Coffee Appreciation

Anyone got or tried a Rocket Espresso Appartamento machine?

@JB @Ptown @Bainbridge - thanks folks.

All of those on the list aswell as the ecm Synchronika

@Bainbridge why the Elizabeth over the Bianca?

You mean Elizabeth over Bianca?

My dad had a Bianca but sold it to someone on here and got a Decent. He liked the flow control of the Bianca a lot. I think that’s the real differentiating factor - and it’s just beautiful.

Honestly, unless you really want the aesthetics of a traditional machine, if you’re upgrading from a Silvia, you may as well go the whole hog. Be somebody loins!

I'd buy another ECM in a heartbeat. No frills, just consistent and reliable.
Lelits are great too.
I'd be interested to see how the internetty programmable machines are going in a decade, it seems like a lot to go wrong to me.

Eureka has arrived, coffee (new bag that I’ve not had before) has been horrible and impossible to dial in, obviously blamed the grinder but though I’d double check with my hand grinder this morning, it minging and I binned the rest…

Hopefully pop out and get some new beans shortly and give it another go!

Wow, picked up Dak's Milky Cake. A thermal shock washed Castillo. Never tasted an espresso like it. Any big Castillo heads in the house? I'm normally quite conservative with my espresso choices, but this has my intrigued. I'd also like to try the filter variation, would that be roasted in a different way to the filter?

Sorry yeah that is what I meant.

I’m not really that into the Decent - I don’t want more of a hobby than I already have but would like not not have to wait to steam milk.

If I had the space then the Marzocco Linea mini would be an option.

I think the Elizabeth has a slightly smaller footprint so might be a good option.

middle lane market is a shout, bit out of crouch end way though

That's good to hear as my local coffee shop has just got a big Dak order in and I'm planning on going in tomorrow!

Yeah fair. My dad does often send me screenshots of espresso profiles and I'm like ok? wtf am I supposed to do with this. Maybe add the Profitec Pro 400 or 300 to your list too? They look nice.

Yeah it's all about the footprint.

Bianca is a great looking machine but was too big for where I wanted it to go.

Not that bothered about manual preinfusion personally.

would like not not have to wait to steam milk.

very much agree with this. some years ago i bought an ECM heat exchanger machine. It's really well built and makes great espresso but the milk steaming function is a waste of space.

It just takes too long to heat it up to steam temp, purge all water out of the wand, then steam milk. If you do the milk first, the water's too hot to make coffee.

I end up just warming up milk in a cup in the microwave then dripping the espresso straight into that.

doubtless that's a crime against coffee to some but it works ok for me.

Dpd always fall apart at this time of year.

Got me looking at ECM Puristika's now because I don't need a steam wand.

ECM Puristika

looks great - the steam wand and the hot water wand on my ECM are both largely redundant.

Yeah... with that said, having previously owned a Robot very happily, I'm unsure why I wouldn't just buy another one if I wanted to get back into espresso.

I think I'd buy one now and get one of those auto steam machines. I don't usually drink espresso with milk, though my wife does and those milk machines make it the same every time.

Yeah, I already have one of the Sage/Breville ones from back when I had a robot. They're good, but they only work with cows milk, if that's an issue for you. They do nothing to any other milk type that I've tried, including 'barista' milk alts.

I like steaming milk and we both have milk based espresso drinks, usually 2 a day when wfh so it would make things simpler + (im a buyer)

Okay this escalated quickly. I am moving to the middle of nowhere next month and the closest decent coffee shop is 50 miles away. So I'm looking at the ECM Casa V (one on sale for $695), Profitec Go ($950 - essentially the same as the ECM but looks different and has PID) and ECM Puristika with a flow control module on the grouphead ($1599).

The Puristika is obviously significantly more expensive but also potentially will stop me from wanting to upgrade until it dies. I do not drink milk drinks.

Anyone have any experience with the Casa? Its just very appealing being cheap. Heats up significantly faster than the E61 based Puristika, but no PID like the Profitec and is a fingerprint magnet... But that price...

Our Wilfa Svart died. Replacing the capacitator has been a life-extension for a couple of months, but now it is dead.

Looking for a replacement in about the same price range. I like a small footprint and it will be used for grinding pour over using a Chemex.
What are my options? A Fellow Opus? Any other models I should consider?

Another option we are considering is switching to a hand grinder. With the idea that no electronics will mean that we should be able to use it for a longer time. A commandante is out of our price range. Most review look at portability, but in our case it will not leave our kitchen. I rather buy one that will last 10 years than one that can be used for backpacking trips. Any suggestions?
Timemore C2, Jzpresso JX?

I’m a bit lost at the moment

I use mc2 for pour over, not sure how the footprints compare

White Fellow Ode is cheap on End atm

Sage Smart Grinder Pro will do what you want 👍

I'd get one of those cheap Fellow Ode Gen 1s if they're still around £145ish and in budget.

Baratza Encore ESP another option.

Bang for your buck and longevity a hand grinder will always win. 1zpresso are great value.