Home coffee setup question

The Barista Express is fine and will do a reasonable job for most people, as will that Sboly thing, although the espresso in the video looked pretty dire.

Work bean to cup machines tend to suffer predominantly from terrible beans put it and a 'its better than Nescafé' approach to setting it up, but if you'r happy using an aeropress a decent grinder will last you for life (or atleast through till upgraditis kicks in)
 
Siliconslave said:
Spend all the money on a grinder and then get a v60 for pour over coffee.

The grinder is by far the most important bit (along with the beans). Unfortunately the grinders in the dual machines are trash, you are much better off getting them separately. I'd suggest spending more on the grinder, something like the Eureka Mignon Silenzio is about £315 leaving you about £200 odd - looks like you can get the sage bambino plus for that sort of money on offer (if your lucky).

Otherwise you can spend a bit more on the machine and go cheaper on the grinder, the lelit Fred or Iberital MC2 are a good place to start grinder wise.
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This is always a popular opinion here and elsewhere. I fully disagree.

I had a cheap grinder and went from a v60/aeropress to a gaggia classic and the difference was incredible. I then got a fairly expensive grinder (ibertial MC2, ok not as expensive as suggested) but the difference was no where near the difference I'd read online - like really no where near it. By far the biggest difference was getting an espresso machine.

Though I still think fresh, good quality beans > anything will make the biggest difference.

I got a 2nd hand Gaggia Classic (luckily for £100) and an Ibertial MC2 for about £130. I think to beat this, I'd be looking at £800+. The Gaggia Classic is the go to at this budget level from my experience and what I'd read at the time. Personally, I'd go for a cheaper grinder (MC2 or similar) and consider upgrading later.
 
The MC2 is okay, I have it, well, it is currently on loan to a colleague at work.

But the problem with that is works on a timer and so the amount of grind that it doses out varies practically shot to shot. You really need to weigh it every time or it can be out by quite a lot, enough to ruin a shot. Then there is the retention, a lot of retention. Or rather, exchange. You need to flush it every time unless you make several cups a day or you are using as much as 10% of old grind from the previous time you used it in your cup.
 
Raymond Lin said:
The MC2 is okay, I have it, well, it is currently on loan to a colleague at work.

But the problem with that is works on a timer and so the amount of grind that it doses out varies practically shot to shot. You really need to weigh it every time or it can be out by quite a lot, enough to ruin a shot. Then there is the retention, a lot of retention. Or rather, exchange. You need to flush it every time unless you make several cups a day or you are using as much as 10% of old grind from the previous time you used it in your cup.
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Yep, it's defienetly with it's flaws but it's also half of the next step up. I tend to not worry about most of it. I weigh it every so often and just pour a shot - I don't find it ruins anything without weighing it. Once I have the timer setup it's nearly always the same weight every time I grind. I Maybe I'm not as fussy as the majority though. I give a tap to try and remove some of the old grinds or tip it at the end of the day or in the morning before I make a coffee.

I don't think there is any grinder under £500 that doesn't work off a timer? Out of curiosity what grinders don't use a timer, under £500?
 
Begbie said:
Yep, it's defienetly with it's flaws but it's also half of the next step up. I tend to not worry about most of it. I weigh it every so often and just pour a shot - I don't find it ruins anything without weighing it. Once I have the timer setup it's nearly always the same weight every time I grind. I Maybe I'm not as fussy as the majority though. I give a tap to try and remove some of the old grinds or tip it at the end of the day or in the morning before I make a coffee.

I don't think there is any grinder under £500 that doesn't work off a timer? Out of curiosity what grinders don't use a timer, under £500?
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Sette 270Wi has an intelligent weighing, it is £530 but I've seen it at £500.

https://www.coffee-box.co.uk/baratz...IqL_5JjaxzQNlOLU7O9dFbA7gxIQ8SRhoCjzQQAvD_BwE

The alternative is single dose your beans, which is what i do now.

I like the MC2, so much so I didn't bother with any of the grinders at £300 and went straight to the Niche. If you have no grinder then I may consider something around the £300 mark, although for me, that would be because i find the MC2 a tad ugly more than anything. But the good thing is that it isn't that big. Some grinders, like the Sette is very tall.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
Sette 270Wi has an intelligent weighing, it is £530 but I've seen it at £500.

https://www.coffee-box.co.uk/baratz...IqL_5JjaxzQNlOLU7O9dFbA7gxIQ8SRhoCjzQQAvD_BwE

The alternative is single dose your beans, which is what i do now.
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You can single dose with the MC2, like any machine though - it will most likely popcorn without being modified to a degree. Though I doubt the hassle v reward is really worth it - for me anyway.

My point being the timer isn't a negative, as every machine uses a timer unless your spending north of £500. So when they all use them then it can't be a negative.

That is very nice, I'd love to remove the hassle but it's a big step up in pricing.

I suppose the difference MC2 V Niche is that it's a single dose machine so designed to not popcorn?
 
Begbie said:
You can single dose with the MC2, like any machine though - it will most likely popcorn without being modified to a degree. Though I doubt the hassle v reward is really worth it - for me anyway.

My point being the timer isn't a negative, as every machine uses a timer unless your spending north of £500. So when they all use them then it can't be a negative.

That is very nice, I'd love to remove the hassle but it's a big step up in pricing.
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It is quite a cost commitment. At this point, it goes from being an appliance to a hobby.

I have recently set my Niche for pure espresso and for V60, have gone to my old Zass. It's very awkward to hold, not very accurate, takes forever to grind but i love it lol

whOasEZ.jpg
 
Settes still have weighing problems .. can't remember if you had the replacement ?

Raymond Lin said:
The alternative is single dose your beans, which is what i do now.
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Does depend on the grinder retention too for which niche is exemplary & sette ... don't know about MC2, it's chute&burr cavity ? modded Rocky is OK, too.
 
jpaul said:
Settes still have weighing problems .. can't remember if you had the replacement ?


Does depend on the grinder retention too for which niche is exemplary & sette ... don't know about MC2, it's chute&burr cavity ? modded Rocky is OK, too.
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I had the 270W which the gearbox failed in, I ended up getting it repaired and upgraded to another refurb 270Wi. The 270W was rough and inconsistant with weighing, whereas the 270Wi is significantly better. I don't remember the last time I had an issue with the grind weight from it.

Edit: Adding a bit of detail about issues I had with the 270W:

- After changing grind size more than 1/2 clicks it would grind underweight
- After changing beans it would grind underweight
- Gringing directly in the portafilter would sometimes make it grind underweight. It seemed to be something to do with the hook for the portafilter

I've not experienced any of those issues on the 270Wi
 
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so your aversion to a £300 grinder wasn't too deep rooted, if you dropped money on a classic, after encountering an obstinate gasket.
 
I've had a nespresso machine for a few years. Was also thinking of one day changing it.
What I like: easy to use, very fast, low maintenance, taste is good
What I dislike: the aerochino milk maker thing

With the milk on mine I can only do so much milk before it pops the lid during spinning and heating it due to pressure (even though the lid is quite new) and then overflows making a mess. Overall, the milk I can get very good, but it's still quite frothy milk. Too little milk = very frothy. Too much and it can either overflow before fully thickening, or the aerochino thing thinks it's done and cuts it off as it got too hot, but it won't be fully thickened. Basically it's limited in what it can do. Cleaning it out if a faff too due to the lump in the bottom that the frother thing sits around. Technical terms here obviously. ;)

I guess I need to get something with a proper steam wand thing? I am reliant on the milk being good for my coffees basically.
 
Begbie said:
You can single dose with the MC2, like any machine though - it will most likely popcorn without being modified to a degree. Though I doubt the hassle v reward is really worth it - for me anyway.

My point being the timer isn't a negative, as every machine uses a timer unless your spending north of £500. So when they all use them then it can't be a negative.

That is very nice, I'd love to remove the hassle but it's a big step up in pricing.

I suppose the difference MC2 V Niche is that it's a single dose machine so designed to not popcorn?
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There are quite a few grinders below £500 that don't use a timer. You have the obvious Niche, but also things like the Solo/DF-64 and Fellow Ode. They all allow single dosing so don't need a timer.
 
jaybee said:
I've had a nespresso machine for a few years. Was also thinking of one day changing it.
What I like: easy to use, very fast, low maintenance, taste is good
What I dislike: the aerochino milk maker thing

With the milk on mine I can only do so much milk before it pops the lid during spinning and heating it due to pressure (even though the lid is quite new) and then overflows making a mess. Overall, the milk I can get very good, but it's still quite frothy milk. Too little milk = very frothy. Too much and it can either overflow before fully thickening, or the aerochino thing thinks it's done and cuts it off as it got too hot, but it won't be fully thickened. Basically it's limited in what it can do. Cleaning it out if a faff too due to the lump in the bottom that the frother thing sits around. Technical terms here obviously. ;)

I guess I need to get something with a proper steam wand thing? I am reliant on the milk being good for my coffees basically.
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That's why the Aerocino has two fill lines - one for 'with the frother' and one for 'with the stirrer only', if you fill it to the top line with the frother in it, it'll cause carnage :D

That said, I recently swapped my Nespresso for a BtC machine with a steam wand and it's far easier to use and keep clean than the Aerocino was and can froth more milk in one go. It's (or maybe my skills with using it) not quite 'latte art' quality in terms of consistency of frothing but it's good.
 
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