Flair Classic plus J-Max for espresso, Aeropress/V60 with Aergrind/Feld 2, sometimes both/all
I have trouble settling on one thing
- In Travel kit
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Seriously, please consider using bottled water,….much as I’m not a fan…. having to tear down my Mara X after moving from a soft water area to Limestone Country has modified my attitude….
Now using distilled water with Potassium Bicarbonate ( the Late Dr R Pavlis recipe courtesy of Home-Barista) Or if you’re in the UK, an Osmio seems a sane option.
As a Flair Pro owner for my work travel, I can heartily endorse the Mara X after 2 previous trouble free years of home use (personal roast profile preference for espresso being the light side of medium).
It’s a very decent machine offering highly reliable performance and temperature stability….but please read Dave C’s intro for using it carefully first, you will be a happier person.- Edited
Close enough??? https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/one-legged-salsa-dancer/
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dfk41 Used Creminas in The Antipodes are made of Unobtanium, with consequently silly prices used…around $4,000 plus if and when they come up….new they’re RRP AUD6,890.
I’m not that keen on LM myself but a new Linea Mini is AUD7399, and a Bianca is AUD4399……Cremina’s really a bit spendy for what you get here.
MediumRoastSteam Totally agree, for me a small form factor is highly desirable.
Should I have a wish list, love the LSM group, PID control would be great, a boiler cover (burns are part of the La Pavoni/Elektra MCAL owner experience, lol!), modest weight and proportions…Mara X sized would be brilliant for the modern sized kitchen
Spring or direct lever, either is fine if there can be assistance given to the spring , like the Gaggia Mini…
An open boiler is a much simpler beast in terms of stability but most people want steam….
Structural strength can be engineered in without spending a fortune on heavy plate, it’s a matter of intelligent design
Wow, this is dangerous territory for someone who thought they’d got to their personal happy place, lol!!!
I have to agree that would be something very interesting - and bang for your buck/build quality is another thing, speaking as an old codger who likes that stuff.
CoyoteOldMan Love it, that’s brilliant….and who knows? It’s more than capable enough IMHO
For reference, I once again recommend checking out the old Titan Conicals Shootout on Home-Barista where a Super Jolly was used as a comparison. As you rightly pointed out, they’re pretty cheap for what you get and it opens up a whole new world of burr options - 64mm is the current fashion - which a Super Jolly can handle without stress.
- In Book reading
DavecUK Wow, and I thought my book a day was ok…..
Used to be pretty a voracious reader, once back in the days before cellphones, in the services was stuck on a new camp with literally nothing to do and no company. So I worked through the Yellow Pages for that city, lol….ya do what you gotta do.
I’ve read just about anything but I draw the line at women’s magazines.
- In Book reading
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Elcarajillo Really love this authors work, not optically challenged, but my attention span has changed since cancer treatment some years ago and it takes a lot to keep me engaged.
Never even contemplated talking books it may be worth checking out, thanks
drdre89 Errr.. yeah….and??? Lol, you pay your money and you make your choices.
IMHO existing without living (risks,etc) lowers your vibrational frequency a helluva lot more!!
Enjoy the ride, everything in moderation, including moderation! Safe and sensible is for accountants
For me, the reminders of injuries past are a sometime drag, but the memories are freakin awesome!!!
It’s a moveable feast, as years pass, tastes and preferences usually change.
Over the decades (dear lord!) there have been some truly wonderful shows, from early Dr Who, The Goodies, Monty P, Tony Randall, X-Files, Summer Wine, Ab Fab, Aeon Flux, Young Ones, Red Dwarf, Blacklist……,to name only a very few. Even the not so great were watchable most of the time.
Don’t really watch free-to-air tv any more, I find it somewhat inane and insulting. Guess that’s part of the Old Buffer schtick…. And I don’t need another blood pressure booster, lol!!!
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Mines in early stages ….guess we’re the sort of people the Vintage machine fraternity frown upon, lol lol…although in all fairness the first one was given away because of missing bits
And I really don’t like the way water gets inside the ABS and rusts the frame up…. I’m planning on wooden side panels and a concealed digital thermostat, Richard’s the electronic whizz
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My Gaggia/Mini Lever is 1973 build, had it for years and really enjoy using it.
Okay, soapbox time:
Open boiler, standard 58mm baskets, boiler temp = temp at puck, great thermal stability thanks to a great lump of brass called the boiler…. User adjustable thermostat…it’s the ugly duckling of levers IMHO.
Although they get no love, they actually make a tasty coffee in standard form when used with a decent grinder, and according to a mate who also has one plus a PID’d Silvia it kills the Silvia…No real Crema, but seriously? Crema was a very successful marketing exercise at the dawn of espresso….“scuma”, was it’s initial appellation.
Trouble was, they were never intended for anything flash and the styling is, at best dated. But it’s a simple, strong well made (apart from the ABS) keeper.
Fun to mod
tooThe pretty one is not mine…
- In Londinium
dfk41 Thanks, a nice, rational exposition. I’ve had a sort of academic curiosity about the brand but always found the cult-like fervour a bit unnerving personally (bit like Tupperware and Amway in the 80’s…) And like them, it seriously seems just a little overpriced…perhaps that’s part of the special sauce?
Good luck to those wanting to buy in, but the “my thing good, your thing BAD” seems kind of tragic.
Enea_… long story short, yes. I’ve owned mine for at least 6 months now (Time passes very quickly, can’t be more precise)
I use it about 3 times a day, 2 weeks out of 3 working on a remote site with my Flair. It is just so much better for espresso than my Feld2 in precision and general handling. The crank arm makes the 48mm burrs less of a challenge than I’d expected….not saying it’s that easy for lighter roasts but well manageable.
I haven’t noticed the same issue about adjustment after cleaning, just appreciate the repeatability and build qualify, it’s designed and built by engineers and I feel it shows.
Feld2 and Aergrind get the brewing gigs these days.
James Hoffman is fine, the idiot attempting to riff off his style, much less so….in fact I couldn’t be bothered watching beyond the realisation that it was 1: not James satirizing himself, 2: not remotely entertaining and 3: lazy