La Spaziale S1 advice needed ASAP - to buy or not?!

[Steve7]

I have a Gaggia Classic which has not been used in 5 years.
It was a pain, as I am clumsy and messy. I got fed up filling it, the steam was never enough. It jammed, the process was just too much of a faff for me so I gave up with espresso at home. I never got the grind right...

I now enjoy coffee brewed long, the "easy" way.

Got the chance to pick up a 2nd hand La Spaziale S1 (Vivaldi V2).

Contemplating the idea of a plumbed in machine making the whole thing just easier to get results from?

Should I go for it? How does the machine rate in today's market? Is about £800 decent?

(done some searching here, but little recent, and just stuff about it being good but sometimes unreliable).

Any help appreciated, but needed ASAP as I have to make a decision.

[thejavaman]

I've heard nothing but good things about the S1.  I believe two different members here (ButtWhiskers & Chirs) both have/had one.  You may want to PM either one of those guys to see how they liked theirs, or SEARCH THE GCBC SITE to gather more information on it before pulling the trigger.....

[Tex]

Plumbed in or pour-over is the least important issue. Properly tuned, any espresso machine is simple to use. Then it's all about the coffee, grind, and technique.

I'd say that if you had trouble with the Classic a Vivaldi isn't going to make your coffee any better. Find an expert in your area and beg them to show you the ropes - I live in the Houston area if anyone wants a quick demo of how to make espresso.

I've played with VII's of friends , and they makes a good cup of coffee. Being a double boiler, it's a great machine if you're into caps and lattes. I'm not a big fan of small(ish) portafilters, but that may just be prejudice in favor of the traditional 58mm commercial-sized PF's.

Most importantly, your choice of grinders will play a significant role in the quality of the coffee you make. You can make good coffee with a cheap espresso machine if you have a quality espresso grinder. But regardless of how good an espresso machine you buy, you'll never make good coffee if you're using a poor quality grinder.

[Steve7]

I like my espresso straight- nothing added.

The milk thing is to justify it to the wife and her friends!

[Tex]

I like my espresso straight- nothing added.

The milk thing is to justify it to the wife and her friends!

A very wise man!

[Steve7]

I have a rocky, and a Mazzer SJ.

I'm hovering on buying the S1... Not sure of I really need it though!

[Tex]

I have a rocky, and a Mazzer SJ.

I'm hovering on buying the S1... Not sure of I really need it though!

Need has little to do with anything. You want it? Get it! 

[ButtWhiskers]

S1 + Jolly = BW's setup for more than 3 years.  No upgrade-itis here...

[Chris]

I bought my S1 VII brand new, and I got rid of it after about a year.  I felt for the price, it was way too troublesome.

I had several things go wrong with it more or less from the first month to the last month.  As I recall, metal shavings in the unit in 3 places I had to find over time, bad rotary pump, bad 3-way valve, bad flow regulator.

Chris' Coffee was awesome, and sent me all the parts and helped me in troubleshooting.  The S1 forums are also awesome.

Honestly, the worst parts was not being able to find any decent 53mm tampers or triple baskets, and the factory drain kit was awful; I had to modify mine to work.  Also be prepared to break out your metric wrench sets.  I think it takes everything from 3mm to 27mm 

I am back to a Livia90 I got for a great deal, and while not as fancy, it has been pretty easy and cheap to work on, and really has not needed any maintenance once I got it up and running.


Chris

[Steve7]

Thanks guys!