Astoria Espresso Management/ vs. Marzocco Linea/GB/5 vs. Slayer - Barista Exchange2024-03-29T04:55:55Zhttps://www.baristaexchange.com/forum/topics/new-management-at-astoria?commentId=1688216%3AComment%3A1524595&feed=yes&xn_auth=noHi Tim,
As the Canadian deale…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2014-06-07:1688216:Comment:15245952014-06-07T04:37:28.721ZLatté 911https://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/Latte911
<p>Hi Tim,</p>
<p>As the Canadian dealer for Astoria machines, I am very interested in who your service provider is and why they think GEEC is in any way vulnerable. In fact, GEEC has acquired BWT water + more and has strengthened their foothold in the marketplace. The only major change in staffing in the last year has been the replacement of their service manager by a very capable member of their service team, and GEEC continues to carry nearly every machine in Astoria's current product…</p>
<p>Hi Tim,</p>
<p>As the Canadian dealer for Astoria machines, I am very interested in who your service provider is and why they think GEEC is in any way vulnerable. In fact, GEEC has acquired BWT water + more and has strengthened their foothold in the marketplace. The only major change in staffing in the last year has been the replacement of their service manager by a very capable member of their service team, and GEEC continues to carry nearly every machine in Astoria's current product catalogue in stock for immediate shipment at all times. I deal with GEEC several times a week and have continuously done so for over a year, and can personally attest to the company's health and capability in serving all Astoria customers in North America. Where in the US are you located? I can refer you to a company local to you with factory support and perhaps a less pessimistic outlook on a leading brand in the industry that I depend on for my personal livelihood. My suspicion is your local provider is trying to sell you a competitive machine for which he has negotiated a larger gross margin as opposed to actually looking out for your own best interests.</p> Scott,
actually the new Glor…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2014-03-21:1688216:Comment:15125192014-03-21T09:56:57.905ZSteffen Müllerhttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/SteffenMueller
<p>Scott,</p>
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<p>actually the new Glorias or Plus4You Machines from Astoria have separated boilers as well. The thing why a Marzocco is considerably more expensive is that these machines are hand crafted for the most part, while C.M.A is amongst the manufacturers with the highest automation (aka robots). Just take a Marzocco brew boiler - each of them is manually welded! Same is true for Slayer or Synesso.</p>
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<p>Another thing is the material that is being used. Marzocco uses…</p>
<p>Scott,</p>
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<p>actually the new Glorias or Plus4You Machines from Astoria have separated boilers as well. The thing why a Marzocco is considerably more expensive is that these machines are hand crafted for the most part, while C.M.A is amongst the manufacturers with the highest automation (aka robots). Just take a Marzocco brew boiler - each of them is manually welded! Same is true for Slayer or Synesso.</p>
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<p>Another thing is the material that is being used. Marzocco uses lots of stainless steel. Expensive but extremely durable. </p>
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<p>Performace wise there's indeed not that much difference between say an Astoria Plus4You and a Marzocco GB/5. It's like cars - a Honda serves well as a vehicle but a Mercedes is still something different.<br/> <br/> <cite>Scott said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://www.baristaexchange.com/forum/topics/new-management-at-astoria#1688216Comment1510723"><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Tim- The basic answer to your question about La Marzocco/Slayer(you could include Synesso in this group as well) vs Astoria is that both La Marzocco and Slayer use dual boilers; one for steam and one or more for heating the brew water. </p>
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</blockquote> Tim- The basic answer to your…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2014-03-10:1688216:Comment:15107232014-03-10T19:45:51.541ZScotthttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/Scott890
<p>Tim- The basic answer to your question about La Marzocco/Slayer(you could include Synesso in this group as well) vs Astoria is that both La Marzocco and Slayer use dual boilers; one for steam and one or more for heating the brew water. It is a much more precise way to control brew temperature and there is a greater volume of brew water for increased capacity. Heat exchanger machines, like the Astoria, have a small volume of water available for brewing at temp, at a given time. Beyond that…</p>
<p>Tim- The basic answer to your question about La Marzocco/Slayer(you could include Synesso in this group as well) vs Astoria is that both La Marzocco and Slayer use dual boilers; one for steam and one or more for heating the brew water. It is a much more precise way to control brew temperature and there is a greater volume of brew water for increased capacity. Heat exchanger machines, like the Astoria, have a small volume of water available for brewing at temp, at a given time. Beyond that there are obvious issues of quality; La Marzocco uses stainless steel boilers, group heads and portafilters. Stainless steel components last longer and contribute to greater brew water stability. </p>
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<p>I don't think you can compare a 4 group dual boiler machine to a 4 group HX machine for production output. The dual boiler machine is going to be faster. An 4 group HX machine would probably be closer in output to a 3 group or possibly even a 2 group dual boiler. </p>
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<p>I believe all the of the paddle configuration machines from the various manufacturers have a volumetric option that works with the paddle. </p>
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<p></p> Erik! Slayer's Espresso machi…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2014-03-10:1688216:Comment:15103632014-03-10T01:56:42.688ZTim Larsonhttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/TimLarson
<p>Erik! Slayer's Espresso machines are impressive. If we had just 1 or 2 coffeebars and I was still working behind the bar on a consistent basis, I would definitely consider a Slayer or La Marzocco's Stradda. But paddle machines require a barista that is dialed in. The new machine is being installed at our busiest location where there's 175 tickets hourly in the morning. With a paddle machine, my concern is that while the espresso is brewing, the brewed coffee could need grinding, dispensers…</p>
<p>Erik! Slayer's Espresso machines are impressive. If we had just 1 or 2 coffeebars and I was still working behind the bar on a consistent basis, I would definitely consider a Slayer or La Marzocco's Stradda. But paddle machines require a barista that is dialed in. The new machine is being installed at our busiest location where there's 175 tickets hourly in the morning. With a paddle machine, my concern is that while the espresso is brewing, the brewed coffee could need grinding, dispensers could need to be replaced, condiment bar needs cleaning, etc. If a barista is distracted on a paddle machine, that(those) shot(s) would need to be repulled. <br/>With me personally being behind the coffee less and unless someone can convince me otherwise, we're going to replace our current Astoria Divina Automatic with another Automatic. <br/>I can get a 4 group Astoria Gloria, Chrome Finish, Automatic for $9,200. If I go with La Marzocco Linea, the GB/5, or even the Slayer, I'd be paying twice that. Why are these machines twice as expensive and are they really that much better than the Astoria Gloria?</p>
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<p>And Erik, I need to send you some pics of our new bar!</p>
<p></p> Slayer has outstanding custom…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2014-03-09:1688216:Comment:15104612014-03-09T19:19:09.209ZErik Barkleyhttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/ErikBarkley
<p>Slayer has outstanding customer service & even better espresso machines.</p>
<p>Slayer has outstanding customer service & even better espresso machines.</p> Most manufacturers don't supp…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2014-03-04:1688216:Comment:15096472014-03-04T05:32:43.537ZScotthttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/Scott890
<p>Most manufacturers don't supply direct customer support, other then by phone. Most service is performed by outside contractors. What was Astoria doing for you? I really know nothing of the ownership of Astoria, but is your supplier speaking of CMA the manufacturer in Italy or GEEC - the American company that imports and distributes Astoria? I don't know if one is owned by the other or what the relationship is. I would say, if you like the product and you have a service provider you…</p>
<p>Most manufacturers don't supply direct customer support, other then by phone. Most service is performed by outside contractors. What was Astoria doing for you? I really know nothing of the ownership of Astoria, but is your supplier speaking of CMA the manufacturer in Italy or GEEC - the American company that imports and distributes Astoria? I don't know if one is owned by the other or what the relationship is. I would say, if you like the product and you have a service provider you like, then stick with them. </p>