Quick Mill - Anita Evo

Quick Mill Anita or Izzo Vivi. Both will last many years. And HX allows steaming and shots at the same time. I had an HX Vetrano for twenty years. It may have steamed better than my new double boiler version. Chris Coffee provides excellent tech support too. Their sales guy Mark is a straight shooter. An actual phone discussion can go a long way to focus what would serve your needs.

I have a pretty good home espresso setup (Quick Mill Anita and Mazzer grinder) but my girlfriend prefers the convenience of a Keurig or Nespresso so for VD this year I got her a Nespresso Duo to replace a bricked Keurig. I’m impressed with the quality difference over Keurig but the capsules are disgustingly overpriced… so I just refill my own with whatever coffee I like … and this makes it cheaper than Keurig with far less waste. In no way is the Nespresso making actual espresso but taste wise it makes a pretty darn good cup so if I don’t feel like doing anything but pushing a button… it works fine. One of the best parts of real espresso equipment is being able to experiment. I’d say if you are NOT going to refill your own capsules, at $1.35+ per for most… Nespresso is a prohibitively expensive home coffee option.

Love seeing this post, and good for you, friend, for enjoying your equipment for so long. While I don't have direct advice for you, I'll share the story of my own decision making around upgrades, which may or may not be helpful. I got into the hobby in 2013 after a friend introduced me. I obsessively researched grinders and machines for weeks (which was part of the fun for me) and then pulled the trigger on a QuickMill Anita HX machine. Simultaneous brew/steam was important for me since I almost exclusively make milk drinks. I found a used Mazzer Mini (with doser...) on Craigslist and drove an hour to pick it up. This was my first "luxury" purchase after starting my first job out of grad school, and I absolutely loved everything about it. I loved the manual workflow each morning, and I learned to make damn good coffee with the gear and to pour latte art better than most cafes. Single dosing with the doser always bugged me on the Mini. I took it apart and made little sweepers out of duct tape for each of the blades so that most of the grounds could be swept out, but it was just annoying to spend about a minute with a brush to dislodge the grounds and then thwacking away to remove them. The Niche came out and claimed to revolutionize the workflow around single dosing, and I was intrigued. After five years using the I saved up and waited until I had a milestone to celebrate with my job back in 2018 and then tried to order one...and failed. Back then, they were harder than concert tickets to snag, they sold out so fast. It took me three tries to get one, spaced six months apart. When I finally landed one, I loved the workflow improvement, but did seem to notice a "muddiness" in lighter roasts. It was mild, but it was there. Flavors just always seemed to lean toward chocolate and earthy flavors and I missed some of the acidity and floral notes I had gotten with the Mazzer...but I did love the workflow and the difference was mild so I just enjoyed what I had for another 6 years. The Anita kept on trucking, only needing two new pumps and a new OPV along the way. I learned to do the repairs myself, which was satisfying and made me feel even more connected to the machine. Then this year I sold my business and decided I would celebrate by getting my dream setup: a machine I had looked at when I first got into the hobby and thought "wow...imagine having that machine in your kitchen...too bad it's ridiculously expensive." It was a Marzocco GS/3. I loved the look of it and loved how robust its reputation was. A machine you buy for life. I wanted to go back to a flat burr grinder and decided on a Kafatek Monolith MAX. When I got the GS/3, I didn't yet have the Monolith and so was using the Niche...literally couldn't taste the difference from the Anita. Like another poster said: pushing water through a puck of coffee. Steam pressure was insane, and I had to relearn how to texture milk just as I like it for my flat whites. But while the taste of the coffee wasn't necessarily better, it felt special using the new machine every morning. To me, that feeling is worth something, but it's also there because the machine is tied to an important milestone in my life. The Monolith definitely improved the flavor of light roasts compared to the Niche. It was noticeable on day one. The coffee was brighter and actually reflected the tasting notes on the bag. I honestly liked the Niche workflow a bit better, but it's a marginal difference that's well worth the flavor improvement. Anyway, this got longer than I expected, but for me, the upgrade path has been a journey that has marked milestones in my life and professional career. The coffee has gotten better, the workflow has changed, and my daily routine has given me a sense of satisfaction that is a pleasant part of every morning. If you want to upgrade in a way that will change/improve your coffee, definitely focus on the grinder. But just don't underestimate the pleasure you can derive from finally acquiring that grail machine you've always wanted. It just may not be in your mouth ☺️

I'm very pleased with my Profitec, I've had it about a year after 8 years with a Quick Mill E61, which was also an excellent, reliable machine. I like E61 machines for their abundant availability on parts. I can even get them locally! So I would skip the Profitec Move myself, and also don't think the ECM is worth the price premium. So there you go, **Profitec Drive.**

Chris Coffee for Quick Mill, they are great! Clive Coffee for Profitec. Clive also sells Lucca Tempo which is rebranded Pop Up.

I started out with a Quick Mill, but quickly found that machines using the E61 brew group are a class apart. I have been using a pre-owned Isomac Millennium together with a Bezzerra BZ05 coffeegrinder for at least 7 years now, love them both :-)