Share your budget range to us?

I would start off at a Breville at minimum I suppose. Pretty close to commercial machines yet easily obtainable in Malaysia (most major departmental stores carry it)
Then depending on your budget then we can talk about single boiler/heat exchanger/dual boiler options

I was replying to Harddisk actually, who was asking about Vacuvin. I have used something like it for (drumroll please) storing opened bottles of wine, but have yet to try for coffee beans.

In principle, I guess you place your beans into an empty glass bottle and use the Vacuvin stopper and suck out all the air.

I keep my beans in Greek yoghurt containers because (coffee snob mode full on) I roast my own (coffee snob mode full off).

I've been using my Breville dual boiler (BDB) for almost 3 years. I've not compared it to the chinese made machines, but it's been a joy to use, relatively forgiving and very consistent. It's also very easy to maintain and has been reliable pulling an average 2-3 shots daily. I've not been adventurous enough to try the Slayer shots on the BDB but it does show the flexibility of the machine. I paid RM4,500 for it from Midah Electrical back then.

Don't forget to check out the Oscar 2, should be around RM3,800 thereabouts, also a good choice but someone else will have to comment on how this compares to the Chinese ones.

If you don't wish to stake a probability of regretting later on.. avoid Breville at all cost(the current price is not worth it's value). Seriously, have you seen the size of the boilers in the Breville Dual boiler unit? For heat to be stable, it has to be big or well insulated; this BDB has non of such attributes. So be aware.

Locally, there aren't many choices if budget is below RM3k-4k, apart from the rare Gaggia(the Classic, Baby), Rancilio Silvia.. WPM is the next best choice. (Almost forgot.. Simonelli, if the price still affordable for)

China made: (sort by accending price/budget)
Gemilai, Milesto, WPM, Expobar.. (look for those 58mm ones).
Expobar is available here in M'sia too under some bespoke arrangements, if I'm not mistaken.. just unsure.

By the way, Gaggia still have a presence in M'sia.. it's at Jalan 223, PJ same building as Pensonic.

Wpm kd 210 -No
Wpm kd 210s2 -yes
What do you think of the kd210 then?

thanks for the advice
so pricey! haha

my dissatisfaction with the Aeropress is mainly the coffee's lack of thickness (viscosity), don't have the kaw feeling

any opinion on the Breville Barista Express?
this is only for personal use, 1-2 cups a day cappucino

yep, looking at some espresso machines
although i'm a bit hesitant to spend too much, being a total beginner who's only used an aeropress before

leaning very heavily towards the Flair Espresso maker recommended by lowkl
not too expensive, not too large, and very good reviews
also looks stunning

my grinder (Delonghi KG89) however, will probably fail to live up to the Flair haha

I can attest that since using the Flair I have not considered any other espresso machine. Not that there cannot be anything better; for sure there are better machines, but I realize for me, the limits in quality are not hindered by the machine but my ability & technique, the beans and roast, and of course the grinder. Probably the next step up would require a budget of RM 8k and above.

As for your KG89, might as well try it first. If you do need to upgrade that component, you'll need to do so for any real espresso machine anyways.

If you order directly, it costs about USD 50, from what I can remember. This is for the kit with two brewheads.

A colleague of ours brought a Robot for us to compare with the Flair. Very very nice machine! A bit more expensive though.

For milk I use the French press method. I just heat the milk directly in the container using a microwave, then agitate with the press. To be perfectly accurate, I use a dedicated milk frother by Bodum which is essentially a French press but without the spring gasket and a simple plastic 'filter'.

can consider Ikea one too, if that is an option, much cheaper and no need shipping
i'm using the battery one but thinking of switching to french press too

i follow this guy's method, it works
but your battery must be still strong, when it gets weak the result won't be that good or you need to froth for longer

this is what i am afraid of and was thinking to start with the breville first.
after i attended the basic class, now i know that a lot of factors involve in making good one.
hahah

my long target will be Linea Mini. but

Intro to basic barista skill at Eciatto Academy located in Cheras.

Hey guys, has anyone heard or tried this Purefresh Electric Grinder? http://theroastthings.com/product/purefres...ectric-grinder/

Been hand-grinding for pour-overs and I've been getting a bit inconsistent lately, coffee not too good. Thought I'd check out some electric burr grinders on a low budget

I've found around 85 deg is a good temperature. You must have some sort of magic to still have water at above 100 deg btw.

Besides of vacuum cleaner and brushes, I used to clean my grinder by grinding some oats through the burrs to absorb the oil residues. You can also buy some grinder cleaning tablets which I believed are also made from oats.

I use the Urnex Grindz grinder cleaner for a real deep clean (every half year) on my Eureka Mignon. I grind about 40-50 grams of fresh beans after that to flush. However, I notice that even after I do that I still get some residue even after like 5 shots, but it is minimal and doesn't affect taste of the espresso, at least not on my tongue. I guess it depends on how much your grinder retention is also.

Yeah. Will flush the grinder with some medium to light roast coffee after grinding oats or Urnex cleaning tablet. Then only we grind coffee for brewing.

exactly!

Even worse in Myanmar/Vietnam

Friends visiting so nice of them bring back Hawaiian Kona and Panama Geisha named beans and not cheap at all!
But result was some bad coffee laced with flavorings (chocolate essence)
Just trying to milk the famous names as much as possible those unscrupulous shops