goodlookin1 Senior Member Joined: 12 Apr 2010 Posts: 13 Location: Sacramento, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Expobar Office Grinder: Vanelis Minipro III
Posted Sat May 19, 2012, 1:40pm Subject: Deal of the Century? Pic Inside :-)
Just picked up a lightly used 2 year old La Spaziale Spazio EK 2 Group machine with a Zenith 1600 grinder w/doser. Also had all the accessories, like a dump box, shot glasses, three portafilters...two for shots and one with a blind basket...scrubbers, etc. I went to Vaneli's in Rocklin and saw that they are selling the exact same model Spazio brand new for $4800, a pretty penny, and the grinder for $550. It was from a bowling alley and the employees had no clue how to make good coffee. The customers were complaining because they had no standard for any drink....different "barista", different drink (and by the looks of how dirty this thing was, I cant imagine that ANYTHING tasted very good). I've been backflushing for DAYS (probably at least 20 different backflush powder scoops with 40 individual backflushes...minimum!) and i'm still getting slightly brown water. But it's almost perfect now....at least one group head is :-)
I found out that the grinder is pretty much a chinese clone of the Mazzer Super Jolly, with some subtle differences....still super heavy and built like a tank, but I have no experience with a Mazzer SJ, so I dont know the actual differences. I think I like my home grinder better though, and it's doserless.
Anyway, for the best part: The price! I got all this for.... . . . . Wait for it.... . . . . $800!
Only problem is that it requires a 20amp power line, so the only 20a plug I had was in the laundry room. I dont know what I'm going to do....I can keep it and run a new 20a line in the garage, or I can sell it and get a e61 machine like a La Scala or something along those lines. What should I do? Thing runs like a champ, but has quite a large footprint.
What should you do???? Sell the washing machine and dryer, of course! :-O
Seriously, there is normally little need for a two group in the home, and one of that size is best if left on 24/7. Make it look and run as good as possible and C/L or eBay it.
ryecarr01 Senior Member Joined: 2 Nov 2011 Posts: 44 Location: north east Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sun May 20, 2012, 2:30am Subject: Re: Deal of the Century? Pic Inside :-)
Very cool machine. I refurbished a spazio not too long ago. A word of warning if you decide to keep the machine, if it is kept in your garage and you live in an area prone to harsh winters, theses machines hate frost. They have a unique heat exchanger which seems very susceptible to splitting if becoming frozen.
Great find though, if you sell on you should have no probs at least doubling your money
Have you considered downgrading the element so that it uses less juice?
goodlookin1 Senior Member Joined: 12 Apr 2010 Posts: 13 Location: Sacramento, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Expobar Office Grinder: Vanelis Minipro III
Posted Mon May 21, 2012, 9:16pm Subject: Re: Deal of the Century? Pic Inside :-)
Thanks for the tips guys. These are my thoughts after having/using it for a few days:
1) Machine is still frickin huge! 2) Steaming takes some practice....literally too hot after about 10 seconds 3) Not so sure about the 52mm basket size....i'm used to a 58mm E-61 group (and like the ability to use a wide and deep triple basket 4) Machine creates a LOT of heat....warms up the laundry room quite easily 5) Machine is extremely consistent in pressure and heat, never running out of hot water or steam
All in all, although i've never worked in a coffee shop, I dont see how this thing could ever be too slow or just not have enough juice to provide everything a dedicated shop needs. I've always wondered about the usefulness of the 3-5 group machines as you will never have 5 espresso's going at once, nor 5 people working on the machine at once. I'd rather get two 2 group machines as far as I'm concerned, if you really needed that much more output.
As far as the quality of espresso goes, it's pretty much the same as my expobar. I do feel that I cannot get the most out of it due to the fact that I dont have a naked portafilter that will fit. I almost want to drill and open up one of the three portafilters so I can see what's going on during the shot....without that, I am only guessing.
Having said all that, I dont feel this is the machine for a home. It's just a bit too much. You dont need a 5-10 second steam time, you dont (typically) need two group heads, and in my opinion you dont need it plumbed (although it makes things much easier). This beast just draws a ton of power and it is overkill for 99% of households. Yes, it can be done and I'm sure many have enjoyed it in their house.....I just dont think it is necessary and would much rather prefer a high-end semi-automatic HX E-61 for my uses. I think that's the direction i'm going to go from here.
rlevine Senior Member Joined: 16 Dec 2011 Posts: 18 Location: NJ Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izza Alex Duetto II Grinder: Baritza Virtuoso Preciso,... Drip: Hario kettle, V60, Chemex
Posted Tue May 22, 2012, 8:20am Subject: Re: Deal of the Century? Pic Inside :-)
goodlookin1 Said:
Thanks for the tips guys. These are my thoughts after having/using it for a few days: All in all, although i've never worked in a coffee shop, I dont see how this thing could ever be too slow or just not have enough juice to provide everything a dedicated shop needs. I've always wondered about the usefulness of the 3-5 group machines as you will never have 5 espresso's going at once, nor 5 people working on the machine at once. I'd rather get two 2 group machines as far as I'm concerned, if you really needed that much more output.
Just to chime in on this point: I have seen the barista at my local shop run 3 shots at once - though admittedly it is infrequent that he does so. In my eyes, the true usefulness of a machine with more than 2 groups is in case a second barista needs to jump on to help out briefly or, more likely, to have an extra group if one goes down for whatever reason.
I could see myself at some point down the line owning a 2 group machine in my home. I guess it would be a little overkill though. (A little?)
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