I put myself on the mailing list for the Odyssey machine, and will watch it over the winter and spring. It does read and look like the ideal lever for me, and I like the $1k USD price point, if build is sufficient. I also have a setup at our family cottage (a Breville DuoPro machine that needs upgrading, and a Bartaza Sette grinder that needs repair); the Odyssey might be just the ticket; we’ll see.

And … good news for me: a kind gentleman just gifted me a well used but still in good shape Niche Zero that will replace my cottage Bartaza. It arrives tomorrow. He’s acquired a large flat burr machine and didn’t need the NZ. This is great for me, as I had been hunting for a Niche for the cottage, but the pricing of gently used machines in Canada (or shipped from the US, after duties and taxes) was unrealistic relative to the cost of buying new with warranty.

    chlorox That’s a great score - very generous of him!

    He is a “minimalist” and was just looking to find the NZ a new home.

    As per my thank-you email back to him:

    Its refreshing to hear from a kind hearted espresso lover. Like a breath of fresh country air. There is just so much greed out there. Counter to that trend, I just gave away $300 worth of stuff that worked with my earlier Baratza Sette and Breville setup, along with some good advice (I hope) to help some young folks get going (I am 69 and appreciate the journey that they are going through). I probably could have used the money (it was a stretch for me to buy the Niche and Lelit Elizabeth after my earlier setup died; my wife still complains about it), but it was the right thing to do.

    PS I hark back to the pre-Covid days when I participated in a wine tasting group. Our collectively generous attitude was: a) be as generous as you can afford (as long as it’s interesting and contributes to the evenings theme); b) only consider what you paid for the wine when you bought it, not what it’s worth to today; c) life is too short to not drink good/great wine, d) you can’t drink your good cellar wine when you’re dead, e) its alot more enjoyable to drink good wine with others than alone, f) don’t take advantage of others generosity, so don’t bring or drink plonk. Everyone was exceedingly generous in what they brought. Well, there was one guy who mooched, but overall everyone was generous.

      A fellow here in Canada is selling his advance order for the Odyssey Argos lever machine. He wants “more than cost”, which in my view is nutty (harks back to the days when the NZs were coming out, and were over hyped). Cost is currently $850 US, but the machine has yet to be released or reviewed. He is selling because he bought another currently available lever machine.

      Would you spend your hard earned cash to buy out his position? If so, what would you pay?

      Fyi, I am only pondering this because I need a setup for my cottage. And I had the good fortune to be given a used NZ (at no cost other than shipping from the US), so that has saved some money. Fyi,it has 30 kg through it and has some scratches but otherwise works well. Mind you, it had not been cleaned for 3 years, and was pretty gross inside 🤢! The burrs seem abit discolored but otherwise look ok. After calibration it flows just a tad faster than my new NZ, but the shots from my new vs this 3 year old unit taste pretty similar.

      So I will be selling my cottage Bartaza Sette 270 and Breville DuoPro and buy a replacement espresso machine, which could be a Lelit E (duplicating what I have in the City) or perhaps a Lever.

      Thoughts? My gut feel is to wait until this forum has reviewed the Odyssey. Still, I am curious as to whether you would take up this fellows offer and what you would pay him, given the remaining risks.

      Btw, I just saw another original NZ given away for free, to a student. They are great grinders but the hype is beginning to melt.

        I’d wait for production.

        Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

        Here’s a new lever machine, though I’m not very fond of the mechanism…

        JHCCoffee I’ve gotten a bit fed up of my Mazzer Super Jolly as cleaning up is a pain (for single dosing) and I don’t have time anymore as I leave early and come back late due to my work… So much so that I’ve kind of stopped making espresso with my La Pavoni… One day I shall own a good enough single dose grinder, maybe sell my Mazzer to save up for it.

            Sham

            Have you tried the SJ not single dosing? Drop a days worth in the hopper and see if it tastes ok. On-demand dosing is perfect if you’re short on time.

            Would be a shame to write off a great grinder because it doesn’t do what it’s not designed to do. Single dosing obviously has its benefits but you can still get an amazing coffee grinding on-demand.

            • Sham replied to this.

                JHCCoffee I’ve got an Argos coming and there are now enough people who saw it in Milan or have seen it in action at Odyssey HQ to suggest that it will perform well.

                It depends of course on how much extra he is asking but he will probably sell it for a profit because orders are now closed until “sometime in Q1”. Given that the shipping of the Argos was originally slated for April 2022 and that we are still waiting, I’d take the “Q1” estimate with a pinch of salt.

                Personally, I would not buy it if his asking price is OTT. I’d wait until orders open again although you would need to be comfortable with what may be a 3 - 6 month wait. I haven’t seen any indication on whether Ross has parts in stock for the second batch.

                Also, it may be that you can pick one up second hand shortly after the first batch are shipped. This not a certainty of course but there are people like me, who simply want to try it, will offer them for sale a month or two after they arrive. And there are others who will try it and realize that they really didn’t want a lever after all, and they will sell soon afterwards too.

                But if he/she would sell it at cost then I’d say go ahead and buy it.

                In the meantime you could pick up a new or used Flair 58 and simply on-sell it if the reviews of the Argos indicates that its what you prefer.

                    Ernie1 I only really drink one espresso a day in the mornings. No one else drinks espresso in the house. So I can’t really use a hopper or the push dosing thing as the beans and grinds will more than likely go stale. At that point I might as well buy pre-ground and keep it in the freezer to use. I was previously planning on designing a new single dose mod to fix the problems but my hands are tied at the moment!

                    • LMSC replied to this.

                        Sham You never considered Niche, did you?

                        • Sham replied to this.

                            tompoland This not a certainty of course but there are people like me, who simply want to try it, will offer them for sale a month or two after they arrive.

                            Thanks for the excellent advice tompoland .

                            I suspect that I may eventually want one, but it’s probably a good idea for me to wade into the lever water slowly and learn to swim with one. I’ll start looking for a Flair 58.

                            I posted on HB about this as well (they have a long thread long running) and a fellow posted a very good reply point: scalpers should not be rewarded. I agree.

                            Can I have first dibs on yours, if you decide to sell it after you evaluate it, if you decide it’s not for you but would still recommend it to me? 😁

                                  What do forum members think of the Electra Micro Casa. It looks like a thing of beauty (very appropriate to a cottage). Electra

                                    LMSC Well yes, but can’t justify the cost at this point in time!

                                    • LMSC replied to this.

                                        Sham If you are drinking just one espresso a day, perhaps, a used hand grinder should do.

                                        • Sham replied to this.

                                            Hand-grinder would indeed be ideal, there’ll be a C40 up for sale in the coming weeks, around £100 off rrp.

                                            • Sham replied to this.

                                              I missed out on a V1.3 La Pavoni Euro this weekend.
                                              Under $500 and beautiful condition. 😒

                                              LMSC

                                              Ernie1

                                              I didn’t really consider a hand grinder previously, but it does make sense. Will clear up some kitchen space too. Anyone want to trade a SJ for a Kplus or C40 😁

                                                  I was corresponding with the gent that offered and sold his Argo spot (to someone else). Negotiation being put aside, we got to chatting about options for me to test out a lever at low cost. He advised the following:

                                                  The direct lever Pavonis have a very full bodied flavour to then … Due to their small group size … 49-51mm … I fine this with any smaller group that the body is significantly enhanced … Have noticed this from 49-54mm … Wider Portafilter has a little more …. Flavor separation and cleanliness but lacks the warmth and full bodied flavour of smaller groups ..

                                                  And also he said:

                                                  I would strongly recommend a pavoni over a flair. The workflow is great. And you have a lot more variability in shot exploration because of the boiler preinfusion.

                                                  He recommends:

                                                  Europicola forsure. They are basically impossible to beat for the money.

                                                  What are your thoughts on his comments?

                                                  My purpose is to get my feet wet on levers; test the waters; to decide if I want to go that route, with an Argo or whatever. So I need something that will give me a solid sense of what the difference in espresso shot body, mouthfeel, strength, flavor, length will be. To guide an eventual purchase of a machine for my cottage, which might end up being a Lelit E or an undetermined lever.

                                                  So, I can buy a lightly used Flair Pro 2 for $260 CDN or a Europicolla for $600 CDN used. I will resell the unit once I am done testing out the concept of a lever. Would the Flair be sufficient to do meet my test the waters purpose? Or do I need better? If so, what?

                                                  The $260 CDN one just popped up on a local used goods site, and is 55% of new, so I’d need to jump on it.

                                                    JHCCoffee - never owned a flair, but owned a Pavoni Pro and an Europiccola.

                                                    They are interesting machines, for sure. But, again, don’t expect it to be a silver bullet. In all honesty, I find the Elizabeth a lot better and easy to work with. But, again, no point in me saying all those things. If you really want to try it out, go for it. Otherwise, you’ll never know. In summary:

                                                    • They overheat;
                                                    • the first shot is always colder than the second shot. The experts amongst us say the second shot is always better then the first, but the third one will be too hot.
                                                    • the steam wand is hard to work with. You’ll most likely need an aftermarket steam tip. I had many, of all shapes and sizes. He stock 3 hole one is useless for microfoam.
                                                    • know what you are buying: there were many iterations of the machine over the years. Some have teflon piston, some have a group sleeve, some have a brass piston, some have an adjustable pressure stat, some don’t have a pressure stat. Some have a single switch, some have a dual switch. Through history, build quality has been varied as the company tries to cut costs.
                                                    • unless the machine is in tiptop condition, be prepared to buy a group service kit and get your hands “dirty”.
                                                    • don’t expect consistency from day one: until you work out the machine quirks, it will be an learning curve. Sometimes you’ll get a 32ml shot or longer, sometimes you’ll struggle to extract 28g. Sometimes this could be due to air in the group, sometimes the piston has unscrewed from the rod, sometimes it needs adjustment….
                                                    • do check the condition of the machine, specially rust under the plastic drip tray catcher, but also under the base.
                                                    • if you don’t have a gauge installed, you’ll never know what pressure you are extracting your shots at. Eventually you’ll develop muscle memory, you’ll figure out what a spongy pull feels like, or a knife through butter one. You’ll figure out what feels right. But if you don’t know… your guess is as good as mine.
                                                    • in the past 5 years, there’s been lots of mods and accessories for them. Group fins, thermometers, group insulators, pressure gauges, all sorts.
                                                    • I could keep going… some people swear blindly by them. I don’t disagree. They are great machines. Ultimately it depends what you want.

                                                    Once you get the hang of them, with some love, they will last a lifetime. Personally, for me, after a couple of years I got a little tired, sold them both and bought the Elizabeth.

                                                    Good luck!