Share your espresso machine history - Page 5

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
BikerDave
Posts: 49
Joined: 9 years ago

#41: Post by BikerDave »

Probably goes back to 2000 or so. Always had the desire to be able to make good coffee at home. Here is the journey Coffee and espresso

Krups Drip
Press Pot ( remember the first brew of Peets Arabian Mocha-Java) Think that is
Some type of milk steamer
Mocha Pot
Gaggia Titanium Super Auto
Rocket Giotto Evoluzione V2 pair with Baratza grinder ( upgraded to a Mazzer Mini E)
Technivorm Moccamaster Coffee Brewer KBG741
LM GS/3 AV paired with a Mahlkonig K30 Vario Grinder

jyl
Posts: 325
Joined: 5 years ago

#42: Post by jyl »

I'm just at the start of my espresso journey but

Machine

Chemex drip (1980s)
Some Krups drip machine that had an espresso feature, never-used (1990s)
French press, moka pot (2000s-2018)
Elektra Maxi 2G semi-automatic (past month)
Elektra Maxi 2G automatic (installing now)

Grinder

whirly blade grinder (1990s)
$100 burr grinder (2000s)
Elektra MSC (Macap MX) (last few weeks)
John, Portland OR
Vintage bicycles, Porsche/VW, cooking, old houses.

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IamOiman
Team HB
Posts: 2165
Joined: 6 years ago

#43: Post by IamOiman »

My turn! Everything listed I still have and use besides the Gaggia I am considering being sold for 250 euro.

Machines:
Bialetti Moka Express 3 cup (electric) - May 2016
1991 La Pavoni Professional - June 2017
1991 Elektra Micro Casa a Leva - New Year's Eve 2017
2018 Bosco Sorrento with Orange Panelling and Wood handles - October 2018
1970's Gaggia Tell 2 Group - February 2019 (considering one for sale) edit: Got it for 175

Grinders
Lido E - June 2017
Eureka Olympus 75 - November 2018

LOTS OF MOKA POTS
-Ryan
Using a spice grinder violates the Geneva Convention
LMWDP #612

bradenl123
Posts: 245
Joined: 7 years ago

#44: Post by bradenl123 »

2017: Quickmill Alexia and Mahlgut MG-1
2018: Elektra MCAL and La Pavoni with MG-1
2018 prior to Christmas: CT-1 and WuG2 HG-1

Nickriders
Posts: 89
Joined: 9 years ago

#45: Post by Nickriders »

This love story has started in 2006,

Breville café roma
Saeco Rio vapore
Bunn espresso &ascaso I2 aka my first real grinder
Isomac venus
Rancilio Silvia
Isomac venus(Mokita super Pro)
Bezzera BZ07 &Mazzer super mini
Breville bes920xl... Chalet with sette
LaPavoni Pro pre millennium...chalet
Londinium R... Home with k30

What's next?

gbtactical.ict
Posts: 3
Joined: 5 years ago

#46: Post by gbtactical.ict »

$20 piece of crap from Walmart at least 15 years ago, pressurized machine.

$100ish piece of crap about 5 years later

Sprung deep pockets for a $300 cant remember total piece of junk from bed bath and beyond. Machine looked so nice compared to my others but failed quickly and the business went out of business.

Not a bad Delonghi kmix that I got for $100 on half.com on a pricing error haha. Honestly not a bad machine and still works to this day.

Finally gave up and got a Rocket Giotto V3 with PID. I've used PIds at work and wanted that function. Loved rocket for a decade and it was my dream machine. Dream finally came true when I bought my house and the machine. It's been great to me minus a faulty control board which ruined the element and control board, that wasn't cheap...






santa
Posts: 36
Joined: 6 years ago

#47: Post by santa »

Well, first off... let me thank all of you for making me feel old.

Stovetop espresso/steamer (something like an atomic) - 1980 ... looking at ebay, I should have kept this puppy
Espresso Gaggia - 1989
Krups - Some pump machine. - 1997 (not nearly as cool as the Gaggia)
Nespresso Concept C190 - 2004
Nespresso Concept D290 - 2010
Rancilio Epoca - 2018

I'm loving my coffee journey since I got my Epoca.

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CRCasey
Posts: 689
Joined: 15 years ago

#48: Post by CRCasey »

Mine is quick, and not likely to be happy here.

1. B&D bubble machine. Folgers ground.

2. Read way to much internet.

3. Bought dead S27 and rebuilt it, added Mazzer Major.

4. Bought a la Peppina, old lever.

5. A new cheap ceramic grinder that fits on the counter.

6. The S27 and the MM are in the storage gathering cobwebs.

7. Anyone in central CA needs a MazerMajor and an R S27 (side panels off, but there, doser off but set up for single) let me know. S27 are great for hacking, as the CPU controls everything through a standard shift register, totally audrino hackable.

8. I keep the automatic for people that like other drinks and do not want to run two machines.

<hyjack off>
Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love-CMdT, LMWDP#244

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AssafL
Posts: 2588
Joined: 14 years ago

#49: Post by AssafL »

samuellaw178 wrote:Can I join the fun. :D Been in this journey since 2011 and I think my main interest was to learn how all the machine works. The shortest machine ownership period was ~2 weeks (just enough to evaluate and to learn the machine - if it's a simple machine), average ownership period is usually a couple months, the longest record holder was the Brugnetti Aurora for 3.5 years.

Upon reflection, it looks like I need to look into roasters more and focus less on machine/grinder. And clearly I had way too much time. :lol:

Arranged in chronological order (as much as I could remember anyway)
Espresso Machine:
Mr. Coffee Espresso Machine - the key that opened up the pandora box :D
Gaggia Carezza
La Peppina
Nuova Simonelli Oscar
Crossland CC1(loan)
Olympia Cremina
ECM Giotto
Faema Faemina Baby
San Remo Treviso
Expobar Minore IV
Rossa PG Alum x2
Rossa HC brass
Caravel
La Pavoni Mil Professional
Rancilio Silvia PID
Gaggia Baby
Sunbeam 6910
Brugnetti Aurora - current
Viebiemme Domobar Super
Espresso Forge
La Cimbali junior
Ochestrale Nota
La Pavoni Premil
Rocket Giotto Evoluzione
Minipresso
Bacchi
Londinium 1
Rok Espresso
Breville Dual Boiler
La Mazorcco Linea Mini
Cafelat Robot

Grinders:
Capresso Infinity
Super Jolly Manual
Major Manual
Mazzer Mini
La Pavoni PGC
Lido 1
Pharos x2
Baratza Preciso
Baratza Vario
Rosco mini
Anfim Best
Lido 3
Helor 101
Compak K3
Compak K6 Silent
Compak K10 WBC
Mythos Plus
Mazzer Robur E
HG-1
Versalab M3
Ditting KR804
Monolith Conical
Niche Zero - Current
Baratza Forte - Current



Roasters:
DIY copper ball roaster
Corretto (heat gun bread machine)
Baby Roaster
Quest M3 - Current
Visiited this thread again... Wow.

What can you tell us about the ideal machine? Or the ideal grinder? Do they exist?

Does the journey lead to a higher plateau due to the next machine? Or does it do so because of enhanced experience (the experiences of the previous machines)?

I ask because you are in a rather special position to have experienced more machines than I even knew existed.
Scraping away (slowly) at the tyranny of biases and dogma.

samuellaw178
Supporter ♡
Posts: 2483
Joined: 13 years ago

#50: Post by samuellaw178 replying to AssafL »

In short, I don't believe there is such beast as ideal machine/grinder... :lol: I don't recall a moment where any upgrade had led me to a significantly higher plateau (except when I first started out with a Gaggia SBDU and upgraded to levers), but I did have moments where I got progressively better machines that are easier to live with.

If you are concerned with shot quality, my biggest take away was that as long as you are above a certain budget level, the law of diminishing return kicks in really quickly, and hard (I may be biased, but to me lever machines seem to get you there quicker). Shot quality can/will be different but it's hard to claim objective superiority. The difference is usually subtle anyway and we're much better off focusing on the other aspects (techniques, beans etc).

Since the shot quality is largely the same, the user experience (ease of use) and shot-to-shot consistency (forgiveness factor) become much more important as you go up the tier. That's my 2 cent at this point. :P