Looking to finally make the plunge and treat myself to a bean to cup coffee machine, want the convenience of a few button presses to make my flat white for me!

Various Gaggia models are recommended but after some real world experiences!

I’m probably going to get flamed for this, but I think the grinder is the important part. Makes a huge difference INE.

There’s a seller on eBay that does (properly) refurbed Sage machines, in the past they’ve done extra discounts on BF (which is coming round soon). Got an Oracle for around £650 (they are £1800 at John Lewis!!) Not put a foot wrong in almost 3 years now, used every day.

I went for that one as it occupies a pretty much unique niche as a “semi-auto” machine, so in theory better coffee than a one-push bean-to-cup but without needing to fall down the whole bean coffee rabbit hole 😂 (which might still happen one day but not got time for right now 😀)

I bought a De’Longhi  Eletta Bean-to-Cup Coffee Machine in 2018 – it’s not missed a beat and so far has made 10313 shots of coffee…

Machine was an eye watering £600 but thats only 6p a shot, Bean consumption probably works out to be £1250 – £1500 over the same time period so you’re looking at 19p a shot of coffee so 38p for a long.

I never faffed with it / changed grinder settings etc just cleaned it and descaled every few months.

Any idea what the eBay shop name is?

Sounds promising!

@bavariangaz idoodirect

this the idoodirect seller:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334700617049?var=543854463990

Another De’Longhi here.

Bought it used off here in 2018.

I just keep feeding it beans and water (with the occasional clean) and it keeps making me coffee (about 4 or more a day!)

I’ve seen too many threads about repairing (various) Gaggias for me to entertain buying one.

What’s your budget ?

possible to spend £££

We have had Sage Bambino and then graduated to Sage Oracle which has been brilliant

All these re conditioned Sage machines for sale or already sold , do they all need returned and sold off cheap to traders

I have a delonghi bean to cup, I can’t be arsed boxing it up and sending it off , buy an old Gaggia or Rancilio

I’ve got a delonghi machine that is three years old and has been faultless. We are in soft water area which I think helps with machine working forever without intervention

i did break it once though my own fault, delonghi service was first class. They sent a box, then courier abs returned it three days later without any charge.

i have older version of this one, seems to always be on offer at curry’s

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/delonghi-magnifica-s-ecam250.33.tb-bean-to-cup-coffee-machine-titanium-black-10237053.html

Budget would help, probably around £600 but can be flexible.

Have just seen the Sage oracle through the eBay link above. Very tempting!

My delonghi was great when new.

Then after 3 years broke. Went to delonghi to be repaired. 6 months later the same issue. Opened it my self found that they used a plastic nubbin to locate and drive the basket base to eject the puck.

This nubbin was what was breaking off.

Manufactured a replacement in aluminium. Worked fine till the day my brew head needed replaced and that was 60 quid.

Replaced it with a jura at that point.

<We have had Sage Bambino and then graduated to Sage Oracle which has been brilliant</span>

My Oracle is total rubbish. And definitely not worth the money. Had three and is very inconsistent despite much experimentation and beans selection. Most of the issue has been grinder and tamping consistency.

Purchased a separate grinder which is the way to go – maybe with a Gaggia Classic Pro/Evi. But that is not bean to cup.

The little Beko is the cheapest/okay ish B2C I’ve used. (Silly cheap and same design as the Smeg.)  I’ve also used some of the delonghis too and they’re not bad-ish.

Basically decent coffee is actually a bit of hassle and a ritual as I’ve discovered!

I personally would not go anywhere near the Sage machines again for the money – just get a decent grinder and the Gaggia Evo or similar.

I just had my Oracle repaired (3rd replacement model) 18 months old – as the boiler had blown a fuse due to leaking from hard water – despite twice filtered water and descaling.

We’ve got a bean to cup machine from Miele similar to the photo. It was very pricey but was a 50 th birthday present from Mrs Stern. We’ve been very happy with it and as far as we are concerned it makes great coffee. It’s had some serious use, too what with at some point there has been eight people at home! We had one problem with milk frothing part of the machine which was still under warranty and Miele sent a box and we sent the machine to Miele and a week later we had perfectly working machine back.

https://www.holzleitner.de/media/9a/03/22/1669821504/CM6160_001.jpg

All these re conditioned Sage machines for sale or already sold , do they all need returned and sold off cheap to traders

in English please?

My Oracle is total rubbish. And definitely not worth the money. Had three and is very inconsistent despite much experimentation and beans selection. Most of the issue has been grinder and tamping consistency.

I just had my Oracle repaired (3rd replacement model) 18 months old – as the boiler had blown a fuse due to leaking from hard water – despite twice filtered water and descaling.

fair enough, totally the opposite of my experience though 🤷‍♂️

fair enough, totally the opposite of my experience though 🤷‍♂️

Yep and mine too.

Every different type of been, and even the age can mean that you need to adjust the grind, but ours has been faultless

in English please?

Well I read it clearly to say why are so many returned to need refurbed.he has a point No one i know who has one seems to buy a new one . They are all returned.

Same as no one ever pays more than half the rrp for a delonghi

We have a Melitta Barista TS Smart – everything at a touch of a button including lattes and cappuccinos, has been flawless and really good coffee, added advantage of two bean containers so you can have either different roasts or in our case normal and decaf. Every possible coffee type you could ever want.
These are a bit above the £600 budget though. I’m sure purists would say it’s sacrilege but I love it.

Had several delonghis – they are pretty good for the money, make great coffee and last 3-4 years with very heavy use in our household. THe ebay delongh shop has refurbs that are good value.

Looked at the sage, but as it isnt really a bean to cup – you have to move the grind basket over – decided it wasnt for us

The miele above looks fab, I ve bought a few items from miele direct.  It’s worth subscribing for email updates as they do bf offers.  I m sticking with my knock grinder and Alessi stove top for now.

DeLonghi recommended here was the gateway drug 😉

I have a Sage Barista Pro. I don’t need double boiler as 95% of stuff I make is espresso. It’s three years old and apart from a new seal in the brew head (about 5 quid and 5 mins to fix) has made 2-3 coffees as day without missing a beat.

You do need to keep on top of backflush/descaling tho. Also using the pin tool to keep the steamer clean if you use that. Also every six months I’ll full clean out the grinder of old coffee shards.

We get great beans locally and I’m sure that makes a difference,

Oh and if you do want to steam milk, it’s very satisfying when you get it right (1m YT videos on how to do it!). Worth getting a jug with a temp gauge on it to make it consistent. I’m very good at ‘fluffly clouds’ latte art when I am asked to make a non espresso 🙂

Well I read it clearly to say why are so many returned to need refurbed.he has a point No one i know who has one seems to buy a new one . They are all returned.

I see. Well, it’s just a numbers game isn’t it? The bigger the company, the more DOAs/returns. It happens to every brand, doesn’t mean that brand is less reliable. Actually in a way I’d prefer something that’s been returned & then fixed as you know it’s definitely going to work now 😂 Especially if it’s cheaper!

Looked at the sage, but as it isnt really a bean to cup – you have to move the grind basket over – decided it wasnt for us

yeah. This is either a plus or minus depending on what you want!!

Are sage really that big of a company …. Although iirc they are a rebadge in other countries

$1.4 B globally in sales in 2022 apparently, yeah you’re right probably a niche product 😉

Delonghi corso here. Makes a semi decent cup of coffee. Needs descaling monthly and I’ve fixed a few issues myself but it’s still going after 3 years of heavy usage. Then my son brought his sage Barista express refurb home. With the same beans, and after a bit of faff to get it set up for those beans, it makes a way way better coffee – on a par with the best coffee shops round here.

Sage is made/owned by Breville but so many reconditioned ones on eBay, do folk buy them off Amazon and send them back or they just stop working?

$1.4 B globally in sales in 2022 apparently, yeah you’re right probably a niche product

Just on their coffee machines alone. That’s an impressive number.

*Edit*

😉

That Miele machine looks very similar to the Melitta and is the same price, it lacks the 2 coffee bean containers which for our family is a big plus.

Melitta Barista TS Smart

Seconded, ours has been flawless since we bought it in early 2020 and coffee seems great to me. Think we paid £700 from here, looks to be £850 now (rrp is £1260).  There is a Melitta refurb store which in theory has mega margins, but it’s pretty challenging to find things in stock.

I also have a reconditioned Oracle. Two years and I’m happy with it.

HOWEVER, if I was buying now I wouldn’t go bean-to-cup. Great coffee, but inflexible – I live with someone who lies decaf, and this means we have to put in just enough beans for a single cup each time we use it. It doesn’t take long to suss out how many beans this is, but it would be simpler with a separate grinder.

I got a Siemens EQ 300 last year for my 50th last year…..its perfect…tbh it get me up in the mornings…nothing….NOTHING …beats first cup of coffee of the day

I would never buy anything named Oracle.

You are likely to find yourself audited for licensing costs…

Easily: see my comment ref Melitta TS Smart! Two bean containers so we always have one with normal and one with Lavazza decaff beans in. Not sure how many of any other b2c machines have this feature though.

HOWEVER, if I was buying now I wouldn’t go bean-to-cup. Great coffee, but inflexible – I live with someone who lies decaf, and this means we have to put in just enough beans for a single cup each time we use it.

As andylc points out the Melitta mentioned has a split bean hopper so you can choose between two different beans when you make a cup. It also has port in the top to add ground coffee directly if you want to bypass the grinder with something different.

EDIT; beaten by andylc himself!

Are there any machines with a dual hopper, but without any of the milk gubins? I drink a varying ratios to caff/decaf throughout the day, but never touch milk.

The Melitta has a separate milk container which you connect for milky stuff. Just leave it in the cupboard! Surely useful to have for visitors etc??

I’ve had a De’Longhi magnifica for maybe seven or eight years now. It gets used once a day during the week and two or three times a day at weekends and has done so now ever since I’ve owned it. It’s been totally trouble fee and still makes great coffee as far as I can tell although I’m no James Hoffman!
if it broke tomorrow I’d get another one exactly the same.

jcaFull Member
I would never buy anything named Oracle.

You are likely to find yourself audited for licensing costs…

😀