Hi all, was thinking of making lattes at home and somehow thought of getting an espresso machine. Read through quite a number of pages already but - confusing
Googled some websites - was recommending breville, but after checking the prices and also in HWZ, it seems it wasn't really favoured and other reviews seem to say it isn't very durable?
I wasn't thinking of spending more than 1k but i realised I rather spend more and have something that spoils after 2 years. So it seems Bezzera or Expobar is favoured here?
Is there any particular model I should be looking at..? Like BZ10, BZ13? Expobar? My barista friend seems to favour double boiler over HX. And E61 grouphead? TIA!
Do you drink milk drinks or espressos most of the time?
If you drink espressos mostly and are very particular about fine tuning your espresso to get the balance you want then get a double boiler or a pid controlled single boiler if you want to save up and don't make milk drinks often.
If you make milk drinks most of the time and you are not particular about your espressos then a HX is ok.
if you have the money just get a double boiler. Brew boiler should be PID controlled.
I have used a single boiler with no PID. a double boiler with pid and a lever machine which you guesstimate the temp by touching the brew group and using a inaccurate temp strip. Have played around with a hx too.
If you want convenience and want to play arond with all kinds of light and dark roasted coffee just get a pided double boiler. It will save you the trouble of guesstimating with the HX flush routine
Some people say HX taste better, more clarity, better acidity etc etc. I think this is purely anecdotal...You can achieve pretty much the same results by lowering or increasing the temp of the pid. Home barista stuff must be read with an open but cautious mind.
In pro circles people are only starting to make sense of pressure or flow profiling and how this affects the taste profile.
In comparision, temperature profiling (i.e. stable temp vs a variable temp profile) is a relative mystery at this time. What is known is that increasing temp also increases your extraction rate which increases both the extraction of bitter AND sweet AND sour solubles. But because we tend to perceive bitter chemicals more easily increase temps to high will make it seem that the coffee is bitter. But extreme acidity is also there making the coffee very unpleasant.
The key is to hit the sweet spot in temperature, particle size, extraction rate so that the taste profile is balanced and pleasant. Sweetness, acidity and controlled bitterness is in harmony.
E61 grouphead has relatively stable temps at idle and also has mechanical preinfusion (only for true e61 groups). Gentle pressure ramp up (a kind of preinfusion) helps to mitigate mistakes in distribution in tamping. Long preinfusion (low flow or low pressure) allows you to grind very fine without choking the extraction which is especially useful for light roasted coffee.
A flow restrictor (linea mini) also helps with a gradual preinfusion.
But at the end of the day just get what is within your budget after educating yourself on the options.
need to get a good grinder too.
