In my experience with beanshipper f you're getting the smaller bags (200 or 250g) then they're roasted in batches and you'll get from the latest batch, typically a few days after your order. I've gotten beans roasted a few days before my order as well, but typically that's stated up front in the order.

If you're ordering 1kg bags then it's roasted to order. I typically order 1kg bags, finishing it in about 3+ weeks, a lot of gas in the first week so I time the orders to arrive before I finish my previous bag.

I store my beans in the fridge too, but every so often I'll bring out a small amount and store it in an airtight container at room temperature, just to avoid the humidity from condensation. So far the retention from my mignon is minimal, less than 1g

I cannot tell the difference so far. I can tell the difference when the beans are older usually.

The Mignon started working again after being idle and off for close to a week. Don't know how or what happened. I use it at most 2-3 times a day on average so it's not heavy duty by any stretch. Still going strong after this, would hate to have to buy another grinder, I do love this thing.

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.

I'm using the Eureka Mignon. Definitely not the finest setting, I aim for about 30 seconds extraction including pre-infusion with about 18g of coffee. Never really paid attention to the amount of crema, maybe 10%? Crema is the gas that comes out of the beans, it's obviously more when the beans are newly roasted.

Bring your beans to a store and try it out maybe Good luck

Yes many of them have programmable water volume.

I bought my BDB in Malaysia, Breville dealer near Kajang. It was about RM4,500 when I got it 3+ years ago, still going strong, have replaced some parts eg. the o-rings but otherwise no complaints.



Any other BDB owners out there that need o-rings for your BDB seals please let me know, I bought a pack of 50 several months ago and have plenty to give away for free, I'm not going to use them all

Tubes between the boilers and the portafilter and other parts of the internal. Mine started to wear out within 3.5 years, but replacing them was easy and everything is like new again! Also I don't know why but the parts pricing in Australia is 2-4x higher than the parts pricing in the US. The group head seal for example is A$17 vs US$5.

Just in case anyone is looking for parts

I'm happy to give away a handful of the o-rings for free
I don't have any extras for the other parts

It's Mattressdepot/Midah Electrical
You should be able to get the address from the grandevest website, somewhere along Jalan Reko

Gotta wait maybe 2 more weeks, still traveling. I just ordered the solenoid. I figured just in case, mine hasn't buzzed much yet after 3.5 years but...
PM me then, I'm in the Puchong area, work in Cyber

Beanshipper is a start, lots of options there
Our own ymeng85 also sells at Reframe
The past few rounds I've bought from fmarketing on Shopee

These are all online, but many of the roasters listed above have physical stores too

They are quality beans, I've tried only the Brazil, Colombia and Mexico single origin, all medium roasted, paired with milk

Harvey Norman will frequently have their Delonghi, Saeco and Breville representatives do demos of the equipment. I got a demo of the Delonghi Dinamica yesterday at Harvey Norman IOI City Mall during their Leap Day sale. All I can say is the latte felt off on many levels. Obviously I have no idea what beans was used although the milk was fresh. The cleaning routine looked a lot more involved than I expected. I recommend bringing your beans and doing a taste test.

My normal routine is using the Breville 920 dual boiler with a Eureka Mignon grinder with beans from Reframe, Fmarketing on shopee or Beanshipper.

If I had to choose between the options you listed, I'd go for the Brevilles because you have a bit more of the extra control as you have the option to dose and tamp yourself. Ideally the touch because it automates the milk steaming as well. But the recommendations others have made are very valid, you'll likely make a better cup with a semi auto and a good grinder

Good luck

Go through 3-4 rounds of coffee. It'll suck up the smell and any residue.
Ideally don't drink that coffee

Good read, I dial in every time I get a new bag and continue to tweak it as the beans age
Would love to get another grinder so that I can test small batches of new beans on and off or to do non espresso but that's a first world problem

You're comparing UHT milk (Good Day above, Dutch Lady) with fresh milk?
The ability to foam may be similar, but the taste is very different at least to my taste buds. I've tried Good Day UHT and if anything it's for backup only, I will try my best to get fresh milk.

I've been able to source Farm Fresh (in Giant) and Farmhouse (Tesco) so far.

This post has been edited by tishaban: Apr 14 2020, 04:05 PM

I typically don't buy Farmhouse as I prefer to support the local farmers. Having said that there is a huge difference between pasteurization on fresh milk that kills bacteria and UHT that changes the texture and flavor of milk. I'm quite sure the fresh Farmhouse goes through pasteurization and their UHT goes through the UHT process

I was on UHT as well, it definitely works although getting micro foam is a bit more hit and miss I think

I've had my BDB for 4 years already, I replaced the o-rings myself several months ago. I like that it can get to a stable thermal state very quickly and it is incredibly flexible. I also like that there's a large community globally that has the BDB and has gone through any potential problems and have documented easy DIY fixes including the o-rings and solenoid replacements. I expect to keep the BDB for the forseeable future.

Are you someone comfortable enough with minor DIY? Go to other coffee forums, see what other people have done to fix their KD310, Oscars and BDBs and the common problems all of them may have. Check where you can get spare parts.

If you're not comfortable with minor DIY then you're entirely dependent on the store to fix your problems for you. No mechanical machine that goes through high temperature/high pressure cycles daily will last very long without regular maintenance. Good luck

Yes plus Baratza's support is awesome! I had several burr holder spares sent to me from Baratza US for no charge when the burr holder tabs broke while under warranty, even though my warranty is supposed to be from the Malaysian vendor.