Spec me a coffee machine

[Dsteviedee]

I'm perfectly happy with Starbucks House Blend (Medium Roast).

The other half likes Costa Signature, which I find bitter, fortunately the Rivelia comes with 2 hoppers, so easy(ish) to change between beans.

 

[Kainz]

I am a former user of a Autentica ETAM 29.510.SB Bean to Cup Coffee machine, as it is now located at my mothers place since I've gone for a separates Grinder & Espresso machine at the start of this year.

The Autentica makes a commendable cup of espresso. I drink black so I rarely used its milk frother, which was capable of good frothy milk. The machine is rock solid reliable and served me well for 4yrs. The only reason I moved away was because a bean to cup can only take you so far for grind control - and if you're using good beans then you want the best grind control possible.

There are days when I itch for this machine to be back at my place as I just miss the easy convenience of just pressing a button and having a nice double shot in a glass!

 

[China Man]

Made a video on this machine back on 15/12/2019 and it was our Christmas present for ourselves, we had been using those pod for a few years before that and we hated the plastic pod wastes.

4 years and average 6 cups a day for our household and it is still going strong, we descale it every 6 months together with cleaning the internals.

De'Longhi Magnifica ESAM4200 Bean to Cup super long coffee machine review

In the video I will show you unboxing, setup and operation of the DeLonghi Magnifica bean to cup coffee machine. The Video is long and it is 22 minutes in to...

www.youtube.com

 

[Nitefly]

@Ayahuasca I just bopped in my order for an E8 - thanks again for the recommendation, reviews all seemed really good - should arrive this week

 

[Mekrel]

Apologies for hijacking a thread but saves making a new one based on the same subject.

I'm looking at buying my fiancé a coffee machine for Christmas. We currently have a cheap Swan thing in the house and the main gripe with it is the faff of having to fill the portafilter from a pack of ground coffee and tamping it. As well as the faff, idiot here also can't seem to do that without spilling grinds.

Based on the above, and not wanting a pod machine, I'm thinking of getting the Sage Barista Express Impress. Mainly because it'll grind the coffee and fill the portafilter and has a useful assisted tamp function.

However I swear I read at least two posters on here mention in another thread that they find their Sage is inconsistent?

I wondered if someone can comment on how they're inconsistent and if there's other machines I should be looking at?

 

[Raymond Lin]

Consistency of espresso most likely as a result of the grinder, inconsistent grind.

To get consistent and repeatable coffee you need a good grinder. The built in one from a bean to cup machine like the Sage is serviceable, but I'd expect something like a DF54 for £250 would beat it hands down. Then spend the rest of the budget on any Non-pressurised basket machine.

 

[Mekrel]

Hmm, I appreciate that's probably the best way to get incredible coffee but not sure she's that much of a coffee connoisseur to justify the learning curve. Regardless I'll have a look at what I can get for circa £650ish as that's what the Impress costs after a work discount scheme.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Hmm, I appreciate that's probably the best way to get incredible coffee but not sure she's that much of a coffee connoisseur to justify the learning curve. Regardless I'll have a look at what I can get for circa £650ish as that's what the Impress costs after a work discount scheme.

There is no difference in using the Sage to a separate grinder and espresso machine. The steps are exactly the same.

 

[China Man]

Consistency of espresso most likely as a result of the grinder, inconsistent grind.

To get consistent and repeatable coffee you need a good grinder. The built in one from a bean to cup machine like the Sage is serviceable, but I'd expect something like a DF54 for £250 would beat it hands down. Then spend the rest of the budget on any Non-pressurised basket machine.

I once was offered a £400 Refractometer with bluetooth for a review which I did not take on since I have no clue about consistency of coffee except if I don't drink my morning cup I get moody and slight headache

 

[RussellM]

Jumping in to suggest looking around for stores that still have in stock the most likely discontinued by Sage Duo Temp Pro. If you do not need the attached grinder and like myself already have or can purchase a ceramic burr grinder, this is a really fantastic and tidy machine. Mine has had serious amounts of use over 5 years. Coming from a background of the (here comes the groans) barista championships I have been particularly impatient when looking at consumer espresso machines.

This thing, gets up to temperature, the appropriate temperature that is. Achieves required pressure and maintains it and most important to me, it is serviceable. Looks the part too.

Big thing, at the time of my purchase it was sub £250, if you're willing to look on the second hand market, again, remember this is a very serviceable machine, you could be looking at a real budget machine that#s very capable.