What’s on your coffee bench?

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by Ozz

OK - I am looking to get back into grinding my own beans...been eyeing the Breville Smart Grinder Pro...seems to be idiot-proof, lots of features and such without breaking the bank at $200

The Rancilio Rocky seems to be popular as well....what does it do that the Breville would not?

Any other (sub $500) grinders at which I should be looking?

Most coffee I drink is a pour over filter...but started using my machine a little more recently (thanks a lot, Paceline) and will probably upgrade that is the next year or so. Current machine is a Starbucks Barista (Saeco Via Venezia) and is about 15-20 yrs old.

Thanks all....

Cheers.

I have a breville smart grinder pro. I like it but don't have an espresso machine. Actually came in this thread to ask if anyone here has a Crossland CC1?

That is what I am thinking of getting for xmas. Was btw that and a rancilio Silvia but from what I read the CC1 is better at almost anything (at least before you out a PID on the rancilio which would add another $250 to the machine putting it out of my price range).

[arazate]

I have a Rancilio Rocky Doser that I will be parting with, along with a Rocket Cellini Evoluzione V2. Girlfriend is moving in, so I don’t need two espresso stations. I’ll post more info in classifieds


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[scoobydrew]

I would recommend the Baratza Vario which goes for ~$480.

Works well with my Rancilio Silvia set up.

[R3awak3n]

ended up with a Crossland CC1, too good of a deal right now from Seattle Coffee gear. $599 + 10% for first time buyer. Thats $540 for a machine with a PID.

Can't wait to get it.

[jh_on_the_cape]

Originally Posted by Ozz

The Rancilio Rocky seems to be popular as well....what does it do that the Breville would not?

Any other (sub $500) grinders at which I should be looking?

I looked at the Breville and ended up with the Rancilio due to finding a great deal on a used one. My understanding was that if the Breville broke, you throw it away and buy a new one. The Rancilio has been around for a while and can be fixed. Not sure how true that is, but I did buy new burrs for the Rancilio and they are readily available and easy to replace.

I think if you are making 1 or 2 espresso a day, a doserless grinder would be better. I also think that either would be fine and not the limiting factor.

As someone else mentioned, get good coffee. My first bag of beans was Black Cat Intellegensia that was on the supermarket shelf. Really Really BAD SOUR no matter what I did. I was really bummed and thought I wasted a bunch of money on a fancy (for me) machine. Then my friend gave me a bag of Red Bird coffee and all is good.

Good coffee is more important that choosing between those 2 grinders.

[jh_on_the_cape]

Originally Posted by arazate

I have a Rancilio Rocky Doser that I will be parting with, along with a Rocket Cellini Evoluzione V2. Girlfriend is moving in, so I don’t need two espresso stations. I’ll post more info in classifieds


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

wow your GF has a better setup than that? That's a nice machine.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by jh_on_the_cape

I looked at the Breville and ended up with the Rancilio due to finding a great deal on a used one. My understanding was that if the Breville broke, you throw it away and buy a new one. The Rancilio has been around for a while and can be fixed. Not sure how true that is, but I did buy new burrs for the Rancilio and they are readily available and easy to replace.

I think if you are making 1 or 2 espresso a day, a doserless grinder would be better. I also think that either would be fine and not the limiting factor.

As someone else mentioned, get good coffee. My first bag of beans was Black Cat Intellegensia that was on the supermarket shelf. Really Really BAD SOUR no matter what I did. I was really bummed and thought I wasted a bunch of money on a fancy (for me) machine. Then my friend gave me a bag of Red Bird coffee and all is good.

Good coffee is more important that choosing between those 2 grinders.

from what I was reading. Freshness of beans is the most important, then grinder, then machine.

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

ended up with a Crossland CC1, too good of a deal right now from Seattle Coffee gear. $599 + 10% for first time buyer. Thats $540 for a machine with a PID.

Can't wait to get it.

My wife has had one since 2012, solid, high quality machine. Service and assistance from both SCG and (Bill) Crossland have also been excellent. I will share that the CC1 benefits from regular descaling, especially if your water is even remotely hard. It appears to be more vulnerable to buildup and ultimately flow restrictions than other machines I've used. Early on we descaled about twice a year and all that did was cake the boiler and plug the valve. Bill Crossland repaired for free (new boiler and valve) in 2016 and monthly descaling has had it running smoothly since with every day use.

Sis in law just gave us her Rancilio Silvia, it'll be interesting to compare the two.

[jpritchet74]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

from what I was reading. Freshness of beans is the most important, then grinder, then machine.

I just got a coffee bean roaster and order a couple of 5# bags of different green beans. It would be great if I can figure out how to roast my own beans - then they will always be fresh!

Also, I just ordered a Ceado grinder, so when that shows up I will get a new pic of my coffee bench up to share.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by pritchet74

I just got a coffee bean roaster and order a couple of 5# bags of different green beans. It would be great if I can figure out how to roast my own beans - then they will always be fresh!

Also, I just ordered a Ceado grinder, so when that shows up I will get a new pic of my coffee bench up to share.

so that's a new Profitec HX, a new Ceado, and a new roaster? Baller status reached

as for your green beans, how many pounds did you have to throw away so far ? I would love to roast my own, but i'm seeing green beans sold at $7/lb, which isn't so much cheaper than $16/lb, once one factors in time of effort and electricity.

lastly, I was recently in China and surprised to find that Starbucks has a Starbucks Reserve service, where they actually train people to do proper barista tasks, as opposed to rely upon fully automatic espresso machines. The semi-automatic machine used even had a touch screen. Does anyone know what this machine is (something is etched onto the groups, but i can't read it, picture not mine)

[jpritchet74]

Originally Posted by echappist

so that's a new Profitec HX, a new Ceado, and a new roaster? Baller status reached

as for your green beans, how many pounds did you have to throw away so far ? I would love to roast my own, but i'm seeing green beans sold at $7/lb, which isn't so much cheaper than $16/lb, once one factors in time of effort and electricity.

Thanks! I am hoping the roasting thing ends up being something that I can actually do. The beans I got were right around $7 a pound, but the roasted beans that I buy are $20 a pound, so there is a savings to be had.

For me I love the idea of roasting the beans myself - I think it would be fun. I like the idea of making a small batch 1-2x a week. As long as I can figure out how to do it so they taste the way I want them to taste the biggest benefit is that I will always be able to have fresh roasted coffee beans.

There are 4 people at my office that I make lattes for and I am going to try to make different roasts that different people would like - that way I can have fresh beans for everyone at my office.

I like a light roast, 2 others like dark, and the other 2 like a medium roast.

[Tim Porter]

Originally Posted by echappist

so that's a new Profitec HX, a new Ceado, and a new roaster? Baller status reached

as for your green beans, how many pounds did you have to throw away so far ? I would love to roast my own, but i'm seeing green beans sold at $7/lb, which isn't so much cheaper than $16/lb, once one factors in time of effort and electricity.

lastly, I was recently in China and surprised to find that Starbucks has a Starbucks Reserve service, where they actually train people to do proper barista tasks, as opposed to rely upon fully automatic espresso machines. The semi-automatic machine used even had a touch screen. Does anyone know what this machine is (something is etched onto the groups, but i can't read it, picture not mine)

I did a little detective work/googling and it looks like a Victoria Arduino, but not the Adonis commercial model shown below (sells for $14K or so). Don't know these machines, but the name's a start.

[echappist]

Top notch sleuthing! I originally thought it may be a Cimbali.

Dead giveaway is the seagull "V" logo, which on this particular machine was visible on the back panel. I originally thought it may be Rocket (due to the letter "R" that was present everywhere), but realized that the "R" stood for "Reserve"

Seems like the model is the Victoria Arduino Black Eagle, which costs a whopping $29k. The machine actually seemed a little bit under-utilized in the shop. I hope they get their money's worth out of it, as it was by far the best latté i've had at a Starbucks

[93KgBike]

Works great! Can't imagine spending more for a coffee machine. Especially when it's the beans and their roast that matter.

[commonguy001]

My Rancillio Rockey (doserless) is still going strong and has been in regular daily use since 2004 when it was new.
I should probably replace the burrs as I hear they really don't last forever but I haven't gotten around to it.
For the record I only grind for coffee now as we haven't had an espresso machine for years.