Decided to start a little thread, documenting my journey and the vertical learning curve i seam to have been on. Like most, i got furloughed when covid kicked off and got bored so decided to get more into coffee. One thing after another with lots of reading on various forums, YouTube tutorials and what not,i bought a gaggia classic. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/ATQnfMS.jpeg] Along with that i decided to get a 1zpresso for my grinding as i have a wilfa svart for all my pour overs etc. Well after wasting a good 500g of beans on the gaggia, i decided it wasn't for me, and promptly sold it. Decided on the sage duo temp pro which i was initially going to buy in the first place,quick look and £249 later john lewis delivered my shiney new machine [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/TWUem7I.jpeg] Now as much as i loved the 1zpresso, my shoulder didin't so, that got sold in favour of an eureka mignon from [@Black Cat Coffee](https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/members/16888/) Next up the upgraditus got a hold of me as i wanted a fancy looking machine, and i got a bit of a dark horse off ebay A la macatec elba one, e61 grouphead. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/Pg6PmPa.jpeg] I had long lusted over a dual boiler, mainly the lelit Elizabeth, with its pre infusion, quick heat up times it really is a fantastic machine, but id also noted the acs minima, another machine along the more traditional looks, and the looks along with the bigger boilers swayed it for me. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/uxgb5uM.jpeg] So in the never ending revolving door of grinders with me, after having a eureak zenith 65, a niche and another mignon i saw a lightly used 2019 mazzer major on ebay, i added a Daniel wong doserless kit at the time, since gone to a funnel, even added ssp redspeed burrs [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/4P2ynGd.jpeg] I was going to used bottled water, either ashbeck or longhill, but then i spoke to a few in the know and did a bit of digging and settled on using ro water, remineralised with potassium bicarbonate, this will never scale the machine and makes for a tastey espresso to. After only having the minima for a short while a lever machine caught my eye, a 2014 londinium l1 - that was it i was in love, i sold the minima to fund the l1 and that was me set, the londinium moved home with me. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/NF46adN.jpeg] i had a stunning set of handles turned by nick, they really sent the machine to another level, and i was happy in my own little coffee world, id been toying with med/lighter stuff but always found then too bright, to acidic to my taste, then one day the pressure relief valve blew on the l1, scared me to death, and that set about a refurb of the machine, but id lost all confidence, and decided now we had a bit of equity, that i would buy my first propper new machine, i lusted over the top spec londiniums but at £3500 ish they were just too much. the next machine came from bella barista, a crem one profiler, very capable machine, but arrived faulty, so had to go back, i have an amazing wife who said just get the machine you want, so i did, an lr24 stunner it was too, but sadly again came with issues and i returned the machine, :( after a little search i settled upon the lelit bianca- id always fancied a vesuvius profilong machine, but they too were expensive, so the lelit was the machine of choice, (2months later the ves dropped in price!!) [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/xOGfGUS.jpeg] and there a sat, happy as a pig in mud, the lelit a fabulos machine, quiet rotary pump, flow control, great heat stability, tbh it was almost boring as it just did its job, i still longed for another lever machine, once there in your blood they stick, they just look amazing. and what should pop up but an acs leva…a machine id been quite skeptical about, any lever seems to be quite polarising, just seems to be that way. id heard rumors read stuff saying how the machine was a miss match of parts, no good etc. but they still looked amazing, id followed the machine for a while and at the price it came up, prompted by a life even i thought stuff it! we're here once, get it! and that leads me to now. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/ErMqxfw.jpeg] its been an up and down journey, ive jumped on fads bought stuff that i totally didnt need, learnt less is definately more, when it comes to coffee, ive noticed that each step ive taken up the ladder, ive inproved my coffee, each machine has been better than the last, starting would i imagined id of spent so much for a coffee - hell no, am i glad i did - yes jake

@"Cuprajake"#p12617 That’s quite a quite a journey Jake! It’s amazing how much you persevered. A classic example for some one to learn and understand what it takes to keep the passion for coffee alive. The best part is your wife firmly supporting so that you get what you desire. Enjoy making coffee with Evo. She offers plenty of possibilities to keep you busy. Hope she stays with you for ever!

Unlike Jake, we mostly stayed pour overs - mainly the Indian filter for a good part of our life with occasional £100-£150 machines. When the last machine died on us in late 2020, we kept moving the goal post from Gaggia to Minima to Evo. The 150 quids to £2500 is indeed a massive upgrade. Sure, she is our end game machine.

Jake’s corner was great reading during the pandemic

Fabulous post @"Cuprajake"#144 most interesting. It's terrific to have that pictorial guide to your journey. Thanks for taking the time to share.

@"Cuprajake"#p12617 Great post, shows the journey for many of us. Some go there in one big jump, others take the longer road, which is probably more fun..

id of saved a small fortune going big first, but i dont think id of learnt or appreciated the subtle changes. ive had some fabulous products half not pictured haha

So with a great machine comes great responsibility 🤣 i mean gadgets and we all love new stuff True to form ive ordered a funnel, doesn't fit, ive ordered a ims basket, and a normcore 58.5mm push tamper, with a plan to machine it down to fit the basket, for a mrs safe tamp🤣 Few internal pic [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/8Yb02jB.jpeg] Then an arty one [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/E2J62vo.jpeg]

Great journey to finally end up where you are today. Best way to learn what you do a don’t like regarding machines and your coffee.

Really enjoyed reading about the journey! That’s quite a few machines! Some very nice looking machines too! I love the turned handles on the first lever machine.

nick didnt, they were a very hard thing to make, had to design and make special mandrels due to the way the londinium handles are made,

My Coffee Journey

Cuprajake

It didn’t. Got thrown in the sink along with the cup.

Scales got wet too

https://visualizer.coffee/shots/25447739-e4ba-4038-ab19-e428c6a0e0b6

Just a Horsham med roast, 18g in 60+ out🤦

Cuprajake

Oh and finally the worst thing about the decent

The god awful screensavers

JHCCoffee

Cuprajake Oh and finally the worst thing about the decent

The god awful screensavers

There is a trick. You can go into the folder that holds the screen saver images and view them and delete those that you do not like. One gracious fellow on Basecamp also provided some art oriented screensaver images. I haven’t inserted these yet, but may. I need to see if I like the art. I am thinking of obtaining some impressionist art images; it would be very nice to insert some Monet or Cezan. I have a DVD from the Musee D’Orsey, that I might utilize.

Adrianmsmith

I’m sure there’s a whole list prior to that 😎🤔

Just joking!!!

This is a happy thread ☕🤓🙃🫣

Cuprajake

I do, but when it updates.

They come back

Giphy - Tobe Hooper Horror GIF by filmeditor

Cuprajake

so 5 months in nearly with the decent and i’m happy to say it just works, no issues, no dramas, it just does what it does,

so far been a very pleasant experience

JammyDodger

Cuprajake so 5 months in nearly with the decent and i’m happy to say it just works, no issues, no dramas, it just does what it does,

so far been a very pleasant experience

I am 100% expecting this to be a smoke screen and that Jake is currently eyeing up his next conquest…

Rob666

Cuprajake very pleasant experience

Or even “a very Decent experience”.

Chriss29

Cuprajake Glad you’re happy with it. Is it your favourite machine so far?

I’m happy with my Sage Dual Boiler but I think this or a Bianca is the only replacements I’d consider. As a previous owner of both, is the extra £1k for the Decent worth it in your eyes?

Cuprajake

Brazilian bean from Horsham. Iced coffee as it’s a warm one, using a traditional profile

Cuprajake

its really hard to say for sure, i loved my evo, the evo2 should have been the perfect machine, but i love the decent,

is it worth an extra £1k over a bianca, personally id say yes, you have so much more in terms of options, i hardly ever used the flow control of the bianca, i did use the v3 functions of low flow etc.

the decent has support and a userbase thats just un matched imo.

Chriss29

Cuprajake Thanks Jake, good to know!

Cuprajake

also you get 2yrs warranty and can buy a warranty further more,

dont get me wrong the bianca is a good machine, and atm the colour versions are £100 more so if you want a black or white one nows the time to buy.

https://bellabarista.co.uk/products/lelit-bianca-dual-boiler-espresso-machine-v3-1?variant=42551566893229

Chriss29

Cuprajake I think the white looks great. My SDB cost me £900 but I’m not convinced I’m ready to spend double, even triple that right now. With three young kids I’m not sure I can justify it, but who knows, if the SDB breaks, what choice do I have 😁

I’m guessing the maintenance side of the Decent is just shower screen dropping and backflushing?

Adrianmsmith

Chriss29

When i first swapped SDB to Synchronika, Judes comments were “its no different”!! And to be fair the espresso shot wasn’t night and day different. Id got preinfusion set exactly how i wanted it on the SDB. If only they added a few extra time and pressure steps it would have been great. The big difference was steam. Lots of steam!! I didn’t regret it at the time. Then the E61 cleaning and ecm valve plug issues started!! But Its relatively easy to work on.

So i started looking at the wonderful Londinium as i stumbled on a few videos and was saved from making a bad decision by this forum!!

I had only heard of ACS previously by a chance encounter with @Grahamsphillips over on FB when he told me to go for a vesuvius, not a synchronika. Yes, i should have listened ….

I was saved by the wonderful ACS evo2. Its no secret , that was originally Jakes. (I had an evo1 and vesuvius at the time i purchased it!! But it was calling my name)

Now, @Cuprajake starts publishing videos of his Decent with lever profile, and theres a Decent for sale a hand full of miles away from me . Jake didn’t say if that was an ACS or Londinium profile!!

And i have to say it looks like a great shot.

Im still very happy with the Evo

And theres 2 things Jude has said no to … (they look ugly apparently) eg-1 and Decent🫣

I do keep wondering about the Decent but i keep thinking I’d miss the tactile interface of the Evo.

And as keeps getting mentioned i only drink flat white!! If you were to profile me against my job i am sure i would be a good fit for the Decent but i do love the 50 50 engineering : electronics mix in the Evo.

Has anyone else made a similar jump from e61 or lever to decent and what are the thoughts.

I keep thinking I dont need a decent as i only really experiment with different beans and the odd home blending.

But then someone comes back at me and says, thats ok, set up the Decent, put the tablet in a drawer and your good to go !!

Too much choice.

@Cuprajake at the end of the shot, what is all the clicking going on. Does it depressurise the sysyem?

Grahamsphillips

Chriss29 I guarantee the Sage will equal the Bianca “in the cup”! Is the Bianca a better built machine? Sure but in the end only the coffee really matters. If you are going to spend a lot more $$$ then you’d want to taste the difference, no?

Cuprajake

yeah its crazy haha

Cuprajake

@Chriss29

https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/d/2738-decent-de1-pro-v145-decent-scale

great deal there from @KyleT

Chriss29

Thanks Jake, I live not far from there too! Circumstances just aren’t good at the moment though so unfortuantely will have to pass but thanks for letting me know.

Cuprajake

lever profile

Chriss29

Adrianmsmith Thanks Adrian, I didn’t realise you had an SBD previosuly. Steam isn’t a bid deal for me as it’s only my partner who has milk drinks. That said I’d always get a dual boiler just for ease!

Cuprajake

i believe that decent has now sold pal,

the clicking at the start and finish are the dual vibe pumps mixing water, then releasing it back,

the machine is so versatile and you can literally do a 100 different styles of shot

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