Time for a report on coffee on the Elektra T1!

Time for a report on coffee on the Elektra T1!


Okay, I have posted a little bit about the T1 that Roaste helped me get, but I have not said much about the espresso.  This is because I know that it takes a while to get to know the proper way to use a machine and did not want to report that the machine was great or terrible based on incomplete knowledge.


It is still far to early to write an official review in the sense that it and I are still getting to know each other.  On the other hand, I am coming from another Elektra HX machine so it is not like I am going in with no understanding of the machine.


The Semi that I had before this is in my view one of the best espresso machines in the world.  It simply pulls great shots.  This is backed up by the reviews it got on both Coffee Geek and Home Barista that were pretty much rave reviews.  I took that and combined that with a chance to taste it in the presence of a top of the line La Marzocco in which I preferred the shots from the Semi to convince me that it was a great machine.  


On the other hand I missed some of the great aspects of the big commercial machines – being plumbed in, massive steam power, etc that weren’t strictly about the taste of the espresso.


When I started with the T1 it did not measure up, but it turned out that it needed to be fine tuned – in particular it needed a pressure regulator (as the instructions dictate).  After that was added in, the coffee took off.  It is exceptional.  There are lots of machines that can produce exceptional espresso, including the GS/3, the Speedster, the Cimbali Jr, the Semi, etc, but I am very, very pleased with the T1 right now and feel like I made a great choice.  I bet if I had picked the Jr at about the same price I would be happy, too, but I certainly have no regrets and am confident that if I had it to do over I would make the exact same choice today.


Now back to pulling shots to learn more…