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Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
Re: Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
Thanks for that site.
We were and still are stove top espresso users. Theres something nice about a stove top as you can take it anywhere and part of our learning curve was our surprise when we could get a lovely (although thin) crema on our stove top when we pulled out our grinder and experimented with freshly ground up beans. Stove top coffee was our first introduction to good coffee many years ago.
Re: Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
Thanks for that.
Up on the plateau inland from from Coffs Harbour
The Coffee Roaster Sydney - Columbian Medellin Excelso seems to be the favourite and seems to work best in our machine. They have supported us on our quest and in the early days even sent up lots of freebie samples to experiment with. Also used High Trees Estate (to support local grower and Roaster) and when feeling rich Campos.
Re: Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
Originally posted by 4C4D464049454149280 link=1260059759/25#25 date=1260154000
Hi its Denhamia.
Thanks to all those who have provided some really helpful advice. Not dabbled in forums before, and now I can see why. You cant get the full picture from a few words, and I really did not want to have to justify my position with a novel in asking my simple question. I can understand some not so nice comments as I too get a little upset when people promote that they are something, when they are not (I work in the medical field and am involved in evidence based practice).
So now for all you sceptics (if you can be bothered reading on)
Note
1. Denhamia is a she (thanks), interesting how the assumption is made that I am a he.
2. My partner and I after getting sick of crap coffee from cafes when living in the big smoke decided to educate ourselves, so attended barista courses (not just one but lots, just for the fun of it), did lots of research and had local coffee gurus allow us to come and do some one on one practice. Our intention was not to work in the field (we had busy other lives) it was just an outlet. The result was more frustration, because now that we new what to look for, we never could find it.
3. On coming to a rural town where crap coffee was the norm, we decided that now that we had more time on our hands, we would see if we could put our skills into practice. We had a small budget, but lots of enthusiasm. The expobar was chosen because it was the only 10AMP and light weight (50kg machine) available. As it was to be moved in and out of our car, it needed to be as light as possible.
4. We had many weekends with our coffee snob mates, with freshly roasted beans from lots of reputable roasters. With research backgrounds we had great fun trying to devise and implement blind trials (impossible). We even put supermarket coffee to the test (big thumbs down).
5. We did the markets (now this is a low key market ~100 coffees in a morning), and with this created a coffee hub once a month in the town. Coffee came with a money back/replacement guarantee. Beans were ordered and roasted a few days before the market and every coffee had to come through perfectly (in the early days we threw a lot away). We did this for fun, to get practice in, and to refine our skills. we expected not to profit from it.
6. Our grinder is not a $2000 grinder, and I wonder what a difference a more expensive grinder would be, but ours has served its purpose. We have found that in the period of four hours as the cold, frosty morning turns to a hot day, the grind needs to be adjusted quite frequently and at times getting that perfect grind can be a little tricky, but with slight alterations in either volume or tamping, we have been able to compensate for this (one of us always focusses just on getting the shots right).
7. Over three years we built up a reputation for the only place to go for a coffee on that monthly Saturday and as a consequence our very tiny market has boomed into a monthly coffee hit event for the coffee lovers in town.
8. Note I did not say we were trainers. I said we did talks and pracs to some of the cafes. These were initiated by the cafe owners and done as a freebie. We put together info on all we have learnt from courses (and more importantly experience) in a format that newbies could start to get an appreciation of the art. We would set up our cheap machine and grinder next to their (expensive ones!) and compared shots. Did creme,aroma,taste appreciation. compared old and new beans and ground up coffee that had sat around for the day etc etc etc. Went thru cleaning, adjusted shot volumes, setting grinders. And were horrified at double shots being a second pour thru already extracted beans and a grinder that was locked off so that the grind could not be fiddled with YUK! I could go on but I will not.
9. Yes a more expensive set up may make life easier, and I always wonder how much better our shots may or may not be, but please remember that a lot of cafes have the finest of gear, and still cant pull a good shot and continue to bubble and burn the milk.
10 Finally being rural, we dont have access to coffee specialist stores, and hence have not had the opportunity to check out the equipment. We are reliant on internet based research, reviews and forums such as these.
If I professed to be an expert on home equipment I would not have put myself out on a limb to ask for advice.
Regards
Denhamia
PS - Selling up, because we have established a culture and proved to ourselves that we can do it. My partner and I have good jobs in a town where jobs are far and few between we would like to now hand over to someone else to give them a go as it is now a profitable little business. Our reward will be a nice little home set up so we can continue to hone our skills (if we can afford it).
Well put and makes much more sense and flow now
PS. I am also medical and thus one of the reasons I wish to have the full picture and not just a snap shot.. All to often... The real cause / reasons are lost in a snapshot. Yet that is all that many offer or willing to give.
PS. I still think it is worth sticking with teh equipment you have...
Selling and buying new / pre loved etc will cost you $$$$
If you wish to try to keep the same quality and reliability.
PS.... Great to see ya on CS and that you have a thick skin and have done lots to educate and to bring better coffee to a rural area. 8-) 8-) I am sure that Scoots and others will have a thing going shortly... Country at heart...
Re: Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
Hi its Denhamia.
Thanks to all those who have provided some really helpful advice. Not dabbled in forums before, and now I can see why. You cant get the full picture from a few words, and I really did not want to have to justify my position with a novel in asking my simple question. I can understand some not so nice comments as I too get a little upset when people promote that they are something, when they are not (I work in the medical field and am involved in evidence based practice).
So now for all you sceptics (if you can be bothered reading on)
Note
1. Denhamia is a she (thanks), interesting how the assumption is made that I am a he.
2. My partner and I after getting sick of crap coffee from cafes when living in the big smoke decided to educate ourselves, so attended barista courses (not just one but lots, just for the fun of it), did lots of research and had local coffee gurus allow us to come and do some one on one practice. Our intention was not to work in the field (we had busy other lives) it was just an outlet. The result was more frustration, because now that we new what to look for, we never could find it.
3. On coming to a rural town where crap coffee was the norm, we decided that now that we had more time on our hands, we would see if we could put our skills into practice. We had a small budget, but lots of enthusiasm. The expobar was chosen because it was the only 10AMP and light weight (50kg machine) available. As it was to be moved in and out of our car, it needed to be as light as possible.
4. We had many weekends with our coffee snob mates, with freshly roasted beans from lots of reputable roasters. With research backgrounds we had great fun trying to devise and implement blind trials (impossible). We even put supermarket coffee to the test (big thumbs down).
5. We did the markets (now this is a low key market ~100 coffees in a morning), and with this created a coffee hub once a month in the town. Coffee came with a money back/replacement guarantee. Beans were ordered and roasted a few days before the market and every coffee had to come through perfectly (in the early days we threw a lot away). We did this for fun, to get practice in, and to refine our skills. we expected not to profit from it.
6. Our grinder is not a $2000 grinder, and I wonder what a difference a more expensive grinder would be, but ours has served its purpose. We have found that in the period of four hours as the cold, frosty morning turns to a hot day, the grind needs to be adjusted quite frequently and at times getting that perfect grind can be a little tricky, but with slight alterations in either volume or tamping, we have been able to compensate for this (one of us always focusses just on getting the shots right).
7. Over three years we built up a reputation for the only place to go for a coffee on that monthly Saturday and as a consequence our very tiny market has boomed into a monthly coffee hit event for the coffee lovers in town.
8. Note I did not say we were trainers. I said we did talks and pracs to some of the cafes. These were initiated by the cafe owners and done as a freebie. We put together info on all we have learnt from courses (and more importantly experience) in a format that newbies could start to get an appreciation of the art. We would set up our cheap machine and grinder next to their (expensive ones!) and compared shots. Did creme,aroma,taste appreciation. compared old and new beans and ground up coffee that had sat around for the day etc etc etc. Went thru cleaning, adjusted shot volumes, setting grinders. And were horrified at double shots being a second pour thru already extracted beans and a grinder that was locked off so that the grind could not be fiddled with YUK! I could go on but I will not.
9. Yes a more expensive set up may make life easier, and I always wonder how much better our shots may or may not be, but please remember that a lot of cafes have the finest of gear, and still cant pull a good shot and continue to bubble and burn the milk.
10 Finally being rural, we dont have access to coffee specialist stores, and hence have not had the opportunity to check out the equipment. We are reliant on internet based research, reviews and forums such as these.
If I professed to be an expert on home equipment I would not have put myself out on a limb to ask for advice.
Regards
Denhamia
PS - Selling up, because we have established a culture and proved to ourselves that we can do it. My partner and I have good jobs in a town where jobs are far and few between we would like to now hand over to someone else to give them a go as it is now a profitable little business. Our reward will be a nice little home set up so we can continue to hone our skills (if we can afford it).
Re: Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
Originally posted by 4D7B707F6A716C1E0 link=1260059759/22#22 date=1260148293
Dont take offense to the various communication styles on this board, some are direct, some arent, but in general, we are all only too happy to help a genine entheusiast
Thats 100% Sen,
I start bleeding from the ears and nose and feel a hand on my wallet, whenever I click my CS link, but you do get used to it.
Re: Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
Originally posted by 78575E5C4B745857585E5C545C574D390 link=1260059759/21#21 date=1260138523
Open Debate is good...
The issue I have here is that if ya really good in a commercial process then one would expect you understand coffee ?
I know plenty that can whack out numbers.. But their product is less than ideal... And they think they are top Baristas.
The guy that got me into coffee know very little about machines and nothing about home machines and grinders. Yet he is a very good barista, experienced, high expectation for quality in espresso shots and knows how to micro foam.
He can run training in cupping and coffee making.
So where does he fit in this debate? He would know about 1% of what AM or myself knows about roasting or machines. Does that put him in the camp of "not understanding" coffee?
When I talk to him about machines he shows interest but not to the extent that I would. Is it because I have a technical background? If I didnt know him I probably be saying the same things as AM.
And why is it limited to espresso based drinks? Someone may know lots about bean types, processing, roasting, syphon, pour over, etc but has never got behind a machine. Do they know nothing about coffee?
Gone a bit off topic! ;D
For my 2cents I would make room for your current machine. Its a 10 amp and you have experience with it. I think your budget may be too low even for 2nd hand.
Re: Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
If you keep the grinder and spend all $1500 on a machine, that will get you either a vgood single boiler machine (VBM, Isomac, Silvia etc) or an entry level HX (Nuova Simonelli Oscar), "it depends" on what type of drinks and volumes you intend it for.
Personally, I think you are mad going from a 2 group 10amp commercial machine to a home machine in this price bracket, pretty much nothing will have the steaming power of your current machine and (chances are) you may have to work a lot harder to get a good shot than you do with your current machine (I can get good shots and microfoam from my $130 Breville Ikon, but having never really used a commercial machine, have no idea what the difference would be).
If you dont have space, think about how you can make the space, although the physical measurements of the 2 group machine are likely to be much larger than a single home machine, you still have to operate the machine and do your barista dance, so the total space taken up in the whole coffee making routine may actually not be that much different between the machines.
Dont take offense to the various communication styles on this board, some are direct, some arent, but in general, we are all only too happy to help a genine entheusiast
Re: Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
Originally posted by 7D7A7B6F7C7A697C6F607A0E0 link=1260059759/20#20 date=1260115555
Jumping to the defence of a new CSer for the second time in 24hrs...
AM - you may find your home-coffee connoisseurs sensibilities equally "out of tune" behind a commercial machine. Im not accusing you of not "really" knowing your stuff - Im saying that knowing great espresso in a commercial context is very different to knowing great espresso in a home context.
Open Debate is good...
The issue I have here is that if ya really good in a commercial process then one would expect you understand coffee ?
I know plenty that can whack out numbers.. But their product is less than ideal... And they think they are top Baristas.
As to the highlighted section...
Please explain the difference between a great espresso in a commercial context Vs home context....
To me the principles and processes are the same..
Beans
Grinder
Dose/tamp/Temp
Time
etc
etc
The issues of; equipment may be different, is true for all... but the output should be very close if you know ya stuff.. Thus from your statement what are you attempting to promote ??
As to the OP...
The following statements "I am a very fussy and experienced coffee maker" and "considering I am experienced, have high expectations for quality of espresso shot "....
Imply something to many readers..
Then further comments of
"Grinders on the other hand, I realise that you need fine adjustments but I think I can get out of that one for less than 400. If worse comes to worse I will keep my commercial grinder (which by the way only cost me 500 new and has been a fantastic grinder considering its price, the reason so cheap was it did not dose out accurately, which we did not need anyway, was noisy and it was clumsy in design, again no big issue) "
So in essence....as per my first post.. Downsize or keep the system he has.. It appears to be more about the $$$ than the quality of teh coffee.
The other issues is that questions have been asked as to the type of grinder, what beans are being used and other points that would allow advice to be provided.. No clear / concise response..
My other issue is that of people training and promoting themselves as trainers... If ya trainer and good.. Then fine. But nothing I have read here would instil any trust in Mr denhamia as a trainer or one to talk about coffee.
Re: Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
Jumping to the defence of a new CSer for the second time in 24hrs...
AM - you may find your home-coffee connoisseurs sensibilities equally "out of tune" behind a commercial machine. Im not accusing you of not "really" knowing your stuff - Im saying that knowing great espresso in a commercial context is very different to knowing great espresso in a home context.
The OP stated:
Originally posted by 41404B4D44484C44250 link=1260059759/8#8 date=1260065565
As i have had the luxury of a big machine I have not even had to think of a home set up.
Ive heard this a few times from baristas with real credibility - theyve learnt about good espresso from scratch in a commercial environment and may know nothing about the prosumer machines.
The OPs 2-group Expobar would be $3000-4000 new, I reckon, so its fair to ask whether theres a 1-group domestic equivalent for ~1/2 the price. (Although perhaps asking the same question of Google would have given the OP a friendlier result.)
In answer to you, Denhamia, the bottom line is that most CSers of the "no compromise" ilk tend to spend up to $3000 on a home machine, plus up to $1000 on a grinder. Many spend more.
Are you more concerned about saving money or the ability to have a machine that gives you good results as easily as your commercial setup?
If you want to keep the price down, you could look at a dual-purpose single-boiler machine:
- Diadema Perfetta
- Vibiemme Piccolo
- Rancilio Silvia or ECM Botticelli (cheaper alternatives)
They take up to 60 seconds to heat up to steaming temp after pulling the shot(s), but otherwise give good performance if you use them well. Coming from a commercial HX machine, you WILL find this annoying, but itll keep you closer to sticking within your budget. Look on sponsors pages for prices.
If you think thatll be too much of a compromise given your experience with commercial machines, then either have a look at the e61 HX (heat exchanger) machines listed above (Giotto et al - 2nd hand can save you lots) OR keep your Expobar!
Good grinders are hard to get cheaply, so Id suggest keeping yours if possible (providing you like it and it does a good job).
Hope that helps
Cheers
Stuart.
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Guest replied
Re: Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
"Sorry Snobbers?".... Im not sorry. This is a confusing thread given the questions from a Pro are ones that usually come from Newbies. Go visit a sponsor Den! They are Pros in the know!
Re: Experienced Barista wanting to know What to buy for home?
Originally posted by 333F363635353C252324500 link=1260059759/16#16 date=1260095941
Originally posted by 446B62607748646B64626068606B71050 link=1260059759/12#12 date=1260085426
Thus to me;it appears to be, that as per usual... There is a big divide between a person who might stand behind a commercial machine and states fussy Vs one who knows / understands and is truly passionate about coffee... There is a big difference.
gees AM way to make friends!
Not after friends.. But happy to have good debate..
I just get a little short with trumpet blowers that provide advice / training to people... And then proceed to respond with comments and questions that clearly demonstrate that the trumpet is out of tune.
Hi all. I am a very fussy and experienced coffee maker. Have commercial 2 group Expobar (Megacrem), and commercial grinder, which I have been using to do markets, functions and even dabbled in coffee talks/practicals for local cafes. But that part of my life is having a break and so will be selling my lovely commercial machine. The loss will be great (although we rarely set it up at home as way too much effort and room consuming). Hence am thinking of getting a more home friendly machine.
So here is the question - considering I am experienced, have high expectations for quality of espresso shot and am used to a commercial machine for micro-foam perfection. Is there any machine and grinder that I will be happy with in this price range? Remembering that being experienced in coffee making I can cope with and of course will only want a manual machine.
I mean how many top coffee pullers with a reasonable machine and a entry level $500 grinder would consider even looking at downgrading to total package at less than $1500 and expect to still pull the same quality etc.. I mean how many two groups do CS have at home ?? And if it will not fit in the kitchen... One makes room..
Grinders on the other hand, I realise that you need fine adjustments but I think I can get out of that one for less than 400. If worse comes to worse I will keep my commercial grinder (which by the way only cost me 500 new and has been a fantastic grinder considering its price, the reason so cheap was it did not dose out accurately, which we did not need anyway, was noisy and it was clumsy in design, again no big issue)
The more I read the more I think troll.. Now I could be wrong... And maybe I am...
We/I may be a snob/s... But if some one is honest and up front.. Does not matter who or what they are or how little they know.. If I can assist in what ever way... I will...
But if ya cant play the trumpet... Dont try, cause every one will soon know / realise and my ears are a little sensitive...
End of bitch session..Lots of reasons... But NO excuse.. Sorry Snobbers...
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