Welcome to Coffeetime. Please introduce yourself and tell us about your coffee journey too.

I'm a long-term drinker of filter coffee that's relatively recently moved into expresso, or more accurately, espresso-based drinks, and this seemed like a good place to chat and learn.

Welcome to our fledgling forum. You will find a wealth of knowledge available here.

I'm a jaded user of another forum, that needed a change 😆

Up until recently I was only marginally aware that there were people on the internet who chatted about coffee stuff all the time. I'm now over two and a half grand down and it's all your fault. 😅

@"dfk41"#4 grabbed me by neck and brought me here! 😂 Thx guys! Feel at home!

I'm not saying I'm paranoid or anything, but a few weeks ago I walked into a coffee forum, pulled up a chair and sat down; everyone else seemed to get up and walk out! 😆 My coffee journey started over 40 years ago when my wife bought me a Gran Gaggia for Christmas. That was before the internet was invented, so there was no information freely available about the need for a grinder. I made a mess and a lot of terrible coffee. I got into stove top coffee makers through a Romanian student I befriended, we drank a lot of good coffee together before he moved on. My wife decided we should buy an induction hob, so that put an end to my stove top coffee making and I switched to french press. After breaking the glass of my favourite press I decided to try one of those gimmicky Aeropress thingies; that was a real eye-opener for me and started to buy speciality coffee beans and a Baratza Encore. A couple of years ago I retired and started volunteering in a charity shop where I saw a La Pavoni Europiccola. Nobody seemed to know what it was, so I got it at a very agreeable price. I invested in a Eureka Mignon Specialita to feed the LP and have become obsessed with the coffee making process.

@"LMSC"#p138 It is our home now….

On the other forum too(BadBoyR), don't participate much, just been busy reading posts/reviews on a new dual boiler machine. Currently have a bean to cup, but would like a more manual machine, mainly drinking milky coffees or a small shot if doing some cardio fasted. Looking at the sage dual boiler, lelit elizabeth and ACS minima.....so undecided, but want to future proof myself for being able to control flow later as gain better experience.

Got funny looks when I first got my aeropress, bringing it to work etc. decided to try make better coffee about a year ago, started the research. My girlfriend complained(?!) she didn’t see me for a few weeks as I was stuck online researching this thing. Stumbled across this gang (in their/your former space), which made it so much easier to confidently choose an espresso machine and then help when it arrived not working correctly!! Thanks to all again and Dave your stated principles of this forum are so great in these times, must be applauded, cheers for such dedication. It would have been a much much more difficult journey to getting it half right without the help of you guys

Was on “the other coffee forum”, but thought I’d hop over and join you all here. I’ve liked coffee for a long time, with a progression through french press, moka pot, aeropress and Nespresso. I’ve now settled on v60 for filter and since Dec last year I’ve started making real espresso with a Rancilio Silvia coupled with a Niche Zero. I enjoy tinkering, so I fitted a PID almost straight away, and for Christmas I’ve got an Ito board coming so that I can play with pressure profiling (a bit like a decent on the cheap). While a single boiler might not be for everyone, I’m the only person in the house who drinks coffee, so it’s perfect for one. Easy to maintain and less energy use as I’m only heating one small boiler. It’s a bit slow when we have guests, but I can live with that.

New Members Introduce Yourself

Cuprajake

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285470149396?hash=item427758cb14%3Ag%3AiJ4AAOSwN0dlADlO&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4BrTKRGRrGpxWs8XiQxAQLxgg97MwTZeztAJkg%2FsL3QZEtTZg7hCHPcDq4nfauRda2Cq3eU3%2Bi2gDHTxA07zYZJnMS2QSENROjuFuL2F3WYHWWoQ1nga5hlXKjyX%2FfZGYKn0YDOoLZ1IiYx7hi1Pvl%2Balzr3OBXrKp4wEVv%2FfJYuRwsaj8g2BHantgp%2BbwlJrVnCdcJTbrVC7y6NPsUGQfT90t%2BBA23rTivX6xvtiBjNYCA7ZODszqZrEEkfi%2B557r8aTULHxsx9GPkaIEZWfh5udoQhpfWX1OoOdOZI42pC%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5rezOXRYg&LH_ItemCondition=4

Abcan

Cuprajake that looks good! I really think these look better in the flesh than they do in photos. Where are you based @condy01?

Cuprajake

minima

ST30B

MediumRoastSteam
They did a hard sell on the Profitec 400 when I asked about MaraX restock earlier in the year. It’s never been back in stock since.

MediumRoastSteam

ST30B They did a hard sell on the Profitec 400 when I asked about MaraX restock earlier in the year

The Pro-400 is nothing like the MaraX. The former a dumb HX machine with a switch where you can choose 3 temp settings… the latter a clever machine which tries to regulate the brew temperature by means monitoring the temperature in the HX and adjusting the pressure in the service boiler accordingly.

The closet machine you have to the MaraX is the ECM Mechanika Max - but that’s significantly more expensive than the MaraX.

condy01

Abcan @abcan Down in Southampton

Abcan

condy01 ah okay. Bit too far to come and have a go of my Minima. I’m in Cardiff.

condy01

Abcan @abcan Not sure the wifey would sign off a 4 hour road trip for me to try out an espresso machine! haha. Thank you though :-)

Cuprajake

Abcan

Cuprajake I have watched that. Most of what he says is correct. My drip tray cover doesn’t flex like his so not sure if they now use a thicker gauge metal. Also I don’t trust someone who hasn’t got an Alan key to take the cover off! 😂😂

Cuprajake

Abcan i left my allen keys in my toolbox at work apologies 🙄

DavecUK

Abcan My drip tray cover doesn’t flex like his so not sure if they now use a thicker gauge metal. Also I don’t trust someone who hasn’t got an Alan key to take the cover off! 😂

They do use a thicker metal now, in response to me pushing the issue of the tray flexing. I would say the product is at peak maturity now with all the key issues worked through.

Abcan

Cuprajake haha. Good point. Have you still got the Minima?

Cuprajake

nah long gone, sold it to buy a londinium l1

condy01

Thanks for the suggestion guys. Will keep this machine in mind when I eventually come to go for something.

ST30B

MediumRoastSteam yep. I got a used Mara X as a result. Very happy with it

MediumRoastSteam

I do wonder about Bella Barista and their stock strategy.

Elizabeth: direct competitor with Rancilio Silvia Pro and Pro-300 (not stocked)
MaraX: in their world, price wise, competitor with Pro-400, but really competing with ECM Mechanika X
Bianca: will they keep stocking it? Or will they think the Pro-700 or Synchronika with Flow Control are direct competitors?

They also seem to be going upmarket: LMLM, and Victoria Arduino Eagle One are in stock.

Cuprajake

It may be sage/lelit slowing stock?

MediumRoastSteam

Cuprajake It may be sage/lelit slowing stock?

Or… they are revamping their range? 🤔 so retailers get the new versions and don’t have old ones in stock?

condy01

Email from Bella Barista today:

"Hi James,

Since BGR group acquired Lelit minimum quantity orders have temporarily stopped us buying Lelit Grace, Victoria, Mara’s and Elizabeth’s. The only machine we can buy in that quantity is the most popular Lelit Bianca.

So at the moment it’s a no. Please accept my sincerest apologies.

I can suggest other alternative / similar machines if this is of interest?"

MediumRoastSteam

condy01 Since BGR group acquired Lelit minimum quantity orders have temporarily stopped us buying

Let me check if I understand this…. Are they effectively saying Lelit is essentially temporarily only interested in selling those machines in large quantities? Essentially, Bella Barista is “small fish”? Or maybe they don’t like having a rolling stock model approach? Regardless, sad news for enthusiasts like us, for sure.

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