of the essence. of course, I *could* buy 4 of these and use a 2x4 for a parallel push!

I hear you. I have two: one for camping, and one for home.

I was recently considering an expensive machine (by my standards, that's $500-$1000) but decided I cant really justify it.

I wake up at 4:30ish and ride at 5:45am generally, so that 1:15 affords me the time to make 2 cups typically...either pour over or an aero press.

After the ride I commonly end up drinking a $3.50 flat white from the neighborhood café around 7:30am.

Maybe I should drink less coffee.

[crankles]

Originally Posted by stackie

Down time must be avoided.

Most pro machines are fairly easily serviceable by someone with a basic mechanical knowledge, a decent set of screwdrivers and a metric socket set. They have to be. A shop cannot afford to wait for a service call. They need that bad boy up and running. Some machines allow service on one group while the other groups are being used.

um.. depends on what you mean by service...most of the shops that I deal with have regularly scheduled maint. contracts for things like changing grouphead gaskets...etc. when a machine blows internals, a loaner is brought in, unless it's an easily swappable part like a pump or solenoid. Having to rely on the internet to fix a commercial machine is not IMHO the best of ideas if downtime is to be avoided.

[mschol17]

Is plumb in/out an option yet? I will never have another machine that isn't plumbed.

I think a Mini is for people that don't want to fuss with a million extraction variables and just make espresso. If you want to go down the rabbit-hole, then a GS3 or Slayer, Synesso, etc is the right choice.

I have a Elektra T1 I bought used, but if I was paying retail the Linea Mini would be high on the list, as long as I couldn't find a used Slayer.

[feta99]

I bought a Bezzera heat exchanger machine about 10 years ago. At the time I was looking at the GS3 but felt like the extra 3-4K wasn't worth the money. My machine works fine but I still lust after the GS3 or the new Linea mini. Unfortunately my machine is still functional and I can't see it breaking down for a long, long time.

So my advice is if you like and appreciate the 'nicer' machines go for it as any decent machine will last 10+ years and be hard to justify replacement down the road.

Cheers,
A

[miguel]

Originally Posted by stackie

Miguel. You live in Portland. It would almost be accurate to use the old cliche about not being able to throw a stone and not hit a good coffee shop.

its true
i have favorite espressos and roasters in all the neighborhoods. on top of that i live close in/center eastside.

the thing is, a good rig (machine/grinder/beans/etc) will be $2000 - at $3/shot that is 666/shots :slayer: - enough for 1/day for a year and a half. and you dont have to clean it up.

i will not drive a car for the sole purpose to get a coffee/espresso, ever - that is what a bike is for. not only do you get the little bit of exercise but you get the reward and a little more exercise on the way back.

its the same reason one should buy a difficult-to-make dish at a restaurant (fava beans, beef wellington, etc) the time an effort to make it at home for a mediocre result. i stand by my pourover/french press at home comment.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by miguel

its the same reason one should buy a difficult-to-make dish at a restaurant (fava beans, beef wellington, etc) the time an effort to make it at home for a mediocre result.

this logic may hold true for you personally, along with your view on espresso; but consider for a moment that your view on these subjects is quite narrow. There is almost always someone else who can do things better than you, but sometimes the satisfaction of doing something yourself is simply worth the effort. Just because it isnt worth it to YOU to invest the time, money and effort into pulling the perfect shot at home, or cooking an exquisite meal, doesnt mean that is true for everyone.

My wife makes a beef wellington, for example that will rival any restaurant.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by miguel

its true
i have favorite espressos and roasters in all the neighborhoods. on top of that i live close in/center eastside.

the thing is, a good rig (machine/grinder/beans/etc) will be $2000 - at $3/shot that is 666/shots :slayer: - enough for 1/day for a year and a half. and you dont have to clean it up.

i will not drive a car for the sole purpose to get a coffee/espresso, ever - that is what a bike is for. not only do you get the little bit of exercise but you get the reward and a little more exercise on the way back.

its the same reason one should buy a difficult-to-make dish at a restaurant (fava beans, beef wellington, etc) the time an effort to make it at home for a mediocre result. i stand by my pourover/french press at home comment.

Once you learn it, espresso isn't near as hard as a gourmet meal. I can't cook anything (maybe beyond basic eggs) as well as a good chef. I can't make my latte LOOK as good as a great barista, but I can make it taste as good and usually better. I pull consistently better shots than any shop I've found between me and Philly and that's about 45 minutes to an hour. And, honestly, I've had double shots in shops all over the US and Europe and I've only come across one, ONE barista that pulls consistently great shots - consistently as good as the very best shots I ever pull. My shots on a good day are better than I can count on finding anywhere within two hours of where I live and on a typical day they're about the same level as the shots I've had in most good shops. That's not even close to true with anything I'd try cooking.

-Ray

[miguel]

full disclosure: i make beef wellington and fava beans, i worked at a classy restaurant for a few years. i was also stumptown trained when they were still doing that, i can make the milk do cool things in the crema.

absolutely other people do things better than me

youre not going to convince me that an espresso machine should be in the home

[Tickdoc]

I'm low brow with my machine, but dammit it works.

Been using this little breville for nearly three years without much fuss.

Had a Saeco fully automatic before that that lasted four years.

And the worst part is I prefer bustelo pre-ground

A double latte each morning and an occasional single at lunch and I'm good.
They aren't pretty, but tastes fine to me.

Wish mine looked like this:

[miguel]

····, while we're at it, why not get a lever machine? i learned this one a few years ago

[crankles]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

Maybe I should drink less coffee.

I'll pretend you didn't say that! I loves my aeropress when I travel. I drink two cups in the a.m. just so both forearms get a workout grinding.

[grawk]

I have a delonghi magnifica superauto that does an acceptable job of making my 6 shots of espresso at 5am and foaming 4 oz of milk to put on top of it, for my drive to work. I roast my own beans, and have the machine tuned so that it really is only good at double shots. I live in semi-rural PA, and the nearest fantastic coffee is 20 minutes away, and the nearest starbucks is 15. This is way faster and easier than my drip machine was before it.

I also have a pair of commercial grinders and a commercial 2 E61 group machine in my basement waiting to be refurbished and plumbed in, probably for my next house, or if I ever open a shop. I bought them on craigslist reasonably cheaply, and am looking forward to making use of them.

[93legendti]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

I'm low brow with my machine, but dammit it works.

Been using this little breville for nearly three years without much fuss.

Had a Saeco fully automatic before that that lasted four years.

And the worst part is I prefer bustelo pre-ground

A double latte each morning and an occasional single at lunch and I'm good.
They aren't pretty, but tastes fine to me.

Wish mine looked like this:

It can, buy my cousin's machine.
http://www.coffeeripples.com/ripplemaker

[mkbk]

There are many ways to make good coffee if you start with good beans. I prefer an espresso at home. Over the past 25+ years I have had a Simonelli and two Rancillios, with one Rocky grinder. I live in a town with a lot of coffee shops and there are two I will occasionally go to, and their coffee is not as good as I can make at home (my town has a lot of bike shops but there is only one I go to, Vecchio's). Try home espresso, an Oscar, Silvia, etc. with a good grinder and you will be off to a good start for a little over 1k.