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

PortafilterProcrastinator

Cuprajake Looks good did you stain or paint? What did you use?

Cuprajake

paint,

sanded down then used a black tinter

Cuprajake

Ernie1

Cuprajake

Instantly looks a million times better. Pro level job!

dutchy101

Lord Vadar

mobius

Blue underglow LEDs next ? 😅

Cuprajake

mobius red…

DavecUK

Stealth Niche Zero…cool

Cuprajake

Also did the Evo handles

mobius

Cuprajake The Mazzer lid is standing out now 🤨

Cuprajake

Still hoping to sell the major

DavecUK

Cuprajake have you advertised it for sale?

Cuprajake

DavecUK half lol

Cuprajake

So I’m really missing the duo

I didn’t think I would as much as I am, I love my major, but I’m really missing the workflow,

Ernie1

Cuprajake So I’m really missing the duo

I didn’t think I would as much as I am, I love my major, but I’m really missing the workflow,

Given the workflow is the same on the Zero you have, is it the output you’re missing? As in the flavour from the big flat?

Cuprajake

I bought a black wdt from Amazon

Not the best product…

Back to the drawing board

Dusk

My cheap one off eBay looks a similar design but glides quite nicely through the ground coffee

Cuprajake

You mean the major?

Yeah massively on the work flow, I didn’t mind the major one bit lol but been spoilt now 🤣

Output is near the same, the burrs in the duo are slightly more aggressively cut, so very very similar, but the duo just tops the major, could be the grind speed or placebo 🤣

MediumRoastSteam

Cuprajake Can you really tell the difference, taste wise, between the Zero and the Major (or Duo)?

As in, if you served 1 week from one and one week from the other without knowing which one is which, would you be able to tell?

Cuprajake

Between the zero and the mazzer/duo definitely

I’ve always found the zero more muddled/blended Vs the majors big flats they just help with the separation. Even the mrs told the difference with north star Brazilian in milk. Both times she picked the duo as the better cup. (back to back)

The mazzer Vs the duo would be harder.

Don’t forget you get used to what you are using very quickly, that’s why back to back to back testing is soooo important imo, tasting of memory is bad really.

ST30B

Cuprajake Hey Jake. Interested to hear more about this being a milk based drinker. (Medium roast) I see so much about grinders for espresso only drinkers. I mostly drink flat whites but that doesn’t mean I only like richer, traditional roasts. I have a Eureka mignon Crono with espresso burrs, so 50mm. Been thinking of upgrading for a while but do I need to? If I wanted to must it be a Niche given my preferred roast level? Given everyone appears to be moving to flats am I best staying put on the flats? ( I would appreciate the workflow of the niche tbh but still a big outlay for me personally)

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