Expobar Pulser - The Purchase Decision

Expobar Pulser - The Purchase Decision

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So stepping into the world of prosumer home espresso making can be quite a difficult thing. In my experience I had just returned from Rome and fell in love with coffee again - I was determined to recreate that experience in my own place!
My aim : To be able to pull a shot as good as what I had in Rome within 6 months.

It seems the initial choice on machines is whether you want to get the standard run of the mill stuff that we all know about (morphy richards, krupps, etc) or do you want to go prosumer. Luckily for me my birthday had just passed and my family put some money together and got me somewhere in the £300 mark. That's HEAPS of money right? should be able to get top of the line stuff? Well folks, I was in for a rude surprise. I'm sure I made the same assumption as everyone else. Get the machine and buy beans from the shop pre ground. After a bit of research, I find out the grinder's very very important! So digging into the pocket I've decided to double my allowable spending to take this into account.

So armed with this, I'd basically narrowed my choice down to 3 options :
- La Pavoni lever and grinder
- Rancilio Silvia and Rocky
- Cheap HX Machine and Grinder

The Pavoni was my lead choice as I wanted to really learn about the coffee process. After a bit more discussion and recommendations from others, I decided to drop this option because of too many variables in a manual pulling machine. Better off learn the basics and then move onto this if I'm capable. Ok sorted. The Rancilio set was quite highly regarded but once again apparently seemed a bit picky and less forgiving.

Ok so that left the Cheap HX and Grinder purchased from the same shop. I managed to get a really great deal which at the time just seemed like a lot of money. The offer : an Expobar Pulser and Macap MC4 for £650 delivered. A little over budget but sounds like it fits the bill.

A few days later and a VERY big box arrived. Taking out the Pulser, I immediately think that its much bigger than the pictures make it seem. Both the Pulser and the macap seemed like a serious bit of kit. I followed the advice on the sheet and 5 days later after getting some good beans, presto… espresso as good as I had in Rome. Success and only 5 days into it!

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So, the verdict? Well personally I think its definitely money well spent. If i had to do it again, I think I may have stretched the budget and got a Mazzer Mini e or maybe tried to get a Mazzer Super Jolly off ebay and fix it up.

Toast