[Closed] Will this espresso machine be shit or worth a punt?

At that price why not.

thats what i'm trying to find out lol

I have that, or at least something that looks the same. About 5 years or so old and bought for about £50 iirc. Very reliable, has made 2 or 3 espressos a day in that time just fine. It's not the best espresso ever, but then again i'm just using Lavazza red pre-ground, so it's fine. Better than nespresso anyway.

hmm i have a £50 ambiano/aldi one at the minute which works well/fine, probs no upgrade on the aldi one then at £50 a few years ago

Their coffee machines are well respected, my Magnifica is superb so I'd take a punt on one of those.

Not worth it then, sounds like you have something similar. A proper upgrade would be a gaggia classic with a fancy burr grinder and unicorn coffee beans. But you could get a bike for the cost of that lot.

Not espresso but a recent ebay/alcohol interface saw one of these turn up at my door. Looks like faff but awesome coffee. In fact, right now I'm drinking a cafetiere made cup of the same coffee and it is completely different. Only criticism is that the cup size is tiny - 2 cup version only fills my travel mug just over half

^^^ you need a beam heater for that there syphon, but yes great coffee if rather faffy.

Sorry BBSB but that's hilarious.... you must have been seriously pissed to buy that 🤪

I’ve got a Gaggia Classic day here being hardly used if anyone wants to make me an offer around the £75 mark?

It depends what your expectations are. For some people pre-ground coffee, or coffee ground with a crappy grinder put through a machine like that will seem OK, for others it will seem horrible.

If you want your coffee to taste like that from a good speciality coffee shop you'll be very disappointed. If you want something slightly better than instant then you'll be pleased.

JP

Well every time a coffee machine question like this comes up I roll out this little anecdote: many years ago my dad treated himself to the classic Gaggia machine which cost about £300 at the time and I got a cheap Krups machine for less than £100. We decided to do a back to back test...same water, same (decent) coffee etc. and do a taste test...guess what...you couldn't tell the difference. Its not the machine that makes good coffee, its the coffee and the with a manual machine, the operator.

So yes...definitely worth a punt. Better to invest in the beans/coffee and with a bit of practice you'll definitely be able to do significantly better than 'slightly better than instant' i'm sure.

Shed Brewed. I'm interested in that.

Can you email me

Paulbennett76@(remobethisbit)hotmail.com

Well every time a coffee machine question like this comes up I roll out this little anecdote: many years ago my dad treated himself to the classic Gaggia machine which cost about £300 at the time and I got a cheap Krups machine for less than £100. We decided to do a back to back test…same water, same (decent) coffee etc. and do a taste test…guess what…you couldn’t tell the difference. Its not the machine that makes good coffee, its the coffee and the with a manual machine, the operator.

So yes…definitely worth a punt. Better to invest in the beans/coffee and with a bit of practice you’ll definitely be able to do significantly better than ‘slightly better than instant’ i’m sure.

Not quite true - the grinder makes a much bigger difference than the machine.

This said, I ran many training sessions in my old shop where people would bring in their home machines - mainly Classics and the odd Rancilio. The coffee was noticeably worse than that pulled on my commercial Kees Van der Western machine despite the fact that the same grinder and coffee were used, and coffees were made with the same brew ratio.

Generally speaking, home machines are unable to keep a stable temperature, which is crucial really. Fluctuations in temperature have a massive effect on extraction (higher temperatures increase extraction, lower ones do the opposite). If you can't have any consistency of temperature you'll never get really good espresso.

JP

This said, I ran many training sessions in my old shop where people would bring in their home machines – mainly Classics and the odd Rancilio. The coffee was noticeably worse than that pulled on my commercial Kees Van der Western machine despite the fact that the same grinder and coffee were used, and coffees were made with the same brew ratio.

Peak STW right there.........

I keep getting tempted by these offers, the idea of an actual espresso machine to propel me right up there into the middle classes, spending my days wondering about those temperature fluctuations and the effects they're having on my beans.

Truth be told though, I just want to know if it's going to be any better than an Aeropress? Most of the coffee shops around here are a lottery between getting instant, filter, or actual espresso, so my standards are not that high.

Truth be told though, I just want to know if it’s going to be any better than an Aeropress?

Are you new around here?

If you're in a rush, just make an expresso...

Boom. Tish. etc.

DrP

Truth be told though, I just want to know if it’s going to be any better than an Aeropress?

I went from an unpredictable DeLonghi espresso machine to an aeropress, obviously not espresso, but a fine cup of coffee at home. With fresh beans from a burr grinder of course as they are important in the lifecycle of your caffeine supply.

sharkbait
Member
Sorry BBSB but that’s hilarious…. you must have been seriously pissed to buy that

Not very sober to be honest (whisky off the cheap shelf in Tesco again). But I have to say it looks neat, more like a science experiment than a coffee maker, and the coffee is excellent. Far better than the same coffee done in the cafetiere