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Permalink Reply by Jesse Bladyka on December 7, 2009 at 10:00pm

One of our two shops has a three group Belle Epoque. To work it on a busy shift is an intimate dance for sure. Depending how busy you are, having only one steam wand can be a drawback. It's definitely a machine designed to be worked by one barista at a time. The boiler holds up just fine and our espresso tastes great, but with a line out the door it is not as efficient as a line style machine. We get a lot of comments and it fits our aesthetic quite well, it is surely a beautiful machine. I'd be happy to talk more about the pros and cons of Elektras, we have four of them between our lab and two shops.

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Permalink Reply by Mr. F on December 8, 2009 at 7:40pm

Hey, Jesse--
Yeah, it's the line out the door I'm worried about. Our place is pretty busy, and what we're planning to do is to separate our coffee operation from our food operation, so that we can focus on each individually and become more efficient. As it is now, we have a four-group La Pavoni that is more machine than we need, since we only have one barista on it at a time. Our set-up is completely illogical, having been pieced together over many years without any planning, so more than one barista making drinks at a time quickly devolves into a frustrating Laurel and Hardy-esque routine... anyway, most of our problem right now is that we all double as food expediters and dishwashers in what needs to become a real restaurant with real table service, considering how busy its lunches have become, so I have no idea how busy a cafe side might be on its own.
In short, if the Elektra is awkward, we can get used to it, because awkward is the name of our game. I just don't want the owner, who has money-troubles as it is, to pay more for form than function.
So, that one steam wand is omnidirectional, right?
Thanks.

Jesse Bladyka said:

One of our two shops has a three group Belle Epoque. To work it on a busy shift is an intimate dance for sure. Depending how busy you are, having only one steam wand can be a drawback. It's definitely a machine designed to be worked by one barista at a time. The boiler holds up just fine and our espresso tastes great, but with a line out the door it is not as efficient as a line style machine. We get a lot of comments and it fits our aesthetic quite well, it is surely a beautiful machine. I'd be happy to talk more about the pros and cons of Elektras, we have four of them between our lab and two shops.

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