Varimathras wrote: A Custom made brew bar, perfect for brewing and experimenting. The sink is way in the back, makes going back and forth a hassle.

Welcome to the best forum in the whole world. Always nice to see South East Asian representation.
Nice bar !

Varimathras wrote:<image>
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A Custom made brew bar, perfect for brewing and experimenting. The sink is way in the back, makes going back and forth a hassle.

Really like this set up! I have the Bonivita too. Really helps out with Americano's.

Added a few new additions.

Here's my setup. Still evolving of course. Finally got around to bolting the '14 hg-one to the Butcher block from underneath. Boy does that make it a joy to use. In the cupboard lies the aeropress with able disk fine, kettle, roaster and stash of those precious greens. Thanks to this great group of coffee folks, I'm having the best coffee of my life and sharing that passion with friends and family has been so fun. It's all about that moment when the roast, grind, tamp, pull, microfoam, and latte art pour come together and my wife takes that first sip and then just silently nods her head with that look on her face that says "yeah, that's it."
Then, of course, I go over after a quick clean up to get some of that godly nectar only to find one sad sip left with a few lonely grounds lingering in it.

I've never seen a two-group beast like that. How do you like it?

Ah ha, this was the result of a very lucky and random Craigslist find. Needed some tlc on the guts and was missing some parts when I found it but outside it was like new. Was sitting unused in the basement of an old country club for years. After some pretty serious descaling, piston removal, turning the portafilters on a lathe to become naked and a seal kit from Cara, she works like a charm. Thank goodness for orphan espresso's informative site, advice from Cara and some great HB posts, I can pull some incredible shots. It's a 2 group riviera from zacconi and there were only about 20 ever made and only for the US. They have the same group as the ponte vecchio. I've learned a lot from the ponte vecchio owners on this site. I adjusted the pstat down to toggle between around .75 and 1 bar and the groupheads remain surprisingly stable, unlike my pre-mill Pavoni. You can pretty much leave it on all day which is cool. This is also why I still have my saeco next to it for milk steaming though since that pressure isn't enough to froth. Small annoyance for such smooth shots. Love having 2 groups to pull at the same time too since riviera shots are quite small in volume. Gives you a true double when you pull both at the same time. I run it with 10g and I use aeropress paper filters on the shower screens to reduce puck fractures and also to prevent coffee from entering the boiler when doing a Fellini move or double pull. One cool little detail is that the portafilter and baskets have a little nipple that keeps the basket in for easy puck knock outs. Love this rare gem of a lever machine. Thanks for noticing.

jasonb wrote:Ah ha, this was the result of a very lucky and random Craigslist find... Love this rare gem of a lever machine. Thanks for noticing.

The only people here who didn't notice are the ones who did not turn on their computer! That wasn't a lucky find- it was a religious experience! What a marvelous machine!

Burner0000 wrote:Added a few new additions.

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I really like your grinder

Espresso_Monkey wrote:Welcome to the best forum in the whole world. Always nice to see South East Asian representation.
Nice bar !

Thanks , glad to know there are some SEA coffee enthusiasts here.

Varimathras wrote:I really like your grinder

I picked it up locally for a whopping $125.

The two group Riviera was a limited run made on order for Thomas E. Cara in S.F., so when you were having Christopher help you, you were at the source for those machines.