Do you love your Brewtus?
MrSkimo
Brewtus. It seems to meet a lot of my needs (and wants). However, a
number of people have pointed to this group (and the content therein)
as evidence that the Brewtus has serious deficiencies and should be
avoided.
While I have noticed a lot of technical issues with the machines and
customer service complaints with the US distributor, I have taken it as
evidence of a passionate, committed group of owners who really love
their machines. Many of you are gearheads who have tinkered with
espresso machines for a long time and enjoy tweaking equipment. The
Brewtus still seems to be a solid well built machine.
Am I viewing the Brewtus through rose colored glasses? Overall, are
you still happy that you chose a Brewtus and would you do it again.
Do you love your Brewtus?
Greg
Mike Hill
minor tech issue that I resolved (and I am not a mechanic) and I am glad I
saved the extra cash by buying the refurb to buy the Mazz Mini. I am a
double-double guy (1 in AM and 1 after lunch) and I think it makes the best
I have espresso I have EVER had. The only thing I would trade it for would
be the La Marz GS2 and it is going to cost $4,500.....I will be keeping this
thing until the wheels fall off. Good luck, Mike
Mike Hill
Tyler, TX
Kitt Johnson
I think we are a little cautious on this forum about questions such as yours
... from time to time we have trolls appear and try to disrupt the forum.
The purpose of the forum is to provide a quasi-technical support group for
owners who want to find others with actual experience with the machine. The
forum has always been characterized by brutal honesty and a lack of hype.
As you say, the group is "passionate and committed" to making good espresso,
... but it is NOT a booster club.
I can't say whether you have unrealistic expectations of the machine. For
me, its strengths are ease of use, transparency and consistency. As Ken
Krone once summed it up, "ho, hum ... another perfect cup of espresso." If
you want to try another temperature for the coffee, you tap a control on the
stock machine. Try a different brew pressure? ... turn a screw and read the
dial. If you want to tinker with the machine, there are other people who
have done so and are willing to share their experience, but they will also
tell you that it isn't essential to do so ... it just meets some want of
theirs. (I am still in awe of the fellow who had his machine copper-plated
to match the rest of the appliances in his kitchen. <G>)
But would I do it again. Yep! Some of the owners say they "stretched" to
make the investment in the machine. For others, the money was actually
pretty irrelevant. But in both cases, we all felt it was the best machine
around for our purposes. And that hasn't changed.
Will it always be true? Is this the last machine? probably not ... but for
now, it's the right machine for me. KittJ
Brewtus 1 with 2 PID controllers, brew pressure gauge, current vibe pump,
accessible pressure control, GoldPro 2 hole tip, ... and the next new thing.
HERMAN
and wll sent a new one immediately. it's consistent
and does a great job. i've had mine a little over a
year and no regrets.
h
Barry Luterman
Dogshot
with my feelings, since I think that the Brewtus is under-appreciated
over at CG.
My BII is a great machine - I look forward to that first shot every
morning, and I really enjoying using the Brewtus. I think the beauty
of the Brewtus lies in its transparency in the process. Different
coffees roasted differently, at different doses, volumes, and
temperatures - the Brewtus helps you to discover those differences and
repeat what's unique about each combination.
It's also a very forgiving machine, so there are very few sink shots. I
suspect that many of the criticisms of the Brewtus come not from actual
owners but from competitive vendors who cannot carry the Brewtus and
have no direct comparison machine to offer. Some of these vendors have
no problem slagging other vendors/manufacturers, and so you hear
customers coming from those vendors claiming that they were looking at
a Brewtus and an X, and bought X because they heard that the Brewtus is
poorly constructed (all these machines at similar price points are
pretty close in build quality IMO), and that the large boiler allows
water to stale (this criticism is made because the only other DB
comparison is the S1, which has a 475ml brew boiler).
While I look forward to putting on the rotary pump when it comes
available, I have no interest at all in an upgrade any time soon, and
after a year, I believe that the Brewtus will easily be able to keep up
with my improving technique and palate for a long time to come.
Mark
runtmms
more than two year old, I love it. No buyer's remorse. The only other
machine I even perceive as tempting is the new La Marzocco coming out,
and realistically it isn't that tempting due to the price point.
-Merlynn
Deister, Eric
machine niggles, etc.). So I'll leave you with the simple answer to
your question, "Are you still happy that you chose a Brewtus and would
do it again?"
Yes.
Eric Deister
Unmodified Brewtus I
-----Original Message-----
From: bre...@googlegroups.com [mailto:bre...@googlegroups.com] On
Behalf Of MrSkimo
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2006 3:18 AM
To: Brewtus
orianm42
to take it with a grain of salt. The vast majority of criticism comes
from non-owners. Prior to the Brewtus, was clearly the golden age of
the HX machine. Ritualistic cooling flushes and a fare number of sink
shots were considered the norm. Many enthusiasts spoke passionately for
the need of one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, countdowns. Others tried
to improve temperature stability by cranking down the tolerances on
their pressure stats to ridiculously narrow band passes that offered
little in the cup improvement and a lot of premature component
failures.
Along came the Brewtus and in a blink of the eye, it displaced many
long-standing espresso stars to second tier status. Dual boiler
machines were no longer the domain of the lucky few. This change
bruised many egos and I firmly believe is behind much of the
machine's criticism. I do not know of another machine that provides
the consistency, superior output, or the programming flexibility of the
Brewtus. While many promised to deliver Brewtus knock offs, none
delivered.
In the area of quality, I believe the quality of the Brewtus to be on
par with other machines. My machine is a few days shy of a year old
and has been in constant use. I have only had one minor intermittent
problem (steam boiler pressure - stat). The distributor supplied a
free repair part that installed in minutes. My machine was never out
of service. Their support has been reported to be spotty over the past
year but they seem to have their act together at the present.
If I were given the opportunity to get my money back and buy another
machine, I'd pass on the offer. It's a great machine and I'm
personally happy with my decision. A year later and I believe the
field remains largely unchanged. About the only thing competing
machines have to offer is a rotary pump. I remain unconvinced that a
rotary pump trumps a dual boiler. The user's group may appear to be
harsh, but it only because it's committed to the platform and the
craft of superior espresso. If you're interested in discussing the
topic in greater detail, email me your contact info and we can discuss
the pros and cons.
Rob Combs
Barry Corliss
> Prior to the Brewtus, was clearly the golden age of
> the HX machine. Ritualistic cooling flushes and a fare number of sink
> shots were considered the norm. Many enthusiasts spoke passionately for
> the need of one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, countdowns. Others tried
> to improve temperature stability by cranking down the tolerances on
> their pressure stats to ridiculously narrow band passes that offered
> little in the cup improvement and a lot of premature component
> failures.
>
> Along came the Brewtus and in a blink of the eye, it displaced many
> long-standing espresso stars to second tier status. Dual boiler
> machines were no longer the domain of the lucky few. This change
> bruised many egos and I firmly believe is behind much of the
> machine's criticism. I do not know of another machine that provides
> the consistency, superior output, or the programming flexibility of the
> Brewtus.
So very well put! I have an original Brewtus, use it regularly, wouldn't
exchange it for anything. Well... maybe a Synesso if it was a gift ;-)
Barry
______________________________________
Barry Corliss
MASTER WORKS CD Mastering
Seattle, WA (206) 282-2274
http://www.master-works.com
______________________________________
beangrinder
a year now. It consistently produces great shots after you get the
hang of it. I make quick minor adjustments for different beans and
roasts, but pulling perfect shots becomes second-nature to even a
novice. I have used it almost everyday since it's arrival. I have had
one problem with an interior hot water hose (running between boilers)
disconnecting under pressure. I am not mechanically inclined, but I
took it apart and reconnected it 3 times (the last time was 5 months
ago) and it has not been a problem since. I think the compression nut
was not tightened down enough, but it was easy to fix and I got a
chance to see how the insides were put together. If given a chance to
replace this with an alternate machine, I would decline and keep the
Brewtus.
Tampy
anything other than a 5k machine.
kdkrone
year and a half and it has been, as I have written before, "Ho-Hum,
another excellent espresso..." almost every day except for the 2 hours
that I had to take the machine offline to repair a valve. I must
confess, however, that I did have BII envy for a few days because of
the additional pressure gauge and access for adjusting the pressure,
but that only lasted a couple of weeks.... ;-)
I would add parenthetically that our experience is not due only to the
machine, as I am sure is the case with everyone else; a good portion of
the pleasure has been finding a roaster whose espresso we love, Jason
Anderson at Coffee Emergency. (The roasts from Paradise Roaster and
from Caffe Fresco are just about up there in our palatal pantheon, as
well.) The value of the machine would be nothing without a decent
roast blend and vice versa, so it is a partnership.
187
My last sink shot was on day one about a month ago. 4 to 5 shots a day
ever since. What's not to love.
Sean Lennon
I like my "Monkey in a cowboy suit" just fine.
My position would be...It has good bones.
Sean
Rainman
guy who copper-plated his machine in early 2005 (although not to match
kitchen appliances, but to not clash with my Pavoni and the brick wall
behind it- it worked out well). Like everyone else is saying, this
machine is just bomber. Even after taking it completely apart to have
the cabinet, group and hardware electroplated, it has been absolutely
infallable. The only issue I've had was the pump losing prime after it
had been shut off. This happened more frequently over the last few
months, so I called WLL to order a deaeration valve to put inline
between the OPV and the pump, and it appears to have solved the
problem- although the fix beforehand was fairly simple (just flip the
pump lever on for a few seconds until water came through the group,
then shut it off). Gotta say it was fairly straight forward taking it
apart, and putting it back together again (and I'm not all that
talented with screwdrivers and wrenches- just took lots of photos of
the whole process, just in case..). The biggest problem now is
deciding on a better grinder to replace my aging Rocky-- I'm probably
too impatient to wait for LM to come out with their new home model, so
the Mazzer Kony is likely going to be it from what I'm reading... I'm
backwards, I know!
Ray
Eric in Florida
I love it. No buyer's regrets. We use it every day at my home. All
the guests at my house say it's the best cappucino they've ever had. I
have confidence that yet another great cup will come out of that
machine the next time I ask for it. As far as espresso is concerned,
it's like having the goose that lays the golden egg. Like another
person, I had a bad pressure guage, but WWL sent me a replacement at no
cost and I was able to install it in short order, even though I don't
consider myself adept at such things. I think if you take the plunge
and get one, you will wonder what any bad press was all about.
-Eric Ruff
espresso explorer
portafilter/topic, I'll chime in nonetheless. I had revived my old
1991 Krups espresso machine with a pump and "thermoblock" vs. boiler,
and had used it for 2+ years. I gradually upgraded coffee beans,
grinder to a MM, technique, and even tamper, and could somehow -- no
jokes, please -- make espresso and cappucino better than Starbucks.
Finally, I switched to the Brewtus after considerable research. My
machine is a BII, bought about a year ago when the new model was
announced. I can't compare it directly or relatively against a quality
single boiler machine, but I am very happy with my Brewtus. I was a
bit worried about using a "real" machine properly, but was able to do
so well enough within one week through trial-and-error, and even the
(general non-Brewtus) Vivace video. I did not have the benefit of a
nearby coffee community and/or more knowledgeable friends. Compared
with 95% of the places serving coffee beverages domestically or
internationally, it makes a superior -- and excellent -- espresso,
ristretto, cappucino, or macchiato. It has spoiled me and my wife, as
a recent example in NYC where espresso at Per Se (!) and cappucino at
both an old Italian pastry shop and Morrell's wine bar were noticeably
inferior to what we get at home. I wouldn't switch out of satisfaction
and some admitted hands-on ignorance of competitors, but bottom line:
no regrets. In fact, complete post-purchase satisfaction. Although
we've adapted to the sound, a rotary pump would be nice for the added
quietness, unless it required plumbing or more counter space.
Eric in Florida
topcat5
over a year now and I was just thinking the other day what a great
machine it is. I would not trade it back in for a refund.
Aleksi Kallio
> http://www.espressovivace.com/homemachine.html
Though there is no PID controllor in Brewtus, as they claim.
MrSkimo
your genuine responses. I dare anyone to find a thread that elicited
so many clearly positive, yet honest, comments about the Brewtus. I
had been on the fence about the Brewtus (at first I wasn't prepared to
spend the money - later I was considering the La Spaz) for several
years. I was very pleased to see the responses roll in on this thread
with people talking about how happy they were with their (significant)
purchase. After the third or fourth response I forwarded the link to
my wife and told her I was ready to commit to the Brewtus. I am happy
to report that I have now "joined the club" and am on day three of
perfect espresso with my Brewtus II. Thanks Santa Wife!
I look forward to contributing to this group myself.
Cheers - Skimo