Espresso Machines

I don’t have specific experience with super automatic machines, but I have done some research for freinds and have found the Gaggia super automatics may be a bit more reliable. Both brands can be pricey, but if I were to buy one it would probably be a Gaggia Cordona Prestige.

 

I have a local roaster “Doma,” in my neighborhood, they are fantastic. Larger roasters who get great marks are Klatch, Dragonfly, Onyx among others. It’s fun to try new stuff.

 

Looks fancy and expensive. I want it.

 

Lol, this is a dangerous rabbit hole to start down! But it makes great coffee!

 

Check out these:
https://pullespressomachines.com/

Each one is hand made here in Yacolt, WA. I don’t own one myself (I just recently started using a French press for all my coffee needs), but I’ve had the pleasure of having quite a few cups pulled off them.

 

Right!?!!

I'm hoping it provides sexual favors along with a great espresso.

 

It does, make good coffee for someone and you’d be surprised. I enjoy straight espresso, but with this machine I can make great milk drinks (lattes, flat whites cappuccino) that get great reviews!

 

Hey @plinyyounger. How's your machine holding up? Mine quit today. It won't heat up beyond 136 deg. I'm waiting to hear back from the repair techs that sold me the machine. Not happy for a $1800 machine to quit in just under three years. Luckily there's supposed to be a three year warranty. I'll probably get rid of it after it's fixed. I think I'll just get a K-machine at a tenth of the cost instead. We have one at work that is at least 10 years old and still working fine.

 

Hey, sorry to her about your machine. The Profitec is holding up great, I love the coffee I can make with it. No issues so fr other then the learning curve. I’d buy it again knowing what I know now. I’ll be moving soon and I’m going to buy a second machine for the new place, probably Slayer so I can fiddle with flow control. I recently purchased a Monolith Max grinder had fun with that, but sold it already because the coffee wasn’t much better in the cup.

 

I found some really good coffee, "Cafe Domingo" from Peets that come in K-pods for work. I may just get a Keurig while I'm waiting for the Profitec to get fixed or even fix it myself if they give me the parts I need. It sucks to be without good coffee. I have an old Krups that still works but it doesn't really build up enough pressure anymore because of a bad seal that's no longer available anywhere. French press was OK but it didn't do the trick for long enough.
There's a Breville Barista Express maker at work too. It makes really good espresso, as good as my Profitec did. I just don't know how long it will last. I haven't heard good things about Brevilles in the past plus I'm sure they're made in China. I'm not paying $700 for anything Chinese.

 

I have a Jura Ena. I will never look back....

 

I like the simplicity of use with those kind of machines but there's too much to go wrong that can't be fixed if it does. I know the Profitec can be easily fixed if I had the parts. I'm still waiting to hear back from the selling company.

 

Your machine certainly can be fixed, it is probably the PID. What water do you use? Could have some build up if the water is too hard as well. I’ve been using Crystal Geyser from mount shasta, it seems to have the proper solids in it to make good coffee and prevent scale buildup. Did you buy from Clive?

 

Fun machine! Glad you like it! Espresso is a hobby for me so being more involved in the brewing process is what makes it fun. I like being able to use so many parameters to find a shot I love. I also like to steam my own milk manually, it can be super creamy taste wise and I like to practice pouring latte art.

 

Yes I did buy it from Clive. I finally heard back via email to check the pressure stat and some switches. The switches were OK but mine doesn't a pressure stat like they showed.
My water is naturally soft and there's never been any build up of anything in the usual places I normally clean as a part of maintenance. In fact we hardly get any water spots on anything.
The PID may be the issue but I'll wait and see if they mention anything about it. In the meantime I'll do a little reading how exactly the PID works.

 

I chose a breville dual boiler for entry level and a rocky grinder. More than a year and thinking of upgrading soon.

 

Stay on them, they will fix it! Clive is normally very good about this kind of stuff.

 

Dual boiler can make great coffee! What are you thinking about moving on to? Can I help spend your money, lol.

 

Hahaha! Thinking of the decent DE1PRO. Just thinking of a good reason to tell the boss why I bought one.

 

Oh I have. After not hearing anything I contacted them again by chat and they said normally I would hear back from a tech in 1-2 business days. I simply said I wasn't happy with waiting that long and it wasn't something I was told when I bought from them in the first place. They used to be better. Now all you get is voicemail when you call. Not happy with that.

 

Awesome machine, I ordered one at the end of last year. I was spending a lot of time in Cali and wanted a machine I could take with me, back then the wait time was lonnnng. So I cancelled because my business down there ended. But I still think that machine or XL version, along with the la Marzocco GS3 and slayer single group are my top three, I’m leaning toward Slayer.

The decent s are amazing! Cant go wrong with them. And John is super responsive to issues. Ask for access to Basecamp so you can read and talk with all the decent owners.

Now more importantly, which grinder are you going to buy? Lol, better be sweet to the boss because you are going to need a great grinder too!

 

Ureka mignon. Or might save up more or sell one of my watches to buy an endgame coffee grinder and espresso Machine late this year. I don’t really know, it really gets addicting. With the Decent, it seems the parts including the fuse for 110 to 220 and other electrical parts are modular and can be replaced diy.

 

It looks like I got my machine working again. I called Whole Latte Love to see if they could help. I got through to a tech fairly quickly. He was more than happy to help even though I didn't buy the Profitec there. The tech, Tim, suggested checking the heating element first and then check the temperature probe for scale. The element resistance was fine and probe didn't have any scale. I put everything back together and decided to try running it again. It started heating and like before had a slight pause while heating. After the pause it continued heating and continued to heat all they way to the normal temp of 254 deg like it used to. I was finally able to make myself a good double shot of espresso again! I think I got lucky and it was just a bad connection somewhere. We'll see.

 

Big disappointment this morning the piece of shit didn't heat up again. I expect $1800 appliances to not crap out in less than three years but then again our Viking appliances have been junk too.
I'm really disappointed with it and Clive.

 

Not to threadjack but for premium grinders I see Quamar and Mazzer mentioned, anyone have others to look at?

I’m currently rocking a Baratza Encore with upgraded burrs which works well enough but is loud AF even with the fancy upgraded burrs. We do pour over with paper filters so no need for fine grinds but my wife is a very light sleeper so whenever I forget to grind the night before I don’t get coffee until she wakes up or it’s an earful.

 

I think you meant Baratza. Yes the Quamar is loud but it seems powerful enough to grind bricks. I grind the night before and I haven't noticed enough of a difference in flavor in the morning.
I bought the Quamar because it's a grinder with no other electronics to go bad. The Pro 500 is going away for sure after I get it sorted out. I don't want to deal with bad customer service that Clive has given me. Too bad Whole Lotta Love is all the way in New York.

 

Hah! Autocorrect bites again.

I’m specifically hunting for quiet grinders of excellent quality. Rather opposing priorities. My house is all hard surfaces and kitchen is right below the master. I’ve thought about building a soundproof box for it but then cleaning would be a giant pain.

 

it would be a PITA to clean. My Quamar is messy beast all on it's own.

 

The Eurekas are very good for the price. Look at a Silenzio, good grinder and not too expensive.

 

That they are not being responsive is a shame. Upgrading will be fun but I wonder if it can be fixed since you have enjoyed the coffee in the past?

WLL will ship for free, also if you are going to buy something else be sure to call them, they will give good deals over the phone compared to internet prices.