Espresso, espresso! (NSR)

[Dr. Crash]

Coming home this Friday (without the ugly cups):

http://www.chriscoffee.com/images/453/zaffiron1.jpg

Coming home next week:

http://www.chriscoffee.com/images/487/mazzerm.jpg

Oh boy! I need to stop spending, but this sure should be a great setup.

drC

PS: Go ahead, joshbu, take a jab at me

[Mrs. Nuts]

Man, what I wouldn't do to wrap my fingers around the handle of that porta filter. Does it come in Ferrari red as well?

[divegirl]

Mmmmmm!!! Can I come over for a cup of that?!
Seriously, I hope to get myself a setup like this one day...
Good choice, DrC!

[LCC]

Humm, an Isomac. I think they should call that thing the Insomniac!

[Viva]

So, what are the dimensions? Can you fit that into your summit pack?

[snowsprite]

Sweet Lord of Java...I love it! But it scares me just a little bit--all that shiny chrome, dials, and funky protrusions.

As I said...I love it!

Sprite

[mrw]

Someone tell the chiropractor

http://tetongravity.com/forums/showt...&threadid=5891

[InspectorGadget]

You must have a special relationship with this man

http://www.uwm.edu/People/amlinden/juan_valdez.gif

[comish]

Mmmmm. That does look good. We recently upgraded to a Rancilio machine. The ugly duckling cousin to the Silvia. Damn good stuff comes out of that puppy.

Oh ya, Looney Bean in mammoth's espresso blend is very very good.

Had to make a special trip there after our last tour off Tioga a while ago to pick up some more coffee.

Now I need a grinder. Crash, you have a used one you are selling in this upgrade-o-rama going on?

[summit]

i'm hella jelous

[The AD]

Nice setup, Dr. Crash. When does your coffee shop open and are you offering discounts to maggots?

[Dr. Crash]

Comish, I wouldn't want to sell the crappy grinder I have. It's so bad (a Braun burr grinder) for espresso that I had to switch to Illy preground coffee to get anything not tasking like shit out of my previous machine (a similarly very basic $100 Krups machine that I took 7 years to upgrade from). Get a good grinder, but be prepared to spend. A Rancilio Rocky is supposedly 90% as good and 25% cheaper as what I got (and will take less space), and I didn't get ir because I succumbed to the temptation of getting what the geeks celebrate as the best grinder, but people with more sense than me don't have to do that.

Viva, it's perfect for *your* summit pack. Something like 46 lbs for the machine and 21 lbs for the grinder. Perfect. (Now for my kitchen it'll be more problematic, the things being higher than the clearance between the counter and the cabinets. I hear my wife screaming already.)

AD, no coffee shop. Plus, this machine will only do straight espressos, or more accurately, non-milk based espresso drinks (so ristrettos and americanos are fair game) in a row (single boiler, not an HX machine, but I don't care for milk drinks).

drC

[The AD]

I hate to use the word, but feel I must. That grinder is burly!

[comish]

Ya, I have been amazed how much a difference the grind makes. Illy is only ok for my machine, a little course really.

Still jealous!

[Dr. Crash]

Bumpety bump. I got the machine yesterday! Yeah! The espresso is the best I've drunk in a long time, I can't believe I delayed the buy of this machine by 10 months (okay, sticker shock is why I did). My grinder and tamper will arrive on Thursday, so I relied on the local Starbucks to grind my freshly roasted Espresso Dolce blend (from Cafe Vivace, great place in Seattle).

Comish, here's a thread about an Astra (rebadged Tranquilo) grinder that is listed under $200 and supposedly very nice (the guy who reviewed it said it's a deal up to about $260). A Rocky costs $295 (I was quoted $260 from Chris Coffee as a package price) and a Mazzer Mini is twice the price of the Astra in the thread I'm referring to. If price is an issue, the Astra may be a great buy.

drC

[DINMS]

Your my god.

[Dr. Crash]

Originally posted by DINMS
Your my god.

Your god would like you to learn to spell, Damn I Can't Spell. Please? Pretty please?

drC

[Mrs Roo]

Coffee....YUK!

Make mine a nice cuppa tea (like a true Brit)

[splat]

Obviously, two of the four women who have posted here were not all that impressed by my sophisticated chai tea dispenser at Hood. Or maybe my blending skills. Or both.

[verbier61]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dr. Crash
[B]Coming home this Friday (without the ugly cups):

http://www.chriscoffee.com/images/453/zaffiron1.jpg


Hey the cups are not that bad!!!
look like a set from the highly celebrated Illy coffee cup series, all made by fine designers. This prompts to a pair of issues:

a) Espresso must be served in small aliquots and in small cups. There is a crucial and easy way to check for its value: just let some sugar fell over its surface SLOWLY.... sugar must float over the espresso surface for a while before siinking. This means superficial tension is OK. Check it wherever you like in fine Neaples, Rome or Milan bar and see what's happen

b) Illy rules as a coffe brand.

[PaSucks]

I will be much more impressed when someone posts pictures of the brewery to be delivered to their house on Friday.