Astra Gourmet Espresso Machine for sale: $1600

I have used this wonderful espresso machine on numerous catering jobs and it has performed beautifully. I love this machine. It pulls beautiful shots. We even had it installed over at Lee Road for a week or two, along with a second machine just like it, while we reconditioned our two group machine.

The Astra GSP is an elegantly simple machine. It doesn't have fancy features. You flip the switch, the espresso comes out, you flip the switch back, and the espresso stops. Like I said, nothing fancy. It does have a good sized boiler at 4.2 liters. It takes 110 Volt power, 2000 watts. It's rated for 180 cups per hour.

It is a pourover machine, which means that it's completely portable and that you have to pour water in the back AND KEEP IT FULL. Recently, I have been using this machine for training purposes, and this is not a good way for this machine to be used, because we keep running it out of water and we have to replace the heating element. It's very embarrassing, having to tell Dennis that I burned out the heating element. It is best used in a focused situation, like a catering job, where you can keep your eye on it and keep it full of water. This is the reason I am selling the machine; the newer Astra units have an alarm in them that tells you when you're out of water, and someone like me needs an alarm like that, especially when I am letting trainees use the machine, sometimes unsupervised.

It has been well maintained. And before we sell it to you, we will go over it one more time and make sure it's in mint condition. One year parts and labor on it, but that does not include the heating element or problems due to hard water. Wouldn't it look cool sitting on your kitchen counter or in your coffee shop or restaurant? We also have a grinder to go with it, if you need one.

sarah@phoenixcoffee.com