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Duffy, just by reading your posts I feel excited for you. I am also interested in getting one that is once I've saved enough money.
Btw, I have done some research on the GS3 (pre manometer models) and LM and I found that they do not have cool touch steam wand. Is that true? Without that feature, will the steam wand be burning hot?
Yes it is true that the GS3 does not have a cool touch steam wand but the latest GS3 will have one once it hits our shores. The steam wand will be burning hot with no cool touch but its not a big deal because you can have a teflon sock added onto the wand. This is quite common in cafes as many commercial machines don't have cool touch wands.
I picked it up and have been playing with it all afternoon. It's every bit as good as I imagined. Dialling in my coffee with something so consistent was great. Got the grind/dose/tamp right and then a few clicks on the temp wheel and I was in heaven. My roaster hooked me up with some Guatemala El Socorro which made the most amazing shot. It was like a coffee flavoured cloud, smooth and silky with a nicely lingering aftertaste. Coffee nirvana
I picked it up and have been playing with it all afternoon. It's every bit as good as I imagined. Dialling in my coffee with something so consistent was great. Got the grind/dose/tamp right and then a few clicks on the temp wheel and I was in heaven. My roaster hooked me up with some Guatemala El Socorro which made the most amazing shot. It was like a coffee flavoured cloud, smooth and silky with a nicely lingering aftertaste. Coffee nirvana
Thanks everyone. I still can't get over the amazing coffee that this thing is producing. I just had a fellow coffee lover over and they were blown away with it as well. After the massive disappointment that was the BDB I finally have a machine that makes coffee the way I knew it could taste. I wish I could make you all a drink or 2 so you could experience it too!
Looks great.. my new toy arrived the other day, a shiny new Alex Leva but I need to wait till September until I can play with (anniversary present) and I cannot wait to give it and the Atom a good work out
Nice! I'd love to have a good play on a decent lever one day. I had a go on the europiccola once but didn't like the temp management issues. Eventually I'd love to have an old caravel and PID it.
After the most caffeinated week of my life I am still very happy with the new machine. I think my grinder is in need of replacement now, but meh, that is how it seems to work with a coffee obsession. Here are a few things that have stuck out to me this week.
-I received the bottomless pf that they forgot to include (added extra) and surprisingly found that I was consistently getting a dry spot in the middle of the pf. I forced myself to scoop out some of the middle grounds from the basket and now I am getting great looking pours. Taste hasn't improved but getting slightly more volume.
-After my initial concerns with the temp wheel I have come to really like it. It makes the machine look classier imo and I don't find it annoying to not be able to read the temp. I never adjust it more than 3 clicks at a time anyway (so far). It feels more intuitive than using a digital display and buttons like the BDB. Too hot, a couple clicks on the wheel towards me and too cool a couple clicks away. Easy as. A readout with shot timer would be good still though.
-Along the same lines, I really like the paddle. It just feels right and is so much nicer than a switch/button.
-Factory pre-infusion was a bit of a let down, as it isn't a 1 sec on, one off and go. It is actually 2 secs of purging brew boiler pressure and then turn pump on. With pressure set at 9 bar there is v little water coming through in those 2 secs and at the factory 12 bar it still isn't very much. I'm getting great results in the cup though so I'm not too bothered.
-Steam pressure wasn't as good as the demo unit initially, as the boiler was set to 1.5bar. I have turned it back up to 2 bar and it is working as expected, lots and lots of steam
-The usable size of the water reservoir isn't good enough, and is my main/only real complaint. The sensor is so high up and the reservoir small enough that the usable volume is small and I seem to be constantly filling it. I am definitely going to plumb it in at some stage.
-For a 5k machine the stainless used for the drip tray grill and cup warmer top is too thin.
-Again for a 5k machine the sticker on the drip tray advertising bottled water was out of place and has left a slight mark from removing it. Also the water/brew boiler light stickers are out of line with each other. Really not good enough but easily fixed.
-Build quality is amazing otherwise, and I reckon the inside is as sexy as the outside. Seriously I haven't seen another machine with such tidy internals (not in real life anyway).
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