Bringing in an expresso machine

[GuestHouse]

I have Peavoni which I brought with me in my shipping from Rome (Its my second Pavoni) the first was stolen from my shipping the first time I moved back out of Thailand.

It makes a perfect coffee - if you can get good coffee to make it with.

And there's the rub - I'd advise the OP save luggage weight/space by not bringing a coffee machine to Thailand - buy local and use the saved luggage space weight to bring in some good coffee.

I bring in 10Kgs of coffee beans a year which I buy from my favorite coffee shop in Rome and store in my deep freeze.

The very best local coffee is just about drinkable, the worst is disgusting.

[negreanu]

1. Take empty bag.

2. Go to airport take cheap flight to Hongkong

3. Buy whatever nespresso machine you want.

4. Have a few beers in Kowloon or Wanchai

5. Airport Express back to airport

congrats you just had a day in HK a few beers an airplane ride and a brand new nespresso machine all for less than half price they charge in Thailand.

[Mighty Mouse]

Now what I am trying to find is a decent hand bean-grinder (rather than an electric one).

It's up to you what you buy but the grinder is more important than the espresso machine. The job of the espresso machine is to force hot water through coffee grinds.

All coffee machines do this but some do it much better than others.

The coffee needs to be ground in an exact manner depending on the espresso machine in use, so that maximum extraction can be achieved by the coffee machine.

It's not much good having a great coffee machine, plus the very best of beans if the grind of the beans doesn't produce good coffee.

A hand operated bean grinder will never do this job properly. Nor will a cheap electric mini grinder...including those grinders integrated into the coffee maker.

I suggest that you do some research on the more expensive stand-alone stepless electric grinders. The grinders with steps are far superior to hand grinders but it is impossible to adjust the grinder to operate in between the steps, therefore you need to determine how important it is to you to brew the perfect cup of coffee. The stepless grinders are more expensive, but they are made to last a life time and always hold their value should you ever need to sell.

Maybe near enough is good enough without going to too much expense. It's your palate and your choice.

Information for GuestHouse:

There are a number of very good coffee outlets in LOS that have their own roasters on-site. The coffee beans that they produce are up there with the best. Keep in mind that coffee beans need to be fresh to obtain a good crema on the extraction.

Bringing in 10kgs of beans at a time might save you money by buying in bulk but freshness is not assured. Keeping coffee beans under refrigeration is not advised.

An air tight container, or a vacuum sealed container is much better for storing beans.

Buying enough fresh beans from the roaster to last you a week, is preferable to buying in bulk.

You have a very nice coffee machine so experiment with different grinds, together with very fresh beans and see if you can taste the improvement in your coffee quality.

[Bcgardener]

If you are importing from China and it is made in China, you can ask your supplier to provide a Chinese Government Form E. This will allow the equipment to come in duty free under the China ASEAN free trade agreement. They may charge you around USD40-50 for the paperwork.

One proviso on this.. It must be imported under a Thai company name and one that is registered for paperless customs clearance with Thai Customs.

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