I'm writing 5 parts to my newbie espresso journey in the hopes that it helps someone (or at least provides something laugh at).

Part #1, the intro, is here: A Newbie's Espresso Journey: Intro

Part 2: Getting My Stuff
At the end of part #1 I wrote how I realized that I really wanted to do this:


Having never seen that before and suddenly realizing that THAT was espresso, I was convinced that was for me. At that point (really just a few months ago???) I figured I could just go to JC Penny and get a decent espresso machine and off I'd go.

Needless to say ... it don't work like that!

Of course the first thing I discovered was that my $200 budget was going to have to get larger.

After reading this: https://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/howto ... ssomachine about 10 times I knew I was in trouble. Frankly, as a newbie, it's kind of hard to believe that things cost this much.

Another way of saying that is (warning: controversial maybe) the "prosumer" espresso market is really immature



Yes we can buy some really high quality products, but if it weren't for some great vendors - with relatively insane levels of customer service (more later) - we wouldn't have NEARLY the selection nor, IMO, would it have been possible for me to buy the level of stuff I eventually did.

Note: from here on out, everything is going to be my very, very newbie opinion so I'm just going to disclaim it now. Please school me and correct me on anything I get wrong.

Baratza is one such company that's only starting to tap in to this WIDE-OPEN prosumer market with products like the Vario, but I digress ...


Initial Research
Anyway, I've had a few of these hobbies before and am very familiar with upgraditis so I knew if I was going to do this, I had to get the right stuff up front but also not buy the level of stuff a newbie like me has no business using. Like this:


So after some research I was in the Baratza Virtuoso / Rancilio Silvia zone.

Pretty nice kit and keeps me under that brutal $1000 price point. Keep in mind at this point I'm not searching "technically" at all, purely anecdotally as in, "hey I gots me that machine and it blow out 'spro real good":


"Dialing In" Espresso Machine Selection
Well, now I start getting technical and the first thing I discover is the dreaded dual-boiler (DB) vs. heat exchanger (Hx) debates. Holy crap! After reading ... a lot ... I decided the DB was for me.

This helped a lot: http://www.1st-line.com/cofffact/hx-vs-db.htm

Ok, so now I start really looking for good DB machines and that changes everything. Budget - you're going to have make some changes ...

I'm also starting to learn about groupheads, pre-infusion, values, gauges, PIDs, and flux capacitation. During this crazed period I decided I wanted an E61 too.

Long story short? Izzo Alex Duetto II, FTW y'allz!

Uh, Yeah. The mental budget has given way to frenzied free-for-all, no doubts.

Grinder Selection
Alrighty. With the machine locked up, now I need to think about the grinder.

In the end, of all the research and agonizing I did over what equipment to buy, the grinder selection was 95% of it. Maybe rightly so, but originally I thought it would be the easiest part!

Flat vs. conical. Doser vs. Doserless. Height. Timer. Per-dose or hoppered? Speed? And on and on.

So in the flat-burr corner the Mazzer Mini was looking really good, and I thought I was set. But then I found the Titan Grinder Project (TGP) and 'can it beat the robur'. Aw, feck.
Titan Grinder Project

Well, that and a podcast with Kyle Anderson, designer of the Baratza Vario, had me convinced that here was just about the only machine actually designed for home use, but with pro quality.
Podcast here: http://libsyn.com/media/coffeegeek/cgpodcast065.mp3

Unfortunately ...

I just couldn't resist the reviews of the big burr conicals. Let's be honest: conical is where it's at.


And not just conical, but a nice slow spinning 68mm conical seems particularly awesome.

Well, all in, if I was doing this thing and didn't have a conical I'd just end up wishing I did so ... I made the call:


And dang it! I LOVE the Mazzers! But I just couldn't justify the Robur, plus it seemed too advanced for me. I wanted doserless due to my per-dose style, but I also couldn't see paying a premium for it. The K-10 really seemed to hit every thing I needed.

(In the next post I'll explain how an unplanned glitch PROVED that conicals DO MAKE AN IN-THE-CUP DIFFERENCE!)

Problem. I like de-caf. It's part of my daily ritual. So ... Long story short ... I got 3 grinders:

• * Compak K-10 is my caf big boy (even my wife said, "well I guess it at least looks like it's worth that much")
  * Baratza Vario is my de-caf hog.
  * Baratza Virtuoso is my de-caf drip grinder

My regret is that I wish I would've gotten another Vario for caf drip.

Yes, that's a lot of grinders and, yes, I could just switch blah blah blah but I don't regret it in the least and actually wish I'd gotten a 4th. If you make lots of espresso and drip like me then my advice is buy a lot of grinders.

NOTE: I have a "drip factory" in my kitchen with my espresso zone being in the basement man-cave. I have a wet-bar down there with a small sink so that eliminated the problem of cabinet overhang and will help me plumb it in eventually. This dual-home-zone set up makes the multi-grinder arrangement a better fit.

Ok, so now that I've got my equip decided on (pre-consultation) I need a vendor:


If you've read this far, I will say THE VENDOR IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. Period.

Vendor Selection
As I said, IMO, the prosumer industry is extremely immature with much of the equip not designed for home use. The equipment that is designed for the home doesn't deliver the quality prosumer want so we've got a large market-gap.

To help fill this gap, people like Kyle Anderson are designing things like the Vario, but there's also some vendors that fill the gap with relatively extreme levels of customer service.

I say "relatively" because this level of customer service is something that, in my experience, is unique to this space.

At the end of the day, you're going to spend some dough in an immature industry. You need someone who knows their shiz, will support you, and hopefully loves coffee


Ok, so to find the right vendor for me I called all the usual suspects. I don't want to name names, but if you've done any research you know the 5 or 6 vendors I'm thinking of.

Here's what happened:

• (1.) The first vendor gave me an intense hour long consultation, questioning every decision I'd made
  
  (2.) The second vendor basically told me what they sell. "So you wanna buy or what?"
  
  (3.) The third vendor gave me a good consultation and asked good questions.
  
  (4.) The fourth vendor phone person was VERY interny. This bummed me out because they had the best web-site (useful content-wise). I had planned to call back and see if I could get someone more experienced. She basically had to look on the web site to tell me what they sold!
  
  (5.) The last one was ... difficult to get ahold of.

Price-wise there was some definite variation. Also there's the "minimum advertised price" (MAP) issue with this equipment so you MUST call.

And the winner was ... Chris Coffee


I could've gotten a better price, especially on some items, but what I'm convinced of is that I couldn't have possibly gotten better service. Seriously. This company has - by far - the best customer service I've ever had.

And that service is not something you have to hunt for.

If you call their sales line anyone who answers is a knowledgeable professional. I'm not saying any of this for any other reason than how impressed I've been with them. In other words, I'm not getting any kickbacks, special discounts, or pay of any kind and I had never heard of them or their company before I started this. I have zero relationship with them beyond as a customer.

They are and will be my only vendor unless I need something they don't sell. When you're buying stuff this pricey (and NOT DESIGNED FOR YOU!) you better make sure you're working with someone who'll back up their stuff. Chris Coffee will.

In my next part, I'll talk about the unboxing and some of the issues I ran into with the equip. Like I said, I'm thrilled I went with Chris Coffee.

Provocative preview: "Ok, so how do you want to handle this then?"

Don't Forget the Accessories!
One last thing: if you're a newbie like me, don't forget to budget for accessories. If you've got nothing then you'll definitely need them:

* Scale
* Timer (not as a rule, just as a helper)
* cups & mugs
* cleaning stuff (brushes, grindz, etc)
* Microfiber towels
* Tamping stuff
* Jars (for coffee - I freeze)
* Naked portafilter - just get one newbie!
* Milk pitcher(s)

I look forward to the next installment

Thanks all - it's been quite a journey in just 6 months and I'm hoping that I can encourage other newbies who - maybe like me - get intimidated by the complexity, will realize it's really not that tough!

Granted good equip DEF helps but without all of the info by all of the great people here it would've been impossible.

That the message to newbies: with all the great support of the folks here, it's easy to do VERY worth it!

Sounds a lot like my story, but accelerated and skipping some of the steps.
You are, indeed, the exception. Most newbies could not be convinced they should consider a grinder like the Compak K-10 even if it came packed with $100 bills. It took me around ten years to get to a top-end grinder and a DB machine (soon to be on the way).