derrilex wrote:
Ahhh the grinder , well thats a different storey, which I suspect is going to no less painful. Bezerra reccomend the BB05 which is $ 495. Until I decide the old 480 will have to do. Cant be any worse the the 6910
I'll break this response up a little: Grinder While I have a vested interest in this topic (I have a couple of machines for sale), this makes me cautious about rubbishing another person's opinion. However, last time I talked to Chris I was standing on a box at The Rocks' Aromafest with a Domus Galatea and a BB004 (which I think is the one AM is referring to). It was slow, frustrating and as with very obvious welds everywhere, and grind quality to my mind was a little less than the Macap M4 and Mazzer Minis I was using at the time. Some people are of the opinion that that's all you'll ever need - but I've ended up with a pair of BNZ's and would think that while it's the right range to start off in, a Super Jolly is a much better grinder in terms of grind quality to my mind. I can blind taste-test them apart and prefer the SJ for complexity and a hint more brightness. The BB005 is prettier than the 004, that's for sure, but it doesn't appear to have much sales volume, and I'd be cautious about it for a few reasons. The 004 did still make over 250 shots on that day, and the main issue was that the 15L container under the drip tray ended up full and spilled over (being on the box I didn't mind so much). Machines - Cheap You should be able to make a happy-face cup of coffee with a BES800 (the old 4-glow-button one) picked up from any breville outlet for $250. But it's an appliance. It will break eventually. Having a quality basket and tamper, I can do a heaps good coffee with it (ie. I'd happily make coffee for a world barista champion on it). But.. Machines - E61 These are forgiving, solid and reliable. I spent 2 hours fixing one yesterday which had fallen over and found itself a few issues (not my machines). They are simple internally, even if some manufacturers can make them incredibly difficult to work on. Bezzera are an example, for instance, of "pain in the ass" placement of certain parts, and the Domus Galatea has a shell you need to know a few tricks to pull off and on quickly (or it's 10-15 minutes of care). Parts vary between machines too, and while things like boiler size aren't always important, things that can be done badly range from boiler level probes being stupid lengths to the configuration of the safety valve and anti/vac valve and whether they'll leak all over the electronics or the floor (the floor is the one you want) if there's an issue. Remember that "a lot of machine for the money" is both a statement of value and a major caveat. I think in general you sound set on an E61. I would be trying to convince you to go above the BZ99S for a whole heap of reasons, but I think you'll end up taking the advice of people you've met in public over a 'random forum guy', and fair play to you. While I agree that an ugly exterior can hide a beautiful heart, in this case it hides... well, here's a link to pictures. > http://thehippy.net/nucleus/?itemid=1524 Bear in mind that the BZ35/BZ40 have passively heated group heads while the Galatea has a thermosyphon loop and the BZ07 has an active group - I think the 99 is a passive but I'm not entirely sure. This changes the shot characteristics a huge amount - either way, I've noticed a massive drop through in extraction temp over a typical shot duration on the only one I've used, which I took a bead to for precisely this reason. While I don't normally link to the site... actually, I won't, search google for an Aromafest 2009 thread on another coffee forum and go to page 3, having 4 machines and 4 grinders in various combos (Domobar Super, Giotto Premium, Domus Galatea and Minore II (or III) + Macap M4, Bezzera BB004, Mazzer Mini & Mazzer Super Jolly), a lot of the folks involved came to the conclusion that there is a difference in use between the machines. It'll also show you a few well-known folks in awkward positions 😃
