The Pro is 300 and the Sage Smart Grinder is 177 on Amszon so you'd be saving 70 quid. However I'd go for the Barista purely due to convenience / all in one space saving. However that grinder does look impressive.
Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread
- Thread starter Siliconslave
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The Pro is 300 and the Sage Smart Grinder is 177 on Amszon so you'd be saving 70 quid. However I'd go for the Barista purely due to convenience / all in one space saving. However that grinder does look impressive.
Associate
For its size, the sage smart grinder is ok for espresso. Works well for brewed methods better.
2nd hand price for Silvias (v2/v3 in particular) is a lot better than it used to be - they routinely go for around £200 now - have a look at ebay completed auctions for a price guide.
Critically, they're really well built and relatively simple internally so if they break it's perfectly feasible for a home user to attempt repairs.
I've never used a Sage, but I've had a demo with coffee in John Lewis and they seem like decent machines. From what I've read on forums though, the consensus seems to be that if they break outside of warranty they'd basically be for the bin.
I dunno if Lakeland still do the lifetime warranty but I guess that would be a possibility.
Soldato
John Lewis plus 3 year warranty for £40 job done for 5 years of coffee drinking
Got the sage duo temp this morning! Bloody loving it 
got it for £289 as they price matched along with the extended 2yr warranty for £15. So all in £305 with 4 years warranty.
Also ordered a porlex mini ceramic grinder for the time being until I can afford something more substantial and done some more research about the grinders
Just need to find some nice beans now!
got it for £289 as they price matched along with the extended 2yr warranty for £15. So all in £305 with 4 years warranty.Also ordered a porlex mini ceramic grinder for the time being until I can afford something more substantial and done some more research about the grinders
Just need to find some nice beans now!
Soldato
https://extractcoffee.co.uk/shop/coffee/original-espresso/Got the sage duo temp this morning! Bloody loving it
Also ordered a porlex mini ceramic grinder for the time being until I can afford something more substantial and done some more research about the grinders
Just need to find some nice beans now!
Soldato
Soldato
Cheers pal, I'll give them a whirl
Cheaper than most roasters and always deliver on time and the beans are great. The standard ones are the best though, we've tried all if them.
Caporegime
Very happy indeed so far.
I haven't cleaned it yet because it rinses itself every time you switch it on or off. The only things I've done are wipe the steam wand and empty the grinds / drip tray. It seems like it would be easy to clean though.
The only downside I've encountered so far is that it takes a little while to steam milk. I've also removed the auto frother so that it's more like a pro machine, as with the auto frothing attachment by the time the milk is hot enough, the whole drink is almost cappuccino froth!
Also there seems to be little point to the cup warming tray, as it doesn't seem to get beyond luke warm at best.
Very good machine though, especially for £200 or whatever it was.
I don't know if there are any useful machine cup-warmers (not Silvia or Bezzera anyway),
I normally run water through the machine to warm the cups and portafilter.
(Insulating the boilers on older machines to cut energy & give thermal stability is also not uncommen)
Soldato
So my little Hario mini lasted all of 2 weeks, well a little less tbh. I took it apart to clean the other day, no problems. Put it back together, no problems. Have since tried to clean again and the burrs won't come out. I can take the little locking screw off (which incidentally is also used to set the grind) but the burrs just will not budge. It's very odd, I can still grind ok, but I can no longer adjust the grind or clean it. So I've decided to send it back and get a refund.
This also means I'm considering an electric grinder as even after 2 weeks the manual grinding become a little tedious. I'm considering the Baratza Encore or the Iberital MC2, both similarly priced at the max I'm willing to pay (£150). I know both have good reports, and the MC2 gets plenty of love on here, but do either have any defining features that might tempt me one way or another? I'll be using it for both aeropress and espresso in the Classic.
This also means I'm considering an electric grinder as even after 2 weeks the manual grinding become a little tedious. I'm considering the Baratza Encore or the Iberital MC2, both similarly priced at the max I'm willing to pay (£150). I know both have good reports, and the MC2 gets plenty of love on here, but do either have any defining features that might tempt me one way or another? I'll be using it for both aeropress and espresso in the Classic.
Associate
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Interesting, but it won't do espresso, just doesn't go fine enough nor have accurate enough control.
Re: the MC2 vs Encore - the MC2 is useless *if* you want to do both espresso and filter, don't even bother, but its 100x better for accurate espresso (imho)
Soldato
Yeah, I'd read that about the MC2. I can use espresso grind in the aeropress so that should be OK I guess.
What about the difference between the doser and auto models, I guess the doser accurately dispenses the correct weight as per a setting? i.e. 14g
And the auto?
What about the difference between the doser and auto models, I guess the doser accurately dispenses the correct weight as per a setting? i.e. 14g
And the auto?
Soldato
Well I've been wanting a bean to cup machine for ages now but since getting an aero press I can't see much point.
I use the inverted method. Let it sit for about 3 mins and get a great coffee every time. It's relegated my pod machine to a kitchen cupboard now.
Doubt I'd see much benefit from a machine now.
I use the inverted method. Let it sit for about 3 mins and get a great coffee every time. It's relegated my pod machine to a kitchen cupboard now.
Doubt I'd see much benefit from a machine now.