Coffee machine

[V12man]

Or don't use the hopper at all. I've never used mine. Just measure the quantity of beans you need into the "throat" which normally holds the hopper (it'll hold enough for two double espressos) and put a cheap plastic tamper on top to prevent the beans from jumping out. After grinding, sweep out the throat with the same brush you use to clear the hole where the coffee grounds enter the doser. That way you have no loose grounds anywhere to go stale.

 

I do this too - but use a fairly weighty tamper to mimic the weight of a bean column - saw a discussion about this somewhere and tried it, and stuck to it - although I don't sweep the chute every time - normally the first one goes to the wife...

 

But as soon as I have guests, then the hopper goes on.

[V12man]

Any feedback on this one

 

http://www.mahlkoeni...VARIO-home.html

 

That's also sometime called a Ditting Vario in SA - nice grinder - also not cheap - smaller and more plastic than the mazzer, but still a good device - easier to change grind settings in big jumps than the mazzer - so if you go back and forth between espresso and brew coffee grinds using a single grinder, then that's a good feature.

 

Culinary group, Importalia, Koldserve and several other places stock them - I think Culinary group are the official importers, but there may be more than one, and I may be mistaken on that - They are near Lanseria.

[Vlamrouge]

This isn't bad.

http://www.gumtree.co.za/cp-coffee-makers-in-rosebank-northcliff-parktown/nuova-simonelli-musica-513758975

 

if only I had the dolla dolla bills.

[V12man]

This isn't bad.

http://www.gumtree.c...usica-513758975

 

if only I had the dolla dolla bills.

 

Very nice machine - good price too - just be aware there are several fraudulent "sellers" on gumtree of machines - scam artists...

[cadenceblur]

what's the benefit of a bigger boiler?

Looking at the Isomac machines, the Tea and the Zaffiro.

[cadenceblur]

The Zaffiro is going for under R10,000. So same price as the Oscar.

I assume the Tea is a better specced machine then? Not sure if the Zaffiro is HX machine though.

[Vlamrouge]

I stumbled upon this also earlier.

 

http://www.coffeefanatic.co.za/shop/domobar-junior-lever-2b/

 

small boiler, but HX, whereas the Zaffiro is Single boiler http://coffeegeek.com/proreviews/detailed/isomaczaffiro

 

Aesthetics wise, it looks better than the Oscar, but price wise the Oscar does well again.

[cadenceblur]

Very good review. I

make a lot of cappuccinos though., so the waiting period between shot and steam is crucial. My current set up is driving me crazy. I guess I should definitely get a HX machine then. Does the Oscar an E61?

[Vlamrouge]

Not sure about the E61 on the Oscar.

Ask Weight Weenie. The man is the proud owner of one, he should be able to enlighten us.

[V12man]

what's the benefit of a bigger boiler?

Looking at the Isomac machines, the Tea and the Zaffiro.

 

The Zaffiro is a SBDU machine - so you after making the espresso, you have to wait until it heats up to make steam - I don't recommend these unless you are strictly an espresso drinker. You are welcome to visit me and I can demonstrate this.

 

The Tea is an HX machine (Heat eXchanger) so there is a single boiler for steam, and a pipe (HX) through that that the brew water gets heated in - steam is 'always on' - there are a couple of tricks around temperature management on these, but nothing to complex at all.

 

The bigger the boiler, the longer steam is available for at higher pressure - because the more steam you draw, the colder it gets while you are drawing steam, so pressure drops in the boiler, and water temp in the boiler goes down, and then your HX does not function well enough to deliver correct temp water to brew - bigger IS better, but for most users, above 2l is more than enough for home use.

 

The Oscar does not have an E61 grouphead - it uses a saturated grouphead - the difference is largely immaterial practically - the e61 just looks cool.

[cadenceblur]

Thanks, must say I like the stainless steel look as well.

[V12man]

I stumbled upon this also earlier.

 

http://www.coffeefan...unior-lever-2b/

 

small boiler, but HX, whereas the Zaffiro is Single boiler http://coffeegeek.co...d/isomaczaffiro

 

Aesthetics wise, it looks better than the Oscar, but price wise the Oscar does well again.

 

It's a well known machine in the USA - looks VERY similar to the Tea in all respects.

 

The Oscar at it's current pricing is VERY difficult to argue against.

[cadenceblur]

V12, why aversion to grinders with dosers?

[V12man]

V12, why aversion to grinders with dosers?

 

The are great in a busy coffee shop where the coffee gets used so fast it does not go stale (the accepted norm is 15 minutes post grind - although I think it's less)

 

The problem in home use is that you can grind exactly the quantity of beans you want to the doser, and then use it to drop it into the portafilter - but it's something you don't really need to do with a good grinder (there are arguably some advantages in terms of distribution using the doser - especially in the 'lower quality' grinders) - so if you can avoid a step, then you should I think - also they are fairly noisy in use, so at 5am they have a tendency to wake up kids etc, and removing stale coffee from them is a pita (and with a doser removing it is even more of a pain than one that grinds direct - especially if you use a hopper - because you inevitably grind a bit more than you need into the doser - more waste and more stale coffee to clean)

 

With my grinder it would take me longer to get the coffee from the doser to the portafilter than from the grinder to the doser - so going straight to portafilter saves a few seconds.

 

I think you picked up on that because I recommended the Mazzer Mini E rather than the Mini (with doser),- BUT they have different burr sizes, with the Mini E being bigger - I am a fan of the bigger burrs.... and you can use the super Jolly burrs in the Mini E - which is an improvement in the cup - this you cannot do with the mini.

 

This discussion is pretty esoteric actually... using a different grinder you can work differently - so using the Maelkonig Vario W, you can specifically weigh the grinds in the doser - which saves you pre-weighing beans (manually) and allows the use of a small hopper.

 

http://www.mahlkoenig.com/en_products/VARIO-W.html/?setLanguage=en_EN

 

Strangely - when looking at the Vario-W's page above, I see they say it is not suitable for espresso grinds... and I actually thought it was based on the initial reviews (US based) I read about it.... so maybe the above is not an option... Not that I plan to change my grinders anytime soon.... I don't think it is even run in yet - what I do in a year, it can probably do in a day - or less.

 

Of course - there are other grinders to look at too... It gets REALLY difficult to choose after a while - especially if you don't have a budget constraint, and even more so once your wife allows you to start looking at the BIG grinders.... My wife just rolls her eyeballs and stops talking to me for a couple of weeks....

[rouxtjie]

The are great in a busy coffee shop where the coffee gets used so fast it does not go stale (the accepted norm is 15 minutes post grind - although I think it's less)

 

The problem in home use is that you can grind exactly the quantity of beans you want to the doser, and then use it to drop it into the portafilter - but it's something you don't really need to do with a good grinder (there are arguably some advantages in terms of distribution using the doser - especially in the 'lower quality' grinders) - so if you can avoid a step, then you should I think - also they are fairly noisy in use, so at 5am they have a tendency to wake up kids etc, and removing stale coffee from them is a pita (and with a doser removing it is even more of a pain than one that grinds direct - especially if you use a hopper - because you inevitably grind a bit more than you need into the doser - more waste and more stale coffee to clean)

 

With my grinder it would take me longer to get the coffee from the doser to the portafilter than from the grinder to the doser - so going straight to portafilter saves a few seconds.

 

I think you picked up on that because I recommended the Mazzer Mini E rather than the Mini (with doser),- BUT they have different burr sizes, with the Mini E being bigger - I am a fan of the bigger burrs.... and you can use the super Jolly burrs in the Mini E - which is an improvement in the cup - this you cannot do with the mini.

 

This discussion is pretty esoteric actually... using a different grinder you can work differently - so using the Maelkonig Vario W, you can specifically weigh the grinds in the doser - which saves you pre-weighing beans (manually) and allows the use of a small hopper.

 

http://www.mahlkoeni...tLanguage=en_EN

 

Strangely - when looking at the Vario-W's page above, I see they say it is not suitable for espresso grinds... and I actually thought it was based on the initial reviews (US based) I read about it.... so maybe the above is not an option... Not that I plan to change my grinders anytime soon.... I don't think it is even run in yet - what I do in a year, it can probably do in a day - or less.

 

Of course - there are other grinders to look at too... It gets REALLY difficult to choose after a while - especially if you don't have a budget constraint, and even more so once your wife allows you to start looking at the BIG grinders.... My wife just rolls her eyeballs and stops talking to me for a couple of weeks....

I am looking at the vario home which the guys at stilcoffee assured will do either

 

Espresso

Press

Filter

 

grinds perfectly. Isn't the W the same as the home but the one is timer based and the other weight based....you have me worried now V12...

[rouxtjie]

Ignore previous post

 

I rtfs....