# Not what I expected to have, but.....



## sodalis (Nov 22, 2014)

Well, I started out looking to replace a £20 John Lewis filter coffee machine when the carafe broke, found this site and ended up with this lot! Good fun though and pretty good coffee even if I don't know what I'm doing


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Cracking combo.

Where did the L'anna come from?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Sweet set up .. nice k30 too that looks like the vario as opposed to the stepped es version too?


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

No that is the stepped version, no knob on the top


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Really good combo though


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## sodalis (Nov 22, 2014)

It was the one you spotted on ebay before Christmas


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Nice one


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

coffeechap said:


> No that is the stepped version, no knob on the top


Good spot chap...Still a sweet compact grinder


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## sodalis (Nov 22, 2014)

Yes, it's the ES version.

Thanks, knowing me, I decided it would be better to get something that did most of the work and made it easy to repeat things. Otherwise, I might too easily give up!


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## jonneymendoza (Jan 20, 2015)

My setup


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

sodalis said:


> Well, I started out looking to replace a £20 John Lewis filter coffee machine when the carafe broke, found this site and ended up with this lot! Good fun though and pretty good coffee even if I don't know what I'm doing


Brilliant! Bit more than twenty quid's worth there! Bet you're enjoying your coffee a lot more now though!


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

I tried to post last week that Id not seen mention of the K30 grinder for a while - good to see one in your setup - looks good !


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Same grinder as my local coffee shop/roaster. :-D


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## sodalis (Nov 22, 2014)

Yes, really pleased with the grinder. It was one of the first ones I read about and saw in videos and really liked the ease of use and look of it. I never really liked the look of the doser on the front of some of the others. It seems to have real style and, though not small, is not massive either. It is, as far as I can tell, really good at its' job as well. I also like the L'Anna. Again, not small, but kind of efficiently elegant in its' own way and I liked the idea of a rotary pump. We drink a mix of Americanos and Lattes, so a good steamer was important, particularly when all the family descend on us. I wasn't sure I'd have the patience for something like a Classic.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Sounds like you chose wisely and spent what you needed to get what you want. I went the conventional route of starting off at the affordable end and working up but with hindsight that caused frustration and some small losses when selling. But if you'd have told me a year ago that I needed £2.5k worth of kit (RRP, but I bought used), I'd have laughed. I thought £300 was extravagant for making coffee when I started but I got lucky when I bought my kit from one of the very experienced guys on here. The irony is that when you start, getting consistent results seems so hard and you're usually not up for spending huge sums on something you have only just got into. Yet the good kit actually makes it so much easier. The very people that would benefit the most usually have to make do without. You've probably saved yourself money and hassle getting stuff of that level sooner rather than later.


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## sodalis (Nov 22, 2014)

That was exactly my thought process as well, hotmetal. Once I'd been hooked on going the espresso route, I read a great deal about machines like the Classic and Silvia, as well as how important the grinder was. I decided that I probably would get frustrated starting "sensibly" and that it would be better for me, personally, to bite the bullet - obviously, within reason and via the used route. I then set about looking and was, for me at least, relatively patient until I found what I wanted - the K30 was always in my mind, the L'Anna was more that it fitted the bill. I also agree totally that good kit does really make it easier. I am really enjoying both the coffee, which has been very good from day one, and the experimenting to see what changing things brings, with the knowledge that I can easily repeat it.


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## grumpydaddy (Oct 20, 2014)

I think I am in a way following in your footsteps to some degree although I am not quite there with the grinder yet.

I must endorse all the comments so far about starting out at a higher level of equipment making life easier and more repeatable.

The part that I struggle with is having no points of reference, but I have been addressing that and am enjoying the journey.

Your setup is very capable and also aesthetically pleasing..... On the assumption that you have a significant other, you scored great points there


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