"Now we need a thread showcasing what we started with and where we're at in our personal barista evolution."

1st pic is what I've been doing for about 45-yrs.
2nd pic is where I am now.
3rd pic is of 1st 'client' complaining about slow service!

LOVE that grinder!

That is pretty funny!

Our bench before the Slayer rebuilt.

Frank, my envy factor just went through the roof!

Need to win the lottery....

Hg one is on another table since grinding light roasts makes the cart feel like it's going to collapse, ha.

Sweet little cat under the table

/Uldall

The "Little Sweetie" would probably not like the shaking of the grinder cart either

brianl wrote:Hg one is on another table since grinding light roasts makes the cart feel like it's going to collapse, ha.

Hey Brian, is that an IKEA table?
I ask because our feline 'little sweetie' also just loves going in there...

I had a cart similar to that, a little more 'wirey, and I just thought it was terrible for stability. For instance the wobble in the cart as I locked and unlocked the portafilter. I desperately wanted a small cart to work because it looked neater and allowed for more space in the kitchen, but so far, nothing can beat my much older stable kitchen island. Having said that, it looks great Brian. It's very neat!

As for Frank's setup, well, it looks fantastic!

I've completely redone both my espresso bar and my separate coffee bar now, by fabricating some nice wooden shelves for these otherwise painfully ugly metro racks. But I am limited to what works in a small apartment. I got the Linea up and running yesterday and it's pulling some incredible shots. I'll be fiddling with organization and things some more as the whole project gets finished, but here's a snapshot of what it looks like now. This is just the espresso bar. The matching shelf/rack design is off to the left, holding all my other brewing gear and some kitchen items, serve as my coffee bar.

Of course, my biggest fear all along, with placing this machine in service where it is, came true, only 12 hours after installing it and turning it on for the first time; I had an earthquake hit this morning at a quarter to 7, but thankfully, it was relatively small. I knew I'd want to get some good earthquake straps to add stability to everything. I think I'll be making that trip back to the hardware store sooner than planned






In the picture below, nothing is in it's final spot. But it's a working solution to start with. The square bucket in the back corner will have to serve as my drain. The shelves are rated for some impressive 400 or 600 pounds each, so I'm not too worried about failure there, but I must admit, I've entertained the idea of cutting some "backup" support legs out of wood, but that would look even uglier. I don't like the idea of having a 220v 100 pound hot machine sitting right above an irreplaceable treasure like the Lollobrigida, but for the time being, that's the only spot for it. It will eventually get relocated. LED lights will be discretely added to the main shelf, aiming down on the bar. I just need to fabricate a proper mount for them, because I don't want to be able to directly see the individual bulbs, so I'll build some kind of rail under the front lip out of some quarter round stock or something.

You can just barely see the rotary pump on the countertop to the far right where it's temporarily located. It will eventually get mounted properly on a separate mount, then located down on the bottom shelf out of the way. I just need to get some longer John Guest tubing.