Question! Thinkin of getting an espresso machine + grinder from another country. Any idea if will kena bomb by duty charge when it reaches here?

EDIT: Solved. Found a similar question here: https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=2870741

This post has been edited by DEVILtonight: Mar 10 2015, 05:17 AM

thepro91: Nice setup, and diggin' the results of your milk frothing. So far I cant tahan the steaming from lower end machines, and give up too soon... but evidently, it's possible. Can def see your passion in this.

Nolar, used to be a barista, and i'm too used to high steam power. Got a ec155 in my office I think, and a colleague of mine manage to do latte art with the stock 'steam wand'.

Initially the Rancilio Silvia/Rocky combo, but now it's Gaggia Classic with a more decent grinder! Can't wait to get accessories for it. Macam dressing up doll je ahaha. And didn't know about 100% tax free bit... maybe we all can have a machine group buy, and put a boulder inside just to make heavier etc.

And for future machine hunters, here's a quick sharing of my hunting experience:

OVERSEAS BUYING
- A whole lot more cheaper, thanks a lot M'sia (a couple of hundreds to a thousand MYR difference)
- For Gaggia and Rancilio, you can get it cheaper from Amazon UK (don't go US because their voltage is different) and espressocoffeeshop. The latter is cheaper, but customer service if shit goes wrong might be troublesome (based in Italy). The consensus from random coffee threads is that espressocoffeeshop WILL honour their warranty, but you gotta chase 'em. Amazon UK settles the duty for you, and their customer service is top notch. But the downside for buying so far away is that, if you find something wrong with your machine upon arrival, sending it back is crazy expensive. But if nothing goes wrong, it's well worth the risk (some Singaporeans got theirs at no trouble).
- As of now, it's duty/sales tax combined is 30%. Sometimes it's based on luck - usually if the content is >500MYR, will kena tax, but did hear some ppl who lepas tax.
- Here is an experience of a Malaysian who purchased from espressocoffeeshop: https://mylapavoni.wordpress.com/2012/08/04...coffee-machine/ Her first machine I think lepas duty/sales tax, so it's quite a good deal.

RANCILIO SILVIA
- It's going at 3450MYR in Cuppa.
- Spinelli coffee in SG sells the Rancilio @ 1000SGD (~2668MYR without tax), and also sells a set (with Rancilio Rocky grinder + a base for both machines - ada drawers wan) @ 1600SGD. Espressocoffeeshop also offers this set for cheaper, but I would suggest Spinelli, because at least it's closer to home.
- Places like Gumtree Singapore may offer second-hand deals.

GAGGIA CLASSIC
- Locally, Lazada is selling it at 2111MYR. Nearly got it from Amazon UK for 1800MYR (tax included). Urbanez (ubzteam in LYN) is selling them too.
- (Edit) http://www.kollektion.com.my/ is also selling Gaggia products
- Takashimaya in SG is no longer selling the Classic, ETC-concept in Malaysia used to stock them but they are closed since around last year.

This post has been edited by DEVILtonight: Apr 5 2015, 12:33 AM

hanny562: hey that looks good! always like the 'rounded' designs

Just ForCheonging: Cuppa.com.my and Coffeeritual (website and in Publika). Milk frothing is harder than it looks initially, but once you geddit, it's awesomecakes. Prepare to drink a lot of milk :DDD

Not sure about how it affects frothing. But heating up your milk in plastic doesn't seem healthy to me lah.

If you're looking for a decent grinder at that price, go for a handgrinder (hario slim or skerton), and if you could push to rm230, the porlex is a pretty good one.

cshuang: Depends on how much you're willing to tinker with it, wait time, and how much money you're willing to part without crying inside.

For a non-fussy experience and the ability to pull a shot + froth at the same time, pick the Oscar. (And yes, that's a sweet deal). The Silvia and Classic is a single boiler, and you have to wait a little between tasks. Not a huge wait, but ya know the new generation... *waves tongkat*

Silvia vs Classic - Between the Silvia and Classic, the additional 1k for the Silvia seems to be mostly for a bigger boiler and the ability to froth milk better (without doing any mods on the Classic). Also you can get better shots from the Silvia, but only if you know how to play/tinker with it. Both of these are great to geek out on! But if you aren't willing to spend time to understand the machine/coffee making, go for the Classic. The Silvia has this thing where when the boiler is empty, it does not autofill unless you do some stuff, which can be damaging to the boiler if you're careless (or too sleepy while handling it).

Silvia vs Oscar - Even though Silvia could only do one thing at a time, some people prefer the Silvia because you're able to play with the temperature more, and get a better shot. Oscar has a better frothing ability, but it's not to say that you can't do a good microfoam on the Silvia. Again the Oscar is less of a hassle for those who just wanna straightaway buat kopi.

I've got a Classic recently, and my priorities were to be able to geek with it. Wasn't keen on forking out an extra 1k for the 'upgrades' in Silvia, nor was I keen on the boiler-refilling-prob (partially cuz i'm careless macam sial wtf). Also, another point of consideration was that the Classic has a lot of replacement parts around and knowledge support, because it's been around for so long. Wasn't a hassle at all to work with it.

For KD-570, it's also known as Sunbeam EM7000 if you wanna look into it further... I think you would be quoted for a bundle too, with a grinder - A friend has that machine and he's happy with it. The bundle came up to 3.5k~, which might be comfortably within your budget. Also can pull a shot and steam milk at the same time. Just make sure that you will get support from the supplier if anything happens. Did consider the BES870, but read reviews that the grinder is not fine enough for espresso.

...which leads to the next point: Grinder > Espresso machine. The Baratza is a great start for grinders! You seem to have done research, so won't repeat what you probably already know. I would go for your second option; cheaper espresso machine and better grinder, esp since you're only using it on weekends.


A two-cents; if you're not willing to go for cheaper espresso machines than your choices here, the Classic is a pretty good deal. It is cheaper than your other options, and gives you room to get a decent grinder + happier wallet. As is, it's good for beginners. Malas oso, boleh guna coffee pods. The selling point for this is that, when your tastebuds become more refined and you yearn for a more cafe-standard espresso, you have the option to make it as such.

Apologies for the wall of text, but I hope this helps. If there are any mistakes, feel free to correct me.

This post has been edited by DEVILtonight: Apr 7 2015, 01:28 AM

Glad it made sen$e, lolol. Really fired up all my cinapek skills when looking for mine under a budget.

Oh, didn't know about that it's a rebadge of Sunbeam... thought it was just marketed under a diff name. Well, my friend is located in Oz, so his is the Sunbeam stock. You probably know more of the WPM than me; barely did much research on it. Saw some reviews for the EM7000, wasnt very inspiring to say the least. But sometimes it's based on luck.

I paid RM2111 from Lazada. They also have an instalment plan that you could take an advantage of! The one I got isn't the latest Classic 2015, but you could call and double check. I got my grinder secondhand - it's a Compak K3. Before this, considered Rancilio Rocky (can find secondhand in Gumtree SG or new SGD600 @ Spinelli SG/RM1855 @ Cuppa) or a Baratza Encore/Preciso. Would suggest the Baratza because you could also easily grind for filter coffee (pourover, french press etc) if you are inclined that way; even people in the coffee industry would go for that.

Not yet! I'm missing a couple of tools to fix the pressure, but hopefully by the end of this mth it could be done. The froth wand is still the original, because I could get microfoam from it. Filter basket is switched to a non-pressurised one (VST 18g). Temperature control (PID) will be much later because it is a little pricey if you're a total newbie at electronics. I think the most important mod should be the pressure; ideally coffee is extracted at 9 bars, but the Silvia/Classic/Oscar has 15 bars. Coffee extracted right is like porno weh. At 15 bars, it will still be too gushy and fast, even though my grind is really fine and tamped hard (unless I'm doing something wrong D:)

ooo, IMS. how's the coffee from it?

Now there are quite a number of roasters around... probably not as common as Sydney, but it wont be too hard.

Here's a list:
- RGB coffee, jalan damai
- Await cafe (usually single origins for filter)
- Exhibit (Japanese beans; Maruyama)
- Artisan (of course) & Three Little Birds
- Sevencups takes orders for Nylon (SG) beans
- Urbean sells Common Man Coffee Roasters (SG), but it is limited
- Feeka sells their houseblend too, and sometimes others (it's somewhat linked to Plan B Roasters)
- Sprezzatura in PJ
- Pulp, Bangsar (SG)
- (Malacca) Mods Cafe (limited)
... and there are more lah.

There are online sources also, but haven't tried:
- http://www.triumviratecoffee.com/
- http://www.nisycoffee.com/
- blaq coffee subscription - sends you four diff single origins every month, sourced from local roasters so you can cuba2

Since getting my espresso machine, I've gotten stuff from Sevencups, Feeka and Pulp. In other places, have tried their single origin filters and it's not too shabby. Do support local roasters! Though I tend to like blends from SG, hadn't tried enough from local roasters. Though if Brew Orchestra (Johor) sells their blend, I'd buy them in a jiffy; so so good.

If anyone here wanna buy from Amazon, go to amazon.co.uk... their wattage is similar to Malaysia (220-240), so you don't need to worry about topping up for the transformer conversion. Just keep in mind that if any shit happens, you usually have to fork out the shipping fee to send it back yourself.


@ Baratza: Boleh dapat from PULP in Bangsar... they are from Papa Palheta too. Give them a call to see if they have stocks. If ada kawan coming back from OZ or smthg, can ask them smuggle back. Baratza grinder def better than BES870 grinder.

If you do a quick search in this thread, you'd find some people who had the poemia. Coffee-wise, it won't be macam cafe punya, but it's a way better alternative than instant coffee. Used to knock down anything around that range, but after using http://www.coffeeforless.com/delonghi-bar3...esso-maker.html and watching people learn about coffee (also, we all can make microfoam with it!) , I think it's a great beginner machine that doesn't bust your bank. Unless you're loaded, then by all means, buy atas sikit la ahaha.

If you want the minimum level for cafe quality espressos, people here has mentioned gaggia classic and rancilio silvia. The latter being 1k more pricey, so it is often deliberated with the Oscar.

Note about learning the technique to froth milk; it might be a slower learning curve if you're only making coffee for yourself because there is only so much milk you can drink XD. But don't be discouraged - just find all occasions to practice. Can bancuh Milo as the base for your milk pouring,and you can offer your family to make their drinks for them. It took me 2-3 months in a cafe to properly create a good microfoam, and then pouring a good latte art. First two months in a super low-volume cafe, and the next was in a high-volume one.

Hope you get your gears soon, and report back

Yea, UHT froths fine... tried their 'fresh milk' and full cream. But taste funky lar. Really cover the coffee taste, so I save UHT usage for other drinks~ On the bright side, can use that as practice milk because it's much cheaper! Can water down the milk to practice oso... just need some fat in the jug to produce froth.

@ other things to use to practice pouring, Thirdwave used sirap to practice XD How to not waste beans 101

HG one? Acacia scale? What's this, gear pr0n? XD Likin' your filter gears too. The metal filter is for Chemex and called Kone, was it? Terlupa. Also. what kettle is that? Used to be a huge V60 fan, but eventually turned to Aeropress. Love its simplicity and how you can manipulate it so much. Plus, it seems to draw out the sweet flavours more (granted, used the EK43 that time; wonder if normal hand grinders like Porlex can have the brew taste half as sweet). Speaking of hand grinders, heard that the Comandante is pretty EK-like. Last I know, hard to get your paws on them, due to limited output. Are you a barista or a cafe owner or smthg?

Can't compare to the big capitalism market that is the US haha. Though I remember it's cheaper to ship from Europe than from US. So it kinda evens out.

If any of you are looking for freshly roasted bean shipped directly to your doorstep, there's a new bean shipper in town - http://beanshipper.com/

It takes beans from well-known local roasters.

@chiahau: i'm letting go of my gaggia classic. 3-4 months light use, with extra stuff. if you're interested, just drop me a pm. (unsure if this is allowed; will remove if it isn't)

Did you guys mod it yourself? Got my Gaggia Classic a couple of months ago, and looking to mod it... just that am lacking the equipments. Found a place that charges RM70-ish for the 17mm rachet head, but hoping to loan it from someone.

Very jelly that you could install a PID. A little out of my price range now (unless one is good with Arduino/electronics...).


@ Seijyuro: A lot of folks start with Poemia. Have heard good things about it, and a couple of good folks here started with that. If you're just starting out, go ahead with that. Can always upgrade when you yearn for nicer flavours. I have a thing against Krups... that probably stem from one of their coffee grinders that use *blades* (BLASPHEMOUSSSSSS).

LOL! Whatever rocks their boat. Some people can't be arsed to go through what coffee enthusiasts do... they just want their caffeine, dammit!

But if you ada espresso machine tapi guna blade grinders... burn it with faiyahhhhh XD

Self program ke? Mana mana. A DIY one I saw is this http://www.cyberelectronics.org/?p=458. Buying the electronics is cheap, but learning all that anew is intimidating...

The premade one I know of is this: http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_pag...products_id=232. if you lazy click, it's USD200 ;___;

Mandheling always taste like panadol to me. Herby and medicinal (depends on the roaster, and bean quality also la). It can be good if you extract it properly, but a little off, or getting a little old, I get that hint (or punch!) of panadol. I'm the sort who is pretty sensitive to herb flavours, so yea... If it's a really high acidity, maybe underextracted? Experiment & pull it a little longer.

If it gets better acidity-wise but along with it, an unpleasant bitterness too, it could be the grinder quality. Decent grinds get you a more balanced extraction, for the reason that it doesn't create too much fines like a lesser grinder does (fines = makes you overextract or underextract a shot)

This post has been edited by DEVILtonight: Oct 9 2015, 03:07 AM

Oooh thanks. Kinda buta about all these things. Was it easy for you to install?

Been hearing about the k3's little retention, but mine consistently retains 2g. Cleaned it out inside, check the chutes, can't seem to find a problem. Any idea why?

Are you using just for espresso, or you wanna use for filter too? If the latter, consider baratza as it will cater to both grinds. My grinder is the Compak K3, and while it's excellent for espresso, for pourovers/filter size, it has too many uneven grinds for my liking. It's quite significant, the difference.

Random; brewed an espresso using hario mini mill, with mods (no shaky bits = more consistent grind), and surprisingly got a really nice flow (honey tail), and a balanced espresso without bitterness.

Anyway, wanted to share some affordable bean: Shipper Blend from beanshipper.com. It's a new product, and price can be RM32.30 per 250g if you get the 1kg bag. Still think it's okay at rm39 for 250gm.

Currently what I have is 7 days after roasting, and tried it out (using a hario mill nonetheless.). Seems decent.

First impression is with an espresso is that it's a pretty pleasant drink with no bitterness. There are some acidity, but also found sweetness, that I really dig. Dark choc makes it a comforting drink. Got some floral tones, but the dark choc and sweetness is more pronounced. Lingers after, found it quite 'harum'. So far, didn't detect any unpleasant flavours.

Drank it with milk too, but can't give a proper review as the only milk I had on hand is UHT fullcream. The fat content probably skews the taste.

Will try out with a better grinder and see how it goes. But if you're on a budget, that's my findings. Used a gaggia classic with 5 clicks on the mini mill (modded). Before I modded it, I couldn't pull an espresso at 5 clicks, because it produced way too many fines.

If not auresso, try BeanShipper. 1kg bags will be cheaper than 250gm bags. Roasted by decent local roasters, and still testing different ones. Service is excellent so far. Roasters featured are RGB, The Roast Things, Sprezzatura, BEAM, KL Coffee Collective, and Brew&Bread.

Coffex Coffee is another option; cafes like Caffeine; (Mokka) and VCR (Grande) did use their beans (not sure about now). Since you go through 3kg a mth, you could rotate beans.

The above does delivery.

Three little birds/artisan roast do roast in bulk as they supply to many cafes around KL... not too sure if they deliver 3kg, but no harm in asking.

This post has been edited by DEVILtonight: Dec 2 2015, 01:34 AM