smallblueplanet @dfk41 I know you haven’t told me to buy the Liz, but you are trying to be very persuasive about it. :
I mentioned earlier on, that I have owned an awful lot of machines over the years. Mainly higher end including a La Marzocco GS3. I could have spent a lot more than the Elizabeth cost if I had wanted to, but…….I wanted to try and bargain basement machine to see if I could put my years of coffee knowledge to good use and make good coffee. I have had several Sage Dual Boilers over the years and since Sage did away with O rings in joints and went for compression fittings their reliability has improved greatly, I nearly bought one of those. There was something about the Elizabeth that drew me though, so that is what I bought.
Grinders…..I bought and sold a Kafatek Monolith recently to a forum member. They have a unique burr set. No matter what I did I could not appreciate the style and taste of coffee it produced. My loss was anothers gain though and I believe the new owner is quite happy! I have had a Niche Zero since they were first launched and wanted a second grinder. On the basis that again, I could have had anything I wanted, I spent the princely sum of £350 and bought a used Eureka Mythos. They are enormous and very fugly. A small amount of love and affection later and she works a treat. I am sure there are other machines using the same 71mm flat burrs but they produce a flavour that just suits me. Since lockdown we have all been told that you have to single dose. You have to get out the same amount as you put in to the nearest 0.01 gm and if you do not, then you will be an outcast. it is all total. nonsense of course. How often do you see single dose grinders being used in a commercial premises, other than for the odd specialist coffee.
I am glad to buck the trend. How I wish that more on here would throw their single dosing grinders away and go back to the real things! SO, what exactly am I saying? By choosing a good but cheap used grinder and pairing it to a budget but very capable machine, coupled with reasonable beans (I tend to enjoy blends rather than single origin) and average shot preparation, I am making coffee as well as I have ever done on set up’s costing 8 times more. If I can do that, anyone can! If anyone wants to challenge me on that statement, come around to NE23 and let the battle commence.