Your Home/ Office Coffee Machine...
R E A D C A R E F U L L Y!
SOME EXTREMELY GOOD INFO HERE!
(SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE MACHINES WE SERVICE)
***SPECIAL HOME GRINDER ALERT BELOW***
CAPSULE / POD MACHINES - WE DO NOT SERVICE (Keurig, Nespresso, Tassimo, CBTL, X8, Verismo, illy etc.) Why? They are ALL sealed and non-repairable. We're talking to people on their 4th Keurig, what's the conclusion here? Be assured that Dice has a nursery rhyme just for capsule and pod machines, plus the pods and capsules ain't cheap either. However people in a hurry LOVE these machines so who are we to judge? ONLY OPTION: Contact the mfg/ distributor, they may offer a new capsule machine with partial credit for old one shipped in, call them .
Superautomatics - Just Descaling, Please! These machines mfg by Saeco, Gaggia, Bosch, Solis, Jura and others come in dozens of models and versions. There are no parts or service for SOLIS. A big problem with ALL these Rube-Goldberg machines as they age is leaks caused by too much plastic, worn plastic gears, too many brittle silicone hoses and too much electronics liable to malfunction. They are annoying to clean, noisy, cannot use oily beans, nor can you grind coffee fine enough, produce coffee hot enough, froth milk correctly, etc. please dispel any fantasy that these machines will make quality shots/ coffee or crema. We do scale removal and minor adjustments only and any others feasible. (Opening/ disassembling these machines is like opening a Hellraiser Cube so uhhhh... you might NOT want to mess with it.)
Home Lever Machines - YES! Lever machines come in an assortment of models and versions. The EUROPICCOLA, PROFESSIONAL, STRADIVARI made by PAVONI are the most popular; others include MICROCASA, ZACCONI, RIVIERA and ACHILLE GAGGIA (discontinued). Service on these always requires complete disassembly / re-lubing / replacement of many gaskets especially piston gaskets and these ALWAYS have to be ordered. We DO service the OLYMPIA CREMINA - we've done two so far.
**Breville, Briel, Koala, Espressione, DeLonghi, SOLIS, newer Gaggia: NOPE! These machines are either sealed, irritating to work on, parts not available, or NOT intended to be serviced. ESPECIALLY BREVILLE with a pop-riveted pump. We do scale removal, cleaning and simple adjustments where feasible. We do not service newer 2006+ Gaggias such as the Baby and Dose which are cheaply produced, uber-plastic throw-away machines. FOR BREVILLE USA Call:1-866-273-8455
**FRANKE / SCHAERER / ETC: Call Serrano Espresso in San Gabriel and get ready to pony up serious $$$$$$$. Be aware these machines require frequent maintenance and cleaning.
HOME GRINDER ALERT:
We are being contacted by many home espresso lovers with regards to problems with the "better quality" consumer grinders. It's always the same problem. "My grinder doesn't grind like it used to. We can't adjust it. It doesn't grind consistently. The coffee tastes like water." BE AWARE AND BE WARNED that a LOT of home / consumer grinders, some of which are rather pricey ($250-$350 range) and made by well-known manufacturers, just cannot handle bean grinding for very long. The only type of grinder that lasts is THE DIRECT DRIVE type where the lower grinder disc sits directly on the drive shaft of the motor. The large, professional machines fall in this category, and so does the Rocky Grinder which is an excellent grinder for the home user although it must be lubed periodically. Most of the others with plastic motor housings, nylon gears and belts (BELTS????) DO NOT LAST. Some fail right out of the box. ....it's kind of an epidemic.
Another great home grinder is the Mazzer Mini, a small copy of their bigger commercial smoking grinders, but this is still a pretty hefty big grinder. It's not cheap, but you will have this stepless quality grinder for the rest of your life and you will NEVER have a problem again. OR: You come over to our little outpost - repair shop on the edge of BURBANK and we will sell you ULTRA FRESH, JAMESON BROWN BEANS WHICH WE WILL BE HAPPY TO GRIND FOR YOU.
For the home user, and even for light cafe use, WE RECOMMEND THE RANCILIO ROCKY GRINDER. It's got a big motor, it's direct drive, well made, fits easily on any counter, and is easy to maintain. We also recommend you take out the useless limit screw under the plastic hopper. It will crack the hopper eventually anyway, plus removal allows you to easily unscrew the entire hopper/upper carrier assembly which allows you to clean & to lube the carrier assembly threads with a light oil - and you need to do this periodically. One annoying mis-feature is that it is rather difficult to obtain the correct grind on this machine because you cannot simultaneously grind WHILE varying coarseness unless you have 3 hands to keep the motor on, turn the hopper, and depress the stepping pin.
GREAT SEATTLE COFFEE GEAR LINK - EQUIPMENT WARRANTY DIRECTORY: https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/service/manufacturer-warranty-directory
SAECO: www.alattehotte.com Gardena, CA 1-800-961-9416
GAGGIA: www.espressoresourcenw.com Vancouver, WA - TRY LINKS BELOW AS WELL.
JURA-IMPRESA: TRY "HOTNCOLD INC" IN SAN JOSE DOES DO O-O-W REPAIRS ON JURA AND OTHERS (https://www.hotncold.com/juracommercial/jurarepairs.html) CALL: (408) 272 4927.
DELONGHI: CALIFORNIA ELECTRIC SERVICE, in Covina and Lake Forest.
BOSCH BENVENUTO: Almost an orphan machine, with no acceptable support. You will need to call BOSCH @1-800-944-2904. They may have some 3rd party repair center you can ship it to.
PID PROBLEMS: CALL HITECH ESPRESSO IN LOS ANGELES.
OTHER LINKS IN SOCAL INCLUDE:
California Electric Service - DELONGHI, KRUPS, BREVILLE, SAECO, GAGGIA
612 Shoppers Lane
Covina, CA 91723
Ph: 626-915-4935
California Electric Service
22500 Muirlands Blvd
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Ph: 949-586-9479
****MACHINES WE SERVICE BELOW****
COMMERCIAL 1-4 GROUP AUTOMATIC ESPRESSO MACHINES & LEVER MACHINES
THE BIG GUNS of the commercial espresso machine world. Ya'll come up and see us some time!
(If you want a small reliable machine there are several choices: The Saeco Starbucks Barista type Machine and its many clones which can be endlessly refurbished and is seen frequently for CL from $75-200 is one; another is the Rancilio Silvia with 3W valve, which surprisingly, has no electronics/ CPU to make it even more sturdy; the Francis Francis machines which do have electronic temperature control, and the Ascaso Dream series. If you want more such as a machine with a larger boiler that does automatic water level control (requiring a CPU) you will then be in the realm of literally dozens of dozens of machines starting from $600 and up. )
WE SERVICE: RANCILIO SILVIA: We are Rancilio authorized and highly proficient in repair of these machines which are quite sturdy, well made and long lasting, with a real group taking a FULL-SIZE portafilter, yay! We do descaling, replace boilers (pricey), steam valves, pumps, gaskets etc. Although we have some doubts about the efficacy and accuracy of PID upgrades, we do recommend HITECH ESPRESSO here in Los Angeles for all PID installation as well as their troubleshooting. We recommend the OEM swiveling steam wand upgrade, it's so much more useful. Use bottled water only for this machine never tap.
WE SERVICE: FRANCIS-FRANCIS MACHINES: We repair LOTS of these machines, although some of the early X1 models have some iffy aluminum boilers not worth repairing. The X5 is an excellent and sturdy machine with a premium brass boiler, and a looker as well that is always worth repairing, although the clock in front is more than flimsy. Turn the steam valve off GENTLY on all F-F machines! Most common repair on these is the heating element. This machine uses an advanced electronic thermostat and these sometimes have issues. The Francis Francis X8 capsule machine (made by SAECO!) is not repairable.
WE SERVICE: SMALLER SINGLE GROUP, JUNIOR E-61 MACHINES such as Rocket, Giotto, Quickmill, Domobar, Viva, Expobar Office Lever-Pulser, Andreja (We do the Conversion), Fiorenzato, Rancilio S24-26-27 line, Astra Gourmet, Simonelli Oscar, Pasquini Livia, Astoria CKX, Elektra, Isomac Relax, Spaziale Vivaldi etc. We service the Marzocco GS3. These machines work well in smaller cafes. We have all parts required to service these machines. All of these are electronic machines with Gicar/Giemme CPU's and water level sensors.
WE SERVICE: STARBUCKS (Saeco) Barista, Venezia, Athena, Estro etc. compact home machines with quality stainless steel boilers and portafilter handles that you lock in. These are excellent, sturdy, well-made home machines with good steaming power that can be endlessly refurbished; usually the pumps go on these because they last so long. My favorite: the Estro Profi with built in grinder, doser tamper and variable pressure portafilter, great machine.
WE SERVICE: GAGGIA CLASSIC / GAGGIA COFFEE MACHINES. This fairly sturdy non-electronic machine with an actual 3 way valve has the less than desirable aluminum boiler/ heating element, but which seems to work fine although we again recommend bottled water. We do full service as well as gaskets and descaling. Machines later than 2006 such as the Gaggia Baby, Gaggia Dose are cheap uber-plastic/ prone to leaks and a HUGE ripoff at $299-399!
***WE SERVICE: ASCASO-DREAM-INNOVA, ALL HOME MACHINE VERSIONS. Cool looking with its rounded edges, this is one of the more expensive home machines to repair - especially if it's the boiler-integrated element gone bad (which can be very touchy under low-water level conditions) Call us for pricing. ** You must be extremely vigilant with this machine. Turn it off immediately after brewing to reduce the possibility of early burn-out. NOTE: Newer boilers are more robust than older ones with more brass casing surrounding the element. This is a good thing.
FOR CONSUMER MACHINES, CHECK OUT WHOLELATTELOVE.COM, CHRISCOFFEE.COM, AND 1st-line.com.
SAECO SERVICE CALL: ALATTEHOTTE IN GARDENA, CA @ 1-800-961-9416
