For the coffee is a Faema E61 Legend. I was shopping for parts for a ‘64 model and the parts added up to more than a new reproduction one. For finding is Mazzer Robur I restored. It’s massive. I love all their models but I can’t go past the air vents on the side, and maybe one day I’ll need to grind a years coffee in a day. I doubt it.
I roast my beans with a Bosch heat gun (my superior Orzito died) in an old colander.
Quite possibly.
I’d say it’s just how I like it 80% of the time, and amazing 10% and terrible 10% of the time.
My go to is Yirgachefe.
Every so often I buy beans to see what I’m missing and I’m usually very underwhelmed. It’s time I did this again.
New Zealand is lucky as the importers don’t bring in much crap coffee and so the average is good. A large bulk is brought in by just a couple of companies and all seem to have high standards.
The key to home roasting for me is freshness. I like coffee a couple of days after it’s roasted. I can control this and struggled when I was buying beans.
Both of these things are surprisingly difficult to do properly, with enough consistency and control. I believe temperature profile can noticeably affect the roast, and being able to consistently hit a profile (and thus experiment and improve) is really difficult with something like a heat gun.
I did the heat gun thing for a while, and the air popper thing for a while, and even modified the air popper to be able to control fan speed and heating element separately. I got good results but hit a wall and needed more control. I started building an Arduino-controlled air popper to be able to get more consistent results, then decided brewing top-quality coffee coffee was challenging enough when roast quality was delegated to experts. Since then, I've been buying from local roasters.
Try a cheap popcorn popper - more or less a heat gun with an aluminium cup attached. I've used one for roasting coffee with good results. The thing keeps the beans in motion while roasting them, all you have to do is switch it on and off at the right moment.
I have a Lelit MaraX and a Niche Zero. I really want to get a lever machine next, but it’ll be awhile before it’s in the budget. Besides, I’m still learning how to use this current setup, having had it for a year and change.
I think my current dream machine is an Elektra MCAL. I am drawn to the idea of a machine with no machinery. Just a boiler and pressurestat and the spring lever to make coffee. The sweet sound of silence. Only the rush of water and the pouring of coffee to be heard.
I nearly got a Linea Mini, then discover the amount of electrics. The plastic, the fake lever. It got me thinking about what would last.
I want manual. Prior to engaging the pump (pre infusion) you’re getting line pressure and it’s good.
I need to try a lever, and also a real Linea.
The Electra Belle is a ludicrous machine that looks amazing and is even less practical - saw one in the flesh in the middle of nowhere in New Zealand a while back. Old and tarnished and going strong.
Somewhat surprised to not see any mention of the Flair lineup so far. I’ve had mine for years now and adore it.
My use case is a bit different from most as I don’t often have electricity, but honestly it’s better than most but the highest end coffee shops I’ve been to (across Seattle, Portland, LA).
A cup, a Flair, a hand grinder, and some kind of pot to boil water is definitely all you need to make amazing coffee when you’re out camping. Another one along these lines is a Cafelat Robot. I’m not sure which one is easier to pack or more durable though!
Don't forget quality beans! And Flair packs pretty small and assembles quickly, plus it costs about half as much as the Robot. That said, I do love the Robot's style and color options.
How could I forget the beans! That would be so embarrassing on a real trip!
Yeah the Robot is definitely very stylish but the Flair seems a bit more rugged and practical looking, in a camping way. Excellent to hear that they designed it to pack small and assemble quickly!
Yeah the Belle is the type of machine you’d expect to find in a hotel that costs more per night than even the most lavish home coffee setups.
That machine requires some real TLC to keep in shape, as the clear coat over the brass will get damaged over time if water/coffee splashes are left on it. Once the clear coat is gone, the copper and brass will tarnish and then the machine needs a professional to restore it.
It’s the same story for their home models but on a much smaller scale, so a bit more reasonable for a loving coffee enthusiast to take care of. I’ve heard you can take the machine to some auto paint shops to get a fresh layer of clear coat sprayed on. People have also said you can repair chips/scratches with some touch up tools at home.
Mentioned elsewhere, but the Meticulous Espresso 'automated lever' machine looks really impressive. It finally went live on Kickstarter[0] yesterday. I can't wait. There are a bunch of videos around; the one Brian Quan did [1] is my favourite.
Well, the automated ones. The manual ones like [1] are just the essence of what makes espresso and hence can in theory produce the exact same thing but at a fraction of the price. Main problem is that most parameters are controlled by the user, not the machine, so consistency is not easy to achieve. Especially temperature control is hard to achieve. On the other hand: want longer preinfusion? Just do it, no buttons needed let alone a manual.
I have such machine and for that price combined with not having to wait for a Faema to heat up, take a rather large amount of space and whatnot, and given that I drink one max two espressos a day, and that those are so close to what a professional automatic machine produces: totally worth it and no regrets yet. I used to dream of an espresso machine producing those super tasty beverages which in my country are really hard to find (compared to Italy of course), now I just have one, and it's maintainance and hassle-free as well and is going to last a very long time (basically only one rubber ring which is replacable). Which cannot exactly be said of automatic machines.
> not having to wait for a Faema to heat up, take a rather large amount of space and whatnot
And whatnot. I started turning it off at night (not recommended by manufacturer) and at the same point in time I started charging an electric car that is used daily.
The power bill has gone down.
The electric car uses less power than the Faema E61. Not good.
Yes, and a monster. It weighs 28kgs and is 70+cm tall. It’s pretty quiet by grinder standards and only runs for 3-5 seconds per shot, so that’s nice for others early morning.
Beautiful! Do you make a lot of coffee? It definitely can get through a lot. I have a niche zero. 20s or so to grind a shot but there is no wastage. Ideal for a home setup making 2 a day.
This is paired with a Breville Barista Express. Unlike most espresso people I am not tempted to upgrade this because I am so used to the workflow and it is quite good for a consumer grade machine (except for its grinder). With the niche I can make something 90% of the fidelity of a good cafe.
close, but not quite - Niche is using the burrs out of the Mazzer Kony, the Robur's slightly smaller sibling. 63mm for the Niche/Kony vs either 71mm or 83mm depending on which Robur model.
