Well, I did do a lot of reading on it - but as much as I like the idea of the Dalla Corte, it's still another almost USD850 on top of the Brewtus. I'm also not sure I like the looks of the machine to be honest.

I tried out the Brewtus III variant (it's called Leva 2 here) at the vendor's showroom today and I must say it was very pleasant to use - and very easy to make great espresso and micro foamed milk. Perhaps not he most beautiful of the machines I'm considering but at least I had the option of trying it out. And I also liked the guy who runs the shop. Although this English is pretty poor, he's passionate about coffee machines and I sense his after sales support would be quite good. He would need about 4 weeks to deliver so I'll have to make up my mind soon...

And I do like the idea of a plumbed in rotary model as you say.

Claus

Well there is alot to be said about having some 'hands on' time, and if you like the vendor as well then thats a big plus. I ran my previous machine for around 2 years before I plumbed it in. Took most of a day to sort out with problems locating plumbing stuff in Hong Kong, but it was well worth it and have never looked back since.

For the plumbing - what kind of stuff did you need? And did you find it complicated to hook up?

My kitchen has a bit of a weird layout which means I actually have my espresso machine on top of the washing machine. This means that I have an outlet and a drain right next to it. I'm hoping that would make the plumbing in reasonably straight-forward.

Cheers,
Claus

I too used my washing machine outlet, but needed to build a 'spaghetti junction' to split it for the washing machine, dishwasher and coffee machine... all of which unfortunately used different threads. Hookup quite straightforward, just sometimes finding parts can be problematic due to language difficulties. I headed into Wan Chai and eventually found some fittings, another friend found some at a hardware store in Discovery Bay.

Depending on line pressure, an adjustable pressure regulator valve is a good idea. And its essential to have a good filter/softener. You can buy EVERPURE here in HK but its very expensive. Actually much cheaper to get off eBay in the US and post it here, several vendors have reasonable postage. Worth getting the filter head with a shut off valve incorporated in it, QL3 I think from memory.

Drainage very simple, but would recommend a reasonably wide pipe. My current one is 16mm inside diameter. Previously I had a smaller pipe, if the run from machine to drain is not a constant down slope, then it will back up and flood, had that happen a few times...

Claus, did you make a decision yet? I was curious why you weren't considering the Vibiemme dual boiler? Is it available there? I stumbled on a German site that listed the ECM model as close to price of the Vibiemme - but that is halfway across the world from you!

Hi Ed,

No, I haven't made a decision just yet - although I'm leaning towards the Expobar.

I would love a Vibiemme dual boiler but there is a small matter of price. Vibiemme nearest Asian agent is in Singapore and I was considering picking one up on my next trip down there. But the "regular" Domobar Super is already more than USD2,100 so I can't imagine what the dual boiler version would be.

I have been offered the ECM at a very reasonable price at just under US$1,500 plus shipping so it's still tempting despite being far away. But the more I think of it, a plumbed in rotation machine sounds great.

Claus

OK - now the choice was just made harder by that fact that Quickmill finally got back to me.

They can offer me the Andreja Premium for USD1,360 (including shipping) or a slightly used one ("...made 50 cups of coffee during the last exhibition..") for USD1,070. Haven't heard what they want for a rotary Vetrano yet.

Gotta say that the slightly used option is tempting. Pretty cheap and I could get it right away (as opposed to waiting about 4 weeks).

Quickmill seems to have a very good reputation. Any Andreja owners out there who have had problems?

Cheers