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There are definitely some folks here much more knowledgeable about the manual, non-electric lever machines than I am. But if I was going to be buying one, top things for me to look for would be:
- Whether thermal losses are going to be an issue when adding water to the coffee
- Stability of the machine when pressing on the lever
- Availability of spares (likely just gaskets really)
Would be nice to have a standard portafilter/basket but I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't really an option due to baskets frequently being quite large to also hold water in this machines.
- Whether thermal losses are going to be an issue when adding water to the coffee
mmccarthy-
My preference is the rok. It seems like it’s been around for a long time so I’d expect parts to be available.
Thermal losses are always going to be an issue without a heat source. But add a heat cup and portafilter you’ve covered the bases well.
The only thing I don’t like about the robot is the arms.
I love the lever design of the flair but it seems really fiddley
Light_EDDed
I think I’m going to go for a manual espresso machine next. I can’t be doing with bits breaking like this one.
I don’t particularly like the look of the robot, plus it’s pricey.
The rok looks great, it has the portafilter so would sit well with my grinder.
I like the flair but only because it would sit nicely in the space where my previous machine was.