mrsspaceman Senior Member Joined: 2 Feb 2007 Posts: 16 Location: TX Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Mr. Coffee (yeah I... Drip: Gevalia (gift from some...
Posted Tue Feb 20, 2007, 5:56am Subject: Re: Machine recommendations??
No, we haven't visited them yet, but we do plan on it. We've sorta helped to put one coffee house together already, we just didn't get to see it through, 'cause our job moved us. We talk to the owner of that coffee house all the time though and he's really giving us some great advice. We will definately be checking with the local places to though. Right now, we're trying to get the business end of things (numbers, papers, name, etc.) worked out so we can see how much financing we have to work with. We make the sales pitch in two weeks to a possible private investor(not a partner, just someone that might help to finance it, okay, a family member lol). I'll check back with the board later!! Have a great day! I'm off to Dallas for the day. We've gotta go see a lady about some pit bulls....lol....really:)
Luca Moderator Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 2,658 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Espresso: H: Maver W: FB-80 Grinder: H: Super Jolly W: Brasilia... Vac Pot: Hario TCA-2 Roaster: Sample Roaster at Work
Posted Tue Feb 20, 2007, 6:48am Subject: Re: Machine recommendations??
Hi Becky,
I think that we need a bit more information to be able to recommend a machine. For example, what sort of useage will it get? What is your budget? What sort of coffees will be the lion's share of what you are making?
Do you know which roaster you're going to go with yet? Usually roasters are well and truly worthwhile talking to about commercial equipment - they might have a machine that they recommend, sell and service.
mrsspaceman Senior Member Joined: 2 Feb 2007 Posts: 16 Location: TX Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Mr. Coffee (yeah I... Drip: Gevalia (gift from some...
Posted Tue Feb 20, 2007, 9:13pm Subject: Re: Machine recommendations??
Ooooh...talking to the roasters. That's a good idea!! Thanks!!! I would love to give you more info, but, we don't even have it yet. That's why we're only in the research phase right now. Thanks for the idea though!! It's a great one.
Posted Tue Feb 20, 2007, 9:18pm Subject: Re: Machine recommendations??
Howdy Becky. It's nice to see a fellow texan coffeegeek!!
Going along with most of the other posts, i would probably reccomend going with a La Marzocco from ESI. I would speak to Mike McKim of Cuvee Coffee in Spring, TX(I think they're working on a move to the Austin area). As far as I know, Mike is a huge distributor/technician of ESI (which includes La Marzocco) products in Texas (and the southern part of the US, for that matter). He would be a great help in your search of a quality commercial espresso machine, plus his coffee is nothing short of amazing!!!
ThatCoffeeGuy Senior Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 880 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Expertise: Pro Barista
Espresso: NS at shop, nothing at home Grinder: NS MDX, NS MCF (home), Bunn... Vac Pot: Yama Tabletop Drip: Chemex Roaster: Behmor 1600, FR-8, Popper,...
Posted Tue Feb 20, 2007, 10:40pm Subject: Re: Machine recommendations??
I got to goof around on a Cyncra and man, those machines are nothing short of amazing. We ran the Cyncra against a HX and the thermal stability of a Synesso vs (in this case a Rancillio Millenium highly modded with restrictor plates and such) a HX machine blew my mind. I don't know how quickly you could get one serviced out there, but they are really really great machines and they are totally worth the price.
I really appreciate that you are looking at a machine for how well it will be serviced and how available parts are over the bells and whistles, that shows that you really know what you are doing. If you can get ESI to service a LM then you most definitely will have no problems running a LM, and the GB5's look amazing from what I can tell. Also, if you like the look of the Mirage, why not look into a LM Mistral? I'm sure they are wicked expensive, but Kees van der Westen designed both and they look extremely similiar. Just a thought.
HTH -Bry
Bryan Wray
"I just hope that people realize that coffee is not just a caffeine delivery service, it can be a culinary art." -Christopher Owens
lethalblonde Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2005 Posts: 202 Location: Bailey, CO Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Elektra Micro Casa a Leva Grinder: Innova flat burr Drip: Capresso MT500 Roaster: Big, heavy, old wok;...
Posted Wed Feb 21, 2007, 10:15am Subject: Re: Machine recommendations??
Becky;
I sent a few suggestions on in a note, and I hope it didn't get eaten by a spam filter.
LMWDP#95 ;)
To reiterate, I recommend lever machines as a way of setting yourself apart from the superauto char$. I suggested considering a pair of Rancilio Classe 6 Lever machines (one for each operator/barista), but I didn't mention Athena 3 Group Semi Automatic, by Victoria Arduino; nor the Rapallo by Astoria.
I apologise, I get wrapped up in other projets, and I wasn't thorough.
My perspective is to let the customer see the attention and expertise performed in creating espresso. Yes, it means those you have behind the counter would benefit if they began with a love of espresso and perhaps even owned a home espresso system - but lever machines and enthusiastic, skilled folks making coffees seem to develop astonishingly loyal customers, and that's my point for your consideration.
Whatever choice you make, the very best of luck.
Trisha
"The blessing lies not in living, merely, but in living well." Seneca, 8 B.C.
mrsspaceman Senior Member Joined: 2 Feb 2007 Posts: 16 Location: TX Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Mr. Coffee (yeah I... Drip: Gevalia (gift from some...
Posted Wed Feb 21, 2007, 11:36am Subject: Re: Machine recommendations??
Thank you so much!! I was really hoping you would read that I needed you to resend the info and links. I've been trying to tell my husband some of the stuff from your email, but, I couldn't remember it all. This really helps!! It didn't get eaten by a spam filter. It went to my junk folder, but, I did read it. Instead of selecting and deleting the junk...I just hit empty, and that's when I lost the message. My fault. Anyways...thanks for the link again and the extra ones. Have a great day!!
barkus Senior Member Joined: 12 Nov 2004 Posts: 13 Location: austin, texas Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: estro vapore (old) Grinder: maestro plus Drip: krups
Posted Wed Feb 21, 2007, 4:44pm Subject: Re: Machine recommendations??
My local spot is Little City on Congress. The other day I noticed they'd changed out their Rancilio (which always makes a good shot, often great, depending on who is the barista of the moment). I'd also go by Texas Coffee Traders (E 4th near the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store). They have a big shop and do a lot of repairs. They also roast and sell, but then so do lots of people.
Posted Wed Feb 21, 2007, 6:31pm Subject: Re: Machine recommendations??
barkus Said:
My local spot is Little City on Congress. The other day I noticed they'd changed out their Rancilio (which always makes a good shot, often great, depending on who is the barista of the moment). I'd also go by Texas Coffee Traders (E 4th near the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store). They have a big shop and do a lot of repairs. They also roast and sell, but then so do lots of people.
Luca Moderator Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 2,658 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Espresso: H: Maver W: FB-80 Grinder: H: Super Jolly W: Brasilia... Vac Pot: Hario TCA-2 Roaster: Sample Roaster at Work
Posted Wed Feb 21, 2007, 6:36pm Subject: Re: Machine recommendations??
ThatCoffeeGuy Said:
I got to goof around on a Cyncra and man, those machines are nothing short of amazing. We ran the Cyncra against a HX and the thermal stability of a Synesso vs (in this case a Rancillio Millenium highly modded with restrictor plates and such) a HX machine blew my mind. I don't know how quickly you could get one serviced out there, but they are really really great machines and they are totally worth the price.
I really appreciate that you are looking at a machine for how well it will be serviced and how available parts are over the bells and whistles, that shows that you really know what you are doing. If you can get ESI to service a LM then you most definitely will have no problems running a LM, and the GB5's look amazing from what I can tell. Also, if you like the look of the Mirage, why not look into a LM Mistral? I'm sure they are wicked expensive, but Kees van der Westen designed both and they look extremely similiar. Just a thought.
Just regarding the Synessos; if you are handy, they're not that difficult to service yourself. We have done quite a bit of work on ours over the past year. Although they're cutting-edge, they're really quite straightforward to work on ... you look at the insides, and it's all obvious ... I'd say that HXs are more complicated.
If you have a local agent for LM, the GB5/FB80/Mistral probably start to look compelling. The FB80 that I work on is truly an excellent machine. I don't think that any other manufacturer pays as much attention to detail as LM does. There are a few differences in the latest crop of LMs that make them, IMHO, worth the extra money over the linea.
Of course, both the LM and the Synesso route is quite expensive. They will forever be coffeegeek favourites, but sometimes they might not make business sense. If you're at the extreme where coffee isn't a huge part of your business and it is mainly milk drinks, cheaper options will start to sound more compelling.
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