Posts Tagged ‘espresso machines’Compare: Breville Dual Boiler vs. Rancilio Silvia
November 21st, 2011
In another of our not-so-infamous grudge matches, we pit Breville’s new Dual Boiler against the tried and true single boiler Rancilio Silvia, featuring a PID retrofit. Other than having an additional boiler on its side, how does this new machine measure up against the Silvia? Watch as Gail takes us through the usual specs, features [...]  Compare: Rocket Giotto vs. Nuova Simonelli Musica
November 2nd, 2011
We’d be hard pressed to choose between these two models ourselves, and we’ve had several customers ask us for a comparison between the two. The Rocket Giotto and Nuova Simonelli Musica are high end home machines with similar features and practical performance, but the Musica does have programming functionality and is NSF rated for use [...] Experimenting with Ristrettos
October 28th, 2011
You know that since we are part of the goblin class, we love short things, right? It took us awhile to strong arm Gail into doing a ristretto comparison on several different machines, but we finally wore her down and here is the proof of our labors! Watch as Gail pulls double ristretto shots (1.5 [...] Crew Review: Saeco Syntia Cappuccino
October 18th, 2011
Yet another gauntlet laid down, yet another petite one-touch superautomatic added to the fray. If we are honest, we will admit that we wish these really were robots and that we could pit these tiny superautomatics against each other in a brew to the death! But we are not honest; doing so would be too [...] Blind Taste Test: Rancilio Silvia vs. Crossland CC1
October 7th, 2011
There’s a new kid in town and we’ve been asked by folks how the practical results compare with one of its primary competitors — so we put them to the test! Watch as Gail pulls espresso shots from the Rancilio Silvia and the Crossland CC1, offers them up to Rob, Jess and Allison and finds [...] Crew Review: Nuova Simonelli Aurelia Commercial Espresso Machine
September 13th, 2011
We hit the road again! This time around, we headed to Nuova Simonelli’s showroom in south Seattle to get a technical rundown and check out a few of their commercial-class machines. First up is the Aurelia, which was selected by the World Barista Championship as their competition model for the past few years, primarily because [...] Experimenting with Lungos
July 22nd, 2011
If making espresso was a children’s fairy tale, this experimentation is all about good ol’ Papa Bear. According to Kenneth Davids, an espresso lungo is 2 oz of espresso, or 2/3 of a demitasse, pulled using the coffee dosage for a single espresso. We have had several folks ask us if some machines are more [...] How To: Dialing in a Pressurized Portafilter
July 20th, 2011
So you’ve got an espresso machine with a pressurized portafilter — like a Saeco Aroma, Via Venezia or Sirena — and you’re looking to improve your shots. Dialing it in doesn’t require the same level of precision as when you’re using a non-pressurized portafilter, and since the pressurization system impacts the pace of the shot, [...] La Marzocco Linea: How Many Lattes per Hour?
July 19th, 2011
We locked Gail in a room, alone with only a La Marzocco Linea, Mahlkonig K30 Vario, a couple pounds of coffee beans & gallons of milk and a slew of cups. Then we told her the only way for her to get out alive was to see how many lattes she could make in one [...] We asked a selection of our crew to tell us what machines they dig in the single boiler and heat exchange/double boiler class. Watch Rob, Jessica, Allison, Radoje and Gail talk to us about what their favorite gear is, why they like it and if it has any drawbacks. |
