$$ Machine = Better Shot?

[John F]

In the immortal words of a not-so-successful coffee entrepreneur "I'll just put these in the fridge for later, maybe an iced drink".

Absolutely Priceless.

[staylor]

I'm curious Shaun ... if money was not an object ... which machine would you choose to have sitting in your abode to satisfy your espresso-fu?

 

I'd let other's help me decide. You will have to read the comments section for clues.

http://www.jimseven.com/2008/01/13/wbc-machine-testing-temperature-testing/

An interesting question to stew over but in my case not very realistic. Between photography, racing bikes and espresso all acting as competing hobbies, there is a constant tug in each direction for my paltry disposable income and that's why this kind of question is pretty far from reality for the likes of me. That's why I remain content with my BII, a Macap, my Hottop, some mediocre skilzz and good beans. There is no new espresso toy on my horizon.

[John F]

If money was no object for me I guess it would be the Chef's job to hire the Barista so whatever machine he/she had would be good enough for me....or else the chef would have to find a new Barista. 

John F

[mp]

I'd let other's help me decide. You will have to read the comments section for clues.
http://www.jimseven.com/2008/01/13/wbc-machine-testing-temperature-testing/
An interesting question to stew over but in my case not very realistic. Between photography, racing bikes and espresso all acting as competing hobbies, there is a constant tug in each direction for my paltry disposable income and that's why this kind of question is pretty far from reality for the likes of me. That's why I remain content with my BII, a Macap, my Hottop, some mediocre skilzz and good beans. There is no new espresso toy on my horizon.

Ok ... so I'll never replace Sherlock Holmes ... I read and I read but I found no clues other than the 6 3 group machines that they mentioned.  You'd get one of those babies?

 :drunken_smilie:

[Ron_L]

I'm coming into the discussion a little late, and I'm not sure if I have any fu, except maybe fubar, but here goes...

Even though some of the discussions of guitars made my eyes glaze over  I get the point.  The quality of espresso isn't solely dependent on one factor.  Changes in any of the various influencing factors can impact the result.  So... Given consistency in coffee (yeah, that;s not always true), the grinder and the barista, an improvement in the machine should produce an improvement in the end product. I'm not knowledgeable enough in the intricacies of espresso machines to back that up technically, but I can show the effect of the machine anecdotally.

When I purchased my Alex I had my Millennium laying around for a couple of weeks.  When the gentleman who ended up buying the Millennium was here looking at it I had it fired up and we were pulling shots so he could get a feel for the machine.  He asked if he could try a shot from the Alex, which was also fired up, so we tried some and we both noticed the difference in the shots from the Alex.  The beans, grinder and barista were the same, just the machine differed and the shots from the Alex were noticeably better.  They had a more complex flavor profile and better mouthfeel.

[mp]

I'm coming into the discussion a little late, and I'm not sure if I have any fu, except maybe fubar, but here goes...
Even though some of the discussions of guitars made my eyes glaze over  I get the point.  The quality of espresso isn't solely dependent on one factor.  Changes in any of the various influencing factors can impact the result.  So... Given consistency in coffee (yeah, that;s not always true), the grinder and the barista, an improvement in the machine should produce an improvement in the end product. I'm not knowledgeable enough in the intricacies of espresso machines to back that up technically, but I can show the effect of the machine anecdotally.
When I purchased my Alex I had my Millennium laying around for a couple of weeks.  When the gentleman who ended up buying the Millennium was here looking at it I had it fired up and we were pulling shots so he could get a feel for the machine.  He asked if he could try a shot from the Alex, which was also fired up, so we tried some and we both noticed the difference in the shots from the Alex.  The beans, grinder and barista were the same, just the machine differed and the shots from the Alex were noticeably better.  They had a more complex flavor profile and better mouthfeel.

I hear you Ron ... I had the same experience.

 

[John F]

When the gentleman who ended up buying the Millennium was here looking at it I had it fired up and we were pulling shots so he could get a feel for the machine.  He asked if he could try a shot from the Alex, which was also fired up, so we tried some and we both noticed the difference in the shots from the Alex.  The beans, grinder and barista were the same, just the machine differed and the shots from the Alex were noticeably better. 

Different from the other cases in this thread in a major way.

In the first:

A few days later I took the remainder of the blend over to B|Java's and after repeated attempts, could not get anything worth drinking.

[/i]

Coffee much different
Water different
Different preps
All in all not possible to call it a direct comparison to the machines.

In the other case MP months are going by....lots of stuff is changing.

At least in this case things are contained into the same environment.... The shots were better from the Alex. Without looking at any stats and never having had one of Ron L's shots if I had to buy one of these machines on the spot I'd pick the Alex.

My guess is that it is a better machine. 

John F

 

[mp]

Coffee much different
Water different
Different preps
All in all not possible to call it a direct comparison to the machines.
In the other case MP months are going by....lots of stuff is changing.
At least in this case things are contained into the same environment.... The shots were better from the Alex. Without looking at any stats and never having had one of Ron L's shots if I had to buy one of these machines on the spot I'd pick the Alex.
My guess is that it is a better machine. 
John F

Come on ... how can we possibly come to that conclusion???

 

[John F]

Come on ... how can we possibly come to that conclusion???

What conclusion?

[mp]

My guess is that it is a better machine. 
John F

This conclusion.

 

[staylor]

Finally... Conclusion! ;-)

[mp]

Finally... Conclusion! ;-)

Yeaaahhhh ... a conclusion .... yeahhhhh!

 :occasion14:

[John F]

Hold up....I didn't conclude anything I said I was guessing. 

John F

[mp]

Booo ... no conclusion .... booo.

 :protest:

[staylor]

Hold up....I didn't conclude anything I said I was guessing. 

John F

Did you guess French Toast, or was it really French Toast?

;-)