tompoland Afterthought re newbie and the Falir 58 vs 9Barista: if someone needs back to back shots for wife/hubby/SO/guests then the Flair 58 is the winner for that requirement. I’ve done back to back with the 9barista but it’s a bit of faffing around to get it cool enough for the 2nd shot quickly (think ice bath in kitchen sink!).
I agree that pretty much every other espresso machine, including the Flair, can get from shot-to-shot faster than the 9Barista.
Just to provide some real world data, in my hands, it’s about 6-½ minutes start to finish from pouring shot #1, cooling down the 9Barista, cleaning it out, going through the espresso-making process, and pouring shot #2.
We do this pretty much every morning — one shot for my wife, and one shot for me. It works for us.
One other note — I just use the cold water from the tap to cool down the 9Barista. I hadn’t thought of the ice bath method, but the cooling down part doesn’t seem to be the rate-limiting step. Most of the time is still waiting for the 9Barista to come to a boil for extraction #2.
