Dear Coffee Snobs,
Im a student in Ann Arbor, in the USA, recently back from a year in France and dreaming about the coffee I had there. You know, I never drank coffee before going; I was firmly committed to hot chocolate and tea; however the espressos and cappuccinos of Europe certainly changed all that.
And now Id like to enter into coffee culture. I found your website while looking for product reviews, and frankly Im not surprised that the Australians appear to be holding down the fort, as far as coffee is concerned. One of my best friends, a bloke from Sydney (now studying law there), was the first person I ever met who had a truly artistic understanding of the drink.
But I must admit Im a total novice. So heres my dilemma.
Youre all crazy about the Rancilio Silvia, it seems: reading about it I suppose I am too. I fell in love with a Silvia once; shes back in Italy; wouldnt it be lovely to have the next best, an espresso machine, in America?
Im trying therefore to find one that I can afford. But in the mean time, Ive been looking at a number of other machines.
The Europiccola Rivieras, Pavonis, and Ponte Vecchios appear to be largely manual machines and I wonder what you all think of them: can they make good espressos? Can I learn something from them? I imagine that getting a manual machine might be like starting with a manual camera: you learn the basics, and if you want may move on later. Honestly I can find almost no information online about these machines.
What do you all think about Saeco machines, like the classico? Are these decent? Theyre certainly less expensive than others, and... at least look nice.
What are the advantages of manual machines? Which of these would you recommend?
Im looking forward to your responses. If there are certain threads that are especially useful, Id love to read them.
Daniel
Im a student in Ann Arbor, in the USA, recently back from a year in France and dreaming about the coffee I had there. You know, I never drank coffee before going; I was firmly committed to hot chocolate and tea; however the espressos and cappuccinos of Europe certainly changed all that.
And now Id like to enter into coffee culture. I found your website while looking for product reviews, and frankly Im not surprised that the Australians appear to be holding down the fort, as far as coffee is concerned. One of my best friends, a bloke from Sydney (now studying law there), was the first person I ever met who had a truly artistic understanding of the drink.
But I must admit Im a total novice. So heres my dilemma.
Youre all crazy about the Rancilio Silvia, it seems: reading about it I suppose I am too. I fell in love with a Silvia once; shes back in Italy; wouldnt it be lovely to have the next best, an espresso machine, in America?
Im trying therefore to find one that I can afford. But in the mean time, Ive been looking at a number of other machines.
The Europiccola Rivieras, Pavonis, and Ponte Vecchios appear to be largely manual machines and I wonder what you all think of them: can they make good espressos? Can I learn something from them? I imagine that getting a manual machine might be like starting with a manual camera: you learn the basics, and if you want may move on later. Honestly I can find almost no information online about these machines.
What do you all think about Saeco machines, like the classico? Are these decent? Theyre certainly less expensive than others, and... at least look nice.
What are the advantages of manual machines? Which of these would you recommend?
Im looking forward to your responses. If there are certain threads that are especially useful, Id love to read them.
Daniel

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