Home Espresso Machine & Roaster
In an effort to come up with my own blends and beverages that will someday hold the spotlight of my menu, I am interested in purchasing an espresso machine and a roaster to experiment with using green beans at home.
I understand espresso machines and roasters run the gamut in terms of price and quality, but could someone recommend any that would be good for this without having to buy the commercial-size quality machine/roaster that I will inevitably invest in down the line for the shop?
Thank you!
I understand espresso machines and roasters run the gamut in terms of price and quality, but could someone recommend any that would be good for this without having to buy the commercial-size quality machine/roaster that I will inevitably invest in down the line for the shop?
Thank you!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Ayers on
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Michael, check out www.sweetmarias.com for a huge amount of info on home roasting. I use the Gene Cafe and have been really happy with it so far. As far as home espresso machines go, you can get ones that will pull good shots for around the $600 price point, but if you want to steam milk and pull shots at the same time you are getting into a much higher price point ($1500+). For just making espresso, I would recommend the obvious Rancillio Silvia, as it has tons of home user info and mods all over the internet. www.chriscoffee.com has some great home espresso machines to look at. And great customer service.
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Permalink Reply by Joseph Robertson on
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Michael, I like the path your on. Just one thing missing here. Your grinder is more important than either of your machines mentioned. As you spend more time here on BX you will see this mentionedh time and time again. I know, I heard over and over myself but as soon as I spent some money and paid close attention to what a vast difference it makes in the final result, I was sold. If your lucky, you can from time to time find a 600$ grinder like a Mazzar Super Jolly for as low as 100 or 200 on Craigs list or ebay.
Joe
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Permalink Reply by Alun Evans on
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Good heads up by Kevin. The home roasters have improved out of sight over the last few years. I know a few people in Jakarta roast at home with Hottops- results are fine. The older Alpenroasts I think have a number of drawbacks-namely you can not see what is going on inside of the roaster. Both these machines roast 200-400gm lots- enough for sure to play alchemist with blending at home. Espresso machines and grinders- I think for home use- value vs quality- Rancilio Silvia and Rocky combination are still the one to beat.
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Alun, I have not used this combination but it is a popular one on the SM's , Sweet Maria's dot com, homeroast list/ forum. Not cheap but great coffee/ espress never is.
The 1lb. Behmor has become very popular here in the states with home roasters. I met the owner / inventor. I was impressed with his mission statement and over all attention to quality. After a couple years out in the hands of customers I can now say his customer support is top shelf as well. I sell them in my shop and promote homeroasters in every way I can. After all this is how I got my humble start and caught the infectious coffee/spro roasting bug. Now it's a wonder I have time to sleep. Sleep? when I could be talking about coffee???? <];^0
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Permalink Reply by Mike M on
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Thank you all for the responses!
Kevin - I checked out Sweet Marias.com. Some great information on there about all the different kinds of equipment! The Rancillio Silvia.. Is that the 'Rancillio Miss Silvia' at http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.rancilio.php?
Joseph - That's a great point about the grinder. Honestly I hadn't given much thought to it and figured these were somewhat standard. I still have a lot to learn!
Alun - I checked out the Rancilio Silvia and Rocky combination on Sweet Maria's and read their product descriptions. Looks like a solid pair! Now all that's left is convincing my wife that this is a smart investment for the future business.
I plan to attend training as soon as I get back in the US (summer 2010) at ABC's. Is there anything else anyone would recommend for my humble coffee chemistry set?
Is there any specific home roaster anyone would recommend? I looked at a couple on Sweet Maria's but wasn't really sure what to look for in terms of features/brand names.
My biggest concern with all this, as with most artforms and sciences, is being able to replicate the phenomena. Once I have the business open and am using commercially-sized equipment, I'd like to be able to bring these products to market.
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Permalink Reply by Matt B on
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Michael Morand said:Thank you all for the responses!
Kevin - I checked out Sweet Marias.com. Some great information on there about all the different kinds of equipment! The Rancillio Silvia.. Is that the 'Rancillio Miss Silvia' at http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.rancilio.php?
Joseph - That's a great point about the grinder. Honestly I hadn't given much thought to it and figured these were somewhat standard. I still have a lot to learn!
Alun - I checked out the Rancilio Silvia and Rocky combination on Sweet Maria's and read their product descriptions. Looks like a solid pair! Now all that's left is convincing my wife that this is a smart investment for the future business.
I plan to attend training as soon as I get back in the US (summer 2010) at ABC's. Is there anything else anyone would recommend for my humble coffee chemistry set?
Is there any specific home roaster anyone would recommend? I looked at a couple on Sweet Maria's but wasn't really sure what to look for in terms of features/brand names.
My biggest concern with all this, as with most artforms and sciences, is being able to replicate the phenomena. Once I have the business open and am using commercially-sized equipment, I'd like to be able to bring these products to market.
My short answer is: don't worry about product development, or "the market," at this stage. Get a Behmor or a HotTop or even an iroast, and then roast. Play with lots of different coffees. Read up on different processing techniques and varietal differences and origin characteristics. In short, educate yourself, and your pallet. Your nose and your tongue and your brain will be what allow you to succeed when you make the jump to a commercial machine. Those are the things that will translate.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Dominy on
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I also recommend the Rancilio Silvia. It's a great home espresso machine that pulls espresso incredibly well for a home machine, and is very close to a commercial machine.
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