profitech is generally much more reliable, a big thing putting me off my lelit.
last i checked Nuova Simonelli was plastics central.
in which case maybe a brevilles the go?
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I bought a profitec 300 direct from europe. Shipped and saved about 500 dollars on aussie cost.
Was a bit risky but i figured i could just get it serviced if it had a problem.
Hasnt missed a beat in 2 years since just plugging it in, filling it with water and going for it.
At least a couple of coffees every day
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These guys are also great. Long term italian roasters in Sydney.
I really rate their 1820 blend. In a lot of good cafes here.
I mean your spoilt in Melbourne, but theres a few roasters that know what they are doing here too imho.
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Iām reading a lot of guff about upgrades that give good bang for puck on the Brevilles.
Seems investing in higher quality baskets might be the first step? Perhaps coupled with a bottomless portafilter or at least one without freaking plastic in itā¦
Already ordered one of those spring loaded tamper thingies and a WDT.
Puck screens anyone?
All advices welcome.
Pesado make some nice stuff, including bottomless portafilters.
I got this oneā¦pricey thoughā¦
I use a puck screen also because it keeps the grouphead clean.
Not certain if it distributes the water more evenly though.
They are cheap as.
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I bought one and stopped using it as I found it a pain to clean compared to cleaning the group head filter and letās be honest it is a bit extra. I have a friend who swears by the disposable paper puck filters though.
WDT I never got into, I find grinding (with a spritz) into a dosing cup and then giving it a nice shake when transferring it to the basket is more than enough and reduces on the proliferation of stuff around the espresso machine
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How good is your grinder?
A precision basket means you can grind finer and get a richer espresso.(the consistency because of the uniform holes).
If you spend the 50 dollars on one, ridgeless is the type you want. Its definetly a good investment if your spending a decent amount on any sort of prosumer grinder.
That and a set of scales. I just have a jewelry scale i bought off ebay for like 15 dollars.
The bottomless portafilter doesnt make the coffee any better but you can tell when you have prepped the coffee well. (Youtube vids show what I mean)
I bought one of those and its all I use.
But basically because i make one coffee at a time.
I dont have a little tool to do the whole WDT thing as I try to touch the coffee as little as possible. Instead i nudge the portafilter to break up any small clumps. And tamping, just a light tamp with the stock one that came with my machine.
Keen to hear if either off those things improve your coffee!(wdt/spring tamper)
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If I could go back in time before I bought my E61 machine, I would certainly have invested in a BDB; itās a great machine and at a sales price of $999, it canāt be beaten.
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There are some questions you should ask yourself before upgrading your machine. What are your priorities? Do you value extraction quality? Steam power? Aesthetics? Or is it convenience and repeatability of extraction?
I have a LaPavoni Cellini E61 machine, its a workhorse of a machine and has a utiliitarian design that I just love. I have it paired with a Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder which has been seemless thus far ( I have owned the pair for the last 3 years).
The accessories that I have found most complimentary in improving extraction quality are; VST basket ( allows for even flow rate), WDT Tool (has reduced clumping of grinds and reduced channelling) and puck screen ( has also reduced channelling and reduced coffee residue in group head).
IMO I would always look to upgrade the grinder before the machine. I see many forums where people have bought a $3000+ machine and paired it with a $200 Breville grinder!? Thats equivalent to buying a luxury car and running it on low grade fuel.
What machine and grinder do you own currently?
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If youāre looking for an endgame machine and have a spare $6000 lying around, I wouldnāt hesitate in buying a Linea Micra.
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hot take bottomless portafilters are a level of wankery that the hobby needs to move away from
no.
not anymore surely?
anyway if i could do it all again.
id have spent 1k on a grinder (actually huge difference, malhkonig x54 is about as good as you can get without crossing the thousands threshold.
probably go 2k a small well made dual boiler and just not upgrade except for maintenance costs.
also good portafilters matter for everything but the coffee, pasedo 2 spouts are good because cleaning them are beyond easy.
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I donāt know enough to answer that yet. Itās the built in on the Breville Pro. Iāve pulled a total of about 15 shots thus far so really still getting a grip on basics. Complete N0ob over here. I suspect already though that consistency of grind might be an issue. Already getting vastly different times on the same grind and volume between shots.
This was mainly what I wanted that for, to check my work / nerd out a bit.
Yep. Quickly found it pointless to try and figure it out without them, I have some good(ish) ones on the way but grabbed a $12 set from Kmart in the mean time.
Iām struggling to get a consistently level surface, this will eliminate that for me. Noob issue, probably.
This one.
Iāll be sticking with this machine for a while at least, Iām at the stage where I can make an awful coffee just as well on an $800 machine as I can on a $3,000 machine.
I WFH full time, have been using a clapped out plunger and supermarket beans, so thereās no money saving equation for me. The Breville is a luxury and extra expenditure as it is.
Iāll say this though, the ā ā ā ā shots Iām pulling now are still better than the best cup Iāve had from the plunger.
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The Dual Boiler is still $999 on the Jb website, itās ridiculously good value. Like you said, ā If I could do it all again.ā
I might think of upgrading my grinder from the Specialita to the Atom or Niche. But as far as my machine goes, Iām more than happy with the performance and quality.
The one other modification I have made is to install an IMS shower screen and that has made a significant different to flow rate.
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plunger sucks, also that style of coffee, your coffee sits in the water a lot longer than espresso resulting in way more caffeine than espresso coffee, so you might have a sensitivity to caffeine as well?
I started with barista pro aswell and it was a fine machine for entry level. I wish Iād done more research and just bought a BDB and separate grinder but oh well.
What I would say first off is start buying fresh coffee beans from a roastery, this will make a world of difference to the taste and quality of whatās in your cup. The bag should have a roast date and are usually at their peak 2 - 6 weeks after roasting.
Secondly, invest in a better grinder, this will improve the consistency and repeatability of your extractions no end.
Keep working on your technique and extractions and refine your own taste.
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Yeah so i dont really know anything about the brevilles in built grinder
All i know is once i got the precision basket i needed to grind finer to extract out the same amount of coffee ie a shot - over the maximum amount of time for the blend before it burns.(ie usually around 30 seconds for how i like it)
So i think im getting slightly richer more consistent shots.
Although i wish my machine did pre infusion. I often still have to either bin the first shot or wet the basket.
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Itās fair to say I donāt have a spare 6k lying around
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