Trolling for info on Isomac Tea

[malighthill]

I found a local seller of an Isomac Tea.  He told me that he is not the original owner, but believes the original owner purchased it in 2009.  That would make it the v1, correct?  He's asking $850, which to me seems high for a 8yo machine.  I know the earlier Isomac machines did have some build issues, and when La Pavoni bought them most of those were corrected, but I can't find when that happened.
Are there any things I should look for if I take a look at this?
TIA

[Joe]

My friend had a Tea pronounced Te.. ah like the name. I thought it was a misstep naming it after a competing beverage. It was good machine, I wouldn't mind having one at all.

[malighthill]

Thanks.
I got him to knock 2 bills off, so I'm picking it up tomorrow.  Should be a nice upgrade from my Gaggia Baby. 

[Joe]

Thanks.
I got him to knock 2 bills off, so I'm picking it up tomorrow.  Should be a nice upgrade from my Gaggia Baby. 

Yeah I think you will really like it. It has a cool Lever on off switch thing. Not to be confused with an actual lever espresso machine.

[malighthill]

Well, it looks like a beast compared to my Gaggia Baby.  It did need a good cleaning, and temp adjustment.  And, was missing the drip tray cover, but Steffano had a used one I picked up.  Now I'm just wondering if I need to upgrade from my Rancillio Dosser grinder.

[mp]

Welcome to the Tea club.

How are you enjoying the coffee so far?

 

[grinderz]

If you're current grinder can grind fine enough to choke the Tea, then it's probably "good enough." You might find some improvement in your shots with a "better" grinder, but I'd say the Rocky is at the beginning point on the curve in terms of  diminishing returns to price ratio. In other words, you can spend a lot more on the grinder for modest returns in quality. If you're a tight wad like me and you regret every $$ you spend, then I'd suggest a used commercial grinder like a Super Jolly or similar as the best way to improve quality at a decent price.

[mp]

If you're current grinder can grind fine enough to choke the Tea, then it's probably "good enough." You might find some improvement in your shots with a "better" grinder, but I'd say the Rocky is at the beginning point on the curve in terms of  diminishing returns to price ratio. In other words, you can spend a lot more on the grinder for modest returns in quality. If you're a tight wad like me and you regret every $$ you spend, then I'd suggest a used commercial grinder like a Super Jolly or similar as the best way to improve quality at a decent price.

+1

When I started my espresso journey, I purchaed  a La Cimbali Junior grinder. I even bought replacement burrs just in case ... I have yet to replace them. A high end Italian espresso grinder that is second hand is a great value and a god's end for great espresso shots.

My 2 cents worth.

 

[Ascholten]

I just received my bunn commercial grinder yesterday, it can cough out a pound of coffee in about 40 seconds.  YES,  espresso here I come!!

Aaron

[mp]

I just received my bunn commercial grinder yesterday, it can cough out a pound of coffee in about 40 seconds.  YES,  espresso here I come!!

Aaron

Second hand Aaron?

 

[Ascholten]

No mp, I got it new.  I was looking at second hand but you can never tell and I didn't want to have to frick with something to get it cleaned / working etc.  IF someone here was selling that'd be one thing but e bay can scare me on some stuff.    Ill be able to write it off against the business anyways so am not overly concerned on the price.  Im finding that I am having a lot of folks asking me for coffee now, Ive given away a lot over time, I just like to give away roasted coffee to friends / co workers, etc and discuss it with them.  Now a lot of people want to buy it from me so I am finding that I am roasting more and more and I don't want to kill my Astra / Super Jolly / Barista etc running pounds and pounds of coffee through them.  Besides, they are slow, this thing will eat a pound in about 30 seconds or so.  It has an espresso / turkish coffee setting.  For S&G's I might try it one day just to see how well it does on the grind and pulling a shot.

Aaron

[mp]

No mp, I got it new.  I was looking at second hand but you can never tell and I didn't want to have to frick with something to get it cleaned / working etc.  IF someone here was selling that'd be one thing but e bay can scare me on some stuff.    Ill be able to write it off against the business anyways so am not overly concerned on the price.  Im finding that I am having a lot of folks asking me for coffee now, Ive given away a lot over time, I just like to give away roasted coffee to friends / co workers, etc and discuss it with them.  Now a lot of people want to buy it from me so I am finding that I am roasting more and more and I don't want to kill my Astra / Super Jolly / Barista etc running pounds and pounds of coffee through them.  Besides, they are slow, this thing will eat a pound in about 30 seconds or so.  It has an espresso / turkish coffee setting.  For S&G's I might try it one day just to see how well it does on the grind and pulling a shot.

Aaron

Well done!

It sounds like a beast.

 

[Ascholten]

it is pretty hefty.  Sometimes you read dimensions and it doens't click, you vaguely remember seeing one in the grocery store or something, then it arrives and it's like holy crap, oh wow that thing is.. umm... big... where the hell am I going to put it.  I think it will end up on a roller table or something so i can wheel it out of the way when not using it.  Like this morning I ground up 3 Lbs of a Mexican I had roasted a few days ago to bring to some of my customers in a little bit, it took a whole minute maybe a min and a half.  If I had to do this on my mazzer it'd still be chugging.  The super jolly does ok but it's not 'that' fast.  Then again, I don't want to run that for 10 minutes at at a time either and I like keeping it dialed in close to where it's supposed to be for espresso so I don't have to play with it again 7 more times, half a pound of powder later to get it dialed in.

Aaron

[mp]

it is pretty hefty.  Sometimes you read dimensions and it doens't click, you vaguely remember seeing one in the grocery store or something, then it arrives and it's like holy crap, oh wow that thing is.. umm... big... where the hell am I going to put it.  I think it will end up on a roller table or something so i can wheel it out of the way when not using it.  Like this morning I ground up 3 Lbs of a Mexican I had roasted a few days ago to bring to some of my customers in a little bit, it took a whole minute maybe a min and a half.  If I had to do this on my mazzer it'd still be chugging.  The super jolly does ok but it's not 'that' fast.  Then again, I don't want to run that for 10 minutes at at a time either and I like keeping it dialed in close to where it's supposed to be for espresso so I don't have to play with it again 7 more times, half a pound of powder later to get it dialed in.

Aaron

For sure.

It sounds like you purchased the right machine for the task at hand.

Enjoy!

 

[peter]

Sometimes you just have to tell yourself, "Ain't it great to be single?".