Coffee maker: grounds or bean

Delvis

Delvis

Delvis

Caporegime
Joined
7 Nov 2004
Posts
30,197
Location
Buckinghamshire
As per op, I want a coffee maker.

I like coffee, but using pods is wasteful and I want something better than instant (even though I do mega instant coffee, just saying.)

I don't want something you put on a hob.
I don't want a plunger.
I don't want a filter coffee machine.

It's pretty much only me who drinks coffee, so Tbh smaller the better, don't particularly want two outputs....and finding something that fits the bill and doesn't break the bank is proving difficult.
 
Former Nespresso user here. I had the same issues after a year and a half (think it was that) of owning my Pixie. With the March 2020 lockdown, it saw my nearest Nespresso boutique close down and I had no where to take my used pods for recycling at the time. Also the prices of pods was slowly rising.

After much research and tears I ended up going the 'bean to cup' route. Purchased a D'Longhi Autentica ETAM 29.510.SB for £350 and have been very pleased with the results. I don't have much spare room on my counter so this model was slim and right for my needs. I get my beanses from Rave Coffee.
 
I started with a Nesspresso soon moved onto a bean to cup machine, so much better. I'd say the biggest single improvement is using beans, so definitely don't go the ground route. Just get a bean to cup machine.
 
Go with beans if you can, grinding them just before making the coffee will give the nicest results. A bean to cup machine may suit.
 
Delvis said:
Cappuccino etc.

Do espresso then I sort the milk out in the microwave or if there's a frother, cool
Click to expand...

Cappuccino means espresso therefore you want espresso machine and therefore you need grinder too as fresh beans is best.

I would honestly believe that the Gaggia Classic is still the best entry level machine, and ignoring all those around this price point. Then get a stepless grinder that you can afford or the best one you can afford.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Cappuccino means espresso therefore you want espresso machine and therefore you need grinder too as fresh beans is best.

I would honestly believe that the Gaggia Classic is still the best entry level machine, and ignoring all those around this price point. Then get a stepless grinder that you can afford or the best one you can afford.
Click to expand...

I think I followed Raymond's advice on this some years back (in the espresso mega-thread) and I did get the Gaggia classic. It's a great machine, feels well built and you can get any parts for it you need. Makes a great espresso too, but what I would say is that I often go back to using a stovetop espresso maker (Bialetti) as it's faster, requires less prep and less cleanup and tastes 80% as good to me. When I'm in a rush in the morning, it's much easier for me. The Gaggia is superior though, if you invest the time (plus frothing milk etc.).

I paired that with a burr grinder machine (around £40 15 years ago), which is still going strong but I think is the limiting part of my equipment. I actually think I'll need to spend £150 or more on a grinder to really make a jump up in performance (which I haven't done).

My question to Raymond would be - any experience with bean to cup that could get anywhere close to the Gaggia Classic? It sounds to me like that would be a good solution as it is similarly low effort.
 
alex24 said:
I think I followed Raymond's advice on this some years back (in the espresso mega-thread) and I did get the Gaggia classic. It's a great machine, feels well built and you can get any parts for it you need. Makes a great espresso too, but what I would say is that I often go back to using a stovetop espresso maker (Bialetti) as it's faster, requires less prep and less cleanup and tastes 80% as good to me. When I'm in a rush in the morning, it's much easier for me. The Gaggia is superior though, if you invest the time (plus frothing milk etc.).

I paired that with a burr grinder machine (around £40 15 years ago), which is still going strong but I think is the limiting part of my equipment. I actually think I'll need to spend £150 or more on a grinder to really make a jump up in performance (which I haven't done).

My question to Raymond would be - any experience with bean to cup that could get anywhere close to the Gaggia Classic? It sounds to me like that would be a good solution as it is similarly low effort.
Click to expand...

I think the next bean to cup machine that gets the same level in quality, plus easy to repair are rather expensive. The lower end ones are built for the whole "planned obsolescence" where they are not designed to be repaired by the user compared to the Gaggia.

The whole point of a bean to cup is workflow, so in that sense a good grinder with easy workflow is what i would be looking at. If you want to skip the weighing beans aspect then there are grinders that does that for you like the Setti 270wi, and keep the Gaggia.

I keep thinking about upgrading the Gaggia almost on a weekly basis but I keep putting it off because I would essentially be chasing that last 2% in quality for like £1000 in my set up.
 
Given minimal fuss seems high on the list of priorities here (there's virtually no fuss involved in stove tops etc. but they're out, so...) a bean-to-cup machine fitting whatever budget is most likely to be the best solution for his needs. Separate grinding and espresso etc. is just too much faff for some (including me) compared to 'press button, get coffee'.

I'm sure the espresso i'd get from a setup of various dedicated items would be better but the espresso I get from a BTC machine is better than my Nespresso was, can do a few other larger coffee types too and is extremely low on 'faff factor'.
 
Someone at work has a bean to cup, but he bought an ex-commercial machine that was in the £2k region new for cheap. Even his has broken down several times in the last few years. From the pumps for the milk seal to the compacting mechanism for the coffee etc, but each time he has managed to find spares and repair it himself, but it is a commercial machine.

There are a lot of internal moving parts in a bean to cup, another option is you could get a £300 DeLonghi bean to cup, which i know people have and are happy with. And they have last in those that have one so that is one aspect. I have not tried it myself so i can't say how good they are but that is one option.

It's all a balance of convenience.
 
Last edited:
It's a DeLonghi that I have, I forget the exact model, it was on offer in Costco but i'm more than happy with the improvement from Nespresso.

It's taking up virtually no extra footprint, can quickly do a reasonable espresso, double espresso, americano style etc. and I can go from start to finish to get a decent coffee between meetings on Teams in a minute or two depending on what type of coffee i'm making. If I want to spend a bit more time with frothing milk I can with the steam wand (which is extremely easily cleaned too) and whilst it won't produce steamed milk that'll let you win any latte art contests, it's more than good enough to make a nice cup of coffee by a normal person's standards, rather than a coffee enthusiasts standards.

As ever with these threads, the budget will go a long way towards dictating the best solution, so we need to know what 'not breaking the bank' looks like.

I'm sure I remember reading a comment once somewhere along the lines 'the best cup of coffee is one that'll you'll actually drink' meaning there's no point spanking loads of money on gear to do super grinds for your espresso only machine, if it means you end up drinking less coffee because you can't be bothered to make it as much anymore.
 
We have the Sage entry level bean-to-cup machine and it suits our needs perfectly - well, not perfectly but a solid 8/10. It's the Sage Barista Express.

Though I already want a new machine with a dual boiler.
 
Junglist said:
We have the Sage entry level bean-to-cup machine and it suits our needs perfectly - well, not perfectly but a solid 8/10. It's the Sage Barista Express.

Though I already want a new machine with a dual boiler.
Click to expand...

Where is it lacking? I'm wobbling between the Barista Express and the Pro now that I've spent too much time thinking about things... currently on Nespresso pods, I do want an all in one unit, rather than go separates. I've personally set a budget of around £600.
 
Last edited:
chroniclard said:
Gaggia classic is way quicker than a stovetop surely? :confused: Its so simple to use.
Click to expand...

By the time it's warmed up, measured, tamped down and mess cleaned up, it's longer for me and is more labour (whilst I could be making my breakfast whilst the stove top maker does its thing). I agree it's not difficult to use.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom