The Coffee Thread™

For no good reason at all I’ve started to look around for an upgrade to our Quickmill 820.

I mean, it’s easy to use and very robust but the espresso you make with it is only 85% or so Italy and that’s if you’re lucky. 75%, with the exact same coffee (very good, thank you) and grinder settings (grinder also a-ok) is not rare - and somewhat annoying (FWP).

Anyone have any recommendations for a machine in the, say, €800 to €1200 range? 

Thinking about getting an aeropress but finding it hard to get one. 

What's wattm's experience with this gadget?

  On 3/31/2023 at 4:59 PM, GORDO said:

Thinking about getting an aeropress but finding it hard to get one. 

What's wattm's experience with this gadget?

Wait … how are you finding it hard to get one? Over here in the Netherlands there’s a whole bunch of web sites selling them.

  On 4/1/2023 at 1:19 PM, Limo said:

Wait … how are you finding it hard to get one? Over here in the Netherlands there’s a whole bunch of web sites selling them.

I could order one online at a higher price than usual. Even the us Amazon store  has it out of stock. Dunno, thing isn't very popular/ well known over here.

  On 4/1/2023 at 5:13 PM, GORDO said:

I could order one online at a higher price than usual. Even the us Amazon store  has it out of stock. Dunno, thing isn't very popular/ well known over here.

Where is “here”? In NL they go for between €32 and 38.

Never tried one, though, as I either use a Moka Pot or a simple home espresso setup (see post above - though since posting that the wife and I had a good talk so now I’m thinking of buying a Cafelat Robot for myself instead - and not with our household money)

  On 4/1/2023 at 8:18 PM, Limo said:

Where is “here”? In NL they go for between €32 and 38.

Never tried one, though, as I either use a Moka Pot or a simple home espresso setup (see post above - though since posting that the wife and I had a good talk so now I’m thinking of buying a Cafelat Robot for myself instead - and not with our household money)

Mexico

  On 4/1/2023 at 8:18 PM, Limo said:

Where is “here”? In NL they go for between €32 and 38.

Never tried one, though, as I either use a Moka Pot or a simple home espresso setup (see post above - though since posting that the wife and I had a good talk so now I’m thinking of buying a Cafelat Robot for myself instead - and not with our household money)

Nice one. 

Have you checked out the Flair machines? Might also be up your alley 

  On 4/2/2023 at 11:13 PM, Berk said:

Nice one. 

Have you checked out the Flair machines? Might also be up your alley 

Yup. They seem a bit more fiddly because you have to heat the brewing chamber in some, probably convoluted, way.

Too bad, because the lever on the Flair looks easier to use.

Have you used one? 
 

  On 4/2/2023 at 10:37 PM, GORDO said:

Mexico

I take it you’ve seen this?

  On 4/3/2023 at 7:18 AM, Limo said:

Yup. They seem a bit more fiddly because you have to heat the brewing chamber in some, probably convoluted, way.

Too bad, because the lever on the Flair looks easier to use.

Have you used one? 

Yeah, got the Neo. Pre Heating is less of a pain with the 58 because it has electric pre Heating. Kinda waiting on a deal for that one for a while now lol

  On 4/3/2023 at 7:18 AM, Limo said:

I take it you’ve seen this?

 

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Ya, it's almost double what it sells for normally.

I could get it at that price it's not that expensive but that's also why I'm gathering opinions.

  On 4/3/2023 at 11:28 PM, Psychotronic said:

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Ooh yes.

I feel slightly better about not getting one now that I’ve learned that the outside of the reservoir gets dangerously hot (not good for me as I’m clumsy), but in an ideal world, yes, I’d love to have one.

Cafelat Robot as second best. Flair 58 I’ve looked at, @Berk, but for that kind of money you can almost get a La Pavoni, so, no. Still interested in your opinion of the Neo, however. Is it as fiddly as I think it is?

@GORDO got me thinking, btw, that an Aeropress might be useful to bring to work. The “coffee” there is awful. Hmmm …

  On 4/4/2023 at 7:39 AM, Limo said:

I feel slightly better about not getting one now that I’ve learned that the outside of the reservoir gets dangerously hot (not good for me as I’m clumsy), but in an ideal world, yes, I’d love to have one.

You only touch it in wrong places once or twice, the pain makes you learn. A machine like that makes you develop your own technique on how to use it, makes you think and fiddle. It brings character to your rituals and you can taste it, even the first noob taste, after i got it from ebay, was drastically different from what i got out of a 100€ cheapo 20bar machine with the same beans and grinder. Right now i'm working on a combination of timing on when to put the sieve in, how long to let the espresso soak and drip in the sieve and the usage of a frozen metal ball, it changes the taste of the espresso i'm using to a much stronger chocolaty taste for whatever reason. I'm also trying different beans with different results, feels more like i'm designing a taste, then just quickly brewing my morning cup.

But there is one real problem, that i need to fix with additional tech. It does not have a automatic timed turn off, which can lead to me walking off, forgetting that the machine is turned on. It will turn the water to vape in the matter of a few hours, after that, i guess it's a potential fire hazard because it does not build enough pressure to turn itself off here and there (it's pressure regulated to keep itself on 0.5-0.6 bar... no water -> no steam -> no pressure). So at that point it will be constantly turned on and get hot. Last time i failed to turn it off, got me scared and made me order a outlet adapter with timer function.

  On 4/4/2023 at 10:14 AM, Psychotronic said:

You only touch it in wrong places once or twice, the pain makes you learn. A machine like that makes you develop your own technique on how to use it, makes you think and fiddle. It brings character to your rituals and you can taste it, even the first noob taste, after i got it from ebay, was drastically different from what i got out of a 100€ cheapo 20bar machine with the same beans and grinder. Right now i'm working on a combination of timing on when to put the sieve in, how long to let the espresso soak and drip in the sieve and the usage of a frozen metal ball, it changes the taste of the espresso i'm using to a much stronger chocolaty taste for whatever reason. I'm also trying different beans with different results, feels more like i'm designing a taste, then just quickly brewing my morning cup.

But there is one real problem, that i need to fix with additional tech. It does not have a automatic timed turn off, which can lead to me walking off, forgetting that the machine is turned on. It will turn the water to vape in the matter of a few hours, after that, i guess it's a potential fire hazard because it does not build enough pressure to turn itself off here and there (it's pressure regulated to keep itself on 0.5-0.6 bar... no water -> no steam -> no pressure). So at that point it will be constantly turned on and get hot. Last time i failed to turn it off, got me scared and made me order a outlet adapter with timer function.

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Never heard of the frozen ball technique. More chocolaty sounds nice.

But still ... 100 degree C metal object that is liable to explode or start a fire when you forget to turn it off: nope.

It's kind of like a classic car in that respect: looks really cool, might very well be extremely pleasant to drive if you learn how, but at the end of the day it's still a death trap. Like a 2CV, I will admire the La Pavoni from afar  

  On 4/4/2023 at 1:20 AM, toaoaoad said:

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BRUH FACTS I came here to post this. Maxwell House instant coffee shits on any hipster blend

  On 4/4/2023 at 1:48 PM, milkface said:

BRUH FACTS I came here to post this. Maxwell House instant coffee shits on any hipster blend

Shoo, young brat. Middle aged men be wanting to get all spendy here in this thread. 

instant coffee tastes like trash to me without exception. I have an enormous percolator that I think makes 13 cups of coffee, whatever that means.

  On 4/4/2023 at 2:51 PM, Limo said:

Shoo, young brat. Middle aged men be wanting to get all spendy here in this thread. 

Don't you worry I'll be in this thread in 25 years doing the same.

Also, anyone seen/ used/ got a 9Barista machine?

  On 4/4/2023 at 3:54 PM, milkface said:

Don't you worry I'll be in this thread in 25 years doing the same.

Also, anyone seen/ used/ got a 9Barista machine?

Looks like a nightmare to clean. I already love it.

  On 4/4/2023 at 10:30 AM, Limo said:

Never heard of the frozen ball technique. More chocolaty sounds nice.

But still ... 100 degree C metal object that is liable to explode or start a fire when you forget to turn it off: nope.

It's kind of like a classic car in that respect: looks really cool, might very well be extremely pleasant to drive if you learn how, but at the end of the day it's still a death trap. Like a 2CV, I will admire the La Pavoni from afar  

I just found this:

https://www.home-barista.com/levers/how-long-can-i-leave-la-pavoni-lever-on-t57514.html#p642545

So it's actually not a fire hazard but the thermal fuse will break and needs to be replaced then, i didn't know it had one. I only have an Italian manual.

  On 4/4/2023 at 3:54 PM, milkface said:

Also, anyone seen/ used/ got a 9Barista machine?

Hadn’t thought of that one in a long while.

Is it still absurdly expensive? … lemme check … oh yes. €360. 

I’m all for stupid purchases, but this is too much. Also, it doesn’t look quite as murderous as the similar Bacchi machine.

  On 4/4/2023 at 3:54 PM, milkface said:

Don't you worry I'll be in this thread in 25 years doing the same.

Also, anyone seen/ used/ got a 9Barista machine?

That looks like a fucking rocket.

@Limothe Neo is really nice imo. The pre heat isn't even a big hassle because I have to weigh and grind the beans. And apply Wdt. Tamp. I can easily pre heat in the mean time. Faster preheat routine is nice when you've got friends over tho. It sucks to make coffee on the Neo for 6 people :')

  On 4/4/2023 at 9:28 PM, Berk said:

@Limothe Neo is really nice imo. The pre heat isn't even a big hassle because I have to weigh and grind the beans. And apply Wdt. Tamp. I can easily pre heat in the mean time. Faster preheat routine is nice when you've got friends over tho. It sucks to make coffee on the Neo for 6 people :')

So how do you do it? Just dump the chamber in boiling water or something?