Coffee Appreciation

You could always stop using doaskid and start using steveissexeh

Ahh, the connoisseur's choice.

Not sure what the sight glass is for really - you can see the spring that drives the piston in the group. Rather sadly the sender chose not to remove the steam wand, so the pipe has been damaged beyond repair in transit. I’ll probably remove it altogether and stick a little pressure gauge on the tap so I can set the boiler pressure easier.

It’s a beast next to my little Pav, footprint is about the same but everything else is a lot more substantial on the Faema. Much closer to a commercial machine.

Took delivery of a Sage Precision Brewer today.

As a near total coffee pleb I tend to turn to James Hoffman for tips and advice. In his review of the Sage I seem to remember him saying that its the only review model that he has received that he decided to keep and its has been his daily brewing machine for over two years.

Early indications are that I can see why. Really love the fact you can control how fast the pump operates so you can make sure that extraction is even...really makes a difference.

You could always stop using doaskid and start using steveissexeh

for anyone who is guilty about using the discount he should add another code: roastme where you get the discount but they're allowed to mock you in a note inside the package. so you feel less bad about stiffing him on the cash.

That's a shame about the steam wand damage, but the La Pavoni also has some sort of curved steam wand too right? Or is it just from that angle?

Also I thought that tap on front might've been hot water on one side & steam on the other, but it looks like it's steam only and the bit with no attachment is where the steam wand handle goes.

On a related note, just discovered this machine. Completely impractical (and probably a maintenance nightmare) but looks amazing:

https://youtu.be/QNS549RkfB4

Also, you've probably seen it already, but there's a great example of a restoration of a Faemina here: http://www.chromesdantan.com/en/

Ha - I'd never seen that site, very nice! Yeah both the Pav and the Faemina have curved steam wands. Don't really lament the loss as I only drink espresso anyways. Mine is so dinged up, I might just do a functional rebuild and leave most of the patina intact. Remove all scale and grot, fit new wiring and 110v elements, seals, repair and polish the bakelite bits, blast the flaky chrome off the base and polish the aluminium underneath. And try to straighten the whole thing out a bit - it's distinctly ske-whiff right now.

The Veloxtermo wall mount machines are rare! - same group as the lever Presidents I think. In the unlikely event I find myself without a landlord one of these days, I'd love a plumbed in, single group President or Urania. They look amazing.

I was buying 2kg at a time from @StevePeel but felt bad because they were paying nearly £11 to send them to me but only charging £5.50 postage, so I switched to getting just 1kg instead. Great beans, and I really like the espresso blend for filter coffee.

I did buy a t shirt from them though to make myself feel better.

Get a big head here won’t I. Thanks for the kind words.

Instructed solicitors about a premises for Yellow Bourbon Pizza Shop this week. Fingers crossed that comes off.

Coffee pizza?

Hoffmann bait. Doing it for the views.

Pizza coffee, it's the 5th wave.

Ah wicked!! Fingers crossed, sounds great. Will deffo drop in next time I'm in Wellingborough seeing family.

Waves? Where we're going, we don't need waves.

1 Attachment

For the branding will you be going with an anthropomorphic cartoon pizza peel called Steve? If not, why not?

p.s. exciting news

My mate who I’m doing it with, his name’s Miller. He worked at a place that did food vans up, there was a pizza van called The Miller & The Peel. Its fucking cosmic.

Use a pizza base as a pour over filter?

Just the universe giving you a nudge

Does anyone have a ROK for sale? I need to get this out of my system before going for the gaggia. But can’t justify £160 just to satisfy one of my whims.

Unless I end up loving the rok???

Go for a Robot instead and never ever look back.

Read this review comparing the Flair Pro 2, the ROK and the Cafelat Robot. People really don't rate the ROK as a reliable espresso maker, nor does it really stack up against the other main lever machines.
https://www.home-barista.com/advice/flair-pro-2-vs-cafelat-robot-vs-rok-gc-t68803.html

A friend and I looked at all 3. We were purchasing for him.

The ROK GC is the least effective of the 3. The seal around the PF/screen is a bit prone to leaking when you apply maximum pressure. The ROK created the thinnest espresso. He originally bought the ROK and returned it. We made identical espresso with the ROK and Robot (before he had gotten the Flair) and the Robot was significantly richer and better tasting. Same beans, same grinder, grind dialled in for each machine.

The Flair Pro 2 is very good.. large basket capable of 16-22g shot, I estimate. Heats up well. I'd say the flair can be preheated a bit easier than the Robot and so might be better if you were doing mostly light roasts. The flair has more bits and pieces and so the workflow is slightly more involved. It comes with a carrying case if you decide to travel with it.

The Robot basket is deep and a bit hard to get an even distribution before tamping. But the robot workflow is dead easy. The easiest of all 3. One difficulty of the Robot might be preheating the piston when using light roasts as it can suck a bit of heat from the water. You can do it.. its just harder than the flair. I read somewhere that the flair can be preheated about 5 deg. hotter than the robot.. but both are pretty equivalent here.

I wouldn't consider the ROK compared to the other 2. Of the other 2, both make very good espresso. In fact, I'd say my Robot makes as good, if not better espresso than my Profitec Pro 500. My friend bought the Pro 2 and likes that a lot. He prefers that taste over the Robot (just slightly). But they are pretty equivalent. I'd buy the Robot again.

I only preheat the Robot basket when using medium and medium-dark roasts and my extractions are very good. With dark roasts no preheat is necessary.

You'd be happy with either.. read more and see which appeals to you for workflow.

You need a good grinder. My friend bought a Kinu Phoenix with his Flair Pro 2 and it is a great combo.. Don't skimp on on a grinder..

Pfft just can’t win. I can’t justify the robot it’s just too much for me and my wife would hate it. The flair is very cool. I like that it’s a single leaver.

My concern is stuff breaking on a machine.

Edit: nvm, just saw budget.

Shame. It's my one of my favourite purchases ever. Really does make fantastic espresso and is so much nicer to use than the ROK. It seems like you've been put off by it now anyway - but yes - I really can't recommend it. Sounds like a used Classic could be what you need?

Gaggia Classic. Nothing has ever broken on it in 13 years. There really is nothing to break.

You descale it from time to time. You replace the group head gasket every couple of years as you'd have to do on any machine. You replace the washer in the steam wand tap after 10 years or so.