Espresso Machines

photonic69

Following on from my recent discussion on Bread Makers (still not bought as deciding on a Panasonic model at the moment - just which one!)

I'm looking at getting a decent Espresso machine for the kitchen too. Along with a Burr grinder to grind coffee beans. Been doing some research and came across this guy called Coffee Kev that has a blog https://coffeeblog.co.uk/ He has some really in-depth video reviews on a huge range of machines. So much so that it is quite baffling. He also appears to the quite wired during his vids. I guess a side effect of too much coffee?

Been looking in ernest at a Sage Duo-Temp Pro. Looks like a decent machine that should last.
https://sageappliances.com/uk/en/products/espresso/bes810.html?sku=BES810BSSUK

and Grinder https://sageappliances.com/uk/en/products/coffee-grinders/bcg820.html?sku=BCG820BSSUK

The videos from Wired-Kev make coffee brewing more of a science than a beverage. It's insane, a bit like a bike fanatic (which a lot of us are). I can see it's the kind of thing I'd get into in a big way. I just heard that my mate in Birmingham has just bought a Sage Dual Boiler for £1,200! That's a lot of Flat Whites.

Anyone else here have a decent home coffee set up?

First.Aspect

Get a fairly cheap burr grinder. They are all loud and they all wear out. The cost difference is how stylish it looks in the kitchen. Ours is a delonghi and has lasted longer than the Krupps we had before.

Both make more noise than Condorde.

pangolin

First.Aspect said:

Get a fairly cheap burr grinder. They are all loud and they all wear out. The cost difference is how stylish it looks in the kitchen. Ours is a delonghi and has lasted longer than the Krupps we had before.

Both make more noise than Condorde.

They are all fairly loud but they do not all produce a consistent grind size, which is what you need for espresso.

feelgoodlost

Look into the Gaggia Classic as an 'Entry level' Espresso machine that often gets compared to Sage offerings.

pangolin

feelgoodlost said:

Look into the Gaggia Classic as an 'Entry level' Espresso machine that often gets compared to Sage offerings.

I used a Gaggia Classic and an Iberital MC2 grinder for several years, both were good.

Anecdotelly the quality of the Gaggias has gone down since the company was bought by Philips, don't know if this is still the case or if they've improved.

focuszing723

Are they environmentally friendly though? Isn't tap water more sustainable?

Should they be banned?

feelgoodlost

pangolin said:

feelgoodlost said:

Look into the Gaggia Classic as an 'Entry level' Espresso machine that often gets compared to Sage offerings.

I used a Gaggia Classic and an Iberital MC2 grinder for several years, both were good.

Anecdotelly the quality of the Gaggias has gone down since the company was bought by Philips, don't know if this is still the case or if they've improved.

If you're looking to buy 2nd hand then definitely consider buying a model that is pre-2015. In the last few years they've improved the quality of them and I think they're now called the Gaggia Classic Evo which is more akin to the original.

https://www.coffeeitalia.co.uk/gaggia-classic-pro/

Coffee blog matey has a specific article explaining the differences - https://coffeeblog.co.uk/gaggia-classic-espresso-machine/

First.Aspect

pangolin said:

First.Aspect said:

Get a fairly cheap burr grinder. They are all loud and they all wear out. The cost difference is how stylish it looks in the kitchen. Ours is a delonghi and has lasted longer than the Krupps we had before.

Both make more noise than Condorde.

They are all fairly loud but they do not all produce a consistent grind size, which is what you need for espresso.

Meh. Need is a strong word.

I've got a delonghi bean to cup which probably uses the same gubbins as the stand alone grinder, so it's probably good enough.

veronese68

I've got an old Dualit machine that was given to the charity shop my mother works in about 10 years ago. They couldn't sell it due to requirement for testing electrical items. So I donated a tenner and took it home. I've had to replace some seals recently, but it's still going.
Our son is moving out and was looking at bean to cup machines, there's a company that does refurbished Sage machines, and others. Might be worth a look
https://www.backmarket.co.uk/en-gb/l/coffee-machine/f713867b-9c7a-4454-86bc-31c9ae472842

webboo

We have one of these
It makes a decent cup of coffee but it’s messy and there is a lot of wasted coffee from the grinding process. I’m always getting a b0llocking from Mrs W for not cleaning it but it was she who bought it.
I was happy with my filter machine.

focuszing723

Christ! What's wrong with a mug, spoon and a good jar of the stuff. I bet you lot put sugar in it which completely masks the taste anyway.

webboo

focuszing723 said:

Christ! What's wrong with a mug, spoon and a good jar of the stuff. I bet you lot put sugar in it which completely masks the taste anyway.

Instant coffee gives me the sh!ts and no I don’t put anything in my coffee other than water.

First.Aspect

focuszing723 said:

Christ! What's wrong with a mug, spoon and a good jar of the stuff. I bet you lot put sugar in it which completely masks the taste anyway.

Because it tastes like hot water poured over compost, with sugar in it?

focuszing723

webboo said:

focuszing723 said:

Christ! What's wrong with a mug, spoon and a good jar of the stuff. I bet you lot put sugar in it which completely masks the taste anyway.

Instant coffee gives me the sh!ts and no I don’t put anything in my coffee other than water.

No it doesn't, what no milk?

First.Aspect

webboo said:

We have one of these
It makes a decent cup of coffee but it’s messy and there is a lot of wasted coffee from the grinding process. I’m always getting a b0llocking from Mrs W for not cleaning it but it was she who bought it.
I was happy with my filter machine.

This is precisely why we a) got a bean to cup and b) still don't use it.

focuszing723

First.Aspect said:

focuszing723 said:

Christ! What's wrong with a mug, spoon and a good jar of the stuff. I bet you lot put sugar in it which completely masks the taste anyway.

Because it tastes like hot water poured over compost, with sugar in it?

You lot are like the wine snobs who bang on about being able to taste the difference with a thirty quid bottle of wine and a six quid one!

Wine/Coffee snobs!

"My coffee is made from the Antarctic bean grown by polar bears"...

First.Aspect

I don't want to drink anything that's been digested and shat out by a civet, if that's what you mean.

This lot are all about machines that cost a lot anyway, not the coffee. Which do look nice.

feelgoodlost

Could always like, you know, ignore the thread?

focuszing723

feelgoodlost said:

Could always like, you know, ignore the thread?

No, don't want to. I want to get into the mindset of a wine/coffee snob.

Pross

I've got a Beko bean to cup which does a decent job. I did previously have a seperate espresso machine and used a blade grinder and do miss trying to get the grinding right for a perfect cup but it is far simpler having it all in one machine. My beans come from Grand Tour Coffee which is run by someone I used to ride with and who now works for Ineos Grenadiers.

focuszing723

First.Aspect said:

I don't want to drink anything that's been digested and shat out by a civet, if that's what you mean.

This lot are all about machines that cost a lot anyway, not the coffee. Which do look nice.

Well exactly, it's only to impress family and friends. "Gosh they must be cultured with their coffee $h1tted out maker".

webboo

Coffee I think it’s under a fiver a bag and does about 28 double espressos.
Wine
One was 3 Euros the other was 6 quid from M&S.

focuszing723

webboo said:

Coffee I think it’s under a fiver a bag and does about 28 double espressos.
Wine
One was 3 Euros the other was 6 quid from M&S.

Oh, bored now.

focuszing723

Pross said:

I've got a Beko bean to cup which does a decent job. I did previously have a seperate espresso machine and used a blade grinder and do miss trying to get the grinding right for a perfect cup but it is far simpler having it all in one machine. My beans come from Grand Tour Coffee which is run by someone I used to ride with and who now works for Ineos Grenadiers.

Thomas?

webboo

focuszing723 said:

webboo said:

Coffee I think it’s under a fiver a bag and does about 28 double espressos.
Wine
One was 3 Euros the other was 6 quid from M&S.

Oh, bored now.

You need a good cup of coffee to perk you up or glass of wine to chill you out.

Pross

focuszing723 said:

First.Aspect said:

focuszing723 said:

Christ! What's wrong with a mug, spoon and a good jar of the stuff. I bet you lot put sugar in it which completely masks the taste anyway.

Because it tastes like hot water poured over compost, with sugar in it?

You lot are like the wine snobs who bang on about being able to taste the difference with a thirty quid bottle of wine and a six quid one!

Wine/Coffee snobs!

"My coffee is made from the Antarctic bean grown by polar bears"...

If you can't tell the difference between instant coffee and espresso you must have had your tastebuds removed.

I have one cup of proper stuff a day and probably 4 or 5 of instant and the difference is stark (too lazy to make a proper cup more often).

Pross

webboo said:

Coffee I think it’s under a fiver a bag and does about 28 double espressos.
Wine
One was 3 Euros the other was 6 quid from M&S.

I don't think the flavour notes on the coffee is doing much to disprove FZ's point to be fair!

First.Aspect

Pross said:

focuszing723 said:

First.Aspect said:

focuszing723 said:

Christ! What's wrong with a mug, spoon and a good jar of the stuff. I bet you lot put sugar in it which completely masks the taste anyway.

Because it tastes like hot water poured over compost, with sugar in it?

You lot are like the wine snobs who bang on about being able to taste the difference with a thirty quid bottle of wine and a six quid one!

Wine/Coffee snobs!

"My coffee is made from the Antarctic bean grown by polar bears"...

If you can't tell the difference between instant coffee and espresso you must have had your tastebuds removed.

I have one cup of proper stuff a day and probably 4 or 5 of instant and the difference is stark (too lazy to make a proper cup more often).

I press one button to grind the beans, and put the beans and hot water into a cafetiere. It takes about 30 seconds longer than instant, but results in actual coffee.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

webboo

Pross said:

webboo said:

Coffee I think it’s under a fiver a bag and does about 28 double espressos.
Wine
One was 3 Euros the other was 6 quid from M&S.

I don't think the flavour notes on the coffee is doing much to disprove FZ's point to be fair!

Surprisingly it does actually taste of berries although I wouldn’t know which. I did post the picture to give FZ some help as he does seem to struggle in his crusades/ rants🤣

focuszing723

webboo said:

Pross said:

webboo said:

Coffee I think it’s under a fiver a bag and does about 28 double espressos.
Wine
One was 3 Euros the other was 6 quid from M&S.

I don't think the flavour notes on the coffee is doing much to disprove FZ's point to be fair!

Surprisingly it does actually taste of berries although I wouldn’t know which. I did post the picture to give FZ some help as he does seem to struggle in his crusades/ rants🤣

Noooo. I like predicted/warned that people shouldn't get accustomed to a near ZIRP. That Elon Musk is greatness and AI will supercede Humanity.

Basically, you pot head horse eating coffee/wine snobs are lucky I grace you with my presence and advanced superior opinion.

You're welcome!

Kind off.

gethinceri

webboo said:

We have one of these
It makes a decent cup of coffee but it’s messy and there is a lot of wasted coffee from the grinding process. I’m always getting a b0llocking from Mrs W for not cleaning it but it was she who bought it.
I was happy with my filter machine.

I have identical, and receive the b0llockings, too!
To avoid overspill of the grinds I "jiggle" the basket after grinding and before removing from the "grindy-place" before tamping.
It makes very acceptable espresso and my wife enjoys the lattes and capachoochoos I make her.