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Tell us about your espresso machine

Been awhile since being around the forum and now I'm venturing into lattes, espressos and all that jazz. Ordered this list and should be arriving this Wednesday... Pretty psyched.

-Gaggia Platinum Vision Super-Automatic Espresso Machine - Platinum
-Caffe Ottolina BWG Cappuccino Cups and Saucers - 6 pcs. Cups and Saucers
-Espro Toroid Pitcher - 12oz
-Monin Syrup 750 ml Bottle - Salted Caramel
-Monin Syrup 750 ml Bottle - White Chocolate
-Monin Measured Pump
-Sciola Monaco Small Espresso Spoon
-Filicori Zecchini Espresso Cup and Saucer (2 of them)
-David Schomer's Vivace Dolce Espresso Coffee - 12oz Bag
-David Schomer's Vivace Vita Espresso Coffee - 12 oz Bag
-Trinidad Coffee Espresso 2.2LB Whole Bean - 2.2lb
 
I had a Baby Gaggia and MDF grinder for 15 years. Sold the set on kijiji and upgraded to this:

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Rancilio Epoca and Mazzer grinder. I get my beans from a local bakery and I get very good results. Here is my lame photography and cappuccino art:

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and a couple espresso shots:

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Not as high end as some of the models I see here but I can make a damn good espresso or Americano with my Saeco Aroma.
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Received my La Nuova Era Cuadra II today. Got it set up, the machine works and looks great. I got it started and pulled some "practice" shots. After 6 shots, I'll likely be up a while.:confused: :lol: :huh:

Maybe I'll just go ahead and shave and make breakfast. :shaving: :a23: :cursing:

For my first espresso shots- EVER- I have to say- most weren't half-bad.

Here's a pic of my new beauty.
 

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Received my La Nuova Era Cuadra II today. Got it set up, the machine works and looks great. I got it started and pulled some "practice" shots. After 6 shots, I'll likely be up a while.:confused: :lol: :huh:

Maybe I'll just go ahead and shave and make breakfast. :shaving: :a23: :cursing:

For my first espresso shots- EVER- I have to say- most weren't half-bad.

Here's a pic of my new beauty.

Nice..... You will enjoy that machine for years to come. Glad to hear you got it fired up and running....

6 shots? Yea, it is going to be a late night. Might as well pull a few more. Can't do any more harm :001_smile
 
Received my La Nuova Era Cuadra II today. Got it set up, the machine works and looks great. I got it started and pulled some "practice" shots. After 6 shots, I'll likely be up a while.:confused: :lol: :huh:

Maybe I'll just go ahead and shave and make breakfast. :shaving: :a23: :cursing:

For my first espresso shots- EVER- I have to say- most weren't half-bad.

Here's a pic of my new beauty.

Nice machine and coffee den. I hope you will get lots of enjoyment from your new La Nuova Era Cuadra!!

I also liked your Aeropress storage setup, compact and ready to blast off. I often use my funnel for other things, but that looks nice.
 
Nice machine and coffee den. I hope you will get lots of enjoyment from your new La Nuova Era Cuadra!!

I also liked your Aeropress storage setup, compact and ready to blast off. I often use my funnel for other things, but that looks nice.
i really love the Aeropress for a small cup after dinner. But now with the La Nuova, it'll like be a nicely pulled shot.

Just had another shot as I wake up, I already know it's money well-spent. I like everything about it. I'll likely grab some whole milk and try a milk drink over the,weekend. That should make for hours of enjoyment of scorching milk as I learn how to work with milk and stretch it.

....maybe I should get 2 gallons of milk, just in case. :lol:
 
Wow! Great post. My gear: Krups pump and Mr. Coffee burr grinder. And three macchinette.

I feel so, err, inadequate. :wink2:
I have a Mr.Coffee burr grinder that I use with my $10 Vac Pot and I am quite happy with the coffee it makes. For the investment its hard to beat and been going strong for much longer than I thought it would.
 
Wow! Great post. My gear: Krups pump and Mr. Coffee burr grinder. And three macchinette.

I feel so, err, inadequate. :wink2:

I have a Mr.Coffee burr grinder that I use with my $10 Vac Pot and I am quite happy with the coffee it makes. For the investment its hard to beat and been going strong for much longer than I thought it would.

Good coffee is not all about expensive equipment. It is about the enjoyment of brewing and drinking it

I get great coffee with a Melitta (pot and filter) that I bought decades ago for 50 cents at a thrift store.

I think vacuum/siphon pots make fantastic tasting coffee. I've had a Cona Standard since college (going on half a century now) and I still enjoy the "joe" I get from that old thing.

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Mick,

This is a great post for those who have the counter/storage space for a counter top machine, be it manual or automatic. When I moved into my apartment I did not want to take up unnecessarily any more counter space than was necessary, I did some research and ended up buying a stove top espresso brewer. There are a few different makes out there, but the most commonly purchased, in my area anyway, is Bialetti. Makes a great cup, uses a slightly coarser grind and is simple to clean up.

My choice was the 6 cup Moka Express. http://www.bialettishop.com/MokaExpressMain.htm
 
I just set up my machine yesterday. I got a Quick Mill Vetrano and a Mazzer Super Jolley. Graduating from a FP and a Mr Coffee dust maker I couldn't be happier. I have been roasting my own beans for a little over a year now.

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Nice - I'd highly recommend adding a grouphead thermometer (Chris Coffee or directly from EricS) for monitoring flush times. It will GREATLY simplify your routine and improve your espresso.
 
Mick,

This is a great post for those who have the counter/storage space for a counter top machine, be it manual or automatic. When I moved into my apartment I did not want to take up unnecessarily any more counter space than was necessary, I did some research and ended up buying a stove top espresso brewer. There are a few different makes out there, but the most commonly purchased, in my area anyway, is Bialetti. Makes a great cup, uses a slightly coarser grind and is simple to clean up.

My choice was the 6 cup Moka Express. http://www.bialettishop.com/MokaExpressMain.htm

Moka pots make great coffee. I've had several Bialetti style pots over the years and am still jonesing after a Cuisinox Roma but just can't justify the price :sad:

You do know that the Espressione Luna Espresso machine is a surface wall mount machine and has the same internals as the Francis Francis X3 series :001_smile

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You do know that the Espressione Luna Espresso machine is a surface wall mount machine and has the same internals as the Francis Francis X3 series :001_smile

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Was not aware of this machine at all. Pretty much everything that I know for making coffee is counter/stove top. Looks very interesting though.
 
Nice thread. My wife and I drink expresso or cappucino almost every day. I guess the advice I would give to potential buyers is to make sure to read up and do some research first. We didn't and our first machine was a piece of crap. Basically it made small cups of coffee and could also make warm milk, but not microfoam. We pretty quickly replaced it with a Rancilio Sylvia which has served us well for about 10 years or so. In its price range it is still a fantastic machine. Just a few months however we retired our Sylvia, sitting on a shelf in the garage now, and replace it with a double boiler Quick Mill QM67. Here's link to what it looks like

https://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn.volusion.com/wysrt.cnwfk/v/vspfiles/photos/992-2.gif?1377509093

Thiis machine is a thing of beauty, at least to our eyres, It makes perfect expresso and can microfoam a pitcher of milk in seconds. It's been a long time for us to invest in this kind of machine, but it works great, looks great on the stand we've got for it, and brings a little bit of decadent joy into our lives every day.

Finally of course, people need to understand that the grinder is every bit as important as the expresso machine itself. We've had our Rancilio Rocky for a few years now and it works well, but we're thinking about upgrading to something of the same quality as our new expresso machine.

This itch for a new grinder is a little like mmy itch for new blades or a new soap. Unfortunately, it's quite a bit more costly to scratch this itch.
 
Mick,

This is a great post for those who have the counter/storage space for a counter top machine, be it manual or automatic. When I moved into my apartment I did not want to take up unnecessarily any more counter space than was necessary, I did some research and ended up buying a stove top espresso brewer. There are a few different makes out there, but the most commonly purchased, in my area anyway, is Bialetti. Makes a great cup, uses a slightly coarser grind and is simple to clean up.

My choice was the 6 cup Moka Express. http://www.bialettishop.com/MokaExpressMain.htm

Every apartment we've ever rented in Italy has one of these, and some have had several of them.
 
I guess I shouldn't have been so lazy and not posted a picture of my own machine and setup. So here it is.



In the photo you'll see the QM67 in the middle, a grind and brew coffee maker to the right of it and the Rocky grinder to the left of it. I guess you'll also see some random odds and ends - a toroidal pitcher and a Mota pitcher on the bottom of the stand along with some bean canisters, and you can probably make out the knock box to the right and behind the coffee machine and the tamper over by the grinder. That's the whole setup except for the cups which we keep elsewhere.
 
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Finally of course, people need to understand that the grinder is every bit as important as the expresso machine itself. We've had our Rancilio Rocky for a few years now and it works well, but we're thinking about upgrading to something of the same quality as our new expresso machine.

This itch for a new grinder is a little like mmy itch for new blades or a new soap. Unfortunately, it's quite a bit more costly to scratch this itch.

That Quick Mill dual boiler you have is a very fine machine. I am sure you will enjoy it for years to come.

Everyone who has an espresso machine needs to get the best espresso grinder they can afford.

You CANNOT have too good of an espresso grinder.

These are my current (electric) grinders.

Espresso Grinders:

Baratza Vario-W weight based grinder with ceramic flat burrs
Mazzer Super Jolly with a short Mini hopper

Press / Pour Over Grinder:

Baratza Preciso conical burr grinder on a Esatto weight based grinder controller

Both the Vario-W and the Preciso grind into bins that sit on digital scales that are accurate to .1 gram. The desired weight of grounds is selected and the grinder runs until the selected weight of ground beans is in the bin is reached at which time the grinder shuts off.

For the Mazzer, I weigh the beans before grinding and run the grinder until all are of the beans are in the dosser.

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Nice - I'd highly recommend adding a grouphead thermometer (Chris Coffee or directly from EricS) for monitoring flush times. It will GREATLY simplify your routine and improve your espresso.
Thank you. I have been thinking about it. I just added an accumulator to my FloJet pump setup so the pump no longer cycles on and off constantly. One step at a time but I am getting there.
 
I can't compete with you guys. Mine is just a cheap Krups espresso machine given to me as a wedding present 25 plus years ago. But hey, it still works. :thumbup:

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