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Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review

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fullsack
Senior Member

Joined: 19 Feb 2006
Posts: 118
Location: San Francisco
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: Elektra Semiautomatica
Grinder: Versalab, Super Jolly,...
Roaster: HotTop

Posted Sun Feb 19, 2006, 4:34pm Subject: Re: Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review

I've always had misgivings about the plastic gizmo that inserts into the porta-filter. I swear I can taste the plastic in the shots. Did you use that thing, leave it out or subsitute something else? Also, I wish the electrical cord was a little longer. Doug Jamieson

www.fullsackjack.com

gammeltoft
Senior Member

Joined: 5 Nov 2004
Posts: 239
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Dalla Corte Mini
Grinder: Mazzer Mini E
Roaster: Alpenröst

Posted Thu Jul 20, 2006, 4:57am Subject: Re: Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review

Hi all, I just bought my second FF X3. Somehow these seem to go very cheap on eBay and they are excellent for having as a machine at the office, and as I am sharing my time between several places, well, you figure it out.... The machine is produced in 2000, so naturally I was a bit concerned about its state. When I got it, I was immediately shocked by the state of the dispersion screen, filter holders and baskets. Huge amounts of coffee gunk had been deposited. I don't think the previous owner actually bothered to clean it or the filter holders a single time during his ownership. Anyway, some soda-based espresso cleaner took care of all that. Opening it up, however, it looked absolutely pristine. It is actually in a lot better condition than my 2003 machine that developed a nasty leak at the boiler some time before I got it back for proper cleaning and de-scaling. But the real surprise came when I had a closer look at the thermostat. Not only is a proper probe thermostat, as displayed in the detailed review (unlike e.g. the Silvia's little glue-on thing) - it is actually temperature adjustable!! This is what Mark was raving on about in the Zaffiro review and the thermostat in my FF looks exactly the same and can be adjusted by a little screw. Now, the model reviewed by Mark and the one I got in 2003 (produced 2002) seem to have the same probe but a different and unadjustable thermostat. Anyone know when they changed this? Further, I would think that it would be easy getting a cheap Jaeger or Prodigy thermostat and replacing the newer ones for an ajustable one, if one wants the functionality of manual adjustment. Best Thomas

Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water. ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674

dougiedd
Senior Member

Joined: 17 Oct 2003
Posts: 33
Location: honolulu
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Sat Sep 23, 2006, 12:23pm Subject: Re: Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review

Plastic device in Francis X5 portafilter: ? what is up with that anyway? what kind of good Italian design is that? I dont want to drink plastic! Anyone have any advice?

tadaoo
Senior Member

Joined: 19 Oct 2006
Posts: 33
Location: paris, france
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: rancilio silvia
Grinder: ranclilio rocky doserless

Posted Sun Nov 12, 2006, 2:38pm
Subject: Re: Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review

niles Said:

Have just gotten my X3 Trio and thought I'd post some improvements that I think the X3 has undergone since Mark's review.

The froth aider easily unscrews and is therefore very easy to clean or get rid of.
The reservoir is easy to refill (possibly new/improved system or me not getting what the problem is/was, for mr there is a tube hanging down into the reservoir and nothing more)

Also a kit for ground coffee no longer ships with the new model and, as of yet, there isn't even one available for separate purchase so for now I have to do with pods (hopefully for a rather short period).

In my manual I see no banning of using the top as a cup warmer. Also, in the X-prject brochure pdf that Mark links to in the review there is a whole lot of cups on the top in the pictures.

well, that's my two cents (for now, anyway)
/niles

Posted November 28, 2005 link

hi Niles

do you have any update on finding a ground coffee portafilter kit for your FFX3Trio?
I have ordered one today, but it sems that the Trio group can only take pods portafilter, which means we are stuck with pods, when the older model FFX3 Classic (as they call it in europe) could function with both.
I found ground coffee portafilters for sale online for FF machines, but i need to find out if they can be use with the Trio.

Any information welcome,

Bon cafe,

t

carlsilver
Senior Member

Joined: 19 Dec 2003
Posts: 228
Location: Portugal
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: La Pavoni Europiccola/La...
Grinder: la Pavoni Jolly/Ascaso i...
Vac Pot: Normax
Drip: Melitta (manual)
Roaster: no

Posted Thu Mar 15, 2007, 2:54am Subject: Re: Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review

Interesting review but I don't understand what's the point of making a contest between 2 machines using ONLY "pretty bad beans"(!). It appears to me that the conclusions must be forcefully misleading. It would be like comparing 2 hi fi systems using exclusively a very bad recording...

Posted Fri Mar 16, 2007, 3:04am
Subject: Re: Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review

tadaoo Said:

it sems that the Trio group can only take pods portafilter, which means we are stuck with pods, when the older model FFX3 Classic (as they call it in europe) could function with both.
I found ground coffee portafilters for sale online for FF machines, but i need to find out if they can be use with the Trio.

Any information welcome,

Posted November 12, 2006 link

I'm sad to say that the new Trio can only work with pods.

I_Need_An_Intervention
Senior Member

Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Posts: 210
Location: Kansas City, MO
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: Rancilio Silvia
Grinder: Rancilio Rocky Doserless

Posted Thu Sep 13, 2007, 6:19am Subject: Re: Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review

CoffeeKid (Mark), you freaking rock!!! I love what you do for COFFEEGEEK.COM! Thanks for your hard work on these detailed reviews and the excellent information you are making avaliable to us!!

DavidAronson
Senior Member

Joined: 6 Aug 2008
Posts: 13
Location: Paris, France
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Gaggia Evolution
Grinder: Zassenhaus

Posted Mon Oct 13, 2008, 8:20am Subject: Re: Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review

Hello Mark. I got the impression that you were going to write about the FFX1, but it seems that's not the case. Did you ever get to check it out, and what are your opinions regarding the beast. When I asked about it on the forum most of the replies were far from ecstatic. My impression is that it should be at least as good as the FFX3. What's the deal? thanks, David

andyandrews35
Senior Member

Joined: 13 Dec 2005
Posts: 45
Location: maryland
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Francis! Francis! X3
Grinder: BrAun KMM30
Roaster: POPLITE # 04820

Posted Sat Nov 29, 2008, 5:45pm Subject: Re: Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review

I own the F! F! X3. Did I miss something or did you omit the part about having to disengage the bottom of the special tamper and leave that in the portafilter? This is because the head is really designed for a pod portafilter. If you don't use this method, the dispersion screen and surrounding area will become encrusted very quickly. But once one accepts this quirk, good espresso happens!

Posted Sat Nov 29, 2008, 6:02pm
Subject: Re: Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review

dougiedd Said:

Plastic device in Francis X5 portafilter: ?
what is up with that anyway? what kind of good Italian design is that?
I dont want to drink plastic!
Anyone have any advice?

Posted September 23, 2006 link

Just talking about the X3. Don't know where the X5 comes into the picture talking about the X3 review. I felt the same way about plastic. Had I realized that one must use the special tamper with the X3, I probably would not have bought it. But now I like it.

All I can tell you is, there's plastic and then there's plastic. The special tamper is made of two kinds of plastic. The bottom part that is left in the portafilter is bakelite. It is inert. The plus is that the group head is guaranteed to stay clean. This helps me because I need to pull a couple shots every morning prior to a long commute!

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