HB wrote:Hal's comment provides a good excuse to plug the site's Guidelines for productive online discussion including this reminder:

+1

Endo wrote:But most importantly........ I have no coffee industry affiliations.

I sincerely hope that is not your most important qualification for advising others, Endo. Expertise would also be desirable.

That being said, spending much time as an aficionado in the coffee world often leads to relationships with professionals. You meet coffee people. You talk coffee. You like them. You meet them again. Now you have a "relationship."

When someone criticizes a coffee blend or a machine, you see, not just the beans or the machine, but the people behind them. Yes, it can create conflicts. Unfortunately, if you eliminated all the people with "coffee industry affiliations" from Home-barista.com, you would eliminate some of the most knowledgeable participants (not to mention its owner).

Marshall wrote:I sincerely hope that is not your most important qualification for advising others, Endo. Expertise would also be desirable.

That being said, spending much time as an aficionado in the coffee world often leads to relationships with professionals. You meet coffee people. You talk coffee. You like them. You meet them again. Now you have a "relationship."

When someone criticizes a coffee blend or a machine, you see, not just the beans or the machine, but the people behind them. Yes, it can create conflicts. Unfortunately, if you eliminated all the people with "coffee industry affiliations" from Home-barista.com, you would eliminate some of the most knowledgeable participants (not to mention its owner).

I have no "coffee industry affiliations," whatsoever. This does not however mean that I am not FOS.

ken

hperry wrote:I assume that this sweeping generalization is supported by substantial personal experience with the machine?

The price is posted online these days so you no longer need to look for a pricetag on the machine.

I own the cheaper Dalla Corte with the horizontal boiler (aka Mini Vivaldi). I understand exactly what the differences are and feel no need to demo this machine in order to make a general DB comment.

Like I said, I like the Dalla Corte brew head design. But the price difference is too high for the slight taste improvement that can be made through improved intrashot temperature stability. And yes....this is my opinion.

Thanks for all the information and enthused discussion.

Grinder - I have a stepless iberital MC2 which I am comfortable with - used it enough to "feel" the grind adjustment and it works well enough. More importantly - any changes on the kitchen counter need to be incremental.

Loved the comments from Rob0888 - and the idea that a coffee machine is apparently made by "Vinnie" or some other gangster type - and thanks for the reality check/roadworks example.

Also thanks to Rob for the succinct no discussion opinion.

And indeed to all contributors for sharing your knowledge and taking an interest in my domestic problem - at least as it relates to good coffee!

Next question - can anyone guide me on what to look for in a bean? How does anyone distinguish what qualities a bean will offer before it gets into the cup?

A telling factoid: "small" is treated as a noise-word on H-B.com.

No posts were found because the word small is not contained in any post.

The Olympia Maximatic (£1,960 from Londinium Epsresso) comes in at 7.68" wide X 13.39" deep X 14.57" high.

I've heard good things about their coffee, too, from people in the UK. That said, living in California, I have not tried any of their beans myself.

The Rancilio Silvia (£359 from Caffè Italia UK) is 9.5" wide X 11.375" deep X 13.625" high. It's a solid single boiler/dual use machine, but there is no comparison between the Silvia and the Maximatic! Whether it's 5½ times the machine is up to you, but for me -- yeah. It is. (Note: I have the Maximatic's predecessor, the Olympia Cafferex [built in 1989]. It's great!)

By the way, the Silvia is 108 square inches on the counter top. The Maximatic? 102.

Cheers,
Jason

Hi guys,

remember this:

HB wrote:That said, it may surprise other home baristas to discover conveniences that are not among the Maximatic's features:

• No steam boiler autofill (solution: allow machine to cool, remove cap atop the boiler, fill using sight glass to confirm water level)
• No vacuum breaker (solution: from a cold start, allow machine to warm up a few minutes, bleed some steam from the steam wand, then the boiler will continue heating to full pressure)
• No water tap (solution: draw water through the group or use a separate source like the microwave or hot pot).

[from Maximatic second look by Dan]

A bit shite for a machine with such a price tag.

Regards,
dsc.

Tom? Look here.

From the website:

Unlike the CREMINA, the MAXIMATIC has two water tanks: the fresh water tank and the boiler. The fresh water tank contains 3.17 pints and can be refilled while the MAXIMATIC is in operation.

Your solution describes the CREMINA.

Hi Jason,

it was Dan who had this is his Second look article, so I wasn't really checking other sites to confirm. Still the swiss description isn't very clear, at least to me. What do they mean by fresh water tank? is that a plastic water tank at the back of the machine like every pour-over machine has or something else?

I thought that the Cremina and Maximatic are pretty much the same, except for the pump.

Regards,
dsc.