In article , izibiz wrote:

Anyone any idea for a small and lightweight, if possible front only
operated (watercontainer) espresso maker?

We use a Gaggia 'Coffee' at home:

http://tinyurl.com/38p8zl (http://preview.tinyurl.com/38p8zl)

It's petite, but plenty sturdy enough for rough handling. A couple of
down-sides, you did request 19 bar, this is around 10; the water tank is
not very big... mind you, that also means not much to spill in a
knock-down.... but you're in a cat.... hmmmm.

Over here it's the equivalent of about $300 US, the coffee freaks seem
to rate it quite highly too, in the bangs per buck department there's
not much to beat it... and it makes a good shot... I'm still trying to
get it to produce creme though (not enough practice with it yet).

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

Hi Justin,

get good quality Arabica espresso roast beans (try gastro-supply as
good quality you usually will not find at super markets), might be
darker or lighter accoding to taste and, so you have a Gaggia grinder
too, set it quite fine (eg. Nr. 4 is good for our coffee). Water
should be soft and not chlorinated, in some countries it needs bottled
destilled water, the water maker on board is fine.

Because there were so many negative comments, I have 2 Baby Gaggia
sets (15bar is correct), home and office, both 31 years old, all
repairs needed was twice the gasket at the coffee carrier. A DIY as
the quaterly anti-stain-flush. Maybe over all those years with a
Melitta filter I would have spend more money on paper only. Not to
forget the danger of handling boiling water. My "150 buck-grinder" for
the boat is a Braun/Germany and 37 years old, so much for spending.
And why on board, we prepare for a 5 to 10 year cruise, some basic
luxury makes life worthwhile, the rest is quite spartan because of
weight restrictions.

Yes, I do like a good Cappuccino, but I have reflux too and any other
type of coffee has just to much acid and I then heartburn. I can not
even drink a Robusta/Arabica-mix. Decaf is the worst of all. No, soft
drinks, no alcohol, exept a little port now and then, not even a
bottle a year, no fat.

What is nice with the (old?) Gaggias, they have theaded mounting holes
at the bottom, no danger of flying around in heavy seas, but for a
light displacement cat they are very heavy, maybe I try on ebay for a
used one, strip the housing and use it as a "built-in unit".

Enjoy your Gaggia, they are really good, forget the automatics, they
are very noisy and require monthly an hour to clean . We tried the
most reputable (and expensive) Swiss Jura and switched back to our old
manual Gaggia.

Henry

On Jan 23, 3:57 am, Justin C wrote:

We use a Gaggia 'Coffee' at home:
I'm still trying to get it to produce creme though (not enough practice with it yet).

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

In article , izibiz wrote:
Hi Justin,

get good quality Arabica espresso roast beans (try gastro-supply as
good quality you usually will not find at super markets), might be
darker or lighter accoding to taste and, so you have a Gaggia grinder
too, set it quite fine (eg. Nr. 4 is good for our coffee). Water
should be soft and not chlorinated, in some countries it needs bottled
destilled water, the water maker on board is fine.


[snip]

Thanks for the comments Henry. I hope they're useful to others too.
Definitely some things to think about... going to have to get one of
those power usage devices and see what the Gaggia draws before I decide
whether I'd have it on a boat or not.

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

Hi Justin,

get good quality Arabica espresso roast beans (try gastro-supply as
good quality you usually will not find at super markets), might be
darker or lighter accoding to taste and, so you have a Gaggia grinder
too, set it quite fine (eg. Nr. 4 is good for our coffee). Water
should be soft and not chlorinated, in some countries it needs bottled
destilled water, the water maker on board is fine.

Because there were so many negative comments, I have 2 Baby Gaggia
sets (15bar is correct), home and office, both 31 years old, all
repairs needed was twice the gasket at the coffee carrier. A DIY as
the quaterly anti-stain-flush. Maybe over all those years with a
Melitta filter I would have spend more money on paper only. Not to
forget the danger of handling boiling water. My "150 buck-grinder" for
the boat is a Braun/Germany and 37 years old, so much for spending.
And why on board, we prepare for a 5 to 10 year cruise, some basic
luxury makes life worthwhile, the rest is quite spartan because of
weight restrictions.

Yes, I do like a good Cappuccino, but I have reflux too and any other
type of coffee has just to much acid and I then heartburn. I can not
even drink a Robusta/Arabica-mix. Decaf is the worst of all. No, soft
drinks, no alcohol, exept a little port now and then, not even a
bottle a year, no fat.

What is nice with the (old?) Gaggias, they have theaded mounting holes
at the bottom, no danger of flying around in heavy seas, but for a
light displacement cat they are very heavy, maybe I try on ebay for a
used one, strip the housing and use it as a "built-in unit".

Enjoy your Gaggia, they are really good, forget the automatics, they
are very noisy and require monthly an hour to clean . We tried the
most reputable (and expensive) Swiss Jura and switched back to our old
manual Gaggia.

Henry

On Jan 23, 3:57 am, Justin C wrote:

We use a Gaggia 'Coffee' at home:
I'm still trying to get it to produce creme though (not enough practice with it yet).

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.