Kees Van Der Westen - Mirage

askthecoffeeguy

Ok... I've laid down my hard earned so I figured that this machine deserves a category of its own, as I strive to keep you informed on my coffee journey...

Signed off on the paperwork today, and had the sparky come through to organise laying a dedicated 6ml cable for the new machine

The sparky returns on Monday to boost the power supply, and to run a dedicated circuit for my commercial conveyer toaster

And ill be heading to the importer's showroom on Monday or Tuesday to have a play on the machine - to get a feel for how it works, and to look at the presets / flow restrictor options, in preparation for installation on Wednesday

Anyway, the Mirage is generating a lot of interest - which can only be good for business

And the timing seems somewhat fortuitous, as my BFC Synchro packed it in for a couple of hours yesterday morning, just as we were getting ready for our morning coffee rush!

As things turned out ? we'd fried the neutral on the circuit board, so it wasn't a machine fault at all - but it still took several hours to get someone out and identify the problem and fix it

So we ended up serving filter and plunger coffees instead - which are among my favourite preparation methods - and I reckon we probably sold 40 filter coffees in an hour and a half - which is not bad considering preparation times, and the fact that we've only got two clever coffee drippers that we kept turning over during service !

More to follow ....

ACg

Koffee_Kosmo

I will be waiting for the next post with some photos of the installed machine  :thumb: KK

admin

Hi mate, sounds great; glad things are going well enough for the upgrade... just a quick one: would be interested what made you decide on this one, rather than some of the other 'high-end' names around [eg Syncra, Synesso, & La Marzocco]? A

Ronin

Great choice of machine, sure to stand out from the croud. Out of interest tho, what happened to the LM Linea project?

mycuppa

Guys - perhaps it could be that the new generation Linea is still not available today - so you can't actually plonk one down on your cafe counter tomorrow - maybe for Pat it is perhaps more a timing issue (correct me if I'm wrong ACG) as I also have a client who faces a similar dilemma  - want it now and can't wait ? In terms of the decision to choose the KVW - In my mind it's a really good one to differentiate from the La Mocha and Sneezio crowd - despite being expensive machines the LM's and Syn's are starting to appear common everywhere you look these days - or maybe it's just me. having customers using LM's and Sneezio's and drinking my own coffees from both brands of equipment - I know which one I would prefer if it was my "hard-earned $$".

Ronin

Hi Jeff By Linea I meant the rebuild Pat was doing http://www.bestcafes.com.au/forum/projects-rebuilds/la-marzocco-linea-rebuild/

mycuppa

Apologies Colin - yes you are correct....... I am also eagerly watching the new release of the updated Linea.

askthecoffeeguy

on 1366440063:

Great choice of machine, sure to stand out from the croud. Out of interest tho, what happened to the LM Linea project?

The Linea rebuild required substantial upfront costs and was shelved temporarily due to the weight of other pressing matters Also, I was and am not the instigator of that project, my commercial roaster is / was - although, as I understand it, he has already completed one machine which has been installed in a cafe, and from all accounts is working tremendously And my understanding is that he has several other machines nearing completion, which are available for purchase outright, and has orders for others that he is currently fulfilling Feel free to personal message me if you require further details and / or have an interest in purchasing one of the Linea rebuilds Cheers, ACg

askthecoffeeguy

on 1366447180:

Apologies Colin - yes you are correct....... I am also eagerly watching the new release of the updated Linea.

Correct, I was also interested in the new release Linea, but apparently I jumped the gun because I believe its being prototyped at the moment and I believe wont be released for awhile - although, I believe that theres one being showcased for the forthcoming MICE festival in Melbourne!

askthecoffeeguy

on 1366439215:

Hi mate, sounds great; glad things are going well enough for the upgrade... just a quick one: would be interested what made you decide on this one, rather than some of the other 'high-end' names around [eg Syncra, Synesso, & La Marzocco]? A

I think I've answered some of these questions previously, but essentially I'm attracted to both the styling and the aesthetic of the machine, which fits in with the retro theme of the cafe Also, that the machine is essentially mechanical (as opposed to tricked up electrical) appeals to my analogue aesthetic - I've owned and worked with E61 machines before, and I like the look and the feel and the coffee that they produce And as has been mentioned just in my immediate vicinity is a plethora of Synesso and LM machines - I would hazard a guess and say that there are at least ten of these machines within a 2km radius from my cafe - and probably double that within a five km radius So for one, I want to set myself apart from the rest of the crowd, and two, as a semi-automatic machine I feel its pretty aligned and compatible with what we already do, in that with the presets on the machine (controlled extraction times etc) - its particularly well suited to our environment, in that during our busy coffee periods its not unusual to get hit with 50 coffee orders at one time, and having the presets allows us to focus on tamp and grind, knowing that the extraction side of things should largely take care of itself Personally I would love to own a paddle machine, but the reality is that I'm not the only person on the machine, and realistically, I'd only trust one other full time person in my cafe to have manual control over the extraction rates, without compromising shot quality / maintaining consistency between shots etc I feel that a paddle machine is better suited to a different type of environment, one where there is one, or two tops, operating that machine in total We've also got the foot pedal for steam control on / off switch coming with the Mirage, which I'm really looking forward to using Also, somewhat subjectively, there are plenty of baristas out there, but I would argue that there are very few exceptionally good ones - and thankfully I've got some great staff - so I'd like to reward them with a machine which is compatible with their experience, and, in the case of my manager / head barista, Michelle, she has already worked on one of these machines at Degraves Espresso in the city I also need to keep myself interested and focused on what I'm doing, and to be able to set myself new challenges to constantly refine and improve what I and my team do, and I think the (hopefully mild) learning curve on the Mirage will help both myself and my staff to engage with what we're doing in a more meaningful way And lastly, I believe that we've been consistently producing exceptional coffee for a long time, and I have a very close working relationship with my roaster to ensure that this happens But there are most certainly some segments of the public, and the print media, who, it would appear, seem to think that you can only get amazing coffee from an amazing machine - I know because I've met them, and read certain guides that only seem to feature the LM / Robur combo So, to cut a long story short, its a reward for my tireless efforts, an extreme from of upgraditus, and a fitting testimony to the quality of the coffee that we produce In addition its a reward and a thank you to the tireless efforts of my dedicated staff who remarkably share my passion for what we do!

Ronin

on 1366606153:

The Linea rebuild required substantial upfront costs and was shelved temporarily due to the weight of other pressing matters Also, I was and am not the instigator of that project, my commercial roaster is / was - although, as I understand it, he has already completed one machine which has been installed in a cafe, and from all accounts is working tremendously And my understanding is that he has several other machines nearing completion, which are available for purchase outright, and has orders for others that he is currently fulfilling Feel free to personal message me if you require further details and / or have an interest in purchasing one of the Linea rebuilds Cheers, ACg

I was under the impression that it was your Linea baby ACg, my mistake. You have chosen a great machine and seems to tick all your boxes. I was lucky enough to have a play on one for a while at Espresso Mechanics while my machine was there. Great point of difference as you say Pat. Congrats and look forward to pics

askthecoffeeguy

on 1366608465:

I was under the impression that it was your Linea baby ACg, my mistake. You have chosen a great machine and seems to tick all your boxes. I was lucky enough to have a play on one for a while at Espresso Mechanics while my machine was there. Great point of difference as you say Pat. Congrats and look forward to pics

Thanks Ronin, We're playing around with the setup of the machine at the moment, trying different flow restrictor combinations and then scace testing for accuracy - also experimenting with VST baskets and enjoying the feel of the new moulded LM handles! Still waiting on the sparky to get the back end right but hopefully should be good to go later this week ...

askthecoffeeguy

new machine arrives monday - and we've opted for the additional cup holder, and the foot pedal operation for the steam wand!

cosmic_couple22

Congratulations on your new machine purchase ACG, how can you go wrong with such amazing pieces of enginering and design. More so I would like to commend you on the respect and appreciation you show towards your staff. May the coffee gods bring you much success.  :thumb: Chester

askthecoffeeguy

Many thanks Chester - you probably haven't been at my cafe when I've been paying out on the staff or you might reconsider those comments but I do try to treat my staff with respect given that I've done everything in hospo myself including working as a dishwasher - and from there up! Machine comes in tomorrow fingers crossed had a bit of a play with it in the showroom and thought long and hard before deciding on this magnificent piece of equipment! I've also got great staff and the new machine helps to keep them interested in what they're doing - and I'm interested myself to see what difference it makes to shot quality in the cup!

askthecoffeeguy

So the Mirage is being retrofitted with custom flow restrictors and purpose built anti-vac valves for the steam wands and should, hopefully, be on my bench tomorrow - yay!

Brett H

on 1367408212:

So the Mirage is being retrofitted with custom flow restrictors and purpose built anti-vac valves for the steam wands and should, hopefully, be on my bench tomorrow - yay!

Pictures, puctures, poctures.....!!! Great stuff Pat.  Does a seasoned pro like you get excited or do you just nod sagely at having invested in your business?

askthecoffeeguy

on 1367408991:

Pictures, puctures, poctures.....!!! Great stuff Pat.  Does a seasoned pro like you get excited or do you just nod sagely at having invested in your business?

Oh I'm definitely excited but it has been offset by delays in installation times for various reasons setting the install behind schedule by several weeks I'm more interested to see the difference (if any) in shot quality in the cup, and to put the coffee aspect of the business on centre stage (if it wasnt there already), and its great to see my staff super keen to see it up and running as well In essence the flow rates should be similar to what we have now - meaning that in theory at least we ought to be able to run a shot for a minute or more without blonding or burning the coffee - not that I'm recommending that as the norm - but it does mean that we're able to pull some super tight shots with amazing complexity. even when we're busy, without having to dump the shot and start again - in which case I'd tend to cut the pour short anyway And the presets on the machine in terms of flow rates etc mean that we can concentrate on milk texturing, without having to manually stop the shot (which is a consideration because my first preference was for a manual paddle machine but they're just not suited to our workflow environment And I'm curious to know if the new machine will win over a new demographic in terms of its wow factor - at the very least it should create a talking point, and it sets up apart from our immediate competitors in a fairly substantial way, in terms of having something recognisably different to the Synesso / LM 'norm (well for my area at least)

Paolo5

Is it THERE yet? Is it THERE yet? Is it THERE yet?

askthecoffeeguy

on 1367458358:

Is it THERE yet? Is it THERE yet? Is it THERE yet?

NO!  Apparently the machine needs to be retro-fitted with some space age blah blah blah to bring it up to spec with blah blah blah and we're rebuilding and retooling the steam taps to retrofit antivac valves to provide controlled steam on demand and to ensure there's no milk backwash into the boiler also there's a couple of extra grand worth of gear to go on there (Additional cup holder and foot pedal operated steam wands) - and that's not in this weeks budget but it is in next weeks! :tearhair: :tearhair: :tearhair: :pan :pan :pan :head: :head: :head:

derrilex

Geez Pat, I hope it's worth it. The bling can sting  :D

askthecoffeeguy

Yeah the extras definitely add up in a hurry but I'd rather do the behind the scenes work now to make sure that its functioning to optimum efficiency than try to fix it when it breaks down later for something that could have been avoided with some prior maintenance  Also I'll see if I can put some photos up

derrilex

Tis a sexy beast. It just has to pay for itself now :D

admin

great-looking machine Pat - can't wait to try it! A ;D

Brett H

Oh Wow!!! Wonderful looking machine Pat!

askthecoffeeguy

on 1367564737:

Oh Wow!!! Wonderful looking machine Pat!

Yeah... its a little frustrating at the moment - cost as much as a new car but if I paid for a new car I'd be driving it by now! Still... by the time we do all the modifications it will be in better than new condition! Cant wait to smash a busy service (*but not the coffee!) with this machine! P

Ol Grumpy

"No good work whatever can be perfect, and the demand for perfection is always a sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art" John Ruskin....

Ol Grumpy

"Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it." Sir Henry Royce.... Rolls down one side, can hardly get up the other....

askthecoffeeguy

on 1367586957:

"No good work whatever can be perfect, and the demand for perfection is always a sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art" John Ruskin....

I woulod say that anyone who is not a perfectionist and anal retentive at the same time is probably in the wrong game when it comes to hospitality and the quest for the illusive 'god shot'

derrilex

on 1367594191:

I woulod say that anyone who is not a perfectionist and anal retentive at the same time is probably in the wrong game when it comes to hospitality and the quest for the illusive 'god shot'

Doesn't seem to stop 99 % of the coffee shops out there Pat serving sh*t on a stick, or in a cup in this case. :D

Ol Grumpy

Gotta respect a guy who puts his money where his mouth is.....