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Recommended machine for home

alfredus

alfredus

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Slowly starting to make a wish list for Christmas for the new home and a coffee machine might be one of them!

At the moment I am still very much into Vietnamese coffee at home - the maker is a genius invention and the easiest to make coffee...of course not with condensed milk and with great coffee.

I also enjoy a turkish/greek/lebanese whatever you want to call it with a dash of milk.

Outside the house I am a bit of a snob - well I just like great coffee. I guess I lived for too long in Melbourne :D

So, I don't want to break the bank and I don't want to spend more time cleaning/pre-heating etc. than enjoying my coffee. I don't think you can have the joys from a perfect coffee at home, unless you spend 1000's on a machine? But prove me wrong.

I very rarely have more than 3 cups a day and my wife 1 at the most.

I know I need a decent grinder and start to grind my coffee fresh - but what about getting something, that has one build in? Else, please also recommend a grinder.

And I have no idea about the whole - treat me like somebody who is used to a fantastic barber, but sleeps during the whole shaving process and wakes up with a perfect BBS shave if that makes sense...
 
Get a Nespresso. Unless you want to go full-on grinders, bean roasters, barista approved 3 phase coffee machines you're not going to get a better cup of coffee. And even then I swear it makes better coffee than I can get at most of the cafes I go to with wall to wall barista machinery. To get a basic machine it'll cost you as much as decent grinder and the pods just make excellent coffee. I know most coffee nazis sneer at the thought of it but don't let that stop you.
 
Usually the Rancilio Silvia's were the most recommended 'starting out' machine. The prices have gone up - I think they have v4 machines now - and there are all sorts of mods you can do to them. They are known as somewhat difficult to get right, but rewarding when you do.

I believe the Lelit machines are more recommended these days. Something like the PL41TEMD
 
Earlier in the year I visited a popular coffee roasting establishment in Margaret River. The manager spent some time discussing the various beans and made me a couple of brews. He told me that he uses a coffee plunger at home. He made me a coffee with a plunger - it was surprisingly good. I asked a Melbourne barista the same question and got the same answer.
 
From experience, you are focusing on the wrong part of the equation. It's not the hammer (the machine) that makes good coffee, it's the nail (the beans). I used to have a $300 machine that made great coffee, my mother gave me her $2000 machine when she moved to a smaller place and didn't have the bench space for it and guess what, my coffee tastes exactly the same.

That's because I buy my beans from a place that roasts in house. Find one of them first, then worry about about the machine. After all, they all do the same thing basically.
 
Well like the boys said you've got to give an indicative budget you'd like to solve this problem within.

Regardless of what path/tool chosen fresh coffee is a must - so lets nail that in from the get go. Likewise the advise on a decent grinder, if you go plunger or moka pot something entry level will be more than fine. Espresso machine will require high end hand or decent powered grinder. Bench space etc does come into it too.

Lots of variables and very hard to give best advice until you nail those down. In the mass market/simpler end a Sunbeam 7000 is a very well regarded machine that is an evolutionary step up from their 6910. Simpler to use than Silvia/Lelits(prosumer machines) etc - has a lot of the prosumer bells and whistles (e.g PIDs) but more friendly for average Joe but still able to do an espresso on par with them. Cheaper to buy (~$500) but not as good build quality - but people had 6910's that went for 7-10yrs....and they're very well supported with spares etc.

Pair this with a Breville Smart grinder and you've a setup thats ~$650-700 and well respected on Coffee Snobs but without brand bling.

The thing is that if you go for a prosumer machine it WILL take you a fair while to master it - and you will question the decision to spend ~50% more on it. That said if you can bite the bullet on this and get through a local speciality store they will often provide training etc with it and this will be invaluable as all the fine nuances of using a home espresso machine are interrelated and hence very tricky for newbies to master (far from it myself!).

For YOUR needs I'd recommend the Sunbeam + Breville......but also worth trying to find someone in your area upgrading their setup (consider placing a WTB ad on CS)....otherwise a Lelit plus decent grinder is a very nice albeit more expensive choice.
 
Thanks for the excellent advise everybody!

Ok, so for the budget - I definitely don't want to spend more than 1000$ - preferably more in the 500$ region.

Having said that: if that would just waste my money (ie not satisfy my taste buds) I'd rather keep on spending the money in my preferred coffee hang outs!

If I was 20 years younger, I would never admit it - but you get more pragmatic over the years: I've had some decent nespresso. There I said it. But I resent the whole aluminum pod waste business, that's why they are out of the question.

Now is their a fully automatic machine (grinding and making coffee) that can get me a similar coffee in my price range...or do I really have to learn how to make a real espresso :)

Getting freshly roasted coffee is of course a given (and I have already a couple of sources for that).
 
Boys he's making his list for Christmas, Help the man spend his money.

Here's my two cents.

Fresh good beans are very important. A good grinder is also very important.

I would not get a sub $600 machine new, you may get a good coffee out of one, but you may as well get a nespresso machine and save time and money for the same result.

The lowest machine I'd consider new is a breville like this $700 one with a built in grinder. http://www.domayneonline.com.au/ele...ille-barista-express-manual-coffee-maker.html

It's no show winner but it will make reasonable coffee.

Seriously consider second hand ones too. Gumtree is full of machines from people who like coffee but found out they don't like making it. A friend of mine recently picked up a Giotto Rocket 4 years old in great nic, for $1100

Here's an example of a Rancilio second hand http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/wemb...offee-machine-still-under-warranty/1082624826

At the end of the day though if you enjoy vietnamese (I have a dripper of theirs I got there too!) and Turkish then spend you money on something else. Have nice coffee out.


Just reading your reply sorry alfredus. Forget an automatic machine, especially a cheap one, you'll be disappointed.
 
My humble setup includes a Breville Smart Grinder ($199 on sale every couple of months from Myers) - very happy with this grinder and a $30 Moka Express. Nothing fancy but they're my best friends in the morning.

Single origin South American coffee from a decent Melbourne roaster and life's a peach ;)
 
JayDee said:
.........I buy my beans from a place that roasts in house. Find one of them first, then worry about about the machine...........
Click to expand...

That's far too sensible.

JayDee said:
.............. After all, they all do the same thing basically.
Click to expand...

Of course this is completely true but let's see how many thumbs down comments it will attract.
 
I think the Vietnamese drip filter with the right coffee and the right technique is truly sensational. But it's not a double ristreto I so much love :)

I was thinking of just getting a grinder for now but then saw this wonderful inventions, that have one inbuilt and that produce an espresso with the touch of some buttons ...

But I guess they all promise and don't deliver?

Something like this for example :
http://www.domayneonline.com.au/ele...ssa-f7-automatic-coffee-machine-platinum.html
 
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alfredus said:
..........But I resent the whole aluminum pod waste business, that's why they are out of the question.........
Click to expand...

Which is why you collect the pods, take them with you when you get your next batch and plonk them in their recycle bin. Of course that could be a publicity stunt and they just dump them in the bin when you turn your back but that's a bit paranoid.

alfredus said:
...........Now is their a fully automatic machine (grinding and making coffee) that can get me a similar coffee in my price range...or do I really have to learn how to make a real espresso :)

Getting freshly roasted coffee is of course a given (and I have already a couple of sources for that).
Click to expand...

I've had two automatic machines. And if you can find good beans, buy them in small quantities and use them up at a reasonable rate, you can get great coffee. I think Nespresso still makes better coffee.
 
I don't drink that awful stuff (give me some wodka in lieu) yet there is no way I can allow folks even contemplate Breville.
Ring up one of their independent service centres and ask them what the turnover for these machines are.
You will be unpleasantly surprised!
 
borked said:
I don't drink that awful stuff (give me some wodka in lieu) yet there is no way I can allow folks even contemplate Breville.
Ring up one of their independent service centres and ask them what the turnover for these machines are.
You will be unpleasantly surprised!
Click to expand...

Grinder or expresso machine?
 
How do you make your Turkish coffee alfredus? I got some one time and it's so fine it was like mud in the bottom of the cup
 
alfredus said:
Thanks for the excellent advise everybody!

Ok, so for the budget - I definitely don't want to spend more than 1000$ - preferably more in the 500$ region.

Having said that: if that would just waste my money (ie not satisfy my taste buds) I'd rather keep on spending the money in my preferred coffee hang outs!

If I was 20 years younger, I would never admit it - but you get more pragmatic over the years: I've had some decent nespresso. There I said it. But I resent the whole aluminum pod waste business, that's why they are out of the question.

Now is their a fully automatic machine (grinding and making coffee) that can get me a similar coffee in my price range...or do I really have to learn how to make a real espresso :)

Getting freshly roasted coffee is of course a given (and I have already a couple of sources for that).
Click to expand...

Ok well essentially you've said you prefer to spend closer to $500 - so you're either going to have to hunt around for a 2nd hander and to be honest even 2nd hand you'll be struggling to get a decent machine/grinder plus all the accessories even vaguely close to this. So as stated I'd get the Sunbeam 6910 - which you can get on Ebay with a matching grinder EM0480 for around $500.

More user friendly with less prep needed than prosumer machines - and if used properly will do espresso 9/10's as good as more expensive machines. Very good support community so you should be able to get good life from it - although build quality is appliance level not like the more expensive ones.

Fully auto machine is a headache waiting to happen - someone as smart as you surely has more confidence in learning a few simple things than a pre-programed machine that at best will do a below average effort. I'd stay well clear!

Pods are just an improved instant coffee for folks who CBF'd with an espresso machine & the hassle (there's no getting around this) that comes with it. Whilst people can say in THEIR opinion pods are as good as espresso machines I'd hope even the most ardent pod lover would see this very extreme view for what it is. A bit of truth badly packaged into a false comment.

Lets agree that some pod machines can make reasonable espresso coffee which is certainly better than MANY poor efforts rolled out on other machines etc. Their big advantage is in the convenience area, the big weaknesses are you're locked into their system with a high per unit price but if that grade of coffee cuts the mustard for you they're a no brainer choice. @Pjotr and I can agree that a good pod machine will do better than an average auto - but after that we'll have to agree to disagree on most things. :-)

@Nonick's advice is excellent but I would not get a machine with a built in grinder - headache waiting to happen - too much stuff crammed into a small area. Love the line in that V4 Silvia listing you linked,"...I have this machine but no idea how to use the thing!" - hilarious!

If you want to get good coffee you should as advised earlier buy a decent grinder, as that will give you the option of going for an espresso machine, stovetop, plunger etc etc.....and $150 will get you a Breville Smart grinder which is well regarded or hunt for a used Rockey or Compak etc - grinders are pretty fool proof (the better branded ones) - change their burrs every few years and thats it.

Then you can go with the coffee making device that suits you - that said based on what you've written I think a moka pot/stovetop would prolly be your best choice (just as convenient as pods) and when matched with on demand ground coffee it will give better results (assuming it's used properly and not boiled to death).
 
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