Coffee Drinkers Anonymous

Kerplunk

Likes Bikes and Dirt
A good thermoblock will shit over a cheap single 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..
 

downunderdallas

Likes Bikes and Dirt
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 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.
 

Freediver

I can go full Karen
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..
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.

As to being repaired, Ive done a few over the years and it's the same bits that go in all 3 types. The board or a thermal fuse 4 times out of 5.
 

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
Sadly 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).
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
sadly this is a common trait everywhere...shiny on the outside,shit underneath!
I used to repair commercial catering equipment and one of the coolest jobs was to fix a few old Haros coffee boilers, good old Tasmanian built units
even a couple of copper ones in the mix...no good these days though, no flat surfaces to hang posters off!
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
I still can't figure out if the coffee is better or placebo when I find a place that does manual press coffee.
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.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
My home machine is the lever type - it's definitely slow, but I can make a great coffee with it after 15 years of practice. Plus no pumps to shit themselves. Just replace the seals every year or two. I expect to make coffees with it for another 15 years.

I can't imagine using one in a commercial setting though, that would suck.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
I can't imagine using one in a commercial setting though, that would suck
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
 

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
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
Have you ever used one of the big Elektras?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
My home machine is the lever type
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?
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Have you ever used one of the big Elektras?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
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).

Briefly a local roaster + cafe had a similar machine from another brand I can't remember in their hq. It had a winged lion on top and looked awesome. Unfortunately they ran out of cash and the venue is now a shitty sports bar.
 

shiny

Go-go-gadget-wrist-thingy
I have a 7 year old Sunbeam thermoblock. Makes very good coffee, but also have a Compak K3 grinder so helps having a consistent grind. My dream machine is the Expobar Minore:

https://www.jetblackespresso.com.au/shop/p/expobar-minore-iv/

Also mix it up and have a stove top coffee most days, brews a nice strong coffee.

I have been buying Aldi coffee beans lately $11-$13 a kilo depending on variety. Had people over and commented on how good the coffee was and were shocked when I told them it was Aldi beans. Have seen the local cafe van guy buy from Aldi as well.

Also have Patio coffee down the road so buy from them from time to time as well as My Cuppa.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
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?
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 should add the machine I was designed and installed to look a bit like beer taps, with the boiler etc stored under the bench.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
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?
I have a La Pavoni, like this:

354804


Lever pressure required is actually very light, although it does get harder when the seals have been in there for a while. When operating optimally it's only really a two finger level of pressure. The whole thing is very stable, there's no reason you'd send the cup flying. There is no return spring, so the lever stays wherever you stop pushing.

A bit of pressure does build up around the group head, so if you remove it too quickly immediately after making your coffee it can blow the grinds all over the place. Usually you'll only do that once, and take care removing it if you're making multiple coffees in a row.

I have the matching grinder which has also been going for 15 or so years.

As others have said, a quality grinder and good fresh beans from your local roaster are the most important thing. Budget for the grinder first, coffee machine second.
 

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
That is beautiful @Tubbsy I think I need one too.

I'm very much a stovetop Bialetti in the morning, Chemex when I'm at home during the day, and Aeropress at work.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
That is beautiful @Tubbsy I think I need one too.
Yeah I love it. Takes a tad more practice to learn than your average machine, but it's not rocket surgery.

Plenty of old ones, 35 years old still running fine in the family business I bought mine from. I like buying stuff that lasts.

354805


They haven't changed much over the years.
 
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