This article will take you through a complete review of the unboxing process and initial impressions of a professional-grade espresso setup. The stars are the Expobar E61 Office Leva dual-boiler rotary pump espresso machine, paired with a MAZZER MINI manual grinder, weighing nearly a hundred jin in total, and only with the courier's help were they brought indoors. After saying goodbye to the Krups 1817 and Huijia ZD-15 combo that accompanied him for over a year, the author Lao Dong adjusted the grind settings, tested extraction, and tried steaming milk on the new equipment, sharing the performance with First Kiss espresso beans. The article retains Front Street brand recommendations and related product information, making it a good reference for coffee enthusiasts.
The espresso machine and grinder combo I got this time are: Expobar E61 dual-boiler espresso machine and MAZZER MINI grinder.
To describe them with more professional models:
Espresso machine: Expobar E61 Office Leva 1GR 2Boilers Rotation
Grinder: MAZZER MINI MANUAL
Both machines are quite heavy, totaling about 100 jin. Luckily, the courier guy was strong enough to help me carry them upstairs.
First, let's unbox the grinder
The manual specifically notes that this grinder is designed for commercial use rather than home use, which shows its professionalism.
Next is unboxing the espresso machine
Here, Lao Dong has to pause for a moment to bid farewell to the Krups 1817 and Huijia ZD-15 combo that accompanied him for over a year. I carefully cleaned and wiped these two machines, then packed them away and sealed them up.
Alright, the divine machine and divine grinder officially make their debut.
The two portafilters are quite exquisitely crafted.
The E61 group head looks really cool.
The internal tubing is neatly arranged, with dual boilers, rotary pump, PID temperature control, and other configurations all present.
Because my attention was mostly drawn to the Expobar E61, I didn't take many decent photos of the grinder. Regarding the grind settings, Lao Dong tried everything from coarse to fine, and ultimately found that the factory preset setting produced the best results. Of course, further fine-tuning will be needed based on the bean condition and freshness.
This time, I'll start with the First Kiss gifted by HB, an espresso bean that's highly anticipated.
The flow rate is slightly on the fast side. Lao Dong has always felt that the output speed has little to do with tamping pressure, but the grinder seems like it could be adjusted a bit finer.
The final product's color is fairly decent, I think to myself. After a few sips, the sweet and sour taste fills the mouth, indeed with that slightly green note, and a strong alcoholic flavor in the finish, giving a tipsy feeling.
Then I made a cup of Cappuccino. The steam wand is still not quite handy to use, and my technique is rusty, so the milk foam turned out rather average—please excuse the amateur result.
That's all for now about the espresso machine and grinder. I'll share more insights after using them for a while.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
