Expobar Office Control Espresso Machine

I have owned this machine for three years and have never regretted it. Ok, I regretted it a little when I had to get it repaired once, but it is a straightforward and simple machine, with a double boiler so you don''t have to switch temperatures between making espresso and steaming milk.

I''ve owned this machine for over a year now and it has been a workhorse. There are days that I pull 3 triple shots (using a triple basket and bottomless portafilter) a day just for me. Then there are days where I have company over and can quickly make lattes, mochas, and americanos for my guests in very little time. I use this with a Nuova Simonelli MDX grinder (flat burr). I''ve owned cheap machines in the past with single boilers and pressurized portafilter baskets, but this thing blows them away. If you are looking for an e61 HX machine on a budget, look no further.

My routine is this:

pull 4-5 ounces of water as a flush, but also to heat my two 2.5 ounce shot glasses.

dry the portafilter (i use a triple basket)

grind 18-21 grams of coffee into portafilter, distribute (north, south, east, west), tamp ~ 30 lbs

insert portafilter and pull 2.5-3 oz shot, stopping the pull when "blonding" starts, around 35 40 seconds (22-30 for a double shot).

I would recommend getting a different steam tip. I found both a 3-hole and a 4-hole tip from another site, Chris''s Coffee. The 3-hole is a nice improvement where I can go from about 60-seconds to steam ~ 8 oz of milk, down to about 35 seconds. The 4-hole tip is even quicker, though it takes much more practice to get latte art quality microfoam. Using the 4-hole tip, I can steam 8 oz of milk in around 20 seconds and the steam power is amazing. The problem with the original single-hole tip, is that it restricts the steam too much in my opinion. It makes it easy to make great foam, but it takes too long.

Overall, this is a great machine. It is built like a tank and the programmable buttons are a nice feature. I really like the auto backflush clean cycle that it has. Eventually, I''ll probably have to send it to a shop to get descaled, but that is the case with an HX machine, from what I''ve read. Anytime you are repeatedly heating water, it''s going to require a descale at some point. I have a whole-home water softener and RO water at the tap, but I still use the included filter / softener in the water tank to cut down on the scale.

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I have owned this machine for 8 years and for 6 it was working. Overall this is a good machine. It is not a easy machine to repair with its enclosed design. It is very good for what it was designed for: fitting a small area and keeping the cups warm for use. Its greatest feature for our family and office use has been ease of use and the ''quad'' espressos. The largest issues are fluctuations in heat at the group head resulting in variations in quality of the brew. (The ''heat'' eventually will fry the nice push button controls.) Getting repairs are expensive and hard to get in some areas.

Learn as much as you can about the machine and how it operates and clean and flush it regularly (the manual and paperwork it comes with is worthless). Replace the cheap plastic water container (the least they could have done was include a stainless container over the plastic) with a direct plumbing line and filter will save a lot of grief. The container will run out of water more often than you think, so check and fill often. The grind is very important in this machine, too fine and you''ll have a long day of cleaning it for their is a second area behind ''the group'' that will retain the powdered nectar and clog a secondary screen. If unaware, you will be buying new pumps and relays and such.

The baseline question to ask is the convenience and ease of use for this time (5-6 years) worth 1200 dollars to you? If it is, Is the 700 dollar repair also worth continuing down the road with the unit (you will grow to either love or hate) at that 6 year mark? If this is your office machine, it probably is, but if it is for home use, you may want to consider the above.

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