Subj : Home Espresso Machines
To   : Kurt Weiske
From : August Abolins
Date : Sun Mar 19 2023 12:27:00

Hello Kurt!

** On Monday 13.03.23 - 08:38, you wrote:

 KW> It's got a decent sized-boiler - you can pull two expresso
 KW> shots then immediately go about steaming milk or pulling
 KW> boiling water for an americano.

 KW> Two things that make it larger than some others are the
 KW> system for disposing of coffee pucks and the front-mounted
 KW> water reservoir. That makes it easy to maintain the unit
 KW> if it's under a counter, like mine is.

The last machine that I had in use was a Bosch/Tassimo unit.  
The coffee/tea pucks are very compact and thin.  It was in use  
for about 12 years. The quick/automated way of having a coffee  
started and ready (walk off and do something else) was  
addictive in of itself.

I was even contemplating offering "fresh" coffee at my shop  
with a couple of units like that.

I did NOT appreciate having to take the system offline for the  
descaler process every 6 months or so.  However, I persisted  
until I simply got fed up with paying the premium for the pre- 
packaged pucks.  Instead, I repurposed the machine to act as my  
inline hotwater heater and just made my coffees with a  
cone+filter that sits on top of the cup - and I used the much  
less expensive loose-ground coffee - I did that for about 5  
years.

Then, one day (after 10 years total) the machine reported a  
fault light indicating that the water reservoir was empty,  
although it was NOT.  As a result, a simple descaler process  
wasn't going to cooperate!  I was already drinking decaf by  
that time, so I wasn't really missing having a coffee.  But the  
machine is toast as far am I am concerned and will simply go to  
landfill.

The machine only made at the most 4 to 6 beverages per day.  
With those numbers it seems that 10 years of service, including  
the recommended descaling, for a mchine like that seems  
underperforming.

Anyway.. boiling water the simple way in a kettle, and letting  
gravity and a paper cone do its magic is quite good and fast  
enough.

I would imagine that your espresso machine would need far more  
maintenance and cleaning than a simple water-only Bosch/Tassimo  
system. I know you said that the machine "has already paid for  
itself" in a few months (keeping in mind that the cost of  
bistro coffees are overpriced to begin with), but I hope the  
machine doesn't create maintenance headaches and added cost  
down the road.
-- 
  ../|ug

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 * Origin: Mobile? COFFEE_KLATSCH = https://tinyurl.com/y56r9f2o (2:221/1.58)

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