Espresso machine or flashlights? $1300 to spend

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  • Total voters
    26

winny

Flashlight Enthusiast
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Apr 14, 2005
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Gothenburg, Sweden
In three days I will receive salary for nine weeks of hard work during the summer.

Option one:
A really nice espresso machine with a coffee grinder that will provide and my friends with wonderful cappuccinos and lattes for years to come.

Option two:
A bunch of flashlights, I would suspect a SF U2 and a A2 Aviator here, along with the outcome of some of my projects that are currently put on ice due to my lack of money.

Both options lead to deeper addiction, either caffeine or flashoholism. One option absorbs light, the other emits it.
I love coffee but the cheer fun when you ask someone if they need light, and you hand them the sun itself, isn't bad either.

What to do?
 

James S

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on an island surrounded by reality
the two things are not contradictory /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Indeed, more espresso lets you enjoy more time in the dark to use your flashlights /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif So I recommend that you buy an espresso machine where you have to grind your own beans and save enough money to buy several of the best lights as well!
 

JasonC8301

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Nov 13, 2001
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NYC
As James said, buy both!

I know espresso machines can cost thousands of dollars, but I've seen some good ones for $500, heck I paid $10 for my 4 cup coffee machine and $15 for a grinder. Everyone says my coffee is too strong (whats wrong with dumping enough grinds to make 12 cups of coffee into a 4 cup machine after being ground into a finer powder, lol.)

So for $400 you can have a U2 and an A2 and a lot of batteries (if you shop around and pay less than MSRP (BST)) and have $900 for a coffee machine.

If I got to do it over again I would of bought a cheaper car and saved some money vs. blowing all my money on a new car (like spend $800, store $500 in a bank.)
 

chimo

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You should be able to get a fairly good espresso machine (no need for an automatic) and a good burr grinder and have some left over for the flashlights. My wife and I have had one now for a couple of years and it has paid for itself in the money we have saved from buying cafe coffee. You will quickly discover that you can make better espresso/cappucino at home that you can get at most cafes!
 

powernoodle

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Spend $200 on a light and $300 on coffee. Investing the remaining $800 at 9% for 20 years will yield $4,832.00, at which time you can buy another light and another coffee maker and still have $4,000 left over.

best regards
 

Beamhead

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[ QUOTE ]
JackBlades said:
Ask these guys??

http://www.coffeeforums.com/

[/ QUOTE ]

I was starting to wonder if CPF had turned into a Yuppy Coffee Forum. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Buy flashlights and drink Tea. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

BTW..whats up with the poll? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif
 

winny

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Re: Espresso machine or flashlights? $1300 to spen

I recently found a very nice shop with a very friendly owner who showed me some different machines at different price categories. When I was almost done and about to leave, he said "If you don't want a used one that is. You can have a full sized two or three group machine for like $650. It's three-phase though."
My eyes started to glow. Three-phase!
"You mean I can actually have a large, professional, heavy-weight, three-phase machine that's not even remotely intended for consumers and won't work on consumer one-phase electricity and with enough steam power to boil pasta for $650?", i asked. "Sure thing", he replied.

Although I live in an student apartment, I'm very happy to be equipped with 25A three-phase electricity. That's 30 kW of power to play with! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

Sure I will need to get rid of some chairs, move the table and there won't be much room left in the kitchen but I mean, come on, it's three-phase for heavens sake!
 

winny

Flashlight Enthusiast
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Gothenburg, Sweden
Re: Espresso machine or flashlights? $1300 to spen

[ QUOTE ]
powernoodle said:
Spend $200 on a light and $300 on coffee. Investing the remaining $800 at 9% for 20 years will yield $4,832.00, at which time you can buy another light and another coffee maker and still have $4,000 left over.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you nuts? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
I'm 20 years old! I can't be that responsible already!
What will happen then when I grow up and get kids, I would have used up all my responsibility then.
Besides, it's impossible to get 9% interest in Sweden. 3% perhaps, if you find a very nice bank and promise not to touch them for 20 years.
 

winny

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Re: Espresso machine or flashlights? $1300 to spen

[ QUOTE ]
Beamhead said:
BTW..whats up with the poll? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought that people who had an opinion in the matter but not enough energy to write about it could just click on either coffee or flashlights.
Strange that no one used it so far. Maybe I should add some other alternatives.
 

Beamhead

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gone "Squatchin" :p
Re: Espresso machine or flashlights? $1300 to spen

[ QUOTE ]
winny said:
[ QUOTE ]
Beamhead said:
BTW..whats up with the poll? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought that people who had an opinion in the matter but not enough energy to write about it could just click on either coffee or flashlights.
Strange that no one used it so far. Maybe I should add some other alternatives.

[/ QUOTE ]

At least on my end there is nothing to click on. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

Saaby

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Jun 17, 2002
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Utah
Re: Espresso machine or flashlights? $1300 to spen

Just showing results here...
 

greenLED

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Mar 26, 2004
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La Tiquicia
Re: Espresso machine or flashlights? $1300 to spen

no options to click on.
Buy a cheap keychain light and send me the remaining money, I'll spend it for you /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Last edited:

winny

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I must have made some type of mistake when I added the poll. Anyway, with vBulletin installed, the poll now seems to be working.
 

inluxication

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Feb 25, 2004
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Westchester NY
Winny,

I've got a few decent flashlights (e.g., HDS Ultimate 60 -- nothing too horribly expensive) and a nice enough espresso machine. The flashlights you get to enjoy once in a while, and even then people think you're nuts for having a flashlight 100x more expensive than they would imagine -- and not just one. The espresso machine people seem to enjoy, and *I* enjoy it every morning. Espresso machine; easy choice.

Personally I'm pretty happy with my Pavoni, but if you want to get something with a double-boiler setup, separate feeds for coffee and steam, and the E61 gruppo, I'd respect that choice. Nothing *looks* better than the Pavoni, and with no moving parts but the lever and piston, and being relatively user-maintainable, it'll last forever. In your price range, the only grinder to get is the Mazzer Mini; I think there's no discussion there.

Beware going with full-fledged pro stuff. There seem to be issues like hour-long warmup times that are fine for cafes but not so handy for home. (The real fanatics address this by leaving the machine on all the time.) For that matter, the E61 group's thermal maintenance is apparently predicated on pulling a few shots a minute, which you won't be doing. Not to mention people who've bought the Mazzer Jolly grinder only to find it won't fit on their kitchen counter under the cabinets, but it doesn't sound like that would slow you down!

Anyway, buy yourself a groovy espresso machine, and if you have a few "beans" left over, pick up a light. Let us know!

-Greg

PS I see that espresso is the majority vote, and this in a *flashlight* forum! That says something.
 

inluxication

Newly Enlightened
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Messages
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Westchester NY
PPS *You* voted in your own poll, and for flashlights??! Noooo! But that means the real votes are running 3:1 for espresso. (Incidentally, I don't recommend heavy caffeine consumption: one or two "godshots" a day -- or more, with a second grinder dedicated to decaf. But with two Mazzer Minis you won't have enough money left for an espresso machine.)
 

raggie33

*the raggedier*
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
13,453
do you mean 13 bucks? there is no way a machine to make coffee can cost more?if its 1300 gwet flashlights
 

winny

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Location
Gothenburg, Sweden
inluxication,

Thanks for the input!
Things tuned out in favor for the espresso machine. My local dealer insisted on the two-group Brasilia Portafino leva and half of the machine is already here in my apartment now
Yes, it's a professional machine and with a 12 liter tank and 3 kW heater, we are looking at 20 minutes of run-up time, plus heat losses. If I can't leave it turned on for some reason like it's too noisy during the night when the water is starting to boil, or if heat losses makes my apartment 30 degrees C year-round, it will be a problem.
As for a grinder, my dealer would check whether he could find some used professional grinder for a decent price.
Yes, I clicked on a button on random to see whether the poll worked or not. I should have pressed "espresso machine". :ohgeez:

My friend, who is an expert at crazy ideas, came up with the idea to airbrush it with some nice theme. I was thinking cappuccino-brown with dark brown coffee beans all over it but the it would remind me of the brown era of the early eighties.
Any suggestions for a motif, anyone?
 
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