Coffee Appreciation

Waited 6 weeks for a new PCB for the Iberital MC2, no joy - further dismantlement and testing, turns out the motor is definitely fucked.

So, what are people’s recommendations for a grinder than can do filter and espresso (and preferably change between grind settings easily). Budget £200~

Ah, shame - yeah it was the motor that had gone in mine too.

I’m kicking myself, really wasn’t too complicated to take apart and test the motor. Och well!

I’ve also realised that in reality I want something that’s a bit easier to adjust grind size and I don’t mind spending a bit more. And I learned a load about troubleshooting electronics in the process!

How long did yours last for, out of curiosity?

Zero seconds (I bought it broken hoping that it was a straightforward repair).

In reality they are a cheap grinder. Taking it apart showed that it's really quite basic, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it does seem that motor failure isn't too uncommon. Which is a shame as usually there is a way to have sacrificial components that fail before the motor and thus prevent a costly repair. On the flip side it is a lot more repairable than many other consumer electronics at the same price level.

Ah, that’s a shame. Maybe I should’ve been more skeptical of the glowing review on Happy Donkey, given that they sell the things (!).

I’ve been impressed by the grind quality (and free beans) so far though, fingers crossed that it lasts a little while.

Mine lasted 10years of daily use (2-4 cups a day) before the motor failed.

I’m sure it’ll last, and to its credit I’m comparing it to much heavier machinery/power tools.

Also, I have no idea how long the broken ones have lasted - and as danb said, his lasted a decade! And I’m pretty confident loads of department store bought grinders won’t last anywhere near that or be serviceable at all.

I think my post was mainly about convincing myself to spend more than I can afford.

That’s a bit more reassuring (thanks @danb !).

Yes, for being half the price of similarly effective grinders, I guess you have to compromise on something. And I’ve no idea whether ~£200 grinders are any easier to repair in any case.

And I’ve no idea whether ~£200 grinders are any easier to repair in any case.

I remember Hoffman saying that sage machines are basically unrepairable. Gaggia obviously have lots of spares available, but judging by my mates repair attempts on broken stuff he’s got off eBay, more often than not parts simply aren’t available. Not that case for the Iberital tho!

y'all seen this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcZMGx15QBU

https://9barista.com/product/9barista-espresso-machine/

It's the first gadget I've seen that would make me consider making espresso at home.

nope, had it.
sold it, got a robot.
happy now.

oh that's a shame

It's ok, just not as good (tasty), easy to use, and one thing that was insurmountable to me is that the design puts the coffee into the top section first where it then has to be decanted into the cup, thus allowing for too much cooling imo.

He's all "this is for you, if you have a moka pot and wished that it made espresso"

And then I'm all "hey! i have a moka pot and wished that it made espresso"

And then he's all "it's £295"

And then I'm all "lel nah mate, ur aight. moka 4 leif yeah?"

I've drank lots of coffee from moka pots but it's the first step above instant IMO, if it was the sole method of making coffee in my house I'd be willing to drop £300 on that when the alternative is an equally expensive Gaggia that takes up 10 times the space

I don’t know how much you appreciate Hoffmann, but have you seen his review of the robot?
It definitely was a factor in my purchase - his review of 9barista wasn’t up at that time.
I love that the robot is a modern update of a proven maker (faema baby) by a respected rebuilder/espresso guy (Paul Pratt of Cafelat). It’s such a simple and forgiving machine compared to the 9barista, yet it also allows for a wide range in pre-infusion and extrusion approaches.

Yeah I think the robot looks really good and I do have a soft spot for lever espresso machines after working on an old Italian one in a food market. I think home espresso is a bit of a dumb thing anyway due to the need to dial in the shots etc but it's also the fact it takes up a fair chunk of counter space. With pour over it all goes straight in a small cupboard afterwards. That's a good part of what I liked the look of with the 9Barista, being nearly the same footprint as a moka pot.

I've drank lots of coffee from moka pots but it's the first step above instant IMO, if it was the sole method of making coffee in my house I'd be willing to drop a lot less than £300 on a v60 setup.

Ftfy.

Here's the dimensions in case you want to investigate later on, and a shot of the little shelf I made to convince my wife that getting an electric grinder wouldn't take away any more countertop space, in fact it would add some (due to the smaller footprint of the grinder)!

pic taken at eye level

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My dad ordered a 9barista the day after Hoffman’s review went up. Delivery is scheduled for October. Lol. I like the idea of it but would never buy one. He’s very much in the ‘acquire as many coffee makers as humanly possible’ camp, though.

That shelf is great. Unfortunately counter space is hard fought for in my flat, it took a lot of convincing just to put in a small grinder.

Wasn't the final verdict that it takes too long to dial in? Beautiful thing but a bit overengineered and not very practical looking from where I am...

I think the outcome was that it works, but can’t make multiple shots quickly due to the load/unload procedure, which makes it arduous to dial in a shot.

For someone that wants a single shot in a place where they are space limited, it will likely suit - but the consensus was that it’s pretty niche in that respect.

I still think it’s pretty rad tho.

This is my quandary at the moment, and based on what you've said I am actually reconsidering.

And them someone mentioned the Robot.

So now I'm obviously reconsidering again.

FFS I just want a coffee.