Coffee Appreciation

Sorry I know this has probably been asked 1000 times in this thread but I've struggled to search through and find an answer.
If I want to make great quality espresso/cappucino at home what should I buy? I have a filter machine (night and day obvs) but find myself walking down to the coffee shop every day because I just prefer it. Any pointers would be really great. This would be for 2-3 cups per day and would need grinder etc. Budget is not unlimited but have money to spend on the right product to get things going! Thanks so much for any info

Give us a ballpark budget.

Mine arrived the other day, thus far very impressed. I'm only using it for Aeropress or Moccamaster but it works very well. Should also allow me to buy beans from a few other sources than the local shop, where a fairly average 200g bag costs ~€20 (and that's with a discount).

Anyone using Hario Switch? Getting asked for Xmas gift ideas and might opt for one if any good:

https://global.hario.com/seihin/productdetail.php?product=SSD-200-B

I don't even know where to begin!
Is 500 way off the mark?

Is Nespresso frowned on in here? I’d like better coffee at work, preferably espresso.

I use it. I like it. Need to preheat it because it's glass but other than that no issues. I use it as a standard pourover but keep the switch closed for bloom.

@JumboFrames
I've no idea, though £600 could get you a Robot and Eureka Silenzio like I have. You have to decide the trade offs between taste, convenience and cost.
A good hand grinder like the 1ZPRESS-JX could easily get you in under the £500 range.

We have a Lavazza Pod machine which we really like and get our pods on subscription from Lavazza, the pods are compostable as well so just go in with our food waste to the council, that was really the thing that sold it to us, had a Delonghi espresso machine but then had a baby and it was all just too much.

Stripped and serviced the Gaggia Factory over the past couple days. Little bit of rust to deal with but otherwise straightforward - they’re just so simple and easy to work on. Went really smoothly other than accidentally electroplating the brasswork pink. Was still nervous turning it on afterwards but seems we’re all good - now pulling consistently decent shots even with some older, lighter roasted beans. Temp management so much easier now too!

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Looks great! Good to see it’s up and running.

James Hoffmann has a Best sub-£500 espresso machine video
you can start with, I think he also has a best sub-£1500 machine video coming. You'll need add an espresso-capable grinder (minimum £250 if bought brand new) too.

Whatever you choose (if any) prepare to have space for a coffee corner with accessories and all the stuff that comes with home espresso making like weighing scales, tamper, distributor, knock box, brush to start with... plus bottled or RO water.

Obviously getting the dial and the milk just right takes a time but you eventually get there.

Thanks! It's taken a little practice but getting consistent now. Appreciate the hook-up.

I don't even know where to begin!
Is 500 way off the mark?

That’ll get you a more than adequate setup, in my opinion. Milk drinks can tolerate a less than perfect espresso and still turn out a very good cappuccino or flat white. You’ll be impressed with just a Gaggia Classic and coffee ground by the roaster. If you choose a Classic, you’ll need to change the steam wand on it from the panarello type to a plain steam wand from a Rancilio Silvia (about £15) to do good milk.

Nice! Really need to get some sort of temp scale put on mine. Where did you pick up that thermometer? Really not a fan of the look of those little adhesive strips, but that thermometer doesn't look out of place at all.

MC2 users, what are your methods for avoiding ground retention?

I was initially just shaking the machine as it ran, which seemed to get the best results for coffee weight in/out, but it seemed a bit drastic and a touch mechanically unsympathetic.

I’ve since started “pumping” the hopper lid on and off during grinding and that seems to blow the grounds through quite happily. I seem to remember someone mentioning using a can of compressed air, which might be a good shout once a week or so.

I seem to remember someone mentioning using a can of compressed air, which might be a good shout once a week or so.

Lezyne Micro Drive pump with an air blast jet on it instead of the valve adapter. Pump pump!

New beans to try out

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The MC2 as we've already discussed is a pretty average machine and it's grind retention is another example of this.

I find you get best results when its already quite gummed up with old grounds inside. A clean MC2 will hold a couple of grams or more of grinds quite easily, but after a few days, those nooks and crannies get filled up. I then get to a point where if I put 17g in, I'll get 17g out, with a bit of pumping on the lid.

The key is, more pumping of the lid doesn't yield more grounds, suggesting the old grounds are pretty much "stuck" in there. Not ideal, but I'll live with it rather than spending £500 on a niche.

One thing I do find helps when single dose grinding is I put the old plastic tamper from my Classic on top of the beans in the hopper and use it to gently shepherd them through. This stops too much popcorning and speeds things up a bit.

Thanks for this. And @disq too. I read about the gaggia classic and thought the new ones after Philips/saeco reversed the abomination it had become didn't need the wand upgrade anymore? Watching the vid on sub £500 machines now.
Any opinion on the sage barista express other than get out you heathen?

I’ve been experimenting with the tamper in the hopper too!

I did wonder about “filling” it up with the loose grounds like you say, but the anal part of me doesn’t want anything left in there. For the average coffee that I make it definitely suffices.

Would still like to upgrade to a La Pavoni and Eureka Mignon one day tho!

Any opinion on the sage barista express other than get out you heathen?

I like mine, 2-3 coffees a day, small kitchen so small footprint is great, ready to go quickly, leaving to pre-heat longer etc seems to convey no taste benefits (to me) which perhaps you would expect due to inbuilt pid (selling point to me over gaggia classics etc). Steaming/heating milk also seems to 'work'.

Benefit from not changing coffee too frequently as dialling in to the coffee a bit tricky.

I dont/havent had patience to fully optimise but am getting in my view very drinkable coffee, espresso and milk-based.

I upgraded from moka pot with hand grinder (and drill bit conversion). I also have an aeropress and havent used either since getting SBE over 12 months ago.

Any opinion on the sage barista express other than get out you heathen?

In addition to the comments above, a friend of mine got it last week, took some time to properly dial in (apparently the main grinder setting is inside the hopper and the side dial only microadjusts within that setting) but since it's a popular choice, there's a community around it all trying to get the best possible coffee out of the machine (listing workarounds to achieve that and so on) and he's a happy camper so far.

Thanks! Thermometer was just a couple of quid off eBay - seem fairly ubiquitous on various forums. Secured with aluminium tape. Very happy with it. The bracket came from coffee-sensor.com (along with the service kit).

Just took my own advice and bought a kilo - glad to hear it’s drinking nicely, hopefully will have the same results!