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Permalink Reply by Mike Sabol on January 12, 2011 at 5:56pm

Get the Aurelia!!  That is a great machine.  It's better than the Appia.  Pulls better shots and has far superior steam capacity.  I am not going to say anything about the Unic because I don't have much personal experience with them.  But you will not be disappointed with the Aurelia.  Ask anyone who owns and used one everyday.  I support multiple Aurelias in the field, along with a whole host of others, and have pretty much only good things to say about them.  (Just don't get me started on the way the feet are attached on Simonellis.  Suffice it to say I am now an expert at installing rivet nuts. :0)

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Permalink Reply by jonathan bonchak on January 12, 2011 at 6:15pm

Hi K,

I recently installed a 2 group Appia in a cafe where it's moderately used (about 20-30 lbs espresso / week) and it has turned out to be an appropriate choice so far. It's clean, simple, accomplishes everything the owner needs it to do and we cut him a great deal. These decisions always depend on what you want or need that machine to accomplish. There's nothing wrong with investing in a higher end machine because of how it looks or that you feel like it says something about your cafe, but consider your assumed/desired customer type and try to weigh that against your decision. I see too many cafes cut huge checks for machines with tons of bells and whistles and the latest hotness (which IMO, most of those modern bells and whistles are fantastic) but who have no clue how to use or why and when to use those technologies to their benefit. It's also about being practical or having fun and finding that balance which is tied to your budget. If you only need a nice Subaru to get you back and forth to the grocery store, then the Lamborghini, though you'll feel cool driving it, probably isn't the right choice, dig? Not saying that you're trying to decide between junk and awesome, but try to be realistic about what you're trying to accomplish. Do you need PID? If you don't know what that is then chances are you don't need it . But, it's worth investigating all the abilities of each machine and allow room for learning and development on it.

 

On that note, and I'm sure others will back me up here...consider who you're buying the machine from. Whatever machine you end up with, if it's new, should come with a 1 year parts AND labor warranty no questions asked. And if you can, team up with a local roaster with a reliable in-house or preferred coffee service company service that they work with. Not sure where you're located but if the guy installing your machine is also your local plumber, make sure to get his card because he probably has no clue what he's doing and he'll be coming back frequently and he'll be learning as he goes.

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Permalink Reply by k on January 12, 2011 at 6:51pm

Thanks, we are in MN

jonathan bonchak said:

Hi K,

I recently installed a 2 group Appia in a cafe where it's moderately used (about 20-30 lbs espresso / week) and it has turned out to be an appropriate choice so far. It's clean, simple, accomplishes everything the owner needs it to do and we cut him a great deal. These decisions always depend on what you want or need that machine to accomplish. There's nothing wrong with investing in a higher end machine because of how it looks or that you feel like it says something about your cafe, but consider your assumed/desired customer type and try to weigh that against your decision. I see too many cafes cut huge checks for machines with tons of bells and whistles and the latest hotness (which IMO, most of those modern bells and whistles are fantastic) but who have no clue how to use or why and when to use those technologies to their benefit. It's also about being practical or having fun and finding that balance which is tied to your budget. If you only need a nice Subaru to get you back and forth to the grocery store, then the Lamborghini, though you'll feel cool driving it, probably isn't the right choice, dig? Not saying that you're trying to decide between junk and awesome, but try to be realistic about what you're trying to accomplish. Do you need PID? If you don't know what that is then chances are you don't need it . But, it's worth investigating all the abilities of each machine and allow room for learning and development on it.

 

On that note, and I'm sure others will back me up here...consider who you're buying the machine from. Whatever machine you end up with, if it's new, should come with a 1 year parts AND labor warranty no questions asked. And if you can, team up with a local roaster with a reliable in-house or preferred coffee service company service that they work with. Not sure where you're located but if the guy installing your machine is also your local plumber, make sure to get his card because he probably has no clue what he's doing and he'll be coming back frequently and he'll be learning as he goes.

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Permalink Reply by k on January 12, 2011 at 6:52pm

Thanks

Mike Sabol said:

Get the Aurelia!!  That is a great machine.  It's better than the Appia.  Pulls better shots and has far superior steam capacity.  I am not going to say anything about the Unic because I don't have much personal experience with them.  But you will not be disappointed with the Aurelia.  Ask anyone who owns and used one everyday.  I support multiple Aurelias in the field, along with a whole host of others, and have pretty much only good things to say about them.  (Just don't get me started on the way the feet are attached on Simonellis.  Suffice it to say I am now an expert at installing rivet nuts. :0)

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Permalink Reply by k on January 15, 2011 at 10:28pm

Thanks

Mike Sabol said:

Get the Aurelia!!  That is a great machine.  It's better than the Appia.  Pulls better shots and has far superior steam capacity.  I am not going to say anything about the Unic because I don't have much personal experience with them.  But you will not be disappointed with the Aurelia.  Ask anyone who owns and used one everyday.  I support multiple Aurelias in the field, along with a whole host of others, and have pretty much only good things to say about them.  (Just don't get me started on the way the feet are attached on Simonellis.  Suffice it to say I am now an expert at installing rivet nuts. :0)

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Permalink Reply by Brady on January 16, 2011 at 5:04am

On Unic vs Nuova Simonelli:  Availability of service and parts from several sources is key.

 

I have an old Unic Tri Diva on my bench right now.  Looks to be a pretty straightforward machine.  The portafilters are weird and the steamwands look like... well, not something you'd want in your milk.  Durability seems questionable, as I'm looking at having to replace an unusually large number of pieces to get it running.  I'm hoping the customer changes her mind and just has me scrap it for her.

 

Not sure how things are in Minnesota, but in most places your coverage would be considerably better for Nuova Simonelli products.  This distributor and their associated techs may well be the only game in town for Unic.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a big fan of Nuova Simonelli and am an authorized service provider and dealer... however I was a fan first and the other stuff is as a result of that.

 

Both the Appia and Aurelia are solid machines.  I have several of each in my market, and the owners are happy with them across the board.  Though both machines will get the job done, as a barista, I'd rather use the Aurelia.  It will make better and more consistent espresso due to better temperature stability  among other things (the group weighs about twice as much as the Appia).  It also has a little higher production capacity.  Plus it looks nicer on the bar.

 

I would quote an Appia in a restaurant, church cafe, or low-volume+average-quality coffeehouse.  I would quote an Aurelia for a "we want excellent espresso" medium to high volume shop.  So I guess the question is what is your espresso strategy?  What is the rest of your gear like?  Are you sparing no expense to make your espresso the absolute best you can, or are you trying to find some sort of value balance to make your product good enough?

 

Hope that helps.

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Permalink Reply by Shadow on January 16, 2011 at 5:33am

Another vote for the NS Aurelia! We have a 2 group and it is a fantastic machine with lots of well thought out features. Steam capability/espresso extraction is second to none based on comparisons with machines I've used personally. Even though it is a HX machine the Aurelia doesn't require the typical flushing to reach an optimal brew temperature. Also will add that Preventive Maintenance on this machine is quite easy as well.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by k on January 16, 2011 at 6:31pm

Thanks, your response was very insightful.

Brady said:

On Unic vs Nuova Simonelli:  Availability of service and parts from several sources is key.

 

I have an old Unic Tri Diva on my bench right now.  Looks to be a pretty straightforward machine.  The portafilters are weird and the steamwands look like... well, not something you'd want in your milk.  Durability seems questionable, as I'm looking at having to replace an unusually large number of pieces to get it running.  I'm hoping the customer changes her mind and just has me scrap it for her.

 

Not sure how things are in Minnesota, but in most places your coverage would be considerably better for Nuova Simonelli products.  This distributor and their associated techs may well be the only game in town for Unic.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a big fan of Nuova Simonelli and am an authorized service provider and dealer... however I was a fan first and the other stuff is as a result of that.

 

Both the Appia and Aurelia are solid machines.  I have several of each in my market, and the owners are happy with them across the board.  Though both machines will get the job done, as a barista, I'd rather use the Aurelia.  It will make better and more consistent espresso due to better temperature stability  among other things (the group weighs about twice as much as the Appia).  It also has a little higher production capacity.  Plus it looks nicer on the bar.

 

I would quote an Appia in a restaurant, church cafe, or low-volume+average-quality coffeehouse.  I would quote an Aurelia for a "we want excellent espresso" medium to high volume shop.  So I guess the question is what is your espresso strategy?  What is the rest of your gear like?  Are you sparing no expense to make your espresso the absolute best you can, or are you trying to find some sort of value balance to make your product good enough?

 

Hope that helps.

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Permalink Reply by k on January 16, 2011 at 6:35pm

Thanks, I guess NS Aurelia has lots of fans we will most likely too will go with Aurelia as well.

Shadow said:

Another vote for the NS Aurelia! We have a 2 group and it is a fantastic machine with lots of well thought out features. Steam capability/espresso extraction is second to none based on comparisons with machines I've used personally. Even though it is a HX machine the Aurelia doesn't require the typical flushing to reach an optimal brew temperature. Also will add that Preventive Maintenance on this machine is quite easy as well.

 

 

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