Commercial type espresso machine for home use

gifs said:
I am also considering this and from my research the following looked like good options.

Rancilio Silvia with Rocky grinder.

Crem Expobar Office Leva with Grinder

Nuova Simonelli Oscar II with Grinder

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Best suggestions yet.

@OP: Definitely semi-auto.

I'd just like to add the Rocket Giotto to the above suggestions. Bulletproof handmade Italian espresso machine with the E61 group head. The Evoluzione has a PID which will future proof your purchase for in case you start getting into the really technical aspects of coffee.

We have had one for years and it's never let us down. It will fit your budget comfortably, it has a huge reservoir, and it can also be plumbed in.
 
There's a ridiculous long thread here on bikehub.co.za about this..
Those guys seem to take their coffee more seriously than their cycling
 
SauRoNZA said:
Maybe sure.

I would need a side by side comparison to justify the 25k difference.

I've been very impressed with the Jury's every time I've used one.

But I can see why one would want to do the espresso pull itself by hand for nothing other than the ritual.

If I were to do one of these setups would have it all manual from grind to cup.
Click to expand...

There are several reasons for using a semi-automatic espresso machine, apart from ritual (which is a big reason, granted.)

One of my personal reasons is that a semi-auto forces you to clean in order to use it again. The Saeco/Jura full auto machines I have used have all had a hint of rancid grinds, even when very well kept.

There are subtle variations between beans and combinations of beans and the way they change over time after the roasted date. I find I can cater to these things very easily via the ritual of hand grinding, tamping, pulling the shot and stretching the milk, by hand.

I like the idea (often never more than that tbh) that by controlling the water flow I can eak out that extra little bit of goodness from a given batch of beans. With a full auto you get what you bought each time you hit that button, it aint never getting better.

Mostly though: my subjective experience has been that super autos do not make very good coffee. They are passable and mostly better than Nespresso but only by a very small margin and that's just not something I'm personally going to enjoy.
 
SlinkyMike said:
There are several reasons for using a semi-automatic espresso machine, apart from ritual (which is a big reason, granted.)

One of my personal reasons is that a semi-auto forces you to clean in order to use it again. The Saeco/Jura full auto machines I have used have all had a hint of rancid grinds, even when very well kept.

There are subtle variations between beans and combinations of beans and the way they change over time after the roasted date. I find I can cater to these things very easily via the ritual of hand grinding, tamping, pulling the shot and stretching the milk, by hand.

I like the idea (often never more than that tbh) that by controlling the water flow I can eak out that extra little bit of goodness from a given batch of beans. With a full auto you get what you bought each time you hit that button, it aint never getting better.

Mostly though: my subjective experience has been that super autos do not make very good coffee. They are passable and mostly better than Nespresso but only by a very small margin and that's just not something I'm personally going to enjoy.
Click to expand...

I couldn't disagree with you more when comparing a Nespresso to a bean to cup machine...
Nespresso tastes completely watered down and outright disgusting IMO... I've had better shots of espresso out of my lil Delonghi than I've had at some of the "fancy/top rated" coffee places in Jhb
 
Tired of paying 25 bucks for coffee.

My budget is around 30-40k

bwahaha
 
tRoN said:
Yes. Exactly that. The full barista experience.
This model you linked looks good but is it a good brand and how does it compare with the bigger machines?
Click to expand...

Simonelli are some of the best machines out there. Made in Italy and pretty much the same class as La Marzocco or Cimbali machines. That Oscar will handle your home, no problem, it could handle a small restaurant TBH. It's the baby of the bunch and they also make two or four group professional machines that are awesome 'tho they cost three, four or five times as much.
 
marlin178 said:
I couldn't disagree with you more when comparing a Nespresso to a bean to cup machine...
Nespresso tastes completely watered down and outright disgusting IMO... I've had better shots of espresso out of my lil Delonghi than I've had at some of the "fancy/top rated" coffee places in Jhb
Click to expand...

I have yet to get a good shot out of a bean to cup. They always leave a lot to be desired, in my experience.

The problem with having a sensible discussion around this is that my experience may be of machines that are not configured correctly, on the other hand you may not have had a 'Jesus Shot' from a well maintained semi-auto and thus have no reference for what I'm referring to.

Naturally I am biased toward the latter while you are biased toward the former or some version thereof.

Are you in Cape Town? I can think of only one way to settle it ;)
 
SlinkyMike said:
Best suggestions yet.

@OP: Definitely semi-auto.

I'd just like to add the Rocket Giotto to the above suggestions. Bulletproof handmade Italian espresso machine with the E61 group head. The Evoluzione has a PID which will future proof your purchase for in case you start getting into the really technical aspects of coffee.

We have had one for years and it's never let us down. It will fit your budget comfortably, it has a huge reservoir, and it can also be plumbed in.
Click to expand...

Link to local pricing for Rocket: https://onlinecoffeeshop.co.za/brand/rocket/

This site has the widest range of machines in SA.
 
SlinkyMike said:
I have yet to get a good shot out of a bean to cup. They always leave a lot to be desired, in my experience.

The problem with having a sensible discussion around this is that my experience may be of machines that are not configured correctly, on the other hand you may not have had a 'Jesus Shot' from a well maintained semi-auto and thus have no reference for what I'm referring to.

Naturally I am biased toward the latter while you are biased toward the former or some version thereof.

Are you in Cape Town? I can think of only one way to settle it ;)
Click to expand...

Coffee is always going to be subjective so it's always going to be very much about opinions and different tastes.

I'm based in Jozi but perhaps the mountain is having an impact on you or the coffee machines where you frequent but I must add that I've always had better coffee in Cape Town :D

As a reference, I like to use this little (non touristy) coffee shop which I stumbled into in Florence, Italy....
One of those places where zero English is spoken... un caffè per favore

Image (1).jpeg

#cravingthatcrema
 
gifs said:
I am also considering this and from my research the following looked like good options.

Rancilio Silvia with Rocky grinder.

Crem Expobar Office Leva with Grinder

Nuova Simonelli Oscar II with Grinder

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

SlinkyMike said:
Best suggestions yet.

@OP: Definitely semi-auto.

I'd just like to add the Rocket Giotto to the above suggestions. Bulletproof handmade Italian espresso machine with the E61 group head. The Evoluzione has a PID which will future proof your purchase for in case you start getting into the really technical aspects of coffee.

We have had one for years and it's never let us down. It will fit your budget comfortably, it has a huge reservoir, and it can also be plumbed in.
Click to expand...

Glad to finally find some really coffee aficionados on this thread derailed by (choke) Nespresso users .

These options look good.

What's the difference between EVD and EPU in some of the commercial machines.

Also some have single versus dual boilers.
 
@Tron, what coffee do you use?
(note the term user)
 
backstreetboy said:
I don't waste my money paying for a name.
Click to expand...

That would be fine but they aren't actually a well known or highly regarded name and hardly more expensive.

That being said I've never actually used a Bosch coffee machine but generally love their products so would look into it.
 
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tRoN said:
Glad to finally find some really coffee aficionados on this thread derailed by (choke) Nespresso users .

These options look good.

What's the difference between EVD and EPU in some of the commercial machines.

Also some have single versus dual boilers.
Click to expand...

IIRC EVD has electronic dosing whereas EPU is proper semi automatic - you're stretching my knowledge a bit here without looking it up.

You want dual boilers. One for steam one for the head. Also go for heat exchange type (people might fight with me on this though.)

tRoN said:
Standard at home is the Lavazza Supa Crema.
Just bought some Lavazza Tierra to try out.

I tend to experiment with blends and brands.

The Ethiopia Golocha from these guys http://www.scienceofcoffee.co.za/product-category/coffee/ is also quite nice
Click to expand...

Where are you situated? Why are you buying imported long since stale roast at twice the price?

Find a local roaster and support them, make sure your beans are used within two weeks of roasting. Even if you can't find a brick and mortar store, you can buy from local roasters online. It's still fresher than a vacuum sealed 250g from Lavazza/Illy/whathaveyou.

EDIT: Good post here:

gifs said:
Nice write-up explaining the different boilers:
http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/javajim/07-14-2003
Click to expand...

As you can see, I was mistaken re: boilers, specifically:
As consumers progress up the chain to prosumer machines, they encounter "heat exchange" machines (i.e. h/e machine, heat exchangers, etc.). One common misconception about heat exchange machines is that they have a double boiler or two boilers. This is not true. There is only one boiler. The one boiler has a pipe or tubing that goes through the upper and lower, sometimes only upper, and sometimes only lower, parts of the boiler. This pipe or tubing is the heat exchanger.
Click to expand...

Live and learn ;)
 
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