Freediver
I can go full Karen
A good thermoblock will shit over a cheap single boiler.. You really need a machine the uses a boiler rather than a “thermo block” to heat the water.
A good thermoblock will shit over a cheap single boiler.. You really need a machine the uses a boiler rather than a “thermo block” to heat the water.
Agreed that 5 senses is nice, but also very $$$.For coffee beans, 5 senses coffee in Perth is excellent. I really like their Dark Horse blend, https://www.fivesenses.com.au/product/coffee/blends/dark-horse-blend/
Works well for milk based coffees and espresso.
Yeah but a good thermo block will cost a lot more than a cheap single boiler..A good thermoblock will shit over a cheap single boiler.
I have an old Sunbeam (thermoblock) and it's still capable of making a good coffee, I used to have a Breville Dual boiler at work, definitely capable. I have a VBM at home. I don't think any brand has a mortgage on good or bad machines. As has been mentioned a good grinder is key, must have a consistent grind if you are to make decent coffee. I'll second Leftfield - also from Perth not that easy to get here - Fat Puppy is my blend of preference! Of course it is satisfying to roast and blend your own, but there is definitely an art to that too.I own a ~$600 Breville, mate owns a ~$700 Sunbeam - I wish I had his machine. Night and day between the two.
For coffee supplies, if I'm poorly prepared my local supermarket stocks Braziliano coffee for about $16/500g, they are more than passable and better than some others you will buy in shops. My current favourite roaster is Leftfield Coffee (former owners of Fiore if Fiore ever made it East to the majority of you..). Free shipping @ $40 for a kg is very very decent for what I think, is very very decent coffee.
I'm Perth based so some influence there on the suggestions!
I think thermoblocks have had their reputation tarnished because it's what all the shitty, cheap ones use. At that cheap price point stuff is going to break down regardless of the tech used. There is no reason why a thermoblock shouldn't last as long as a boiler.Yeah but a good thermo block will cost a lot more than a cheap single boiler..
Not to mention the thermo block will likely shit itself and end up in a tip rather than being repaired. My Silvia is over 15 years old, my sister is on her 5th thermo block machine..
If you had home reno's done on your house, and the builder turned up in a beaten up old Toyota Dyna rather than a lifted jet black Ford Ranger with monster truck tires, you would question his success and credibility tooSadly there are still too many cafes around with a $30k equipment set-up and very poorly trained staff (literally no idea how to dial-in a grinder).
I still can't figure out if the coffee is better or placebo when I find a place that does manual press coffee.no flat surfaces to hang posters off
Nothing can beat the house cladding salesman who turned up at my grandma's house 30 years ago in a Ferrari 400i.If you had home reno's done on your house, and the builder turned up in a beaten up old Toyota Dyna rather than a lifted jet black Ford Ranger with monster truck tires, you would question his success and credibility too
I'm assuming you mean lever press type machines? It does create a different flavour. You can infuse the coffee for a lot longer before extracting the shot. But it is really hard work to make it delicious. I worked in a place that had a lever machine and a conventional espresso machine side by side. The lever was so much hassle and slowed down the production rate a lot. I dropped in there a few days ago and they've ditched the lever.I still can't figure out if the coffee is better or placebo when I find a place that does manual press coffee.
Yeah but it looks really cool...way too slow when you're trying to punch out coffee for office workers at a rapid rate.I can't imagine using one in a commercial setting though, that would suck
Have you ever used one of the big Elektras?Yeah but it looks really cool...way too slow when you're trying to punch out coffee for office workers at a rapid rate.
If I had a fine dining establishment where I expected to make a few coffees a night and charge ridiculous amounts, such a machine would be a great piece in the bar area. Especially those Italian beasts that are a work of art and purpose
I was looking at the ROK or Flair. My biggest fear is that The pushing force seems to be high and knowing me, I'd probably end up smashing the cup trying to press the thing in. Is it a hard to push type of thing?My home machine is the lever type
Only in the wettest of dreams. They are very sexy but no cafe around here could afford one, and those fitted out by roasters (some roasters hook up cafes with gear for free or heavily discounted) tend to run more common machines (I'm guessing it is a parts related thing - have a warehouse full of brand a and you need less spares than a mix of brand a+B+f).Have you ever used one of the big Elektras?
Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
The machine I used had a massive amount of spring pressure on the lever. You really had to pull down hard to activate the piston and infuse your shots. Then when you released the lever you had to keep a steady hand on it at first to make sure it didn't fly up and fuck your shit. This was especially true when you were just flushing the water out to get it up to temp for pouring. I was at the right heigh to cop the lever in a perfect upper cut to the jaw and a lot of the girls I worked with were in the face-temple strike zone. I am confident it could've smashed my face easily.I was looking at the ROK or Flair. My biggest fear is that The pushing force seems to be high and knowing me, I'd probably end up smashing the cup trying to press the thing in. Is it a hard to push type of thing?
Maybe we could fashion an espresso manual press machine out of old avid brakes or something?
I have a La Pavoni, like this:I was looking at the ROK or Flair. My biggest fear is that The pushing force seems to be high and knowing me, I'd probably end up smashing the cup trying to press the thing in. Is it a hard to push type of thing?
Yeah I love it. Takes a tad more practice to learn than your average machine, but it's not rocket surgery.That is beautiful @Tubbsy I think I need one too.