I made the silly mistake of going onto a plumbed in machine early on in my journey..... No way i'll ever go back now, so maybe it was a good thing you didnt go straight for a plumb in? Means you have more of a choice!

Its a good point to consider, cos once you go black... sorry once you go plumbed in you never go back

dsblv wrote: After looking at HX machines, I finally concluded that the machines had too many compromises to justify their cost. Most of the machines use a vibe pump and require temperature surfing. You do get a dual function machine, but with major shortcomings.

I'm curious, what compromises do you mean? Design, parts, function...

Temp surfing is what I found I had to do on a thermostat controlled boiler with a wide dead band. The dead band of a pressurestat is not that wide and even so, in my experience, you don't temp surf an HX you flush it to drop the temp of the brew water in the HX line and cool down the group. Once flushed you have way more time to pull your shot that surfing a single boiler thermostat controlled machine and if you keep pulling shots back to back with a flushed HX there's no need to flush in between.

There's pros and cons, I believe, between both dual boilers and HX machines and quite a few topics devoted to discussing them. In the end I don't think there's really a decisive best pick. The choice appears to be more personal preference.

joellawry wrote:
Its a good point to consider, cos once you go black... sorry once you go plumbed in you never go back

Plumbed in rotary. No worries about water and quiet too.

Yes, but it is the same kind of upgradeitis that I get with regard to Nikon gear... you see, I own three professional bodies and enough lenses, and I don't need any more... but I still drool over the new toys.

I'm hoping that my current machine (Bezzera BZ99) and grinder (Mazzer Mini) last me at least through graduate school...

I'm still very happy with Ms. Anita (after a couple of years). I have wondered from time to time if it wouldn't be nice to have a machine that I could plumb it, however. Well, maybe when we get around to the kitchen remodel I've been waiting on ........

Cooling flush takes some getting used to, and it does use a fair bit of water (especially if left on 24/7 as mine is). But I am very satisfied overall. Granted, I lack the palate of many users here.

Upgrading, it is a never ending quest. Many think the Holy Grail is a multi-group commercial machine in the kitchen. Been there done than, it is not all it is cracked up to be. They are big, consume a lot of power, are big, you will never use more than one of the groups at a time, did I mention they are big? I went from a toy all the way up to a commercial two group, then back down to a commercial single group. Now I am happy.

Now and then I get the urge for something like a GS3, and then I pull shot from my A3 and think, Na. The question to ask ones self is if I spend $5000 on a new machine, will I get $5000 better cup than what I have now. That is not to say that if I had a bucket of cash to burn I would not get one, but I am no hurry. Now a grinder, that is another story.

Once you go beyond a certain level of espresso machine, the improvements you will have as a result of an upgrade become vanishingly small. I'd put that level as somewhere between your basic E61 machine and a good commercial single group. As to the differences between a basic E61 and a single group commercial, they would be more on the order of the job of making great shots becoming easier, rather than that your best shots on either type of machine would be better than the other one.

I think HX vs. Double Boiler is a fairly meaningless debate; you can get excellent shots on either type of equipment after you learn how to use it.

If you REALLY want to make better shots, there is really only one way, and that way is to use better coffee, whether home roasted or purchased. Given a good (not "great") level of equipment, large scale improvements come from upgrading the coffee you use, not the equipment.

ken

Ken Fox wrote:Once you go beyond a certain level of espresso machine, the improvements you will have as a result of an upgrade become vanishingly small. I'd put that level as somewhere between your basic E61 machine and a good commercial single group. As to the differences between a basic E61 and a single group commercial, they would be more on the order of the job of making great shots becoming easier, rather than that your best shots on either type of machine would be better than the other one.

I think HX vs. Double Boiler is a fairly meaningless debate; you can get excellent shots on either type of equipment after you learn how to use it.

If you REALLY want to make better shots, there is really only one way, and that way is to use better coffee, whether home roasted or purchased. Given a good (not "great") level of equipment, large scale improvements come from upgrading the coffee you use, not the equipment.

ken

I completely agree. I went from a humble Gaggia Coffee to the Quickmill Anita. The change was drastic and very good. I simply don't lust for more. Once I became comfortable with the Anita I don't find myself lacking/wanting anything else. The Quickmill is a joy to use (for me).

From instant -> moka pot -> steam toy -> SB Barista -> 1 Gp Commercial Wega Airy EPU HX over the space of about 14 years.

No upgradeitis now. Perfectly happy with my set up and the plumbed in and out nature of a commercial is a pure pleasure!

I had an Isomac Tea (hx machine) for about a year before finally deciding that domestic sized hx machines are too much of a compromise for me to be happy using them (I'm sure fullsized commercial ones are a whole different story).

Upgraded to a plumbed in/out double boiler machine which is - for me - much easier to use and get a consistent result, and being plumbed, much more convenient.

Don't think I'll be upgrading from this one until it finally dies and isn't repairable, which I hope is going to be some distance away.

Wish I'd bought this one from day one...of course