Bezzera Mitica/QuickMill Vetrano DB - Page 5

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
mgthompson
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#41: Post by mgthompson »

I have never noticed any off flavors from my duetto.

brianl (original poster)
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#42: Post by brianl (original poster) »

In starting to fall into the rabbit hole between sbdu machines and hxs.

Is the quick mill Alexia still the gold standard for sbdu? I was looking into the ecm classika ii as well because it has a pid and stainless steel boiler for around the same price.

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boar_d_laze
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Joined: 17 years ago

#43: Post by boar_d_laze »

There is no gold standard for SBDUs. Tin maybe, but only if you add a PID.

If you ever plan to make milk drinks, don't get an SBDU. Even a hybrid like a CC1 or Silvano is problematic if your plans include occasionally entertaining people who enjoy milk drinks -- women for instance.

If you've determined not to buy a double-boiler, get an HX with the largest boiler and widest chassis you can afford.

Rich
Drop a nickel in the pot Joe. Takin' it slow. Waiter, waiter, percolator

brianl (original poster)
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#44: Post by brianl (original poster) »

I haven't decided on a hx machine but the only double boiler in price is the qm67 and I'm not sold on that. I also would like to be able to switch off the steam boiler when not in use. Anything out there like this? I feel like the plumbing isn't as necessary for a dB though.

That being said, I think I'll start looking for a good price on the izzo Alex Tre. Any objections? Ha

Is there a new version coming out soon that I should be aware of or something before buying? I noticed Chris coffee said they were going to stop carrying it.

brianl (original poster)
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#45: Post by brianl (original poster) »

Sorry for dragging this out. My Sig Other has been wanting the Elektra microcasa semiautimatica for the visual appeal. Is there any reason to not consider this machine? Like I said, I have a very light use schedule of mostly an espresso or two daily and the occassional milk drink, mostly cortados and caps.

there are great reviews out by both HB and Mark at coffeegeek but are fairly old.

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howard seth
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#46: Post by howard seth »

there are great reviews out by both HB and Mark at coffeegeek but are fairly old.
I would like to hear what they would think now all these years later - with more machines on the market.

I have owned an Elektra Semiautomatica for the past 8 years (and 10,000 cups). I like the coffee it makes. However, it can be a cranky machine - the pressure stats are prone to failure - and the machine needs really clean water - or else the stats fail quicker.
Today I opened it up to search for a slight leak.... always need to keep a watchful eye on it.

I have read here that some of the Bezzera machines may make similar style coffee - and the the Bezzera Strega looks particularly enticing.

As for me I will probably just keep using my Elektra.
Howie

DanoM
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#47: Post by DanoM »

howard seth wrote:I have read here that some of the Bezzera machines may make similar style coffee - and the the Bezzera Strega looks particularly enticing.
(A chorus chants off in the distance.) Strega! Strega! Strega! :mrgreen:

I love my Strega. Great machine, but you have to be some kind of different animal to love commercial levers as they aren't for everyone it seems, and they do take up more vertical space with that lever.
Personally, I think the Strega is very easy to operate. Lots of reviews around and their all fairly recent.
LMWDP #445

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canuckcoffeeguy
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#48: Post by canuckcoffeeguy »

brianl wrote:Sorry for dragging this out. My Sig Other has been wanting the Elektra microcasa semiautimatica for the visual appeal. Is there any reason to not consider this machine? Like I said, I have a very light use schedule of mostly an espresso or two daily and the occassional milk drink, mostly cortados and caps.

there are great reviews out by both HB and Mark at coffeegeek but are fairly old.
I looked at the Elektra in person when I bought my Magica. They're striking and would look great on just about anything. But one drawback of this pretty design -- if you have kids -- is that it's basically one big exposed boiler. So I believe it gets really hot all over.

I myself would strongly consider it as a second machine. I have a soft spot for Elektra machines. I like the look and have heard from a number of people it can make great shots. One of my most memorable cafe shots was pulled on a T1. Elektra's are known for their clarity.

brianl (original poster)
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#49: Post by brianl (original poster) »

I don't have to worry about a kid... Yet. Something to consider for the future.

I'm just caught in an endless cycle of db and hx. Right when I'm about to buy the mitica, I think I should just man up and get the vetrano 2b. Then I consider it to be over kill for my one double a day and a few on the weekends, ha. However the difference of 500 isn't going to send me to the poor house.

I think it's mostly because I'm very anal retentive about temperature and can't imagine being precise. However I know that's hog wash as I'll probably just learn to alter flush routines.

Like I said, with a db most of the time the stream boiler will be turned off with the occasional milk drink.

My ultimate goal is best tasting espresso as that's 95 percent of the time and why the elektra appealed to me based on the two reviews I mentioned.

Update 8/22/2014

I have decided that I REQUIRE the following:
-PID (HX or DB, either the machine comes with one or there is enough documentation out there to add one myself). This probably all but eliminated the elektra unless a PID can be added.
-Rotary Pump (with plumb in)
-Drain plumb in (I'm not sure how hard it is to add a tube to the bottom of a normal drip tray so this one might not matter)

I am thinking that although i might not be able to connect to the actual water line, I would like to use a 5 gallon bottle with the flowjet pump (is there any reason I wouldn't be able to do this?)

This choice has lingered since CCS has been out of stock of the Alex Tre and i'm not interested in one with scratches already.

brianl (original poster)
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#50: Post by brianl (original poster) »

I started comparing overall prices (so that's a good sign) ha.

For the Vetrano DB, Ill need to add a steam and hot water switch ([80 each] not a fan of using a knob in the practical or aesthetic sense). I'm also looking at the cost of a naked portafilter (70). This is approximately 2,524.9 factoring the gift card CCS is offering.

The mitica would only require about a $50 naked portafilter that Jim sells (not as attractive as the CCS naked, but oh well). The total cost for this is about $1,911.02 and also includes a fairly worthless grinder.

I will definitely need to do some haggling to bring the Vetrano home as that's a hefty difference. Not sure what to do with the free grinder as I'd prefer to avoid the hassle of selling a grinder. The main thing the Vetrano has going for it is the already drain plumb option.

Thanks for listening and hope I can put this topic to rest soon.