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Permalink Reply by Erik Barkley on July 20, 2015 at 11:29am

Hi Keiko,

Astoria Gloria is exactly what you need, if by "semi-auto" you mean automatic (programmable buttons for volumetric extraction).  Semi-automatics you have to turn on the dosing of water and turn off the dosing of water.  Super-automatics are the machines Starbucks uses, that produce terrible espresso & simply read your mind without any interaction.  

In my experience, Astoria is the best balance of price & reliability (10-13 years of heavy service without major repairs).  Machines that are less expensive than Astoria have a lot of plastic components & tend to break more.  More expensive machines have marginal benefits & a value equation that doesn't add up in your circumstance.

As a mobile platform, I would definitely buy new.  Older machines will have finicky electrical connections & possibly scale that could come loose in transit.

https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/astoria/gloria-sae-2

Hope this helps!

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Permalink Reply by Keiko on July 20, 2015 at 6:15pm

Hi! Thank you Erik for taking your time to reply to me. I'm definitely going to look into Astoria. How about the grinder. I'm budgeting for $1500. What do you think of spaziele?

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Permalink Reply by Erik Barkley on July 21, 2015 at 2:12pm

Keiko,

Absolutely!  I don't have any experience with Spaziale.  Mazzer, Compak & Mahlkonig all make incredible espresso grinders.  Compak has weight based models that are awesome but a little out of your budget.  A time based, doserless Mazzer would fit your budget & last a long time.  Just make sure you replace the burrs on a regular basis.

https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/mazzer/super-jolly-e

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Permalink Reply by Keiko on July 22, 2015 at 5:10pm

Thanks again, Erik! Mazzer seems to be the consensus with everyone. :)

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Permalink Reply by Chris on July 24, 2015 at 3:09pm

Nouva Simonella  commercial 3 cup  espresso  with frother asking $700.00
It has very little hours of uses   It's retail price is $1,200 for a used  one .New is $22,000 .
 • Im asking $700.00 obo.503-995-7228

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Permalink Reply by Vincent LaVolpa on November 29, 2015 at 5:28pm

Hey Keiko, 

I own a coffee truck in Albuquerque. http://www.greenjoecoffeetruck.com

I use an Astoria Divina 2 group semi.

 

Here's the pros and cons: 
1. Pros: Workhorse. Can pull shots, pull shots, pull shots. In fact, I pull so many shots from it, I named it after my tank in the Army, "Dirty Duece"! I have a two group with two steam wands. I can work on 4 drinks at once, which is awesome when I need to bang out a long line. It's dialed in and super easy to use. Which makes for quick work. My business focuses on a good and fast cup. This allows for both. 

2. Cons: Draws a lot of power. I'm mobile, so this is a concern for me. But I bought it with the thought of brick and mortar later on...so, its a problem now, but hopefully not one later :) It takes 4400 watts. As of now, I'm unaware of how to power that with anything other than a big ass generator. So, it requires me hauling around this 200 lb genny everywhere I go. That blows. 

80% of the time, I don't need that big of an espresso machine. In my opinion, I probably overpurchased my espresso machine. Meaning, I probably could get away with only one group. But, when I work movie sets or have long lines, it's nice to have that second group. 

 

Here's a few notes:

1. It does not have a built in grinder

2. It draws 4.4kw

3. Its 220v

4. Weights 138 pounds dry

5. Takes 15 minutes to warm up

 

Here's a data sheet if you need one: 

 

http://www.commappl.com/Astoria_PDF/divina%20sae2.pdf

 

I paid $2,400 for a refurb...

 

Hope it helps!

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Permalink Reply by Arkadiy Chernov on November 30, 2015 at 3:40pm

Hi Vincent,

Where did you get your refurb?? I'm planning to a get the Astoria Rapallo, lever, and a refurb would be great. Was it at Astoria itself?

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