Espresso machine

[Hazelwood Brewery]

... in the end have settled on Lavazza Rossa which suits the machine, has about the right ground size, usually widely available, is consistent, and is relatively inexpensive compared to some coffees out there.

If you like Lavazza, have you tried Lavazza Crema E Aroma? Still good strength, thick crema, smooth.

 

[terrym]

If you like Lavazza, have you tried Lavazza Crema E Aroma? Still good strength, thick crema, smooth.

Thanks.
Tried 'em all, settled with Rossa.

 

[MickDundee]

Thanks.
Tried 'em all, settled with Rossa.

The Rossa is my go to coffee. It is a very good everyday coffee.

 

[Richie_asg1]

I looked into this recently but couldn't really afford a decent machine so gave up. I started using a moka pot and honestly love it, makes a deliciously rich coffee. I hate watery coffee, it's in the same category for me as Carling lager.

Would that work on an induction plate? If so I might give one a try. Would be good in the camper too.

Out of the black or red lavazza I prefer the black.

 

[strange-steve]

Would that work on an induction plate? If so I might give one a try. Would be good in the camper too.

Most of them probably not, they are usually made of aluminium, mine is made of non-magnetic stainless steel so it wouldn't work either. I don't know if you can get an induction-compatible pot.

 

[Crappyfish]

Anything that uses real coffee not them pod things usually makes a decent cup my Delonghi has served me well for years now

 

[MCF911]

We have a DeLonghi fairly standard espresso coffee maker, which is about 5 years old, and I am waiting for the day when it gives up. The HP pump is the weak leak on many of these machines as far as I can tell although you can buy replacements, and we did notice ours struggled following a descale, so as we only live in a medium hardness area I don't bother any more.
As to the quality of the coffee you get from these machines, my experience is that it is entirely down to what coffee you use. We like Italian fairly dark roast type coffee, and used to get our coffee from a small specialist shop in Wallingford but can't get there any more, and so tried most of the supermarket coffees and found most of them to be very bland often not suitable for a machine and so in the end have settled on Lavazza Rossa which suits the machine, has about the right ground size, usually widely available, is consistent, and is relatively inexpensive compared to some coffees out there.

Agree. Probably, it was the best choice in my life

 

[strange-steve]

I eventually did get a little Gaggia Classic espresso machine (talked about it in another thread) and I love it, really pleased with some of the coffee I'm getting from it. I don't drink a lot of milky coffee so I only get to practice my latte art when making one for the Mrs. I was quite pleased with this cock and balls I did for her the other day though:

 

[chesters-mild]

I can recommend the Deolnghi Dedica, cost about 180 squids though! had one for 9 months now works a treat

What's New: Dedica Style | De'Longhi United Kingdom

 

[Oneflewover]

I eventually did get a little Gaggia Classic espresso machine (talked about it in another thread) and I love it, really pleased with some of the coffee I'm getting from it. I don't drink a lot of milky coffee so I only get to practice my latte art when making one for the Mrs. I was quite pleased with this cock and balls I did for her the other day though:

Not bad, perhaps add some chocolate shard 'pubes' next time?

 

[strange-steve]

Not bad, perhaps add some chocolate shard 'pubes' next time?

Well after her comment of "oh I see you made it actual size" she can steam her own milk next time.

 

[Zephyr259]

We got what I think is a De'Longhi Icona Micalite as a wedding present almost 10 years ago, it's seen decent use over the years, with a couple of years break in the middle, but generally just one or two drinks a day as either an afternoon latte or an after meal espresso. It makes good coffee and steams milk decently but I'm now thinking about diving in the deeper end and getting a Gaggia or a Sage machine and a good grinder.

@strange-steve Do you find the temperature is stable with the Gaggia? One of the criticisms I read about it was that the temperature isn't PID controlled so drifts a bit and you have to "ride the wave" as they put it to get the right temp. But then it was a James Hoffman video and his taste buds seem to be close to a mass spectrometer...

 

[strange-steve]

We got what I think is a De'Longhi Icona Micalite as a wedding present almost 10 years ago, it's seen decent use over the years, with a couple of years break in the middle, but generally just one or two drinks a day as either an afternoon latte or an after meal espresso. It makes good coffee and steams milk decently but I'm now thinking about diving in the deeper end and getting a Gaggia or a Sage machine and a good grinder.

@strange-steve Do you find the temperature is stable with the Gaggia? One of the criticisms I read about it was that the temperature isn't PID controlled so drifts a bit and you have to "ride the wave" as they put it to get the right temp. But then it was a James Hoffman video and his taste buds seem to be close to a mass spectrometer...

Honestly my espresso palate isn't well enough developed to know for sure, but I'm aware that this is a potential issue with the Gaggia. I actually have a spare PID left over from an old HERMS system that I had originally intended to install on the Gaggia, but I haven't yet felt the need. It took me a while, and probably a full kg of beans, to get something decent out of it, but I'm really pleased with the coffee from it now. I think for a budget espresso machine James Hoffman recommended the Gaggia (and the Rancillio Silva iirc) which was good enough for me.

I'm sure you're aware that the grinder is probably more important than the machine, and I got a refurbished Eureka Mignon for a good price and it's brilliant.

 

[user 18729]

We’ve used the baby sage machine (duo tempo I think but might be wrong) for over a year now and had the grinder over two and wouldn’t change it. Cracking little machine with PID control. It’s very simple once you’ve dialed in the grind size. I think once it dies I’d like to take a big jump and get something more hands on though and higher end ️

 

[Zephyr259]

Thanks for the info Steve. I'm still going with a De'Longhi burr grinder, it was fine up til now but doing pour overs and seeing the grounds settled shows just how inconsistent the grind is.

One of my colleagues has a high end Sage and says it's amazing. Only negative I've heard about them is that if they break out of warranty they are expensive to fix, usual internet issue then is that you get a disproportionate number of people who have had their machine fail commenting about it. People who don't have issues don't tend to comment.

 

[clyne]

I’ve got the Sage barista machine. Cost about 500 quid a few years back but honestly would not be without it. I managed to ‘finance’ it by having a huge clear out in the house - old mobiles, tablets, stuff I didn’t use - all on eBay. Made 550 quid - bonus!! It is highly reliable, the grinder is first class and just feels like quality.

 

[Zephyr259]

I’ve got the Sage barista machine. Cost about 500 quid a few years back but honestly would not be without it. I managed to ‘finance’ it by having a huge clear out in the house - old mobiles, tablets, stuff I didn’t use - all on eBay. Made 550 quid - bonus!! It is highly reliable, the grinder is first class and just feels like quality.

That sounds like the one I'm looking at, Barista Express/Pro, seem a decent mid-ground between the small units and the ones that cost a grand. Glad the grinder has been good for you, I've heard mixed reviews of it.

 

[Denalver]

I use this Cuisinart Coffee On Demand DCC-3000 programmable coffee maker, which offers superior brewing temperature, delivers complete programmability and has a super-convenient coffee dispenser design. Additionally, it comes with a round showerhead to deliver impressive saturation.

 

[MickDundee]

I wouldn’t have thought it would be particularly easy to get a decent espresso machine at that price. Anything at that price point will use steam-led pressure rather than a pump so won’t give you the level of crema you are looking for. Keeping an eye out on Gumtree or Facebook marketplace might be an option though once we are no longer social distancing.

Brand new, If you are prepared to stretch to the £120-£150 mark the Delonghi machines are often on sale. I got one in 2015 for about £140 reduced from £220 and it was good. About 18 months ago we got a Krupps bean to cup machine (housewarming present from my parents because they love theirs, the Delonghi was still going strong) and it knocks spots off it.

Buy a decent machine and it’ll last you years, don’t go for the cheap option.

This post aged badly - the Krupps B2C machine gave up very soon after the warranty was up. We’ve had a Delonghi one for the last year now instead.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

We have owned the Tassimo below for 18 months and its still working fine, a regular clean cycle using the cleaning disc supplied and a descale when indicated is all that has been required.