Hello 2Sheds, from your description of where you are at and what you would like to do, you are asking a big question re advice...and let's not forget that anything that I might say with regard to zaffiro and mazzer mini, especially due to my company importing one of the other machines you mentioned but rejected due to higher price than the zaffiro, could look one sided. However, here are the ducks guts as I see them with a view to helping you along. There is never any point in going sideways and in terms of where you are coming from, there are 2 DOMESTIC machines that I think will offer more than what you have: A) Nemox Caffe Fenice and b) Rancilio Miss Silvia. Anything else in the domestic market in my honest opinion, doesnt rate next to these. I especially dont like aluminium thermoblocks in these small machines, and I dont like aluminium boilers in these small machines either, having seen too many of these things corroded and blocked...I personally wouldn't drink the espresso they produce no matter how well (in some peoples opinions) these machines produce coffee. Due to the larger capacity of the Miss Silvia (the boiler is double the size of other domestics), it has great steam capacity for the occasional bit of entertaining. Otherwise in the espresso only department, the two mentioned above will be the same in terms of "capacity" to produce. If you dont entertain much, you have to make a decision as to whether to go further, to a heat exchanger machine where you immediately jump up to your $1600.00ish price bracket and above. I personally cant really see the point in going for a heat exchanger machine that only has a boiler capacity of 0.7 litre. The main reasons in this country (where most people drink espresso drowned in milk) to go for a "semi- commercial" or "heat exchanger" machine (such as Diadema Junior etc) are a) because they are the type of person that like to have "commercial" quality and solidity at home and b) because these machines offer a far greater steam capacity for entertaining as they have boilers around 1.3 litres or more/...therefore much more steam for milk guzzlers! Given the machine you suggested buying has a boiler capacity not much bigger (if not almost the same) as the Miss Silvia, in a domestic situation, you have to be the judge of whether spending an RRP of $1600.00 for Zaffiro, compared to $750.00 for Silvia, will actually do anything more for you other than result in you spending more than double the money.... to achieve possibly, no more than a similar result...? In which case perhaps you will now look more favourable on the larger capacity heat exchanger machines you also mentioned (but rejected due to price), because they really do offer something more. As to the grinder. This depends in the type of machine you buy. Incidentally you mentioned the mazzer mini. Have you not read the coffeegeek test from last August where they wrote an extremely favourable artikill / test on the MACAP M5 grinder, which is Macaps equivalent to the Mazzer Mini, and where they wondered whether the M5 is a "Mazzer Mini Killer"? If you are going to consider one, you must look at the other, especially consideraing the mm is always hard to get, but the M5 is available right now. In addition, I would say yes, if you consider some kind of heat exchanger machine, at that price bracket then the "correct" type of grinder to get is a small commercial, eg M5, or Mini, or any other small commercial such as th Cunill Cafe Tranquilo at almost half the price of the others. Remember semi-commercial or heat exchanger machines are geared for a certian "capacity" to produce a good quality coffee, so small commercial grinders are the proper match. Otherwise for small domestic use where there is going to be little need for "capacity", there is nothing wrong with either of the 2 domestics mentioned above and they will be perfectly well mated to either a a) Lux grinder around $270.00 or b) Rancilio Rocky grinder at around $400.00. Horses for courses really! One more thing if I may...you need to be careful not to let much of what can be read on the net affect your personal requirements. There is a lot of cyclic plagiarism going round and round in circles, convincing people that they must have a select few models over all others, because of...whatever coffee equipment politikal reasons! But you need to get what's best for you, and the best way to do that is to talk to sympathetic, equipment & service providers with real life knowledge gained from experience of selling and servicing the good quality equipment they sell. Regardez, FC.
