Just saw your other thread about the MDF. Can't help you with a buyer, but that was my first grinder which I got several years ago used for about 100 bucks. At the time, I think that was a little less than half its retail price. I don't know if it was in as good condition as

Many would call me a coffee snob. And I think it's cool that some high-end shops will not put milk in certain coffees. But that video is pretty damn funny, I think. I see it not so much as a stern rebuke, but as an affectionate satire by people well-versed in the terrain

To chime in on one of the side points here... I've got a Euro Millennium and have gone through many different routines with regard to water, how often I empty, etc. Currently, I tip it at the end of each session, clean the grouphead, and leave the boiler empty. I do this for fear of whatever metals

But IF you did all of that, and found that it resulted in better and more consistent shots?

(Espresso-wise, specifically, of course). For me, if the shot is clearly over extracted, i.e. the pull is close to choked, the coffee dribbles out instead of streams, the shot is extra bubbly and globules make it look like an oil slick (forgive me if my description may be mashing up different proble...

Here's a thread that's been percolating for some time (sorry): I wasn't sure whether to post this here, or under "Coffee" or "Levers" or "Grinders", etc. To me, this post is sort of all-encompassing, touching on many things I've pondered and posted about before. It's sort of a status update of my es...

If you're curious, it was the power cord. There was apparently a short. The explosion blew a tiny hole in the cord, near the base of the machine. That was the source of the black smoke, not from anything inside the boiler. In fact, the cord has been replaced, and the machine works like a charm!

No doubt price and physical scale are both factors, as have already been mentioned -- and nicely illustrated above. I'd guess amount of use also plays a part. It's my sense that those with high end semi-automatics are cranking out many more shots on average than are those of us with levers. (I'm sur...

There was definitely some kind of explosion. There's no sign of damage on the outside, but I keep a towel wrapped around the base to catch water dripping from the steam knob and arm. The part of the towel that was on top of the base directly behind the boiler was covered in black soot, as was part

My machine: 6 yr. old Pavoni Millennium Europiccola Today, immediately after pulling a blank shot, there was a loud bang or pop from inside the machine. The power light went off, and a little bit of gray smoke escaped from the top of the boiler. Haven't inspected machine yet to see if there are obvi...