Crew Review: Rancilio Egro ONE Commercial Superauto

Got a spare $13k lying around that you’re just not sure what to do with? Of course you do! And the obvious expenditure is on a commercial-class superautomatic like the Rancilio Egro ONE.

OK, maybe it’s not up your alley for a home machine, but this fully programmable superautomatic would be right at home in a convenience store — you can program specific drinks and set it up to take payment — or a high capacity restaurant, cafe or drive-through espresso stand that requires extreme efficiency.

Watch Gail go through all the features and make us a few different drinks on this super fancy little number.

New @ SCG: Cafelat Tools of the Trade

After years of schleppin’ java to the rumpled masses, the founders of Cafelat decided it was time to throw their tamper in the proverbial ring. Their line of professional-grade tools feature well-honed functionality set off by a sleek, classic design that seasoned baristas and home enthusiasts alike will dig.

We now carry them at Seattle Coffee Gear, offering a few different styles of tampers, knock boxes and frothing pitchers — but what we really love is the corner tamping mat (so stable!) and the tamping stand (an even tamp, finally!). Plus, their high quality construction and elegant lines also give your espresso setup the look of a seasoned pro, even if you’re just starting to get the hang of it.

Taste Test: La Spaziale Brew Boiler Water

Since your coffee is over 98% water, it makes sense that the quality of the water will impact the taste. One of the subjects regularly bandied about in the home espresso world is if there is a significant impact on one’s shot if using a machine that has a separate brew boiler — especially if the machine isn’t pulling a lot of shots regularly and the water has a chance to sit for awhile in that boiler.

We have spoken with folks on both sides of the ‘divide’: Those that think the water goes stale in the brew boiler so that a heat exchange provides a cleaner, fresher taste and those that think the temperature control and performance differential you get from a double boiler outweighs any concerns of water flavor.

So we asked Gail to perform a practical test for us on the La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi: We dialed in our shot and then let the machine sit for a couple of days. Then we pulled shots with the water in the reservoir and boiler and shots with fresh water in the reservoir and a completely flushed brew boiler. Watch and find out the results.

Video Crew Review: La Marzocco GS/3

As we wrote last week, Seattle Coffee Gear now carries the La Marzocco GS/3 — and now here’s the Gail review that shows you how this excellent piece of equipment performs. Watch as she walks us through its features, function, pros and cons, then whips up a latte.

New at SCG: La Marzocco GS/3

If you have a pretty penny to spend on your home espresso setup, or you’re looking for a light-duty commercial machine for your business, La Marzocco’s GS/3 is a single group wonder that’s definitely worth your consideration.

Featuring dual stainless steel boilers (3.5 liter steam and 1.5 liter brew), convertible water source options, mechanical paddle brew functionality and a PID interface, the GS/3 is known to offer some of the best temperature consistency on the market.

We love its powerful steam boiler — you can easily produce silky microfoam in what seems like seconds — and the pre-infusion control that the paddle gives you. It’s also got a monstrous drip tray (into which you can install a drain kit) and a unique bottom-access 3.5 liter internal water reservoir which makes refilling easy, regardless of your overhead cabinets. We do wish the casing design was a little less industrious looking and shinier — but that’s just us. And we realize that, at nearly $7k, this piece of equipment is really priced well outside many folks’ budgets.

Other than those two minor cons, there’s not much bad to say about this machine; if you’re serious about your espresso and can justify the investment, the GS/3 is one of the best options available and worth checking out.

Talking about Water Filters & Softeners

Mineral content in your water will play a part in the coffee that you make and your machine’s longevity. In this video, Gail talks to us about a few different filters and softeners available for espresso machines, as well as explaining how a filter and softener differ.

New! Everything but Espresso – Scott Rao

In follow-up to his seminal work on professional espresso preparation, The Professional Barista’s Handbook, Scott Rao takes on all the other forms of coffee brewing and gives them their day in the sun. Broken up into three main parts, and supported by a thorough reference bibliography for folks that want to read more, Everything but Espresso covers the following:

• Part One: Coffee extraction, measurement and methods on improving flavor by changing the brewing parameters
• Part Two: How to achieve optimal flavor via different brew methods (such as drip, pour over, press pot, steeping and vacuum pot)
• Part Three: Proper water chemistry and bean storage

If you’re either an espresso aficionado who wants to spread their wings or someone who cherishes their old press pot, this book is the definitive guide to making the best possible brew at home.

Field Trip: Gail & Kat Take on the SCAA Main Event

No, there weren’t any wrestlers present, but there was a high concentration of coffee related ninjas on the floor. Last week, we were lucky enough to head down to Anaheim, CA, for the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Main Event, which is a specialty coffee industry educational and trade show that covers everything from coffee growers to roasters to equipment suppliers to mad skilled baristas. This year, it also hosted the United States Barista Championship — with Mike Phillips of Intelligentsia defending and re-securing his title. He’ll be heading out to compete with the rest of the national barista champs from around the world at the SCAE (Specialty Coffee Association of Europe) event this summer in the UK.

But back to the show. We attended a few different lectures, talked with many of our vendors on the trade show floor, watched Midwest Barista Champ Mike Marquard compete in the USBC semi-finals and even headed to a little partay that Intelligentsia, La Marzocco and Espressi (makers of the MyPressi TWIST) were throwing at Intelligentsia’s roastery in L.A. Yes, Grammy got her groove on.

In this video, Gail talks to us about what she learned from the lectures we attended, discusses some new products we saw  and even shares with us her new love for TWIST-inspired cocktails.

Vive La Evoluzione!

Rocket Espresso’s new Evoluzione machines are the next step in functionality. Sure, they’ve got many of the lovable features that other Rockets do (the E61 brew head, insulated steam and hot water wands, polished stainless steel casing) and share the dual pressure gauge functionality previously released on the Professional version, but these babies also have one major difference: They have a convertible water source, so you can easily switch between an internal reservoir or plumbing it in!

Watch Gail take us through the features of the Evoluzione and talk about how to tweak certain aspects of it. While we feature the Giotto, the Evoluzione is also available in the Cellini style.

Crew Review: Mazzer Burr Grinders

If you’re looking to seriously upgrade your espresso setup, you might want to investigate the Mazzer grinders. We can’t emphasize enough how essential a good grind is for producing yummy espresso, and we’ve often even recommended people spend more on their grinder than on their actual espresso machine. Feels a little backward, eh? Well, that’s just how we do ’round these parts.

There are a few different Mazzer models available on the market, and in this video Gail walks us through three of them: Mini, Mini Electronic and Super Jolly. These burr grinders are classified as pretty sophisticated home grinders or can be used in a lower-capacity commercial/pro setting as well.