Solis Maestro Plus

[Alex]

Thanks to eGullet (and epinions) I decided to order a Solis Maestro Plus to replace my 12-year-old, faithful-but-fading-fast Bosch. I went with Aabree Coffee Company (aabreecoffee.com) because they had the same price as virtually everyone else -- $149 -- but offered free FedEx ground shipping and had a good reputation.

The Solis arrived very quickly and in good shape. However, when I unpacked it I found only one of the four rubber feet, and it was in the bottom of the box. I called Aabree immediately. They said that for some reason the manufacturer was shipping the product with the feet uninstalled, and apparently some are getting lost along the way.

They were very apologetic about the whole thing. They have a bunch of feet on order from the manufacturer and will send three of them to me as soon as they arrive, probably in about a week. The Solis now is sitting on four hemispherical Sorbothane feet designed for stereo equipment, which makes it look like a robot.

If you order a Maestro Plus in the near future, you might want to contact the seller directly and ask them to make sure all four feet are in the box.

Oh, yeah -- I really like its performance. It looks way cool, too, and appears to offer a significant improvement over the original Maestro.

[phaelon56]

I think you can trust that Aabree will take care of you. Aabree, 1st Line and Chris Coffee are the three vendotrs that seem to have the best word-of-mouth reputations for follow up service. One of the others who is well known and has good prices plus an excellent web site is Whole Latte Love but they get very mixed reviews for their customer service after the sale.

I think you'll like the Plus. I had the original Maestro before upgrading to Mazzer Mini and was very happy with mine. If I was just doing drip and press pot coffee I would have kept the Maestro but 90% of my activity is now espresso and a better grinder helps a bit in espresso consistency.

[Alex]

I think you can trust that Aabree will take care of you. Aabree, 1st Line and Chris Coffee are the three vendotrs that seem to have the best word-of-mouth reputations for follow up service. One of the others who is well known and has good prices plus an excellent web site is Whole Latte Love but they get very mixed reviews for their customer service after the sale.

I think you'll like the Plus. I had the original Maestro before upgrading to Mazzer Mini and was very happy with mine. If I was just doing drip and press pot coffee I would have kept the Maestro but 90% of my activity is now espresso and a better grinder helps a bit in espresso consistency.

Thanks for the encouragement, Owen. I do at least 90% drip and press pot, so I'm sure it'll be ideal.

[Msk]

Let me know what you think Alex. I have my eye on this assuming I enjoy home roasting.

I am still waiting on my Freshroast Plus 8 to come in since it is apparently back ordered or something till January.

Msk

[phaelon56]

I do at least 90% drip and press pot, so I'm sure it'll be ideal.

It will also do a respectable job of grinding for espresso - it's one of the few grinders available in the under $200 range (new price not used) that is suitable for espresso. When you move up into higher end espresso machines ($700-$1,200 range), there are tangible benefits to a higher end grinder like a Rocky or Mazzer Mini but for basic decent espresso machines the Maestro Plus is a perfect match. I used one for a year or two with my Gaggia Baby and was very pleased with the performance of both.

[Alex]

Last night, while pouring the caffeinated beans out of the hopper so I could grind some decaf, I spotted some very odd-looking beans (so I thought). But lo and behold, there were the three missing feet. Apparently they were soft enough to not get caught up in the burrs.

So, an additional caveat: Look inside the hopper.

edited for spelling

Edited December 20, 2003 by Alex (log)

[Alex]

I'm very happy with the machine so far. The grinds are very even and appropriate for the type of brewing method. I hardly ever have to shake the beans to get them into the burrs except occasionally when the hopper is nearly empty. I *love* the near-absence of static electricity in the grind container -- no more coffee grounds all over my counter!