Thanks for the reccomendation, The Profitec 300 looks great. I will have to look into it a bit more when I have time. It seems to be the most affordable dual boiler on the market. Is there a reason for that?

I will be using a Lido E. I used to use an HG One, but honestly it didn't provide drastically better espresso, so I sold it. I have considered a BDB, but I have heard issues with longevity. The Profitec 300 seems interesting. Footprint is no issue by the way

My fiance and I are looking to buy an espresso machine in the $1,500 range. I am currently using an Espresso Forge and a Lido E. In the past I have used a Rancilio Silvia, and a Vibiemme Domobar Jr HX w/EricS E61 thermometer. We will use this machine mostly for pulling shots, and the occasional milk

I never really see much posted about Onyx Coffee Labs (Arkansas roaster), but I am a big fan. Just finished a bag of Colombia Leanor Rodriguez which is lactic acid honey processed. Onyx explains, "Using a combination of chambers with controlled environments they encourage certain bacterias during fe...

Typically, how long does it take for you to get through both phases (when you are ready to pull a shot)? I will get some strips soon, and am curious to see if our results end up being similar. I am not after precise temperature control, but rather another tool to aid in shot-to-shot consistency. The...

I tried using my bonavita PID kettle for preheating early on, but found that even with the kettle set to 212 (obviously the highest setting), the boil was not aggressive enough to push steam through the top of the forge (perhaps this does not matter). For what it is worth, the forge fits like a glov...

Has anyone else experimented with the temperature strips? It seems like an excellent way to get consistent results. Currently, I am preheating the V2 forge on top of my bonavita (non-PID version with the gooseneck clamped off to prevent water from coming out during preheating) kettle on the stove. I...

How long did you let the forge steam on top of the kettle? I briefly tried this today using a bonavita style gooseneck, but after about 3-5 minutes the forge was barely warm to the touch at the middle section. Any other tips?

I am curious about this as well. Also, how much output is the V2 capable of? with my V1 I generally get an espresso shot volume of about 28g using 17g of coffee (if I remember correctly....I don't always weigh my shots after the pull)

I guess this is kind of a YMMV type of a situation. When I was experiencing poor quality espresso, I manipulated all of the variables I could, and finally determined my Pharos was misaligned to the point that it was having a negative impact on the shot. Regardless, as you suggested, ruling out inade...