Lelit Mara X - I bought one (and a Baratza Sette 270)
Discussion
Thanks for everyone's advice a couple of months ago, in the end I bought the Lelit Mara X and a Baratza Sette 270, i just wanted to feed back.
I thought we could wait for the Niche Zero grinder and just buy espresso ground coffee from the Roastery - this did not work at all, the machine hardly had any bars of pressure (no crema). So, we bought the Sette 270 as a mid range grinder, to be honest it's great for the price, no, it doesn't look as nice as the Niche but it does the job well. The Sette 270 fills directly into a plastic cup, it seems to do this better than filling directly into the Portafilter. Reviews i read moan about the noise, it isn't that noisy but it grinds quickly.
The Lelit Mara X is a great machine, it takes roughly 20 minutes from switching on in the morning to heat up, during the day it tends to take a couple of minutes to get good pressure after waking from it's sleep. You can happily pull a couple of shots and steam 300ml of milk without any drama.The machine is very small, it really hardly takes any of the counter up, the only downside of this is that having cups on top is quite tight (you are restricted to maybe 2 cups/saucers and a couple of shot glasses). The machine feels / looks well built, the water filter / water holder is very convenient, we've had the machine for a couple of weeks now and no complaints.
I thought we could wait for the Niche Zero grinder and just buy espresso ground coffee from the Roastery - this did not work at all, the machine hardly had any bars of pressure (no crema). So, we bought the Sette 270 as a mid range grinder, to be honest it's great for the price, no, it doesn't look as nice as the Niche but it does the job well. The Sette 270 fills directly into a plastic cup, it seems to do this better than filling directly into the Portafilter. Reviews i read moan about the noise, it isn't that noisy but it grinds quickly.
The Lelit Mara X is a great machine, it takes roughly 20 minutes from switching on in the morning to heat up, during the day it tends to take a couple of minutes to get good pressure after waking from it's sleep. You can happily pull a couple of shots and steam 300ml of milk without any drama.The machine is very small, it really hardly takes any of the counter up, the only downside of this is that having cups on top is quite tight (you are restricted to maybe 2 cups/saucers and a couple of shot glasses). The machine feels / looks well built, the water filter / water holder is very convenient, we've had the machine for a couple of weeks now and no complaints.
oddman said:
Nice one.
I responded to the post and followed up your suggestion of Lelit and suspect I will go for the Mara X too
I'm on waiting list for the Niche grinder - just looks such neat solution for my needs. Will buy the espresso machine later.
I will probably buy a Niche grinder next year, they are a nice piece of kit although I'm not sure i can quite justify the expense at the minute, it is very simple and does make the workflow quicker (no doubt). I'm not really using the hopper on the Sette, i add pretty much what i need for the next couple of shots.I responded to the post and followed up your suggestion of Lelit and suspect I will go for the Mara X too
I'm on waiting list for the Niche grinder - just looks such neat solution for my needs. Will buy the espresso machine later.
I thought I'd provide an update 3 years on for anyone thinking of getting their first (semi) professional machine. The Lelit has been faultless, got us nicely through those lockdown days and permanent WFH periods (28 shots a week for the first 18 months) and has been averaging 10-12 shots a week ever since. The machine hasn't put a foot wrong, to me it still pulls some very good shots and I remain pleased I bought it, for me it produces great espresso and textures the milk for flat whites perfectly.
The Baratza Sette 270 was not my first choice, I think like a lot of others I wanted the Niche grinder but alas 3 years ago getting one was almost impossible and I didn't want to wait. The Sette has been a great grinder, I use it for pour over and cold brew grinds as well as espressos so it does get a lot of use even when I'm in the office. However, the gearbox recently did let go, it just wouldn't switch on (I hoped it was a fuse, alas it wasn't). £120 later a replacement gearbox was fitted and it been brilliant ever since, it is now noticeably quieter too.
I think like everything the Mara X is now more expensive than it was in 2020, maybe £1,100 or £1,200. For us its well worth it and I think its a very simple to use machine, also nice and compact on the work surface etc., I would definitely recommend one, I tend to pull the shots then steam the milk, I believe the machine has the power to do both at the same time but it isn't something I ever do.
The Baratza Sette 270 was not my first choice, I think like a lot of others I wanted the Niche grinder but alas 3 years ago getting one was almost impossible and I didn't want to wait. The Sette has been a great grinder, I use it for pour over and cold brew grinds as well as espressos so it does get a lot of use even when I'm in the office. However, the gearbox recently did let go, it just wouldn't switch on (I hoped it was a fuse, alas it wasn't). £120 later a replacement gearbox was fitted and it been brilliant ever since, it is now noticeably quieter too.
I think like everything the Mara X is now more expensive than it was in 2020, maybe £1,100 or £1,200. For us its well worth it and I think its a very simple to use machine, also nice and compact on the work surface etc., I would definitely recommend one, I tend to pull the shots then steam the milk, I believe the machine has the power to do both at the same time but it isn't something I ever do.
Thanks for the follow up. My niche arrived on time as advertised (IIRC a crowdfunding kind of arrangement so a bit squeaky bum for a £500 purchase).
It's been as easy to use and faultlessly reliable as expected. It's fairly small for a semi pro grinder as it has no hopper and reasonably quiet. It looks good. The dose in/dose out work flow is great and the grind setting is easy to adjust. Because there is zero retention, there's no need to purge it between changing grind settings or beans (if you are fussy about that). I've got a very crude Melitta/Jug set up and I couldn't believe the jump in quality. It's the first time I have ever detected the so called 'sweetness' in coffee made by myself. Friends ask - 'What's that coffee you're using?' when I make them a mug. So I bore them about the grinder rather than the beans/supplier.
I guess it's a tribute to the quality of the grinder that I haven't got round to buying an espresso machine and still enjoying straight up no sugar no milk filter coffee.
It's been as easy to use and faultlessly reliable as expected. It's fairly small for a semi pro grinder as it has no hopper and reasonably quiet. It looks good. The dose in/dose out work flow is great and the grind setting is easy to adjust. Because there is zero retention, there's no need to purge it between changing grind settings or beans (if you are fussy about that). I've got a very crude Melitta/Jug set up and I couldn't believe the jump in quality. It's the first time I have ever detected the so called 'sweetness' in coffee made by myself. Friends ask - 'What's that coffee you're using?' when I make them a mug. So I bore them about the grinder rather than the beans/supplier.
I guess it's a tribute to the quality of the grinder that I haven't got round to buying an espresso machine and still enjoying straight up no sugar no milk filter coffee.
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff