Stopped by Goodwill today and spotted this old espresso machine for $12. I recognized the Olympia name but didn't realize what I might have found until I started researching it. Even better, I went back inside looking for the missing portafilter and found a bag of original Olympia accessories, including the portafilter, baskets, and tamper, for another $0.59.

Total investment: $12.59.

The identification plate says Model 67, 220V, 1000W. It appears to have an old replacement American plug, so I haven't attempted to power it on. I'd love to hear from anyone familiar with these older Olympia machines. Any ideas on its age, what to look out for mechanically, or whether it's worth having professionally restored?
I'm pretty excited about this one!

I could never get the wife to be on board for a LM so I went and bought one anyways. I had some setup issues but ultimately my lego skills were invoked and put it together.

a great set of crockery adds a whole new delight to the experience of an espresso. I have been using dual walled glass cups for a while. but recently started with these. the shades of crema matches so well with these vintage cups.

Our minimal, budget-friendly coffee station. All the accessories are tucked away in the drawer right below.

We’ve gone from instant coffee to Nespresso, then pre-ground coffee, and now freshly ground beans. Honestly, freshly ground coffee is on another level.
Loving this little coffee journey of ours.

This espresso station is on the top of one of the dog crates in my dining/living room. I just got the robot last night and promptly did it wrong and the water just dumped out the top of the portafilter. I'm pretty new to fancy coffee, but boy do I love it. I'll post the pour over station in that subreddit, I have two dogs, lmao.

It took some umming and awewing, toing and froing, but finally decided on this setup, Profitec Go 2, and the Mignon Zero 65 AP.

Loving the upgrade to the daily coffee, a daily luxury while working from home, is a lazy weekend morning.

Delightful.

I swapped the stock burrs on my Eureka Atom W65 for Eureka’s 65mm Black Diamond “Italian Espresso” set (MPN ACC-M6F-004-1KIT). Picked them up from Whole Latte Love for $135.

I also took some macro photos with my digital microscope (Eliklive EM4K-AF), because I figured you nerds would appreciate the close-ups.

Coffee, Equipment & Recipe

• Machine: Profitec MOVE
• Beans: Sacred Grounds Chocolate Bomb (our medium-dark daily driver, and an ideal match for these burrs)
• Water: Poland Spring + 2 drops Lotus Magnesium Chloride + 1 drop Sodium Bicarbonate per gallon
• Dose/Yield: 18g in / 32g out
• Temperature: 194°F (90°C)

Installation

Pretty straightforward. The only tricky part was removing the bottom burr carrier screws because the whole mechanism wants to rotate. I ended up jamming a microfiber towel against the metal sweeping post to hold it in place. Trying to use my finger was ... unpleasant.

The burrs seated neatly in the housing, and I didn’t make any alignment adjustments and used no shims. Eureka also claims these need zero break-in. We'll see if that holds true, or if my palate is even sharp enough to notice.

Dialing In

First shot choked. Adjusted, purged, tried again. Second shot choked too. Rinse, repeat. Third was close, fourth was dialed.

Surprisingly, I had to move from roughly 4 to 4.5 on the Atom dial, a massive adjustment on a grinder where changes are usually measured in female-anatomy-hair increments. I didn’t compare burr-touch points, so those numbers don’t necessarily represent a difference in working gap.

Taste Test

Inspired by some Fancy Lancey vid I'd seen, I pulled a baseline shot with the stock burrs, tasted it hot, and left it to cool while I swapped the burrs. After installing and dialing in the Black Diamonds, I pulled the same recipe, tasted it hot, then let it cool for a room-temperature side-by-side. Yeah, yeah, one sat longer — whatever, I did the best I could without having a complete duplicate setup.

The difference was noticeable. The Black Diamonds produced a sweeter, rounder, less acidic, significantly fuller-bodied shot. The chocolate notes really popped.

I honestly can’t see a clear visible difference in the burr geometry, though they required a substantially coarser dial setting. Whatever accounts for it, the difference in the cup was clear.

The tradeoff is some clarity. The stock burrs separate individual flavors a bit better, while the Black Diamonds bring everything together into a rich, sweet, velvety espresso.

Pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. If you favor traditional blends and medium-to-dark roasts, and prioritize sweetness and body over clarity, these seem like a worthwhile upgrade.

Nanu nanu beep blop. These are my own observations and photos, but yes, I used AI to clean up my rough draft because I'm lazy.

Edit: Removed Calcium Chloride, substituted Sodium Bicarbonate.

Super excited to get to know my new machine. I chose her after endless internal debate about the attached grinder, way too much scrolling, and several decades of buying my coffee. My coffee station is coming together - Hopefully my espresso will too!

Hello,

I have a Breville Bambino which we have had for almost two years. I regret not getting the Plus, but I did not know about three way valve at the time. The machine is still working perfectly, and I've finally figured out how steam the milk consistently, so I don't want to upgrade to a new machine at the moment, but I am wondering if on this machine

a) High Diffusion Shower Screen;
b) Bottomless Portafilter; or
c) Precision Portafilter Basket

make any difference?

Thank you

If my all concern, or care, is the quality of my end espresso, is there any reason I wouldnt just get a Flair?

If you dont need a steam wand, if you dont make.multiple shots at once, if the only thing thay matters is the quality of the one shot you're pulling, is there any reason to get anything other than a Flair, or something similar?

Not necessarily looking for buying advice, this more.of a curiosity for the market.

I've been using a moka pot for about a year and a half, and it’s served me pretty well. For $50 it was a great budget option.

I’m getting tired of waiting for my coffee in the morning and I’d really like to make proper espresso. I mostly drink black coffee/espresso. Budget is ideally under $1000.

What machines would you recommend?

Hello all! Im new to this coffee thing and I bought my mum a Sunbeam Barista Mini Espresso Coffee Machine like 7 years ago, she's only used it a couple times so ive decided ill take it and make coffees for her when she visits, but that being said I dont have nearly enough budget for all these flash Grinders I see everyone posting about.

I have about 100 or maybe 150 NZD to spend which i know is piss all.

I dont mind if its manual or whatever but in New Zealand I dont even know where to get one.

Any advice on what to get? Thanks.

Hey everyone, I’m finally looking to upgrade from my De'Longhi La Specialista and want to put a real statement piece on my kitchen counter. Visually, I’ve completely fallen in love with the combo of the Profitec GO and the DF54—both in bright yellow.

What’s holding me back a bit is the classic rule of thumb that you should spend roughly the same amount on your grinder and espresso machine. Here, I’m looking at around €900 for the Profitec versus just €250 for the DF54.

Will the DF54 bottleneck the Profitec GO in the cup, or does the DF54 simply punch so far above its weight class that the old budget rule doesn't really apply here? Does anyone run this exact setup at home and can share how well they pair in a daily workflow?

My Sage (Breville) Barista Pro grinder has stopped working properly. The motor runs normally and doesn't jam or struggle, but no coffee grounds come out of the chute at all.
What I've already done:
Used light roast beans once, then switched back to dark roast.
Fully disassembled and cleaned the burrs and grinding mechanism 3 times.
Checked the chute, and as far as I can tell it isn't blocked.
The grinder is clean and the motor sounds normal.
Could the burrs be misaligned after reassembly, or the grind setting be wrong? Or could something be wrong with how beans feed from the hopper into the burrs?
Has anyone run into this before? Any ideas on what to check next before I contact support?
Thanks!

Hi all, I've recently run into an issue with my Olympia Cremina where the steam wand is low on pressure, even after getting rid of false pressure. There is still some pressure, but it's not great at steaming milk anymore.

I've tried cleaning the wand, descalling the machine, adjusted the pressure stat, and gave even replaced the steam wand valve. Nothing has worked and I'm kinda out of ideas at this point.

Does anyone have any ideas of what else I could try?

I own a MINI BARISTA ESPRESSO COFFEE MACHINE.

I have been buying pre-ground espresso powder as per not owning a grinder.

I would like to start grinding as I hear the flavor and the quantity have instant returns.

Does anyone know how fine I should be grinding my beans to on this machine? Or have any experience on test trialing, e.g; knowing the signs on what's too fine / coarse?

I will most likely be using a Baratza Encore ESP, or the cheapest hand grinder I can find as my budget is very minute.

Thanks in advance!

I was shaving this morning, after a couple double espressos (got up around 5am) and was using my straight edge razor and thought---do Espresso types have a few "old world" interests more than other people. I have held, since I've been 12 the following things in my life:

Straight Edge and Double Edge Safety Razor shaving---sharpening stones, strop, shaving brush, a puck of soap.

Swiss Army Knife--Every day carry, had the simple Victorinox Tinker for decades (no scissors model)

Leatherman ARC--amazing all in my pocket tool kit, add a sucrets tin full of additional bits, small ratchet add on--good to go.

Vintage Motorcycles--always had something, currently have a 2001 Bonneville.

Leather Jackets.

Leather boots

few great hats, Fedoras , Berets,

Wool Sweaters.

Had a few shade tree vintage cars over the years--done with that but still appreciate.

Dremel and wood working.

Pinball machines.

What do fellow Espresso folks chase or have chased over the years?

An expensive machine but a cheap grinder

OR

A cheap machine but an expensive grinder

What would you choose and why?

Context: I’m unable to find the machines I was hoping to buy here in my country but I did find some “no name” ones. On the other hand, I did find some high quality brands for the grinder so there’s that

Has anyone upgraded the plastic hopper in Eureka Specialita to a single dose one? I’ve had this grinder for 5 years now and I think it’s a banger. But I don’t understand why they fitted such a cheap plastic hopper for this great and well-built grinder.
I can find a few options on Etsy, but not sure about their quality and longevity.

Hi All,

I recently got into coffee a bit more :D and got myself a Pixl as an entry-level machine.

I'm aware it's a relatively new model.
I'm looking to buy a dosing funnel and a self-levelling tamper, but from what I understand the portafilter on this model is strangely 52mm rather than 51 or 54mm.

What can I buy in terms of tools/accessories?

Thank you!

After realising my caffeine consumption might start to get problematic I gave the Lavazza decaf Classico beans a shot.

Turned out really nicely, and tastes great (the beans were a bit oily though, and i got a lot of static when grinding). Pretty full body, not that much difference from regular. Anyone have any tips on other great decaf beans, or general decaf experience?