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What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2?

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  • #16
    Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

    After several months of lurking and learning, I thought Id post to thank the good folk at Di Bartoli for providing me with a Rancilio Silvia and Rocky doserless this week.

    After nearly 10 years of living with a Krups Nouvo 4000 (or something like that), we finally decided to get a serious machine.
    After a few "interesting" shots while getting the grind and tamp right were now making coffee that is damn good. Its only onwards and upwards from here.


    Ben...

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    • #17
      Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

      Im looking at a Delonghi EC700 ... ok I dont have $700 for a Silvia. Anyone got any experience with an EC700? I understand they have a stainless steel boiler, (I dont like Al thermoblock), but still have pressurised portafilters. So can I de-pressurise them? How?

      Cheers

      Mike

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      • #18
        Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

        I am in awe of some of the stuff you all have. My better half doesnt drink anything caffeinated, so I have a hard time justfiying what little paraphernalia I do have!

        Small no-name-brand press, Sunbeam coffee filter (12 cup), plastic 1 cup filter (oh cool, its Bodum), cheap aluminium stove top (Vittoria branded from pre-roasting days), stab mixer to pretend Im making frother milk, B+D popcorn maker.

        Woohoo. Charitable donations accepted ;-)

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        • #19
          Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

          Now that I have officially placed my order for my machine I can add my details. Expobar Office Semi-Auto, Iberital Challenge (doserless). 14 gram LM basket with a Pullman Tamper to suit. Ordered the two-hole steam tip as recommended by Mattyj.

          Brett

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          • #20
            Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

            Way to go Brett [smiley=thumbsup.gif],

            Now thats what I call diving in at the deep end for all the right reasons ;D. Make sure you keep in touch with how you go once the hardware arrives. Have you budgeted for some training in there somewhere? If not, itd be a great insurance policy to go with your significant investment..... Then youll really be able to get the best that your hardware can deliver 8-).

            All the best,
            Mal.

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            • #21
              Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

              I have indeed Mal, got a course booked in for early November at this stage. I can take my machine and grinder along so if there is a delay in delivery I will postpone so I can get full value out of it. That way I should only just have my machine so hopefully wont have developed too many bad habits that early.

              Brett

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              • #22
                Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

                Waaaay ahead of me Brett,

                Great stuff 8-),

                Mal.

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                • #23
                  Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

                  Havent gone down the path of roasting though........ yet! Thought I would try to get machine and grinder (and barista) sorted first before adding a further variable. That way I can buy beans from site sponsors for a while and try a few different blends to help me tune my palate into being able to distinguish flavours and mouthfeel etc. Thanks for the encouragement Mal.

                  Brett

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                  • #24
                    Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

                    Congrats on the new equipment.
                    Ive had the Expobar Leva for just on 2 months now and am very pleased with its performance.

                    I too decided I wont add the roasting variable just yet.
                    Im glad you said that. It makes me feel good about that decision.

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                    • #25
                      Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

                      Originally posted by Thundergod link=1155724732/15#23 date=1160392637

                      I too decided I wont add the roasting variable just yet.
                      Im glad you said that. It makes me feel good about that decision.
                      Well I have gone back on my word today. I saw a popper that I thought was a bargain and went for it. I ordered the starter pack as well. I will probably buy fresh roasted at first still and have a play before experiementing too much with roasting. Hope that doesnt change how now feel about my input. There is wisdom in getting variables right one at a time before introducing more. At the end of the day as long as you are happy with the coffee you are producing that is all that matters.

                      Brett

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                      • #26
                        Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

                        Im happy to leave the roasting variable out of my equation for now.

                        I buy my beans from Hazel and enjoy our chats every time I visit.
                        Ive learned a lot from those about what Im doing so far.

                        When I eventually go down the roasting path I know she will be able to teach me a thing or 50 about that as well.

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                        • #27
                          Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

                          Sounds like a lot of people around here have some very nice equipment

                          Right now I have a Saeco Via Venezia (with a non-pressurised portafilter), and a Nemox Lux grinder, with a heatgun for roasting. The little Saeco is a pretty basic single-boiler machine that was fine for milk drinks with the PPF, but with the non-PPF I can actually get some decent espresso out of it. Id love to upgrade, but I dont see much sense in going for a better single boiler (like a Silvia), so Ill probably jump straight up to something like an Expobar Minore II when I finally do upgrade.

                          On the roasting side of things, theres definitely something to be said for keeping down the number of variables until youre more familiar with your machine -- I had a problem a while back that I thought was due to under-roasted beans, but much of it was actually due to a low brewing temp. For now Im happy with my roasting and brewing, but Im avoiding blending until I have a really good grasp of origins and their flavour profiles. Im sure a day will come when I say "this coffee tastes great, but it could taste even better with some of this in it", and thats when Ill start blending

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                          • #28
                            Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

                            I have a Rocky grinder and a Sylvia espresso machine that I have had for many years. They have been in retirement for a few years, but after discovering this site have been dragged out of the cupboard and dusted off.

                            I was looking for a popcorn maker to make snacks for my daughter, and doing a google search, all that seemed to come up was using the popper to roast coffee. This got me all excited (especially after my daughter turned her nose up at popcorn), so I ordered my starter pack and started practising my technique on the sylvia again.

                            Anyway, daughter now loves frothed milk (with milo!!) and we are having fun attempting to roast coffee.

                            Once I understand what I am doing, my desire is to get a Gene Cafe .... and of course a Pullman tamper. I am trying to work out how to dedicate a corner of our dining/living area to the pursuit of making coffee, as there just isnt enough bench space at the moment for everything.

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                            • #29
                              Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

                              Originally posted by lsd link=1155724732/15#26 date=1160533581
                              Sounds like a lot of people around here have some very nice equipment

                              Right now I have a Saeco Via Venezia (with a non-pressurised portafilter), and a Nemox Lux grinder, with a heatgun for roasting. The little Saeco is a pretty basic single-boiler machine that was fine for milk drinks with the PPF, but with the non-PPF I can actually get some decent espresso out of it. Id love to upgrade, but I dont see much sense in going for a better single boiler (like a Silvia), so Ill probably jump straight up to something like an Expobar Minore II when I finally do upgrade.

                              On the roasting side of things, theres definitely something to be said for keeping down the number of variables until youre more familiar with your machine -- I had a problem a while back that I thought was due to under-roasted beans, but much of it was actually due to a low brewing temp. For now Im happy with my roasting and brewing, but Im avoiding blending until I have a really good grasp of origins and their flavour profiles. Im sure a day will come when I say "this coffee tastes great, but it could taste even better with some of this in it", and thats when Ill start blending
                              /\//\/
                              great comments about the via venezia- my son has my old one with non-p filter and its espresso isnt that far behind my botticelli (sim to silvia) with a bit of care
                              your comments about not upgrading till you can afford an hx are vlaid- and by that stage youll have your techniques down pat
                              Brett

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                              • #30
                                Re: What Coffee Equipment do you all have - Part 2

                                Originally posted by telemaster link=1155724732/15#28 date=1160905919
                                your comments about not upgrading till you can afford an hx are vlaid- and by that stage youll have your techniques down pat
                                My thoughts exactly 8-),

                                Doesnt make much sense to upgrade from a Single Boiler/Dual Purpose non-HX machine to another similarly specd machine... Was always my intention to go from the Mokita to an HX machine, just didnt know when that was going to be ;D or what sort of machine it would be. I was really lucky to buy a very well looked after Bezzera MiniBar that just needs a cosmetic restoration.... to make it look all nice and pretty. Came with a Rotary Pump and setup for plumbing in and am currently in the throws of doing that.

                                Will never go back to a SB/DP machine again now that the Bezzera has pride of place on the kitchen benchtop. Cant wait to have it finished off and ready to roll,

                                Mal.

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