ottawa foodies

Help me out here Foodies...

I want an espresso machine. A serious one.
Not the automatic kind with the pods you buy at Costco. A REAL one. With a cool name like Racilio, or Rocket, or Espressogasmator... i may have made that last one up.
Something with guages and spouts and knobs and a boiler. Somewhat manual. Requires tamping. I'm not even sure what tamping is, but i know that i want to be doing it.

So far i know of MORALA and GRACE IN THE KITCHEN that carry the real thing.
CA Paradis used to but doesn't any longer.

The internet has failed me, so i call to you... anyone know of another good store in Ottawa that carries manual espresso machines (and grinders... yes... i must grind before i tamp...!)?

Preston Hardware is one place to try.

I have ventured in there for a few small items and the service I recived was impeccable!

I just quickly googled, and they have a few makes on their e-store. And its in little Italy, so I'm sure if there isn't anything to meet your fancy there, they will be able to direct you to the right location.

Try idrinkcoffee.com.....I researched a long long time....suggest the Lilet and the accompanying grinder. Bought 3 years ago....and then got tired of subpar coffee at the cottage so bought another one.....and moved them in. Excellent service....came the next day. The Lilet is rated by some as better than the Rancillo at 300 less. Ask for an upgraded tamper.

Salmo

Ps I have never recommended a merchant before in my life

I vote MORALA.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. If anyone has any others it would be appreciated as well.
I was totally impressed by Morala, but I need to look beyond one vendor before a decision.

When buying my Ascaso Dream UP machine I called Morala for some information and had a thoroughly disappointing experience that caused me to buy from Grace in the Kitchen instead. I asked if their Ascaso Dream was the original model or the new "UP" model and the guy couldn't give me any confidence that he knew there was even a difference between the two. The folks at Grace seem a little more informed, but you're best off doing internet research. coffeegeek.com/ is a good start!

A friend of mine runs a small coffee business like mine out in New Brunswick, and here is his recommendation for a manual machine :

Best bang for your buck is a Bezzera. You definately want to get an HX (heat exchanger) machine rather than a SBDU (single boiler, double use) one. The latter are a bit cheaper (but still, not that cheap), and you WILL want to upgrade sooner than you think - the way they work is that the water is kept at espresso making temperature in the boiler, so when you want steam you have to sit there, waiting as your shot grows cold, for the boiler to heat to steam temp. An HX keeps the water in the boiler at steaming temp. constantly, and uses the mass of the group head as a heat sink, so that once the water is delivered to the puck, it has cooled to the correct temperature. The result is that you can pull shot after shot and steam milk simultaneously.

Warning: it is possible to get obsessive about espresso pretty easily... ;-)

Oh, this is the one he got

www.1st-line.com

Yeah, it's pricey :-)

More from my friend :

BTW if anyone is thinking of spending a fair chunk of cash on a prosumer
heat exchanger espresso machine, I can strongly recommend the Bezzera BZ07.

It is compact (well, compact for a prosumer machine, which are fairly large
and heavy to begin with), built like a brick sh*thouse, heats up in about
12-15 minutes, and unlike other heat exchanger machines, the group head is
heated electrically, rather than passively heated from the boiler, so
temperature consistency is very good. Though you do lose the ability to
pre-infuse like you can with E61 machines, there is no need for any kind of
complicated flush regime. Just grind, tamp, lock and load, and pull your
shot... And it is Real Shiny.

If you buy espresso based beverages during the day, do the math - the
machine pays itself off more quickly than you think

That's hot stuff (no pun intended. Seriously!)

If you don't want to go pod, that looks like a fantastic machine.

Thanks again for the upthread comments. Will let you know how it goes.

Have you tried wholelattelove.com? They have all the major manufacturers. We got our Gaggia from them and we're very happy with it.

It's this machine, by the way: www.wholelattelove.com Not a pro machine, but you do have to tamp the coffee yourself ;) It makes fantastic coffee when paired with a good grinder and fresh beans.

We were gifted a cheapo Oster unit almost but not quite identical to this one.

Takes 12 minutes to make the full '4 serving' size, which is not at all optimal. And it is sputtery and slow, which is not true espresso. But damned if it does not make a really good cup of coffee! I prefer it to my Aeropress.

We have an old used Braun that works about the same. I see no reason to replace it.

I should point out that it is still not espresso but it is a fair bit closer to espresso than what the aeropress makes. Though it is a lot more bitter too because of the really slow extraction. But there are tonnes of coffee oils that you don't get from the espresso even with the metal filter, and also the slightest bit of fine silt which adds a lot of flavour (without actually being silty though). No idea what this thing costs but it is probably cheap as hell.

Not to dicker with my husband in an online forum (LOL), but I still prefer my Aeropress. Though it claims to make espresso, it doesn't, but it does make a fantastic cup of coffee.

I love a good cup of espresso and wasn't terribly impressed with what this machine produced. We are looking at buying something down the road and this only reinforced to me why I don't want one like this. ;)

I'm very late to the Aeropress bandwagon, but I picked one up at Equator coffee in Almonte last weekend and finally tried it this morning. I really enjoyed the coffee I got. Not espresso, but very good, just as you say, Refashionista.

Look for an E61 heat exchanger machine for sure. Try Espressotec online, make sure it can be serviced locally because it will break someday. Look for dual boiler if you can, Rocket Espresso Machines are coming out with one soon or Alex Duetta II which as a great rating. Check out Coffee Geek.

So, what did you end up getting?

I'm in the market for a new one as my Breville 800ESXL just stopped working. I'm leaning toward a Rancilio Silvia/Rocky combo, but am still in the 'studying' stages. I won't go over this pricepoint though.

I'm also debating - doser or doserless?

We've been rocking the much lower-tech Presso for the past week and I'm pretty darn happy with it (though aspire to a sexier, more automated machine once I've the counter space for it ;)). The Presso is fully manual, you have heat the water separately, but does a good job -- good for camping, etc, as it's portable. :)

I've been loving reading this thread. ;) My dream kitchen is much larger than my actual one and would have an espresso bar. Something shiny and red. ;)

Tnx Bobby for the reminder to follow up.

Your post is especially on-point because we got the Breville BES900XL at Grace In The Kitchen in Kanata and are LOVING it.

www.breville.ca

For what its worth, vs the price comparable Rancilio, Rocket, Ascasa and similar machines we found this to be a way better option. It does a pure awesome automatic/pre-set espresso, or you can go manual and mess around w temp, pressure, etc etc. This machine popped out great espresso on the first pure-auto try and has only gotten better as we've played with it.

It includes a pre-dosing feature and from what I can tell it's worthwhile.

I also can't say enough good about the dual-boiler, because you can pull about eight single shots, steam the hell out of your milk and still have enough water left to go all americano (ooo look at me using barrista werdz!) if someone needs some more water in their cup. That was the deal breaker for us because most other machines don't even come close to that capacity.

The Breville grinder is also pretty great. Once you figure out the settings the things is precise to the microgrind. I just made that word up.

I'll also give props to Grace In The Kitchen. The owner spent a chunk of time with us, no hard sell, and besides Breville they carry the Silvio and other machines so you can do some side-by-side comparison.

Thanks for the bump and update. Since coming back from Italy, I decided I NEED an espresso machine.

Bobby Fillet - did you ever pull the trigger on the Silvia/Rocky?

i dove right into things and bought the combo via Kijiji today. i have been doing some light research (CoffeeGeek!) and though i hadn't exactly made up my mind, it was too good of a deal (+/- $600 for both). in any event it seems like the baseline entry level unit for a lot of people, so it shouldn't be a problem to eventually re-sell if need be.

could anyone point me in the direction of "must have" accessories? preference for beans and source of said beans?

i am just past the experience level of "I'm not even sure what tamping is, but i know that i want to be doing it" at this point. already got some dezcal...

The seal on our little Braun is all but gone now. The Dragonlady just won't allow me to drop $400+ on a good espresso machine. I'd really love to, but even I balk at those prices. Is it telling that I spent nearly twice that on a phone?

Hey Monty - After much research and price watching, I ended up going on a different course. I now have a Nespresso combo (w/milk heat/froth) and am liking it very much. It was a cheap way to get a new machine and no need for a grinder. I find myself drinking about 10x as much espresso now too. It's just so fast, easy, consistent and good. There are even some aftermarket capsules that you can load your own coffee into, but I haven't explored this yet.

I had picked up a used Ascaso Arc to bridge the gap, that will be heading to my office. As far as coffee goes, I love getting the freshly roasted coffee from Equator in Almonte (I believe you head there from time to time...I remember some Superior Resto mentions). Whenever I'm in Almonte I swing by for a plain latte. Probably the best I've ever had.

As for accessories, I'd suggest getting some clear, double walled cups, as I like to see the layers. A solid tamper is a good way to go as well. Find what's comfy in your hand. There are some that "click" when reaching a predetermined tamping pressure (torque wrench for coffee grinds). Great for consistency, but some people like to play with different tamping pressures depending on the coffee type. A knock box may be a consideration as well, depending on your kitchen setup. Eventually, you may want to look at installing a PID as well.

Keep us updated on your espresso making adventure!

Thanks to ksw, I have a much more robust espresso maker now. All I need to do is get it to work. HAH! I think it's the pump. It comes on for a second, then stops. It runs well enough to get hot water to the steam outlet, just not when the coffee option is turned on.

Our current one is on the right, an old model Braun. The plastic screw for the steam valve is stripped and inoperable. The seal to keep the pressure from going to the coffee outlet is mostly gone. It still makes coffee, but we've been looking for something better that doesn't cost a small fortune.

The one we had been ogling was the Ascaso Dream.
www.ascaso.com

This Gaggia will make a great replacement once I take it to an electronics shop. I'll probably get the guy at Morala to take a look at it this week and we should be pulling shots with it very soon.

Thanks again to the wonderfully open hearts here at Ottawa Foodies.

SQUEE! Espresso maker!

Whoops. I said 'ogling'. Sorry. Also, 'screw'.

My pleasure :) I only wish I gave you something that was working. Can't wait to hear how it turns out.

I toyed with the idea of getting it fixed myself and then trying to sell it on Kijiji.

Laziness won out and now you are the proud owner - LOL

Great deal for a good entry level machine -
www.newegg.ca

Also

www.newegg.ca

Welcome to the cult, Bobby Fillet! I've been using my most recent machine for four years now, and it's still going strong.

warning: Most other coffee is lessened in every respect once you're rockin' a home machine. I have become an utter coffee snob.

thanks for the great info Bobby Fillet. i wanted to avoid pods this time round, but i will say this - the Nespresso cranks out some pretty damn good coffee. the Aeroccinos look bad ass too.

re: the Silvia - already toying with the idea of the PID, though i seem to have the 'temp surfing' down pat now. i was really surprised at the learning curve of a semi-auto...i definitely pulled more than a few sink shots. after about 50+ shots i feel i've got it dialed in to a degree though, especially after a thorough descale and backflushing.

the pursuit of the perfect shot is certainly addicting...

I just took our new/non-functional machine to Morala for a look and a cleaning. I guess I'll find out the damage next week. I bought a steel standard-sized-insert knock box for $30. I guess I should make a nice wood box to set it into so it looks nice on the counter. OO! I still have a lot of that Tatajoba flooring left over. I could make one to match the kitchen floor! CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA! That gives me some time to get it done, for sure.

Followup: I got the machine back after paying $60 for them to clean it and they didn't even address the issue of the machine not working. I took it back and they charged me another $20 to replace the part that the finally diagnosed wasn't working; the group valve. The idiot behind the counter was making shit up like how the new parts just don't work like the old parts and that they were sorry I got a bum part the first time. Why, then, did the part not show up on my original receipt and why did they charge me for a second one? Just admit that you didn't fix it the first time. Still, no labour though.

Anyway, $80 for a new-ish machine. It makes coffee. I'm very happy.

Hey Rizak - glad to hear it (finally) worked out well for you. I was hoping it could all be sorted for less than $100.

Thanks again for the vanilla - haven't opened them yet as I am still working on a huge bottle I bought in DR last winter.

Cheers!

After doing a side by side comparison between a Rocky, Ascaso, Breville Smart Grinder and Mazzer Mini, decided on the Breville. Really really impressed with it, much finer and more consistent than either the Rocky or Ascaso, and only a little less consistent than the Mazzer at the finest setting. Add to that a very attractive price point and its a winner.

My wife picked up a nesspresso on the weekend and I'm already in love. It makes a seriously good esspresso and its dead easy. We have a Breville Cafe Roma that we got as a wedding present years ago and it's now going to be re-homed to my sister.

There's a great new place in Ottawa for coffee lovers - Half Full on Richmond Rd. They sell Ascaso, Jura, Breville and other reliable brands of espresso/coffee makers. They also specialize in housewares related to wine and other beverages. You can check them out at halffullglassware.ca.