Expobar twin boiler home machine

Reschsmooth

I found out yesterday (at Aroma) that the Expobar twin boiler machine is coming to Australia later this year. It sounds very interesting with:

Two 2L boilers
Each boiler has a 2000 watt element
Temp control and readout
E61 (replica?) group

This is what the US distributors (and co-designers) say:

"Its sole reason for existence is to produce unwavering temperature control. From stability to adjustability, the Brewtus

mattyj

I would say yes, especially with the PID controller on the brew boiler. HX machines, if left idle for a few minutes will overheat, and need a cooling flush, so you don't burn the coffee. Having a dedicated brew boiler means that the water in that boiler is sitting at the right brewing temperatures, needing only a heating flush to get the group head up to temp. This machine has a PID controller, which means that if a certain coffee needs a slightly higer temp by a degree or two, you can set it to that temp. Also, you can more easily play with different brew temps on the same coffee. There are benefits to having a dedicated steam boiler as well - and to my mind, it's the same as with the brew boiler: a dedicated temp for steaming. I've had a play with the expobar (it's called the 'brewtus'), and it's a really nice machine. Wish I could afford one!

Reschsmooth

I had a close look at the Brewtus (as well as the internals) yesterday - the boilers are insulated! I had a shot made from it as well, and was reasonably impressed. I would have to say that the 'look' of the machine is not as nice as, say, the Giotto, Tea, Splendor, etc, but it looks reasonably solid. I presume the machine has been modified for Australian voltage conditions? I understand the machine was developed by Expobar (Spain) and Wholelattalove (US). Cheers Patrick

mattyj

hmm ... can you judge a machine from a shot alone? I wish that I'd had more of an opportunity to put the brewtus through it's paces, pull lots more shots, with different coffees, playing with grind and dosages more. It sure does look uglier than the other machines, but when it comes in cheaper than them, that's a nice thing. I think Expobar are made more by engineers than designers: hence the plain looks. That said, it's chuky 2mm stainless steel, so I'm sure if you dropped it, the floor would come off worse. As far as I could tell, the brewtus has been adjusted to aussie voltage/power conditions etc.

Reschsmooth

"hmm ... can you judge a machine from a shot alone?" Ummm, no I don't think you can, and I don't think I was implying that. It definately isn't a 'pretty' machine, but if the output is superior, you possibly wouldn't mind a box in your kitchen. Matty, are you able to confirm, from your inspections and discussions, whether the machine does have 2x2L boilers with 2000 watt elements? Cheers P

Reschsmooth

One other question for those who may know - what is service like for Expobar in Australia? The brand seems less commmon than, say, ECM, Diadema, etc and the last thing you want is lack of service and parts. P

mattyj

re: judging a machine by a shot ... my bad, I misunderstood! sorry! Apparently, David Schomer (the espresso-god) spent some time with the brewtus at the ASCAA/WBC coffee festival thing, and his comment was that, in his opinion, the brewtus is the best home espresso machine around. Impressive! As for the boxiness, it must have grown on me - I was considering the expobar leva (identical to the 2 boiler brewtus, but with a single boiler/hx) and thought it was quite nice. I'm settling for a cheaper expobar, basically the same but less bling. More boxy and plain looking. Service for expobar in aus seems good. A coffeegeek in melbourne owns one and had some problems early on. They were easily fixed by the distributor down there, and Rob reassures me that if I have any problems, the people at Forsyth's can fix them for me. I get the feeling that as the Brewtus gets officially released here, the service will improve. As for specs regarding boiler size and 2000W elemtents, I'm really not sure - I saw it's guts, but I don't know the specs. The boilers looked big enough - quite possibly 2l. If you get in touch with Forsyth's, you could ask them - they've got one of the three test models in Aus. Rob's a nice guy, and he's been really helping me out with my upgrade-quest. As for the e61 group - most e61 groups are replica's apparently. From what I can remember, it's a long story, but basically only faema's and ECM's and maybe one or two other models use 'real' e61's, and it all had something to do with the guy who invented it, and a guy who worked with him and licensing etc etc. The others (replica's) work pretty much the same (or maybe exactly the same, at least the same methodology), and from what I can gather, they give the same output. Anyone else who knows more than me, feel free to correct me! ps: I know I probably sound like a fan-boy for the expobars ... I guess I am. I'm just so happy to finally find a good hx machine that functions as well as an ECM, but so much cheaper! They're ugly, but perfect for me! edit: Patrick, I emailed you a link you might be interested in

Lukeus

The Brewtus expobar twin tank has arrived very limited stock only 10 available for Sydney/NSW selling now They are modified for Australian standard and is a great espresso machine

moy71

hi. i am curious where I can see the Brewtus for sale and for approx how much? thx

JM

There's pics and notes here in case you wanted to see it. http://tinyurl.com/85cd4

john_2

Lukeus Can you explain "They are modified for Australian standard". What has bean modified???? What standard???? John

moy71

john, i think by australian standards he means that it is 220volts. remember this machine was originally modified from the US at Wholelattelove.com. cheers moy71

Gonzo

I sincerely hope this means it has been built to be compatible with the australian standard which would be 240 +15/-10 Volts, 50/60 Hz. Which also means that if they are being supplied unmodified from the EU (european union) standard of 230 Volts (+/- whatever), they have not actually been made suitable for Australian conditions at all, and should not be supported. Check before you buy. G.

john_2

The voltage might be fine, but check on the Hz if it is not right then it might hertz (had to put it in) the pocket. John

mattyj

from when I had a play with one at Forsyths a few months back, it sounded like J & M Slade down in Melbourne had some test models out - about 3. They seemed to be modified for aussie power supplies - because it was plugged into a normal aussie powerpoint (I know nothing about voltage, except that if you stick a fork into a powerpoint, you get zapped). It also seemed that there was talk about improving some of the internals of the machine, improvements from reflecting on the original release models in the states - but I couldn't confirm anything other than the facts that there were two boilers - one for steam, one for espresso. The steam boiler had a heat exchange running through it from the reservoir to the brew boiler, to preheat fresh water entering the brew boiler. Both boilers were insulated with stuff that looks like the pink bats you stick in the cieling to keep you warmer in winter & cooler in summer. But then, so is the boiler on my expobar office, so that's probably standard (or something that Slade do in their pre-sale service). Other than that, I think that on the demo models there were a few lines that were teflon, that were going to be replaced with copper lines. It was a very nice machine, and if it wasn't modified for aussie power supplies, I think that the aussie distributors would be very stupid to try selling them.

JM

Don't worry, if it's sold here it should work OK with our electricity supply. That's the law. Period. If you like the spec of the Expobar, in part thanks to the twin boiler, then check the "forthcoming" La Marzocco consumer/domestic puppy. Go to this page and scroll right down near the bottom. www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/showreports/05-04-2005

mattyj

home-barista.com now has a very thorough buyers guide for the brewtus, written by one of the first people to buy this machine in the states. He's owned and used it for about 8 months, and head up the brewtus user group - which is dedicated to writing the manual for this machine, and all that geeky techie stuff. have a read: http://www.home-barista.com/brewtus-buyers-guide.html

[deleted]

Hi Chaps, As a distributor of expobar in Melbourne and having spent much time with the equipment I can inform you that the 'Barista Minore' which it will be known in AUST aka 'Brewtus'is a machine built for our system and standards. Yes, the original units were developed for the US! The 'Barista Minore' has been built for Aust market. Re:jigged to meet the high standards and electrical specs expected here. The US version (brewtus) uses 1200w elements. Our version has 2000w for both the coffee & Steam boilers. No you dont need 4000w of juice. Neither boiler can heat at the same time and wont effect the output. Ajustment of the coffee temp is superb and a great idea. The Slade boys have done a fantastic job communicating requirements with the OEM in Spain. A limited no: of machines will arrive next week and more will follow. Demand is expected to be high. RRP $2300 inc. Just on service, expobar have a great reputation for reliability and with roasters and service agents all over the country then there should'nt be any problems. Cheers Moto

Mad_Barun

Guy's, I'm just about to order one (Barista Minore), One question. Every one (who dosn't sell them) I've asked are saying that they would turn away from EXPOBAR? What do you think? Are they cheaper, because they use lesser quatily parts? Cheers Mark ???

mattyj

they are cheaper because the fit and finish aren't as pretty as italian machines (ala ECM giotto and the likes). That said, mine works beautifully, as do other expobars that I know of. I chose expobar over other machines simply because they do the same job, in the same way, but much cheaper.