Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
My Expobar has an Italian heritage but because its made in Spain, with its cheaper labour costs, I dont have to pay Italian made prices for a machine that produces a coffee just as good.
Sometimes the newcomer does it better.
There are many examples.
What does the Pope know about coffee, hes German?
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Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
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I love Paella
I didnt mean to put down Spanish people, just that the Italians have probably 50 years more experience in coffee machines and equipment. And definately the spanish are not renowned for any advanced mechanical technology. I definately wasnt trying to upset anyone with my opinion, i just dont want to see a CS member regret their purchase. For example, what is better? a la cimbali coffee machine made in italy or a Futurmat made in Spain? Is the Pope Catholic?
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
;D FW.....Reckon I might go lock up the troll food.....Originally posted by flatwhite link=1225357569/20#22 date=1230084744Interesting to see Spanish workers dismissed so abruptly. Im not sure where you get your insight into the differences between Spanish and Italian production - maybe comparing Alfa Romeos with SEATs? I sense a can of worms opening here....
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
Interesting to see Spanish workers dismissed so abruptly. Im not sure where you get your insight into the differences between Spanish and Italian production - maybe comparing Alfa Romeos with SEATs? I sense a can of worms opening here....
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
Well considering that it is made in Spain and the price is simply too high for the build quality i would stay away from the Compak brand all together. Have a look at the Eureka range and Mazzer grinder, probably two of the best in terms of build quality and grind quality. There are a few distributors in Australia, just google them and take a look
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
My new Compak mini hopper arrived today. The old one is now on display in a show room in Seattle (arranged a straight swap).
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
To be honest, I find it a bit OTT...Originally posted by Buschy link=1225357569/0#18 date=1225967249Ive decided the hopper is a work of art. Go Diamond!

My K10 has the diamond logo on the dosing chamber- which Id sorta like to see....Fortunately, the K3 hopper on it is a plain one or Id have to send Diamond an invoice for product placment :
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
Ive decided the hopper is a work of art. Go Diamond!
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
You could always make a smaller hopper.
I made what I think is a really nifty one for my Macap out of a cheap ($5) stainless cocktail shaker. That was after I made a super cheapie out of a plastic juice bottle!
Greg
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
Further to what was discussed earlier... I ended up sourcing a Compak mini-hopper. It is available at $29.95 U.S. However... once shipping to Oz and exchange (.67 at present
) are added it ends up costing approx. $85. Perhaps the larger one isnt so bad after all....
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
Thanks all for the answers. Nice.
I think I have enough information. I promise a pic of my buying.
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
Yeh...with the monster hopper on top it ends up being quite a tall sucker. A larger more substantial machine than I had imagined
If mini-hopper not available in Oz Im going to see if I can get one via internet from overseas. However with shipping it may get too pricey and not worth the expense or effort. Strange that they dont offer the smaller hopper here. Monster one is complete overkill for domestic use (or at least my use). Every morning its like dropping the beans into the giant abyss.
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
Hey Buschy,
Good to hear all is good (almost).
I was looking at the K3T also, as it seemed to fit my purpose quite well. But I read it is nearly 600mm high, which means it wouldnt fit under my overhead cupboards. :-[
Anyway, I asked about the short hopper option that is available on the Compak website and apparently they are not available here in Australia - ie there are none here.
Cheers
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
There was a shiny new K-3 Touch sitting on our kitchen counter when I came home last Saturday after being away for 3 weeks. I have had a chance to play with it for the past 4 days and almost have the grind setting dialled in. At this stage words cannot express how happy I am with it.
- Its quiet
- It grinds slowly/evenly paced enough so that there is no overspray as ground beans are discharged to portafilter basket.
- It leaves very little in the chute after grinding.
- What ends up in the cup does taste better than before (used to have a Sunbeam).
I havent bothered with the timed single/double dose function. Turning the machine on and off to grind as needed has proven simple and effective.
The only thing I dont like about it is the fact that it came with the importers logo stencilled in HUGE letters 3x on the hopper. May be alright for a commercial environment but I think it looks a bit tacky in our kitchen. Going to look into getting it replaced with a clear mini-hopper if possible. The rest looks awesome.
I think if youre only making coffee in fairly small qtys like I am you cant go wrong with the Touch (especially given that its currently available in Oz for <$500). I think I read somewhere (perhaps in Gregs review about the Elite) that the burr set is the same as the Mini Mazzers...but might be mistaken.
Some minor clumping evident in filter basket with fresh beans I am using. A tap or two on the mat takes care of 95% of it. I dont view it as an issue.
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Re: Should I buy... Compak K3 Elite or Touch?
hi otonOriginally posted by oton link=1225357569/0#7 date=1225443316- What about coffee clumps on the K3 touch?
- A doser (K3 Elite) will be useless when you have to make 1-2 shots but perhaps useful when you have to make 8 coffees (and therefore K3 Touch will be inconvenient) ?
i havent played with any of the K3 range, but in theory (and in most cases, in reality) having a doser helps to reduce clumping (even for 1 or 2 shots per day
). this would be more evident when manual dosing, "thwacking" every second or so.
thus i wouldnt call a doser useless but would be good to compare the two k3s side by side in regards to clumping
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