Good morning,
A friend of mine is in the market for a dual boiler machine that is about $2k and would like some help. She will also need a grinder.

Her needs: A couple of lattes daily for herself. And every month or two she needs it for entertaining 6-10 people.

Machines in the running:
S1 Mini Vivaldi by La Spaziale and QM67 by Quick Mill.

I, myself, have the Anita by Quick Mill and to me the QM67 looks like the Anita with double boiler and PID controller so I know how it works and I know it is a good machine. The question is whether it will be able to serve a medium crowd (6-10) efficiently.

The S1 Mini was recommended to her when she contacted Chris coffee. I can understand the recommendation because it has buttons for shots thus freeing her to steam milk. But I am concerned with a few things:
1. The steam wand seems to be just on and off so how can one control the amount of steam coming out?
2. The "plastic" parts ... I have had bad experience with machine that has plastic parts, but admittedly it was a very low end machines years ago so the durability probably isn't an issue.
3. The portafilters are 53mm vs 58mm. Is there a reason for it??

Which of these 2 machines will you recommend and why? Or is there another machines that you think is better than these two?

Lastly, what grinder will be suitable? I have a Rocky and it does a great job with my Anita so I assume it will suffice for the QM67. Will it suffice for S1 Mini also? She will like to keep the cost of the grinder down. (Otherwise I would recommend the Mazzer Mini.)

Thanks in advance for all your help.

jjava wrote: Lastly, what grinder will be suitable? I have a Rocky and it does a great job with my Anita so I assume it will suffice for the QM67. Will it suffice for S1 Mini also? She will like to keep the cost of the grinder down. (Otherwise I would recommend the Mazzer Mini.)

I can't give a ton of impressions on the machines, as I don't have experience with either, but I would suggest that the grinder bit would be a mistake. Take some money out of the $2k machine budget, and get a better grinder than a Rocky. I'm sure things could be made to work with one, but it'll be frustrating for her. A Vario or Forte would be much more suitable and save a lot of headaches. Or you can check local Craigslist for a titan class conical grinder, which once dialed in often needs less adjustments.

jjava wrote:I have a Rocky and it does a great job with my Anita so I assume it will suffice for the QM67.

You don't know what you're missing which is why you think it's great. Rocky is not sufficient. As always, the grinder is important. Don't leave it as an afterthought. At the least get a Vario.

EspressoForge wrote:I can't give a ton of impressions on the machines, as I don't have experience with either, but I would suggest that the grinder bit would be a mistake. Take some money out of the $2k machine budget, and get a better grinder than a Rocky. I'm sure things could be made to work with one, but it'll be frustrating for her. A Vario or Forte would be much more suitable and save a lot of headaches. Or you can check local Craigslist for a titan class conical grinder, which once dialed in often needs less adjustments.

Thanks. What are your thoughts on the Mazzer Mini then? Will it be significantly better than the Vario? I notice that Vario is still a stepped grinder where as the Mazzer Mini will be stepless. In terms of price, there is also K3 which is between Vario and Mazzer Mini.

jjava wrote:What are your thoughts on the Mazzer Mini then? Will it be significantly better than the Vario? I notice that Vario is still a stepped grinder where as the Mazzer Mini will be stepless. In terms of price, there is also K3 which is between Vario and Mazzer Mini.

Pardon my bluntness, but the Mini is overpriced, obsolete junk. The K3 might be a little less subject to clumping than the Mini, but it's also obsolete. A lot's happened in the grinder market beginning with the introduction of the Vario.

The Vario has so many steps that it's as adjustable as a stepless grinder and should be thought of as functionally stepless. The Vario will give your friend a better cup, and a great deal more "user friendliness" for significantly less money than a K3 or Mini.

However, the Vario has a lot of plastic where it counts, leading to some reliability issues. If she wants something as convenient, but with a more solid build, she should look at the Ceado E6, Ceado E6P, and Quamar M80E v2.

Rich

I haven't owned a Mini, but my understanding was that there are a couple versions out. The older style wasn't so adequate for espresso, and often led to many people being frustrated. Newer ones I think may have the same or similar burr-set as a Super Jolly, and with some minor mods I think SJ burrs may fit in them. In the end, although I don't think they are junk personally, I would say that they are definitely not competitively priced. Most likely because they are so overbuilt.

The Vario as mentioned is a very good value, and burrs are often compared to the Super Jolly. Electronics make it more convenient too, the only downside is really longevity and occasional problems with burr slippage. If you have problems Baratza is a great company that will fix a problem for you.

As Rich mentioned, other grinders may be a better fit with a bit more solid build, if that matters to the buyer.

Thanks for all the replies thus far. Notice that WLL has Quamar M80 on demand on sale at a rather attractive price. Only $50 more than Vario (non-W) and $10 cheaper than Vario-W.