Moony Ol Chap. The Expobar Minore IV is not on your list - probably because people have become bored with it's efficiency and reliability, or perhaps it's the dated styling and finish. Despite all the intense energy focused on the new shiny bling brigade, Brewtus is a good value, well performing and adaptable option - much like FC's gear......largely underestimated in terms of performance and ROI. Personally, I have a fair bit gear and often buy stuff because of interest or curiosity. My kitchen bench at home has a KVW and a Minore IV and my roastery bench has a GS3 and another Minore IV, along with numerous new Mazzer, Compak, Macap and NS grinders. What gear do you think gets the most use ? What machine do I prefer to use ? Hands down it's the humble and former star from 6 years ago......Brewtus...... and here's why. I have to be at the warehouse very early in the morning to start roasting but I need a cuppa with my breakfast otherwise I don't tend to function properly. I don't have time at 5am in the morning to wait for "dream machines" to heat up, yet coffee for me is a ritual experience.........one that requires the ultimate skill and precision. I am also extremely fussy - stuff has to work and work well, always. I will sink shots that others happily consume.....because I'm always testing, testing, testing. When I wake up, I can switch on the Minore and by the time I've had a shower and sitting down to my brekkie, the Minore is ready to pull a shot and steam milk - that's 15 minutes. Of course, I might help the group and portafilter along a bit by running water from the machine to heat everything up to prevent soak, but it's fast........extremely fast. Once I hit the roastery, there is no time to make coffee for another 6 hours and if I need to grab a quickie whilst roasting, then I also goto the Minore as the GS3 is in my opinion just an over-hyped and over-priced machine that is very temperamental and takes ages to reach temp, even on FULL heating. Why I also prefer to use the Minores at home and work is because I can't stand how ridiculously variable the KVW and GS3 are at producing a quick 1-cup coffee - that is, the simple walk-up test......turn on, wait for a short time and then pull a shot.......they are terrible at the walk-up coffee because they tend to take a bit to get stable and consistent whereas the Minore is more forgiving. As to the cup.......fortunately, I have 35 years of Espresso making, hence I can make an equally good cup on the Minore as I can on the home and factory dream machines. I'm sure FC does the same on his home gear as well because it's the operator not the machine. The difference is negligible or nothing to get wound up over as there are plenty of other things for that !. yes, with enough shots I achieve holy grail on the dream team, but it takes a lot more time and a hell of a lot more wasted coffee shots to dial in the tolerances - both things the average coffee lover would be frustrated at. I'm not promoting the Minore.......it's just an example of a machine that's not in the "top 5" these days yet it can, in the right hands, with the right beans, produce heaven. These days time is more and more important to me.....so I won't be buying any more "fan-boy" machines because they are just pretty much the same. Good luck on your search Moony.
