MACAP M4 Stepless Waltzes In

So Bezzera BB004 didn't do it for me. I'm not saying it's not a decent grinder, with a few mods, I think it could be fantastic. It is solid with it's abilities and I frankly feel like I got a lemon.

BUT, I needed something to match up with Andreja - the new love of my life.

I called 1st Line and explained to them the issues with BB004. They understood and I was told by Michele that she doubts Jim will make me pay the 20% restocking fee. He is on vacation, so only time will tell. I personally don't have time to wait, so I box it up, ship it back and order the MACAP.

Patiently I wait the 2-3 days for FedEx to arrive. I continue to push the Andreja to it's limits with the Solis - dreaming at night of the MACAP/Andreja pairing.

Thursday comes and the M4 is here. I'm shocked by the heft of the box, almost double what the BB004 weighed and I thought that thing packed a punch. I pull it out of the box, put it on my desk and marvel at the size of this thing. It was bigger than I thought. . . don't know if that's good or bad.




So I remove the finger guard in the doser (so I can sweep it clean). I DON'T RECOMMEND DOING THIS AS YOU CAN INJURE YOURSELF AND LOSE A FINGER TIP!

I placed the M4 next to Andreja, WOW - simply stunning! These two look like they were made for one another. I'm thinking I did pretty well!




This grinder reeks of quality. Fit and finish is that of a fine luxury car. The doser lever is solid. There is a counter to see how many 'doses' you've pulled. The ON/OFF switch has a rubber cover (which I like). The plastic for the hopper and doser bin are thick and solid. When turned on, it runs quiet. The burrs wind down quickly upon switching to 'Off'. The portafilter fork is PERFECT as coffee won't accumulate on it like some of the others with more surface area. Heavy, heavy, heavy. So far, so good - I'm loving it!

So, it's 9pm at night, the Andreja is HOT AS HELL, and I want to dial this thing in! I turn on and turn the worm adjustment to the ZERO point. After I find that, I back off a good bit. Pull my shot and it's about 20 seconds for a 2.75 ounce double. THIS IS WHEN I GOOFED! I went coarser. . .by mistake. 18 seconds, same volume. Coarser, 18 seconds, same volume. Over and over until I notice I'm a dipshit. I start over, find ZERO and then go about 1 number coarser. AHCK! Andreja almost chokes! I figured it out after about a half to 3/4 pound of beans.

The good news is I almost have it dialed in. Bad news is I wasted a TON of beans. Good news, I won't waste too many more as I learned my lesson.

Now, the M4 isn't perfect. It too has 2-3 grams of coffee in the chute after grinding. It does however sweep pretty clean and it is, by far, the best grind I've ever seen. Even, quick, quiet, PERRRRFECT! I haven't used a Mazzer, but I doubt it can produce a better grind. On par, of course - but not better. The doser breaks up clumps pretty well (one of the main reasons I didn't go with the doserless) and has a solid feel to it. This thing will shine when we entertain! On a scale from 1-10, this is a solid 9.5 - only the Mini E would be better for a low volume house.

At this point, I've only pulled about 4 doubles that have touched my lips and I'm VERY happy. I can't wait to continue to play, grind some fresh beans and start snapping pictures. NOW THE FUN BEGINS!

Giddy up!

First day with Andreja!

I will start by saying this machine was never even on my radar. This is un-frickin'-real. It is BETTER than any review I've read, better than I could ever imagine. . . Now I just need to learn how to really use the damn thing. This is a machine that I will likely NEVER outgrow, one that is MUCH better than I will likely ever be. It is 'upgrade proof' and I no longer have envy of any others out there with different machines. This is it! If money was no object (I hit 6 out of 6 on a Saturday night), I'll keep this baby. I LOVE IT!

Also, dealing with Chris' Coffee was an absolute pleasure. It is tough for a company to live up to the hype - especially for me. I am about as nit-picky as they come, I look for shortcomings in customer service and companies as a whole - I can't find one with Chris'. Mary is great, Chris is as well. I called into their service department (more on that later) and Roger was in a manager's meeting - but Jason took the reins. They deserve each and every accolade and all the praise that they get, THERE IS NO BETTER!

So Andreja is sitting on my counter, just waiting for the first test. I fire her up, wait 30-40 minutes for her to warm up and then go to work.

The Solis is ready, but is way outta it's league. Because the Andreja is SO FORGIVING, it does okay - but I can tell Andreja will shine with a premier grinder.

The first shots out of her is a double through the spouts. I grind, dose, tamp, open the brew head up for 6-8 ounces to cool her off and lock and load. I pull a shot that is not as pretty as I'd like, but was oh so sweet in the cup (shot glasses). This is Black Cat at about 2 weeks.




Don't ask me why one is 1/2 ounce more than the other, must have been a user error.

Second is another set of shots:




These are equally as good. For it being day one and shots #1 and #2 - I'm pleased. I know once I get a new grinder and get used to the machine, it's gonna get better and better. Even with the newness and the sub-par grinder, I'm already happier than I was with the Gaggia as these shots were better than about 80% of what came through the Gaggia.


Now it's time to get NAKED!



Not stellar by any means, but good none-the-less. I then decided to do my first steaming session with Andreja. I've read great things about an HX (Heat Exchanger) when it comes to steaming and I'm worried I'm gonna mess this up. I bleed the steam wand, dip it in my 2% Organic milk and let 'er rip.

This machine could steam for DAYS without running dry. Where it took Gaggia a minute to a minute and a half (after coming up to steam temp), this baby got the milk up to temp in 20-30 seconds with no warm up. Oh this is gonna be fun. This is also when the wifey is gonna see the benefit as I will no longer mind making her Triple Decaf Vanilla Soy Latte extra hot. IT'S EASY NOW!


Although I still suck at steaming milk and pouring, this is my first Cappa. It WAS good to the last drop. . .

At this point I no longer care what the MACAP M4 stepless is gonna cost me, I'm sending BB004 back and I will buy the MACAP from 1st Line. It is my hopes that the order will help them forget about the fact that I had to slice the BB004 box open to get it out and I won't have to pay the 20% restocking fee. Jim is a great guy and I'm sure he'll take care of me, but I have to have a GREAT grinder to go with this machine. HAVE TO!

Now, not all is perfect in the world of Andreja. I wrote an email to Mary and Chris letting them know:
1) The machine and service I've recieved is UNMATCHED, and THANK YOU! Better than I could have imagined, everything they promised and MORE!
2) The drip tray cover sucks (not their fault). I know there is a new one, what would it cost me?
3) The magnetic floater ball isn't working to tell me I'm out of water, I'm concerned.

I get a prompt reply to call in the morning.

I call on Wednesday morning and while on the phone with Jason, take the machine apart. We believe the sensor is shot. I then get a follow-up email from Mary. They are sending out a new sensor AND a new drip tray cover for my trouble! Are you kidding me? They practically let me STEAL THIS MACHINE, now they are 'upgrading it'? WHOA! Did I mention I love y'all?

Andreja in the House!

So, after a let down with the Bezzera, and waiting over a long-ass weekend, Monday rolls around. Come 4:30pm the Big Brown Truck pulls up, yipee! After a brief complaint by my trusty UPS man (due to the weight), I drag in the box and start unpacking. . .












Of course it's boxed really well and I doubt this thing hardly jiggled on it's way from Rochester. I've read about the difficulty in removing it from a box going solo, but I managed as my adrenaline was pumping!



There she sits on my office floor - remember this is a tax write-off, right? :)


I put her gently on my kitchen counter, read and re-read the instructions and start the boiler filling process (after checking my water hardness with the test strips that are included by Chris' Coffee, by the way - have I mentioned how GREAT they are?).




I fill the resevoir, turn on. Wait 30 seconds and turn off. Wait 5 minutes. Repeat. It took 1 second into the 3rd attempt for the pump to shut off, the boiler is now full! I let it heat up for a while (30 minutes) and since my Solis was dialed in and the Bezzera was going back - I grind, tamp, pull and toss. The machine should now be seasoned. The shot poured a little fast, but it was close and now should be ready for the morning. . . I can hardly wait.

Bezzera BB004

Well after pulling the trigger on the Andreja, the slightly used MACAP M4 fell through. Grrrrrr! I was over budget with the Andreja - so I had to skimp a bit on the grinder (I know, I know. . . the WRONG place to skimp). Instead of the MACAP, I was back to the Rocky or a lesser grinder. I did a bit of reading and thought Rocky Doser or a Bezzera BB004. I liked the looks of the Bezzera quite a bit more than the Rocky (next to the Andreja, the polished steel/chrome look would be a better match). It is a light commercial machine (I thought it would be similar to MACAP or Mazzer), 50mm burrs with a 250 watt motor. All for about $50 less than the Rocky. The kicker is there are hardly ANY reviews on it at all. I KNEW Rocky was solid, but I took a chance. The Bezzera looked eerily similar to the Pasquini machines and knowing that the Livia 90 and Bezzera BZ02 are the same machine internally - I thought the BB004 might be the same as the Moka or K2 from Pasquini.

I logged onto 1st Line and made the purchase. 3 days after the order, FedEx dropped her off. I was giddy with excitement. This machine beat the Andreja home, but I decided I'd use the BB004 with the Gaggia until Andreja showed up.


Here she is in the shipping carton.


Double boxed with peanuts.


Inner box.


In the box, notice no extra padding/packaging?



On the counter.

So, it was all unpacked and ready to go. Initial impressions were not THAT positive. I thought the fit and finish would be a little better for a machine in this price range.

There was a little 'ding' at the top, where the metal meets.


One at the bottom as well.


Rough edges around the doser lever.

It was also missing a screw in the bean hopper.

I figured it would soon take a beating, so I was more concerned about it's output. I loaded up some beans and started to dial in.

I turned it on and it (lids and other pieces) rattled rather loudly. MUCH louder than I would have expected. This concerned me too, I wondered how long it would hold together with a 3-5 double a day output load.

Coffee got stuck in the throat (going into the doser). I'd guess it was roughly 2-3 grams worth after grinding for a double. I did some reading and this seems to be a common issue with dosered grinders. I went to Home Depot and got a 6 pack of little acid paint brushes to sweep this coffee out and then pulsing the power switch helps shoot out the remaining grinds. The doser hole was small, but no smaller than any of it's competitors.



Initially I had issues with it grinding too course, but I found out that was user error. I found a grind that would choke my machine and then backed off a little bit. This is a stepped grinder and I found the steps were too far apart. I would go from an 18 second shot to 24, then to a 29. They seemed to be about 4-6 seconds apart. That worried me a bit. The grind was EVEN, much better than the Solis Maestro Plus and it was a bit quicker (much larger, flat burrs). I figured I could mod the underside of the collar and get it to be a stepless grinder, but there were too many other issues with mine.

You can see the steps reflected below the collar. They are the round holes. This could EASILY be modded to be stepless and offer much better control.

The doser felt flimsy to me and I didn't find it to sweep cleanly. This too is an easy modification with electrical or Duct tape (it can be searched at coffeegeek.com).

You can see a 1/8-1/4" gap between the 'sweeper' and the edge. Also, the 'sweepers' didn't rest on the bottom and left behind grounds.

When I pulled shots side by side with the Maestro Plus, I found the Bezzera shots to offer more crema and they were much sweeter tasting. This was a very noticible difference.

So I had a grinder that I felt comfortable enough that it could handle the load, produce a fine enough and consistent enough grind to get along with my Andreja. It had flashy good looks but felt flimsy and was noisy. After sleeping on it for an evening, I decided she had to go back. I was back to Rocky, MACAP M4 or Mazzer Mini - I'll just have to get creative and find a way. . .


You gotta admit, it's ALMSOT a match made in Heaven!

JBM Single Origin Espresso

I have a friend that travels to Jamaica quite often. He loves the country and loves to help the poverty stricken while he is down there. Through his travels, he has come to know many of the locals and a few farmers in the coffee business. He has an arrangement to bring some back to sell at fair prices to help the farmers. He has told me of his favorite activity while in Jamaica – getting a newpaper, grabbing a cigar and heading to his favorite ‘hole in the wall coffee joint’. He drinks his JBM cappas and espresso while reading the Sunday paper and smoking a fine Habanos. It really doesn’t get any better than that, does it?

I did his JBM today, rested about 7-8 days. I took it (if memory serves me) 5-10 into second crack, could have been a hair less. . .

First round was my double shots, into glasses to measure and see if the grind was dialed in. The shot poured fast, but it was drinkable. Although the shots look 'blond' it was not, something about the camera/lighting when I shoot espresso.

Flavor was nutty, sweet and dare I say 'winey'??? Did my usual, one with a little Splenda (maybe 1/6th or so of a packet) and one without. It offered a little bite which I liked and which I think will lend itself well in a cappuccino.

Gotta love the Guiness effect!

Looks like mini Pint glasses, huh?

So next was my cappuccino. Took the grinder down a notch and a half (could have gone another 1/2 or full notch). Got a pretty good tamp and distribution and pulled double. Steamed the milk and poured the cappuccino.

Mellow is the way to describe this in milk. SMOOTH! I could honestly drink these all day long. I also think it'd be great to do another few shots with the same amount of milk and do it iced.

This stuff is fantastic and made a nice espresso shot.

Oh yeah, look at my skillz!

Thanks Rich for including me in this latest buy!

-T

UncleBeanz.com NEW Espresso (Final Installment)

Another installment. . .

I tried the two roasts back to back. The first roast (lighter) was ultra-smooth. The second (20-25 seconds into second crack) was good too, but I think it took on too much of the roast characteristics. It was more potent, more smokey.

The grind had to be a bit courser for the second batch as the oils helped 'cake up' the grounds and I got a few 'sprayers' on the first pull.

I agree with Norman, this stuff is best at a little lighter roast. Not a robust, in your face, espresso - this espresso has class and elegance, almost like an aged wine.

I did a few more cappuccinos today with it and I am finding myself reading and learning more to hone my skills. The espresso is coming along, not perfect but coming along. My milk frothing leaves a lot to be desired.

Not my best 'shots', but I'm working at it!

UncleBeanz.com NEW Espresso Blend Part II

Today's installment:

After some added rest, I believe I need to take this blend a little further into the roast. I've still got enough roasted for the next few days. After that, I'll try it darker and see how it comes out. I would dare say it's almost TOO smooth.

I also thought I'd try something new today with this Beanz blend. This stuff is SO smooth - almost like a Chocolate Silk Pie. I thought I'd go against what I always do and try a 'milk drink'.

She sure is purdy. . .

Mmmmmm

In the cup.

The finished product (I can count on one hand the number of times I've attempted this). Not too bad, eh?

The Beanz esprsso blend makes ONE HELL OF A GREAT Cappuccino.