[fatdoc]

Cheers, I'll look some more.

[tomtom]

They're all really good iirc (bean to cup machines). Ours was £400 but each cup works out at 20p (coffee and hardware: assuming the machine will break at some point) and saved us a mint over Costa over the road...

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Hi John.

Hope you're well.

I was agonising over a new machine for a while recently. The brew head on my old Gran Gaggia (bottom of their range, but great) had cracked - after 20 years use.

I liked the look of the Heston.. machine, but some of the reviews highlighted problems with the grinder.
In the end I spent £20 on a second hand Breville machine that I knew had an excellent steam wand. I'll wait until I can afford something substantially better.

I found threads/discussion like this really helpful, if for no other reason than to inform me of what may be a good investment or not:

http://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/consumer/rancilio_silvia/ardy2d

If you're tempted by any of the Gaggia machines, there are some fantastic deals to be had on Ebay. Gaggia Classic for e.g.

For what it's worth, I was really impressed with their after sales service.

Dave.

[chris j]

Iirc at the budget end there is Delhongi, or Phillips/Saeco. Most of the machines I their ranges have the same grinder and water unt but with different displays/size tanks etc....

After my boss earlier in the year replaced hos £500 Delonghi bean to cup with a £900 version, I can confirm the coffee is exactly the same, you just get many more frothy milk options and digital displays telling you what it's doing on the expensive one...

[DAVETHOMAS90]

I suppose the question is, do you want a bean to cup machine, or something a little less automatic, that may produce better coffee?

There's something rewarding about producing a great shot of espresso, then of course you can practice your barista skills with the milk!

If you were to buy a Gaggia Classic or similar, second hand, you could just flog it on if not for you. I've always found the coffee from the espresso machine - not bean to cup - far superior.

[fatdoc]

Epic UKB response.

Really grateful.

Cheers Dave.. I hear you... Time to proper consider.. But yes, I'm moving rapidly to a less automatic piece of kit.. With the optimal results.

[Gallant]

For a fair bit less than that (£320 I think) I managed to pick up a gaggia classic and a rancillio rocky grinder second hand, nothing particularly high end but I can promise that I've had nothing but good tasting (provided my input is good) coffee from it.
I wound up purchasing a bottomless portafilter for it which I'd definitely recommend if you want to nerd out with how evenly you're tamping, and the crema I've been able to produce with it has been far less clumpy (hard to explain, easy to see in person). I can't see it costing much more time in a morning compared to a bean to cup machine, if I've switched the machine on pre-shower in the morning, I can have porridge, espresso and a packed lunch made and be out the door within 20 minutes easily.

[fatdoc]

Thanks, I hear you. More to this than meets the eye.

Pysched for some good home coffee!

[shurt]

Been looking into a new machine recently and am looking at getting a 2nd hand Gaggia Classic from somewhere (my budget is less than yours!!). Its highly recommended in lots of places but if you have more to spend you can of course get something better...

This was a decent read to understand what different types of machine do and their pros and cons

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?9249-Choosing-a-Domestic-Espresso-Machine

[fatdoc]

Thanks for this.. Will read in detail

[DAVETHOMAS90]

For what it's worth, what I use:

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/201243086906?nav=SEARCH

Currently listed at £5.50! Paid £20 for mine, delivered. The steam wand is really good. Also, steam is pump driven, so endless steam.

The steam wand is the down side with a lot of single boiler domestic machines. One day, I'll invest in something serious... There is a lot of rubbish out there, in the over priced middle ground. In my opinion.

Dave.

[fatdoc]

Yeah, I'm coming  to the same conclusion.

[rodma]

we have a delonghi bean to cup affair in the office and it certainly cost a few notes and started leaking/making much less tasty coffee after not much time. it is nice and convenient, but would never be a good choice for at home.

have to agree that the budget machines are the way to go unless you have some serious money spare and can afford something more powerful, rather than more flashing lights

[tomtom]

Yeah - they have a shelf life. Our one does about 15-20 shots a day and has lasted 6 months so far. Hence getting it from John Lewis - expect I'll be needing that 2 year warranty at some point!

Scale can kill them, so we run ours exclusively on purified water from the lab downstairs

[fatdoc]

I hear you on the scale...

Rad use of a lab!

[Fultonius]

Aw man. Being home at my parents has confirmed my coffee machine is past it's best.

I've got a Gaggia Espresso Pure, had it ~ 7 years, use it most days but it's struggling to force out enough pressure to make a decent espresso with a proper fine grind. My dad has a Gaggia Classic and my new (2nd hand) beast of a grinder is still here so I'm getting a fine enough, (still consistent) grind to even choke the classic, but when I get it just right it's a top cup thimbleful of crema-topped greatness.

Shame the grinder is a 7kg ugly brute, but man, it works!

Time to trawl ebay for a 2nd hand classic, or maybe I should go mental and just get one of these:

[DAVETHOMAS90]

You could just replace the pump? In fact, I have a new pump in an old Gran Gaggia. Very easy to replace. Not using this now, as the brew head cracked after 20 years..

However, the other option must be very, beveragey.. tempting..

For what it's worth, I used a friend's classic a while ago, and found the temp really variable/too hot, though I'm sue that would have been an isolated fault. ?

[tomtom]

Tried giving it s good de-scale? When pumps have struggled for me this has freed them up... Are you in a hard water spot?

[Fultonius]

It's only been used in Scotland and Chamonix, neither of which have hard water so not likely to be scale. Most likely the pump. Suppose I could have a fiddle with it and see what happens.

[TobyD]

Grinder opinions: krups f203, any good - for use with a cafetiere/ aeropress?

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Regarding the pump issues on the Gaggia machine, have you tried removing the back plate on the brew head? That's what I call it anyway. That can get blocked over time.

I'd say that if the pump is still working, it's probably effective enough, although I'm speculating on the basis of my own past experience. The pump on my machine simply stopped after many years of use/abuse.

I cannibalised an old Breville machine - the pumps are fairly ubiquitous items - and used the pump from that. Really easy job; everything was just plugged/clipped in.

I might check out cost of pumps on Ebay. Anyway, I have a spare. It's amazing how much money different manufacturers make by simply putting similar components in a fancy box!

Regarding Gaggia, I forgot to mention, and I think this is significant, if you have purchased a machine from them - via retailer - in the past, they will sell you a graded machine - typically one returned with no fault - for about two thirds the usual cost!

Also folks, consider this.

I sent my Gaggia machine off for a service over ten years ago - about £30 I think. When I got the machine back, there was still a fault with one of the indicators/LEDs. Rather than incur additional postage costs, Gaggia simply sent out a separate new/graded machine which I then used until earlier this year. I passed on the original machine to my brother, which he still uses now!

I think this is still the Gaggia number. Used to be called Homeware Brands:

01422 372554

They are really helpful.

I hope there's some good knowledge there 

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Trade-in your old Gaggia and get up to £50 cash back. Only available on purchase value of £225 and over.

www.gaggia.uk.com/#!/Manual-Machines-Grinders/c/3540309/offset=0&sort=normal

[Muenchener]

Need advice on a current reasonably priced domestic burr grinder.

The burrs on mine (Solis Maestro) are shot after ten years. You can get replacements, but I'm thinking it's had a good run and it's time for something new.

I mostly brew with Hario filters and/or aeropress, so don't need espresso-grade precision.

[psychomansam]

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/grinders/products/baratza-encore

That's just the latest version of the maestro really. Might be worth the upgrade. Else just get a new burr?

[psychomansam]

I expect you'll scoff and say no, but I did this once so I thought I'd suggest it....
You could buy a commercial coffee machine on Ebay. Decent (e.g Italian) ones go forever. You may need to replace the burrs, but it's worth it.
Quick search - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/majister-commercial-coffee-grinder-/181606517241?pt=UK_BOI_Restaurant_RL&hash=item2a489789f9 (£100)
Here it is new http://homebaristashop.co.nz/shop/m12-grinder/ (£450)

With mine, I just unscrewed the doser from the front, and used something smaller instead of the huge hopper.