Starbucks brewing equipment sale

[leoben]

i think i got mine for $699 during brewing sale.. it was $549 for some of you?? meh still decent enough price i'd say. if i didn't have to be at work by 7:30AM i would have gotten a rancilio but this machine serves me v. well.

[steeldoor]

After some research, I just pulled the trigger today on a new Delonghi Magnifica 4400 from Starbucks. It was a no-brainer at $549.00
Reg price was at $1399.00 (full MSRP I'm sure), and at Costco they have it "on sale" after a $250.00 coupon discount for $1000.00!!!

The SB sale is on until Sept 28th/09.

Run, don't walk.

[SyncMaster04]

After some research, I just pulled the trigger today on a new Delonghi Magnifica 4400 from Starbucks.

Which model is it? Is it with analog knob settings type or the digital push button type machine?

[steeldoor]

It is the ESAM 4400. It has the frother arm requiring you to steam/froth your milk manually, which I think is much better. I opted for this over the fully automatic one ("Rialto" I think) which steams/froths the milk for you, but takes away your ability to manually finish your latte/cappuccino with some "latte art" on top using a stainless, spouted milk container. The Rialto costs about $300.00 more too! I saw a machine demo'd that does the milk for you, and the appearance of the drink (white foam with two little brown spots on top where the espresso was dumped in) wasn't very inspiring.

Go to YouTube and search "Latte Art", and you'll see what I mean.

I'm just learning myself, but feel free to ask any further questions, as I am no longer able to sleep from all the caffeine, I got lots of time!



Oh, and it is the digital machine.

[SyncMaster04]

^ Thank you. From the Delonghi site it seemed like that ESAM 4400 has milk frothing pitcher built-in, no?

http://www.delonghi-espresso.com/ESAM4400.htm

Does it have double boiler? I also prefer the manual frothing type. So that I can have control over the milk pouring and do some art . BTW, do you roast your own bean?

[steeldoor]

Note that web site says this:

"The information on this site refers to products that are sold in the U.S. only"


Double boiler? I dunno.

I don't do my own beans. I was in Italy in June and got some Ily beans.

[steve-0101]

^ Thank you. From the Delonghi site it seemed like that ESAM 4400 has milk frothing pitcher built-in, no?

http://www.delonghi-espresso.com/ESAM4400.htm

Does it have double boiler? I also prefer the manual frothing type. So that I can have control over the milk pouring and do some art . BTW, do you roast your own bean?

Note that web site says this:

"The information on this site refers to products that are sold in the U.S. only"


Double boiler? I dunno.

I don't do my own beans. I was in Italy in June and got some Ily beans.

It's exactly the same as the Costco one, which is also listed as an ESAM4400:

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product....lang=en-CA&s=1

Not sure why the US Delonghi site shows a different one.

And yes, it has a double boiler.

[steeldoor]

Yup, that's the unit I have. Thanks.

Reg price at Costco: $1249.99. Costco has a coupon valid from Oct 5th to the 18th/09 for $250.00 off, making it $1000.00, (available only online at Costco.ca, not in the brick & mortar stores) so you can see why $549.00 at Starbucks was kind of appealing.

Had two lattes this morning. Ahhhhh.

[Engi-Nir]

Yup, that's the unit I have. Thanks.

Reg price at Costco: $1249.99. Costco has a coupon valid from Oct 5th to the 18th/09 for $250.00 off, making it $1000.00, (available only online at Costco.ca, not in the brick & mortar stores) so you can see why $549.00 at Starbucks was kind of appealing.

Had two lattes this morning. Ahhhhh.

How is the coffee aspect of it? does it taste like star bucks, I always add milk so wondering if the hotness will be exactly like starbucks??

[steeldoor]

I'm probably the wrong guy to ask, as I'm a newbie to the art of real coffee. I used skim milk which is all I had, and from what I've gathered from a couple of YouTube vids, one would get a better foam from a heavier milk like 2% or whole. I plan on getting much better at making espressos, lattes and cappuccinos, but this morning's rookie effort was quite enjoyable. I found that the single shot was too weak for the latte, and a double shot was perfect.

[shaneschofield]

Slightly off-topic, but I just discovered cold-brewed iced coffee and it has totally rocked my world. Best part is that the equipment costs a total of $0.

[steeldoor]

Slightly off-topic, but I just discovered cold-brewed iced coffee and it has totally rocked my world. Best part is that the equipment costs a total of $0.

I don't think I'd be tying into too many of those all winter.

[derslade]

If you put $649 coffee maker in the title, i wouldn't even bother looking at this thread. Most of us saw "brewing sale" and thought there was a deal.

In a recession, it's difficult to find a normal person paying over $700 for a coffee maker.

Amen to that!

[SyncMaster04]

How is the coffee aspect of it? does it taste like star bucks, I always add milk so wondering if the hotness will be exactly like starbucks??

It really depends on your bean quality. If you're doing your own roasted beans or really freshly roasted good quality bean, then it will make better than Starbucks coffee. Most of the baristas at Starbucks hardly have any skills to make good quality espresso based drinks. You can always use the milk frother to warm up your milk to your desired temp.

[txenglan]

Amen to that!

"Amen" as in, "that is so true" or as in, "wow, what an uninformed, stupid comment made by someone who obviously doesn't know what "espresso" is nor what "recession" means for that matter." Just curious. Time for me to go! Gotta power down this workstation as it really sucks up the power. Can't afford to be paying exorbitant electricity bills in a recession! Phew!