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  • Advice needed for upgrading

    Hi,
    I own a gaggia classic with silvia steam wand.
    I normally use LM single with matched tamper/LM double with 58mm tamper. I normally have milk drinks but occasionally drink short blacks.
    I do switch around depending on the blend/SO that i have to see which favors my palate.
    My budget is limited so i need to consider which variable should i upgrade?

    there are some plans to make better cup
    1.PID&pre heat chamber(copper tube mod)
    2. upgrade grinder from gaggia mdf to pharos hand grinder
    3. upgrade to pavoni or other manual/spring machine.


    Any opinion/question is appreciated

  • #2
    Re: Advice needed for upgrading

    it sounds like youve got a pretty good machine currently.

    Id probably look into the costs of a PID and/or grinder upgrade over the purchase of a new machine.

    What sort of budget are we talking about? If youre limited to under $250 then theres not a lot you can do in regards to upgrading, the Pharos is probably the cheapest option out of the three. but it does have limitations imposed on it by the fact that its, well, a manual grinder.

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    • #3
      Re: Advice needed for upgrading

      thanks
      Laughing@Fate, I was wondering that how much improvement would Pharos do to the cup,especially to ristretto or single shot.
      my budget right now is around 300, just enough to get pharos.
      The fact that the pharos is manual hand grinder is positive for me because i think its much quieter than mdf,grinds faster and i dont mind cranking even i drink a lot.
      My housemates havent complained about the noise but would be great if i can have a morning coffee at 7!!

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      • #4
        Re: Advice needed for upgrading

        Hmmm, I dont think youd have very much change from 300 if you attempt a PID setup, I believe that if you do everything from scratch, itd be cheaper, but youd gotta know what it is that you need, There are sets available, but theyre kinda, on the high-side of your price limit

        the Lever? weeeelll, if you sell the gaggia for a reasonable price, you could get something nice secondhand, but again, thats a risky venture...

        Other option perhaps is, look at purchasing a smartgrinder? apparently its the best unit most under the $600 mark, and is well matched with pretty much any machine. The Pharos is a good option for the price though

        Third option is, Perhaps fork out a bit of dough in fixing yourself up a coffee roaster and start doing fresh beans, as thats possibly the most effective way of producing coffee that is out of this world.

        remember Barista>Beans>Grinder>Machine.

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        • #5
          Re: Advice needed for upgrading

          Originally posted by 4D60746669686F66407547607564010 link=1321464052/3#3 date=1321516135
          Barista>Beans>Grinder>Machine.
          Beans>Barista>Grinder>Machine?

          I doubt even a world champ could make good coffee from crap beans

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          • #6
            Re: Advice needed for upgrading

            Originally posted by 786E327D3276326C757F77796E75727B1C0 link=1321464052/4#4 date=1321519743
            Originally posted by 4D60746669686F66407547607564010 link=1321464052/3#3 date=1321516135
            Barista>Beans>Grinder>Machine.
            Beans>Barista>Grinder>Machine?

            I doubt even a world champ could make good coffee from crap beans
            True, My bad, I got those two mixed up a little, but yes, Beans and Barista go a long way to the coffee produced, Grinder less so, and machine least of all

            This is of course, All assuming that charlie0110 wasnt roasting his own beans to begin with

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            • #7
              Re: Advice needed for upgrading

              I got away from the exams so I started my home roasting with hopper a week ago.
              Actually i had roasted some beans while(more than a month ago) with homemaker popper that was sold in Kmart broke after 7 batches .... after that i got busier, so i was back to my local roaster blend(di bella, veneziano)
              For the PID stuff, i already got a plan from a scratch.
              Going to gather all the small bits and pieces during the summer vacation

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              • #8
                Re: Advice needed for upgrading

                Originally posted by 382E723D7236722C353F37392E35323B5C0 link=1321464052/4#4 date=1321519743
                Originally posted by 4D60746669686F66407547607564010 link=1321464052/3#3 date=1321516135
                Barista>Beans>Grinder>Machine.
                Beans>Barista>Grinder>Machine?

                I doubt even a world champ could make good coffee from crap beans
                Interesting 

                Depends on which way you look at it, and...yes they can as in, they can make it to the best of their ability with the beans and equipment at hand, using their knowledge of coffee and coffee equipment management.

                Without a good barista as in espresso machine operator, good beans are just as rubbish as bad beans. You need a good operator that knows how to jig the grinder and adjust his technique to the beans on the particular machine.

                A good operator will make well brewed / presented wet coffee with low quality beans to get "the best" out of whatever it is, and a great coffee with good beans. It is well enough known (gosh horror indignation  ) that milk in lartays and capps will help mask the character of beans that are of lower quality then you might care to use in good espresso, and where the resulting lartays and capps can be quite acceptable in the scheme of things and depending on your market.

                Therefore you can just as easily make it:
                barista / grinder / machine / beans

                So, the order in which anyone places the above neat phrasiology (well I think its neat) depends largely on anyones agenda (coffeepolitik), education (in all things coffee)  is always the key, and Ill leave it at that.

                Rgdz,
                Attilio.

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