Coffee Appreciation

Ha! Yeah it really is brilliant. The steam it produces is unbelievably good - better than a lot of commercial machines that I’ve used over the years.

My only slight niggle is that the chassis is a tad flexy. Do you notice the same? If I gently pull or press on the portafilter handle, I can feel the whole group head flex in the frame a touch.
I think the thin sheet metal that it’s made from can only be so stiff though. It just feel like it could have be braced somewhere to alleviate it.

Seems like this combo of Lelit Liz & Niche or Niche & Rancilio Silvia Pro would be some of the best value for money for home enthusiasts

Yeah I thought the same and the steam knob is inexplicably small and cheap feeling…why not bump the price by a tenner and put a decent knob on?

Small gripes overall though!

That was the other machine on my shortlist, went with the Elizabeth for the smaller footprint.

Aye, I mean obviously I would agree.
But I spent a pretty long time researching for a dual boiler machine that wasn’t mental money, of course even a grand is mental to most.
It’s why I’d asked earlier if anyone here was actually using a home machine in the higher price brackets. The Elizabeth is making the best coffee I’ve ever tasted anywhere.
I used to work in hospitality and have used a lot of different commercial machines that cost many thousands, but if they are poorly maintained and operated by a muppet then they end up bashing out shite espresso.
I’d argue that a modified Gaggia Classic or similar can produce an espresso of the same quality of machines costing at least ten times more.
As mentioned before, spending the real big bucks, I think, comes down to nerding out and having a desire to have the supposed absolute best.
I often see the ‘wallet inspection’ phrase thrown about on the forum when someone is upset by how a stranger has chosen to spend their own money on a bike. It always makes me laugh, who gives a fuck, let people do as they wish with their cash and buy that twelve grand bike and so on. Anything that helps make you happy.
But I can’t help feel that coffee machines made for home use that cost 4/5 grand really are in wallet inspection territory! Again, buy whatever makes you happy, no judgement from me, but I’d love to know what the cost price is to manufacture something like a Linea is?
Ok, rant over.

I’d considered the Silvia pro x too but it seemed like there isn’t really a great deal between the two.
I’d thought about buying a brand new single boiler machine and modifying the life out it, but the eventual cost isn’t far off something like the Elizabeth.

Haha yeah the steam knob is really hard to understand.
At what point in the product design did they say ‘yeah that’s the one. Nailed it.’
I don’t really mind the size tbh, but it being plastic is pretty lame.

It’s funny, because it’s mad cash for me, but that Elizabeth is probably the most tempting upgrade I’ve seen. I don’t think I could be arsed modding a classic. But the Elizabeth seems to have all the fancy features you’d want, and from a large marque that should be easy to source parts for.

But I don’t have a grand. And the Gaggia Cubika refuses to die and it still makes a banging shot. It cost me £50 about 10 years ago.

Do you like drinking light roasted coffee? Then yes.

This is my current favourite- which I assume means no?

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That's funny. Based purely on the word sweet and the art, I'd immediately assume it very much a light roast. But they say its medium.

Yea any 'espresso roast' should be fine. If you wanted to use one of Squaremiles filter offerings as espresso that's where pressure profiling will really help.

https://youtu.be/MZjXl9QhIyE

Not commenting on the coffee machine here - can’t decide if I love or hate this video. Definite post-university final year project feel about it which I can relate to. Use of vintage hand tools and metalworking techniques on wood is either incredibly soothing or spectacularly pretentious. Ok I think I enjoyed it.

Rip the arse out that Cubika until it’s close to melting.
This was my set up until a few months ago https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/333124/#comment14708081

£150 total spend and it made perfectly good drinks. The gaggia eventually packed it in to the point it wasn’t economical to repair. I’d taken it apart and brought it back from the dead a couple times before but the boiler eventually gave up. I then bought another forum bargain, but it shat it’s self after a few months.

Spent about 6 weeks reading up on dual boiler machines and the Elizabeth seemed like the best option if I didn’t want to fuck about modifying a single boiler machine. The niche zero was second hand. I was sceptical but it really is as good as the internet hype claims.

Good effort getting a niche second hand. How much did you pay? They’re £800 now?! Didn’t they used to be £500?

There's a Gaggia Cubika for sale near me for £45 that's supposedly working and in good condition - do you reckon it's worth a punt? This would be my first espresso machine so could be a good first low risk foray? How does it compare to other Gaggia models? I'm not adverse to a little bit of light servicing/maintenance/repair should it need it.

Annoyingly, from a buyers perspective, they seem to hold their value well due to all the hype. I paid £350, they are still £500. At the time, there was a two week wait for a new one, it seem to be down to one week now.

There’s a new flat burr grinder from niche coming out that’s £800

I was sceptical about the zero retention claims but so far mine has been putting out exactly what I put in.

I was sceptical about the zero retention claims but so far mine has been putting out exactly what I put in.

You’re sure none of that is from a previous grind?

Ah it’s the flat burr that’s £800. £350 seems about as cheap as you can get them SH.

Bought mine second hand over a decade ago and it’s never let me down (needed the odd bit of attention here and there).
I manage to pull [what I consider to be] decent shots from it.

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Yep, big difference between "zero retention" and "same weight in as out".

To be fair, the Niche is pretty decent in this regard. Though my previous Sette was definitely better on that front. I think the Niche probably has somewhere in the region of 0.2g, but I haven't been measuring it since originally getting the grinder.

Sounds (and looks) perfect! I'll take a punt on it! If it's alright I may be back in touch for troubleshooting tips!

Yeah I was being a bit of an arse, but it's true. Then again my Silenzio retains more than the Niche and yet my shots don't seem to suffer.

I took the cowards way out and have bought what is essentially a pre-drilled M6 nut. Such a difference in milk! Thanks for the advice.

But in reality, 0.2g is about 1% of an 18g shot. You’d have to have a pretty insane palette to notice.
I remember Steve of YB said to do an experiment where you keep upping the proportion of stale grounds vs fresh in a shot and stopping when you notice a difference. The suggestion was that it’d be a long way away from a 99:1 fresh to stale ratio.
Of all the variables, retention seems like a pretty minor one to me.

They’re dead simple inside. And generally easy to take apart. Hope it works out!