A Machine for Making Coffee
Discussion
I've had a cafetiere in the past and love the process/ritual of making a coffee, but it can be a faff when you're doing other things plus, if you want to make several cups...
Machines; the ones that grind the beans and dose you a coffee how you like it. I'm not into the fancy/poncy ones - just a simple black coffee or espresso when I fancy one. Have seen a DeLonghi in a couple of places and they seem to be a good offering. Nothing too big and I'm not that fussed about having all the accessories so budget is not an issue as such, but a decent machine that won't take up too much space (don't want to turn a section of my kitchen into a Costa/Nero/Starbucks etc) and doesn't require that I go on a course to be qualified to use it.
The most recent one I used at a friend's was a De'Longhi 'Magnifica' and although it was a bit of a thing to look at (black) it did a succinct job of making a freshly ground coffee.
Recommendations and advice gratefully received, and thanks in advance.
Machines; the ones that grind the beans and dose you a coffee how you like it. I'm not into the fancy/poncy ones - just a simple black coffee or espresso when I fancy one. Have seen a DeLonghi in a couple of places and they seem to be a good offering. Nothing too big and I'm not that fussed about having all the accessories so budget is not an issue as such, but a decent machine that won't take up too much space (don't want to turn a section of my kitchen into a Costa/Nero/Starbucks etc) and doesn't require that I go on a course to be qualified to use it.
The most recent one I used at a friend's was a De'Longhi 'Magnifica' and although it was a bit of a thing to look at (black) it did a succinct job of making a freshly ground coffee.
Recommendations and advice gratefully received, and thanks in advance.
I'm onto my second Sage Barista after 10 years hard use with my first one.
This time I went for the Impress model which enables you to tamp via a lever on the machine - the coffee is just as good but what I like is that the lever tamp system wastes far less coffee than the manual tamp, I would estimate 20% less.
They are a great machine and I think I managed to get it for less than £500 direct from Sage including a 20% further discount via my daughters 'blue light' card.
I would say the coffee is every but as good or better than you would get from any of the high street coffee outlets.
This time I went for the Impress model which enables you to tamp via a lever on the machine - the coffee is just as good but what I like is that the lever tamp system wastes far less coffee than the manual tamp, I would estimate 20% less.
They are a great machine and I think I managed to get it for less than £500 direct from Sage including a 20% further discount via my daughters 'blue light' card.
I would say the coffee is every but as good or better than you would get from any of the high street coffee outlets.
Lotobear said:
I'm onto my second Sage Barista after 10 years hard use with my first one.
This time I went for the Impress model which enables you to tamp via a lever on the machine - the coffee is just as good but what I like is that the lever tamp system wastes far less coffee than the manual tamp, I would estimate 20% less.
They are a great machine and I think I managed to get it for less than £500 direct from Sage including a 20% further discount via my daughters 'blue light' card.
I would say the coffee is every but as good or better than you would get from any of the high street coffee outlets.
You can get a funnel for the porta filter which saves a lot of waste/mess of the standard barista express model. This time I went for the Impress model which enables you to tamp via a lever on the machine - the coffee is just as good but what I like is that the lever tamp system wastes far less coffee than the manual tamp, I would estimate 20% less.
They are a great machine and I think I managed to get it for less than £500 direct from Sage including a 20% further discount via my daughters 'blue light' card.
I would say the coffee is every but as good or better than you would get from any of the high street coffee outlets.
Agreed with the sage machines. Had mine for 5 years and couldn't be without it. Coffee is better than most cafes and always get loads of positive comments from guests. Useful for making Espresso Martini's too.
After trying loads of beans over the years I've settled form M&S own brand Italian blends beans which over a good balance of quality and value.
Glassman said:
Zero knowledge of these machines work.
The DeLonghi: load hopper with beans; make sure there a supply of water then press button after placing a cup under the spouty thing.
It's the mention of tampers and special dosing spoons I'd rather steer clear of if I can.
The sage machines are a little more manual but are not challenging to use. As ever, you can go down a massive rabbit hole to make the absolute perfect cup but it's really not necessary.The DeLonghi: load hopper with beans; make sure there a supply of water then press button after placing a cup under the spouty thing.
It's the mention of tampers and special dosing spoons I'd rather steer clear of if I can.
Use a mokka pot and have done for a few years but the gf has a Nespresso machine which I use Grind pods on when I'm at hers for minimal fuss.
Got an aeropress go for xmas for when I want to take my coffee addiction everywhere I go. The cups I get from that are really nice and prefer it over the coffee shops so not sure a bean to cup machine would be any better for me.
Got an aeropress go for xmas for when I want to take my coffee addiction everywhere I go. The cups I get from that are really nice and prefer it over the coffee shops so not sure a bean to cup machine would be any better for me.
Glassman said:
Zero knowledge of these machines work.
The DeLonghi: load hopper with beans; make sure there a supply of water then press button after placing a cup under the spouty thing.
It's the mention of tampers and special dosing spoons I'd rather steer clear of if I can.
Agreed. The DeLonghi: load hopper with beans; make sure there a supply of water then press button after placing a cup under the spouty thing.
It's the mention of tampers and special dosing spoons I'd rather steer clear of if I can.
And mess.
especially if wanting to make a few cups at the same time.
Delonghi Esam job is your friend here.
Lefty said:
Sage Barista Express seems to get decent reviews on here.
I have a gaggia machine and a separate grinder and all the stuff that goes with it - but I definitely see the appeal of a b2c machine too for when you’re making coffee for a number of people at once.
Following with interest.
I got my mum this for Christmas. Think I paid £424 from Sage Direct and got a couple of bags of beans thrown in. I was very impressed with it when I set it up for her.I have a gaggia machine and a separate grinder and all the stuff that goes with it - but I definitely see the appeal of a b2c machine too for when you’re making coffee for a number of people at once.
Following with interest.
I have the Sage Nespresso Creatista Plus but just bougth a refurb Barista Touch from one of the big resellers as they were doing an additional £75 off so got it for £450, think the retail is £1199.
Glassman said:
The most recent one I used at a friend's was a De'Longhi 'Magnifica' and although it was a bit of a thing to look at (black) it did a succinct job of making a freshly ground coffee.
Recommendations and advice gratefully received, and thanks in advance.
We've got a Magnifica - It's OK in that it produces alright black coffee from beans, and needs almost no maintenance ( as long as you don't use the milk thing ). Recommendations and advice gratefully received, and thanks in advance.
I fill it with water and beans when it needs it, and I empty it a couple of times a week. All the bits can go in the dishwasher every couple of months and that's about it.
Ours has lasted maybe >8 years now so has probably delivered in terms of value.
I would like a better home espresso maker (but have yet to see a good one) and I've looked at more expensive machines only to rule them out because they all seem to need more maintenance / be more fiddly.
I'm of the view that anything that has built in milk making is a waste of time as you spend more time cleaning it than using it - For milk, we use a separate magnetic milk frother / velvetiser thing that requires zero cleaning and does a pretty good job.
david mcc said:
I bought a Delonghi Dinamica last year and its brilliant. minor adjustments on day one to make my preferred coffee and since then its a single button to sort my Easy to clean etc too.
Would recommend it.
I've got the Dinamica Plus, no idea what the difference is without looking.Would recommend it.
Pretty straight forward to use, you can use the default options or you can customise through the touchscreen how much coffee/milk etc for your specific drink type, latte, cappuccino etc
There's a grind setting inside the bean hopper that you may need to adjust to get the right flow of coffee into your cup and technically if you change beans you may need to adjust this again, but if I am honest I never adjust mine after I'd set it initially.
You have a water tank that you will need to fill, and you can probably get 3-4 cups (depending upon beverage) from one tank, if you have milk you should get roughly the same, again dependent upon the beverage.
It's very clean as the grinds are captured, and the drip tray will need emptying occasionally, the grind mechanism is easy to remove and will need a clean also.
Worth noting that you will need to descale and change the water filter every couple of months, depending upon usage and how hard/soft your water is. This will be an additional expense to factor in for any bean to cup machine.
I've got a black Delonghi Magnifica S machine, which is just a year old (a 2023 Christmas pressie).
I've only used the milk spout twice. I use the microwave to heat the milk in the mug first for 20 secs, whilst the machine is firing up, and use with locally bought beans.
It's been a good machine so far, however shortly before Christmas it lit up, like a Christmas tree, twice, telling me it needed water and that the used coffee bucket was full, neither message correct. A turn off/on at the plug fixed the issue.
Overall, easy to use, would recommend.
I've only used the milk spout twice. I use the microwave to heat the milk in the mug first for 20 secs, whilst the machine is firing up, and use with locally bought beans.
It's been a good machine so far, however shortly before Christmas it lit up, like a Christmas tree, twice, telling me it needed water and that the used coffee bucket was full, neither message correct. A turn off/on at the plug fixed the issue.
Overall, easy to use, would recommend.
fat80b said:
Glassman said:
The most recent one I used at a friend's was a De'Longhi 'Magnifica' and although it was a bit of a thing to look at (black) it did a succinct job of making a freshly ground coffee.
Recommendations and advice gratefully received, and thanks in advance.
We've got a Magnifica - It's OK in that it produces alright black coffee from beans, and needs almost no maintenance ( as long as you don't use the milk thing ). Recommendations and advice gratefully received, and thanks in advance.
I fill it with water and beans when it needs it, and I empty it a couple of times a week. All the bits can go in the dishwasher every couple of months and that's about it.
Ours has lasted maybe >8 years now so has probably delivered in terms of value.
I would like a better home espresso maker (but have yet to see a good one) and I've looked at more expensive machines only to rule them out because they all seem to need more maintenance / be more fiddly.
I'm of the view that anything that has built in milk making is a waste of time as you spend more time cleaning it than using it - For milk, we use a separate magnetic milk frother / velvetiser thing that requires zero cleaning and does a pretty good job.
The internal tray that catches the old coffee could be designed better so it doesn't deposit coffee grinds all over the inside of the machine, it could direct them better so it doesn't report as being full when it has 50% capacity left... but that's really it for grumbles, it's basic, it makes coffee and as long as nobody wants hot milk I'm happy as Larry because I just can't be bothered with all that stuff
I'd love something a bit more fancy and keep hankering after these Sage ones but I just want a decent cup of coffee, not a new hobby (I do see the appeal through).
dai1983 said:
Use a mokka pot and have done for a few years but the gf has a Nespresso machine which I use Grind pods on when I'm at hers for minimal fuss.
Got an aeropress go for xmas for when I want to take my coffee addiction everywhere I go. The cups I get from that are really nice and prefer it over the coffee shops so not sure a bean to cup machine would be any better for me.
I purchased an aeropress a few years back and I love it's simplicity, compactness, price and next to zero maintenance. And the results are usually good to very good. But rarely amazing. So I am getting an itch to upgrade,though nothing comes to mind which beats it overall (simplicity, compactness, price,maint.)Got an aeropress go for xmas for when I want to take my coffee addiction everywhere I go. The cups I get from that are really nice and prefer it over the coffee shops so not sure a bean to cup machine would be any better for me.
Would be good to try before buying a more pricey alternative (e.g. Rok/ Hugh / Flair) but unsure that's really an option. eBay is probably the answer..
thetapeworm said:
fat80b said:
Glassman said:
The most recent one I used at a friend's was a De'Longhi 'Magnifica' and although it was a bit of a thing to look at (black) it did a succinct job of making a freshly ground coffee.
Recommendations and advice gratefully received, and thanks in advance.
We've got a Magnifica - It's OK in that it produces alright black coffee from beans, and needs almost no maintenance ( as long as you don't use the milk thing ). Recommendations and advice gratefully received, and thanks in advance.
I fill it with water and beans when it needs it, and I empty it a couple of times a week. All the bits can go in the dishwasher every couple of months and that's about it.
Ours has lasted maybe >8 years now so has probably delivered in terms of value.
I would like a better home espresso maker (but have yet to see a good one) and I've looked at more expensive machines only to rule them out because they all seem to need more maintenance / be more fiddly.
I'm of the view that anything that has built in milk making is a waste of time as you spend more time cleaning it than using it - For milk, we use a separate magnetic milk frother / velvetiser thing that requires zero cleaning and does a pretty good job.
The internal tray that catches the old coffee could be designed better so it doesn't deposit coffee grinds all over the inside of the machine, it could direct them better so it doesn't report as being full when it has 50% capacity left... but that's really it for grumbles, it's basic, it makes coffee and as long as nobody wants hot milk I'm happy as Larry because I just can't be bothered with all that stuff
I'd love something a bit more fancy and keep hankering after these Sage ones but I just want a decent cup of coffee, not a new hobby (I do see the appeal through).
And apparently maintenance we owners should do on a 6 month or so basis.
I think mine is 12 years old and maybe smashed out 15,000+ coffees before I did this - and it has resolved.
PushedDover said:
Delonghi 4200 esam thing that has been an absolute trooper for 14 yrs or so and getting used 5/6 times a day ever since.
(FWIW Ace-T, mine started to not cake the grounds so much, and alike. I googled, and bought a seal pack from ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225966881824?mkcid=16&a...
followed the : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A4hlIKjj9U and it is bang on and acting like new again.)
(FWIW Ace-T, mine started to not cake the grounds so much, and alike. I googled, and bought a seal pack from ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225966881824?mkcid=16&a...
followed the : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A4hlIKjj9U and it is bang on and acting like new again.)
Espresso snob here, I’ve got a decent e61 machine and grinder and this makes true cafe quality or better, but you only want one of these if you’re after a hobby.
The sage baristas make a consistently good coffee and all the milky versions as well and are pretty much idiot proof. If you do want to do the odd milk coffee these seem very good for what they do. If you’re just after black coffees might be overkill.
The sage baristas make a consistently good coffee and all the milky versions as well and are pretty much idiot proof. If you do want to do the odd milk coffee these seem very good for what they do. If you’re just after black coffees might be overkill.
PushedDover said:
thetapeworm said:
fat80b said:
Glassman said:
The most recent one I used at a friend's was a De'Longhi 'Magnifica' and although it was a bit of a thing to look at (black) it did a succinct job of making a freshly ground coffee.
Recommendations and advice gratefully received, and thanks in advance.
We've got a Magnifica - It's OK in that it produces alright black coffee from beans, and needs almost no maintenance ( as long as you don't use the milk thing ). Recommendations and advice gratefully received, and thanks in advance.
I fill it with water and beans when it needs it, and I empty it a couple of times a week. All the bits can go in the dishwasher every couple of months and that's about it.
Ours has lasted maybe >8 years now so has probably delivered in terms of value.
I would like a better home espresso maker (but have yet to see a good one) and I've looked at more expensive machines only to rule them out because they all seem to need more maintenance / be more fiddly.
I'm of the view that anything that has built in milk making is a waste of time as you spend more time cleaning it than using it - For milk, we use a separate magnetic milk frother / velvetiser thing that requires zero cleaning and does a pretty good job.
The internal tray that catches the old coffee could be designed better so it doesn't deposit coffee grinds all over the inside of the machine, it could direct them better so it doesn't report as being full when it has 50% capacity left... but that's really it for grumbles, it's basic, it makes coffee and as long as nobody wants hot milk I'm happy as Larry because I just can't be bothered with all that stuff
I'd love something a bit more fancy and keep hankering after these Sage ones but I just want a decent cup of coffee, not a new hobby (I do see the appeal through).
And apparently maintenance we owners should do on a 6 month or so basis.
I think mine is 12 years old and maybe smashed out 15,000+ coffees before I did this - and it has resolved.
PushedDover said:
Delonghi 4200 esam thing that has been an absolute trooper for 14 yrs or so and getting used 5/6 times a day ever since.
(FWIW Ace-T, mine started to not cake the grounds so much, and alike. I googled, and bought a seal pack from ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225966881824?mkcid=16&a...
followed the : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A4hlIKjj9U and it is bang on and acting like new again.)
(FWIW Ace-T, mine started to not cake the grounds so much, and alike. I googled, and bought a seal pack from ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225966881824?mkcid=16&a...
followed the : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A4hlIKjj9U and it is bang on and acting like new again.)
I clean the "brew unit" shown in the video on a regular basis but had no idea you could (or should) disassemble it.
Edited by thetapeworm on Tuesday 7th January 21:57
Glassman said:
Zero knowledge of these machines work.
The DeLonghi: load hopper with beans; make sure there a supply of water then press button after placing a cup under the spouty thing.
It's the mention of tampers and special dosing spoons I'd rather steer clear of if I can.
I've just poste the below on another thread.The DeLonghi: load hopper with beans; make sure there a supply of water then press button after placing a cup under the spouty thing.
It's the mention of tampers and special dosing spoons I'd rather steer clear of if I can.
If you want to steer clear of tampers, you're going to steer clear of quality unfortunately.
If you want to taste the quality of an automated 'Bean to Cup', go to a Tesco and use the self serve Costa machine. That's about as good as you'll get from it.
You'll never get the flavour and richness you get from an Independent using a Bean to cup machine.
There's a reason you'll never see an independent using a Bean to Cup.
They are using a manual machine. They'll grind the coffee to the exact point it takes 30 seconds to extract 36 liquid grams, using the coffee as the resistance at 9 bar pressure. That's why it tastes so good. That's the sweet spot - 30 seconds of 92 degree water extracting the flavour from the coffee.
They'll open in the morning and 'dial it in', pulling a few shots, some taking less than 30 seconds (under extracted, lacks depth), some taking more (over extracted, too strong), until it's right.
A bean to cup won't do any of that. It will force scalding hot water through poorly ground beans at high pressure, the coffee wont extract right and it will taste 'thin' and lack depth and flavour.
This isn't a critiscm so don't take it in the wrong way.
You've got one step up from a pod machine. A machine that is all about convenience over quality.
There are 'wallet friendly' ways to upgrade.....
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