We’re thoroughly spoilt here at Talk Coffee…Great coffee every day and a choice of terrific gear to sample it with.
Today, the day started with a top of class Brazil natural under milk (or breakfast as we call it) per favour of our always ready shed Slayer. Then there was a heap of roasting. Must be coffee time!
Whilst at the roaster, an evaluation Isomac Tea Due arrived and it was placed aside for a later look as a potential demo bench candidate. Roasting done, it was time to undress it and peer inside. Is this the little machine that can, or just another $2k generic e-61 offer?
What was it like?
- nice stainless steel chassis
- stainless steel boiler as well: nicely braced too…
- big tank
- cool touch wands. Bonus.
- pretty well finished for the price point
- hmm…quiet pump. Nice!
- big drip tray
- funny polished spot weldy things on the front of the drip tray? What’s with that? Not the prettiest machine I have ever seen, but there are worse out there…
- wiring loom- a bit messy, but all heat resistant silicone wiring. Ok then..
- pressure at the group? 13.5Bar! What the?
- boiler pressure? 1.5Bar! Up there and then some…. Steam’s good though…
- Scace test at idle after a good warm-up and rest? A solid 98 deg. C. She’s a hot one…
At this point, it wasn’t looking too good, so it was out with the tools…
On a positive note, the OPV was easily set to 9Bar and pressurestat back to about 1.1Bar delivered a steady 94.5 deg. C at the group, so at that point, a potential starter and it went to the demo bench.
About an hour later, must be finally time for a shot so let’s give this little one a try…Back to the Brazil Natural…
The Best Shot I had Today!
Out of the box, it was a roughy, but it just goes to show what a little T.L.C can do for a machine. On that basis, the Isomac Tea Due (with in-house adjustments), makes range and is now on demo. We have more coming. It’s really good value for those on a budget and just goes to show that great coffee and a good grinder when coupled with sound technique can even slay a Slayer (or at least sometimes!). After all, it’s not what you necessarily have, it’s how you use it- said David to Goliath.