My first serious machine after my Gaggia super auto, which I only had a couple weeks, was the Expobar Office Pulsar. I almost bought the Silvia, but the rep at WWL "happen to tease me" on going straight for an HX, based on my obvious pickiness and growing obsession over steam and brewing performance. So I did get the Expobar. Not only did I like the build quality, aside from some minor sheet metal mismatches, but it made very good espressos. My final upgrade, to what I have now, occurred in under a year and closer to six months. I was almost ready to buy the Brewtus II, but when I found out about the S1, changed my mind. I have only good things to say about my old Expobar, and can only imagine that the Brewtus, with its dual boilers and tight temp control, is a nice step up from the Pulsar. Nowadays, I don't even think in terms of water tanks or dumping a tray. I built my espresso counter, plumbed it up and put in the drains. I wanted to come as close to a commercial setup as I could. But if I didn't have the "plumb-in option", the Brewtus would probably have been my choice.



To this day, I take longing looks at my Expobar photo, and think that maybe it would be fun to still have it around. If for no other reason than to compare shots with the S1.

Hi Randii,

To be brutally honest, I think that the only way to be sure that you're buying the right machine is to actually try the contenders. If you can't do that, you might take comfort from the fact that almost no-one seems to sell a "prosumer" class machine to buy a different one. For example, if you take a look at Dan's reviews on this webpage, you'll see that the only machine that he was tempted to displace his Valentina for was actually a small commercial machine.

I don't really know how all of the machines in your country perform, but I think that it is a pretty safe bet that, at the very least, anything that you get will be much easier to work on than the silvia that you have at the moment.

Should I just stop reading the forums?

I stopped reading the forums before buying my machine ;P Navigating through all of the conflicting comments is a bit of an art!

Cheers,

Luca

Randii wrote:I feel like I've done the wrong thing!......Should I just stop reading the forums?......I am an extremely frustrated newbie.

I reconsidered my comments......probably a bit too "tongue in cheek" considering that you don't know my sense of humor. This is the best complete edit I can come up with to "put it another way." My point was/is, and as was stated, that knowing as much as possible about all the other options can only help. What I do find interesting, and I'm as guilty as anyone else, is that when I ask for advice on a buying decision, especially on a big item, I sometimes catch myself not prepared to make a change in thought, but more looking for support in what I have already decided will be my ultimate action. I'm not saying that's what your about......I don't know.

Best, Al

Hi,

I own the Brewtus I, and have pulled terrific shots on it for a number of years. For exactly how long, I don't remember. After all, I am "the old one."

It's been reliable, forgiving, and is capable of pulling shot after terrific shot. You made a great choice!

Joel

Thank you everybody for your responses. I really appreciate your input. Sometimes all of this information is seriously overwhelming for us newbies, and so much of it is contradictory, and often negative. I'm not a professional barista and I have no plans on becoming one. I'm just a person who is just trying to reproduce the same cup of really good espresso that I made accidentally one day - compulsive though that may be!

The Vivaldi S1 looks like a wonderful machine for people who have the space and own their own homes. When I say I don't have space, I'm not kidding! The Vivaldi is about 16" wide. I have about 14" of width available for my machine TOTAL - which is one of the reasons I purchased Silvia in the first place! It won't even be placed on a counter, it's more like a make shift plant ledge that was made in front of a very small kitchen window! (I told you this house is OLD! - Early 1920's. It even has an opening for the milk man to deliver milk!) As to the actual kitchen counters (Only 2), I have about 12" vertical space underneath the cabinets. If there are two people in my kitchen, it is way too crowded! There is NO WAY a Vivaldi will fit in there!

alsterlingcafe wrote:Randii, this is no time to play games with this kind of life decision. I sent you my personal phone number. If you're really, really willing to examine your soul on this............then you'll tell me, among other things, how much money you have laying around.........?

I'm sorry, but I really don't make phone calls to strangers. I grew up in LA, and it's one of my cardinal rules! I've spent too much time with the LA populace to become that trusting. (I also don't discuss my finances with strangers!). Besides, I am a girl (in spite of my name) and I have to be VERY careful! Having said that, I don't see this as a "life decision" which requires "searching my soul". My mother died in January of this year, and that kinda puts everything in perspective in terms of what really matters. Buying an espresso maker, is JUST buying an espresso maker. No one is going to die if I make the "wrong" choice. (In fact, this espresso issue is probably just a way to help me get through my grief, which as you can imagine, has been overwhelming. It has been a very rough year.)

So, maybe some day, IF I can ever afford to buy my own house (Not gonna happen in Pasadena, at half a million dollars and up!) I will purchase a plumbed in Vivaldi or better, however, what I gather from all of your comments is basically that any step up from a Silvia to a "prosumer" machine will be a good choice and a welcome change for me.

Dogshot wrote:Steaming is a piece of cake with the 1-hole tip, although it is slow. If your order has not shipped, ask WLL to throw in the 2-hole tip as well.

I've got an e-mail in to WLL and will be calling them tomorrow, to make sure it is included in the order!

Thanks again everybody for your input and advice.