(GPGT)Espresso machine hoot

[testerjp]

Ppl here own one, no nightmare for him.
If quality is good, no local support needed.

Too early to tell for a new machine. All electronics have a lifespan or duty cycle.

 

[shdwkillr]

Hi guys, would like to start exploring self roasting at home soon. But before that, may I know where in Singapore I can get a variety of green beans to expand on this hobby? Thanks

 

[eschaton]

anyone tried this?

I have one. Works fine for pour over, haven't tried it for espresso. It's like a cute lil ek43.

I only drink espresso now though, so it's been relegated to grinding pepper and spices

 

[patryn33]

Too early to tell for a new machine. All electronics have a lifespan or duty cycle.

All mechanical parts also have a lifespan, heck all things all have a lifespan.

If machine indeed tested well to simulate age and the number of shots pulled will be good.

Much like Kia or Hyundai there are skeptics but with time they even showed the Japanese they are the bar to beat

 

[wook2000]

Too early to tell for a new machine. All electronics have a lifespan or duty cycle.

I have a 5 year plus laptop still running daily perfectly fine, as long as the thermals are managed well, electronics have lower failure rate than traditional thermostat which have been known to be sticky after a while. The "brains" of most espresso machines are also electronic boards and have been known to fail too.

The DE1 after sales service is phenomenal so far, i had a video conference with the founder to show some UI bug which was patched within a week.

The part which is most likely to fail is the pump which is common part and therefore easy to source, the pumps are placed at the easiest place of reach in the machine, replacing it would be 10 min job.

 

[Knight_Rider]

All mechanical parts also have a lifespan, heck all things all have a lifespan.

If machine indeed tested well to simulate age and the number of shots pulled will be good.

Much like Kia or Hyundai there are skeptics but with time they even showed the Japanese they are the bar to beat

Break down local bring where repair? If need to ship here ship there that is nightmare even with warranty.

 

[wook2000]

The DE1 users have a private forum/ basecamp thingy, so all issues faced by other users are also seen by us. There was a case which they could not resolve an issue via troubleshooting, within two weeks a new machine was sent over and the old machine returned. The machine all come in bespoke suitcase, so you can lug it anywhere and packing for shipment is very easy.

 

[testerjp]

Break down local bring where repair? If need to ship here ship there that is nightmare even with warranty.

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Needs to ship back for sure, including maintenance unless you are that handy.

 

[hardwaregone]

It can't be so simple to repair such machines as it's dealing with pressurised hot water. Meaning it definitely needs some seal or gaskets that is food grade and able to withstand high pressure and heat to keep water from leaking after replacing a certain component. Can't be so simple like replacing a component on a computer.

Furthermore it's high powered, pressurised and hot. Definitely not safe for amateurs to perform repairs. Already had a few cases of people died trying to diy install a water heater at home in Singapore.

 

[hardwaregone]

Hi guys, would like to start exploring self roasting at home soon. But before that, may I know where in Singapore I can get a variety of green beans to expand on this hobby? Thanks

Last I checked it was not worth it, the greens in Singapore are not cheap and very limited. When I was out stationed in indo, could get very decent Arabica at about USD2 per kg.

 

[purpleberry]

How's the taste profile between LM Linea, GS3 and Strada? I have tried the latter two which is quite similar.

 

[testerjp]

Where did you manage to taste gs3 and strada side by side?

Linea has a flat pressure and temperature profile. So should be quite different from the two.

 

[purpleberry]

Where did you manage to taste gs3 and strada side by side?

Linea has a flat pressure and temperature profile. So should be quite different from the two.

Not side by side but in a span of a few days. GS3 is available at the cafe in Isetan Scotts and Strada is at Craftsmen.

Your Strega is more towards Strada?

 

[testerjp]

Never taste side by side before but more or less in its pressure profiling. The pressure matches quite well compare to the Strada's golden profile.

La Marzocco's Golden Pressure Profile that works best for light roast

Matches Strega's pressure profiling by default usage

La Marzocco's recommended profile for dark roast

La Marzocco's recommended profile for medium roast

The darker the roast, the lower the initial pressure used. So if you have the Strega, you can match that by releasing the spring earlier.

 

[purpleberry]

Besides the Strega, any Londinium R users here? It looks like a close competitor but the price is around 1k more.

 

[calbay]

I doubt you will feel a remarkable difference between the two in taste. Both are very good machines in my opinion.

The main difference is the Londinium is using a bigger boiler, meaning it's a little better in the thermal stability, start up time is about an hour. It is using a mini rotary pump, which is suppose to be more lasting but cost many times more to replace and not commonly found. Last of course, it should cost you SGD1.5k more.

The top tray of the Londinium isn't ventilated, so I was wondering if that will stress the parts more, especially in places like Singapore. I believe you will have to service and repair the machine by yourself, as I think they don't have any distribution network. The front part of the machine should be easy to service, it's the inside that is challenging.

 

[patryn33]

Last I checked it was not worth it, the greens in Singapore are not cheap and very limited. When I was out stationed in indo, could get very decent Arabica at about USD2 per kg.

That’s cheap! I reckon it’s indo beans

Just bought these Panama beans 15lb for usd$60

 

[patryn33]

The DE1 users have a private forum/ basecamp thingy, so all issues faced by other users are also seen by us. There was a case which they could not resolve an issue via troubleshooting, within two weeks a new machine was sent over and the old machine returned. The machine all come in bespoke suitcase, so you can lug it anywhere and packing for shipment is very easy.

How is your DE1? Giving you nightmares or sweet dreams?

 

[purpleberry]

Testerjp, I am not sure if I have asked you before but what's the main difference between BZ13 and Strega? If Strega is closer to Strada/GS3, I can roughly imagine it but I have not tried BZ13 or any of the BZ series before. Is it similar to those E61 machines?

 

[testerjp]

BZ13 machine was the first Bezzera machine i bought for my office. I took that primary because of the automatic buttons to dispense the dose to score productivity points for my PIC claim.

I remember I don't taste much difference between the E61 and BZ except the notes on the BZ is slightly clearer. I don't like E61's higher start up time, I read that the preinfusion is better on the E61, can add a better body, bit more forgiving but may get coffee more intensified/bitter. Also due to the bigger brew chamber, there's more space to trap more oil that can go rancid inside and affect the next cup.


Strega is like a high definition surround system which you can hear the drop of a pin.
BZ/E61 is like decent 2.1 point speaker system.

If given a choice, I should had bought two Stregas because I later found out that Strega was also in IRAS approved list in the PIC claim.

With the Strega, I could use blends that are robusta loaded, dark and squeeze in lower pressure, and eliminate most of the bitterness, bring out the fruitiness and at the same time enjoy the body from a dark roast. You can nv get the same result with the BZ.