Search found 418 matches

by Louis
February 25th, 2013, 12:49 pm
Forum: Espresso Machines
Replies: 5
Views: 902

La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi - volumetric, timed or both?

I have the plumbed-in Vivaldi. The machine measures the volume of water that goes into the brew boiler (cold water). In normal usage, this matches the amount of water that flows out of the brew boiler toward the group. As such, it doesn't (and can't) measure the amount of water that comes out of the...
by Louis
February 19th, 2013, 8:16 pm
Forum: Grinders
Replies: 9
Views: 14782

Baratza Vario espresso settings.

Depends, depends, depends. In my case, I ended up with a routine where I single-dose: I pre-weight the beans and use a fixed time setting to judge if the grind setting is right. With different beans, bean age, etc., adjustments needs to be made, but I found out that the required time to grind a set ...
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by Louis
February 15th, 2013, 2:24 pm
Forum: Buying Advice
Replies: 26
Views: 6487

Prosumer dual boiler vs. commercial HX espresso machine

Why not a commercial DB at half the price of a GS/3? La Spaziale S1 Vivaldi II or the S1 Dream (+LCD control screen, +PID, +integrated timer). Choice of 15/20A (user configured). Volumetric dosing. Excellent steaming power. Great temperature stability (even without the PID on the Dream). Top notch c...
by Louis
February 14th, 2013, 11:17 am
Forum: Grinders
Replies: 112
Views: 13553

Mazzer Robur grinds retention

So the definition of grind retention is "grounds left behind after a thorough use of a brush, grinder pulses, and/or a shopvac is made"? My guess is that no grinder on the market as any grind retention by that definition... IMHO, the correct definition should be: When single-dosing, the amount of gr...
by Louis
February 12th, 2013, 1:53 pm
Forum: Lever Espresso Machines
Replies: 166
Views: 25869

Londinium Videos & Photos by Owners

You're mistaken. He said ""Canadian""
by Louis
February 11th, 2013, 2:50 pm
Forum: Tips and Techniques
Replies: 2
Views: 1202

Ideal steam tip for Espro Toroid pitcher

Intuitively, I would say the same as you do: a tip steam jet pointing to the bottom of the pitcher should work better than 2/4 jets at an angle. I currently use Espro pitchers (12 and 20 oz) with a S1 Vivaldi II (powerful steamer) with a 4-hole tip. Before I bought the S1, I used a Silvia
by Louis
February 5th, 2013, 2:06 pm
Forum: Buying Advice
Replies: 61
Views: 6184

Orphan Espresso Pharos - best "bang for buck" grinder if you don't mind cranking?

Big conical grinders produce results that are very close to each other in terms of grind/cup quality; the Pharos is no different in this manner, even if it is 1/4-1/6 of the price of its motorized counterparts
by Louis
February 5th, 2013, 7:22 am
Forum: Grinders
Replies: 10
Views: 890

Used Mazzer Super Jolly choking on small amounts of coffee

Others would need to confirm, but you could rewire it to run on North America 240V. This implies a very good understanding of what you are doing though
by Louis
February 4th, 2013, 5:37 pm
Forum: Grinders
Replies: 10
Views: 890

Used Mazzer Super Jolly choking on small amounts of coffee

Isn't Europe using single-phase 230V? If so, pluging-in a 230V single-phase grinder on 120V single-phase would make it turn a bit faster (60Hz instead of 50) but would also cut its power in half... ?
by Louis
February 3rd, 2013, 7:22 pm
Forum: Buying Advice
Replies: 61
Views: 6184

Orphan Espresso Pharos - best "bang for buck" grinder if you don't mind cranking?

Certainly no. In the Titan Grinder Project, the Vario was able to provide a Titan-class grind. I would therefore say that the next step in price after the Pharos would be the Vario. As I own both, I can say that the Pharos provides a better cup, making subtle notes stick out, while the Vario's is ro...