Coffee lovers - help me choose a machine!

[klunk]

A Niche Zero is the next coffee purchase on my list. At the moment I'm using a Made By Knock Aergrind, which is fantastic and but can be a bit of a pain when I want to make a quick flat white between meetings.
I recently got a Sage Bambino Plus as my first espresso machine and I'm really impressed.

I’ve been looking at purchasing a grinder recently and the Niche Zero looks a quality piece of kit

[pete-r]

I’ve had a similar journey to many here. Dolce Gusto broke, tassimo broke, delonghi 4200 BTC broke, and now have a sage barista express.

Each time the quality has jumped for sure, but also the faff. Some of these machines are like science projects.

My only take away is that the pods are poorer tasting by far, the BTC in my case was really messy and hard to clean inside, but he Sage is more effort to get right.

Or pay £2 and have someone make it haha.

Personally I’d go one end of the spectrum, cheap pods or full barista. The middle ground is no mans land to me.

[timor54]

I’ve had a delonghi dedica for 2-3 years, it’s very good and is a nice compact size.

I still also use a V60 which is convenient to use, particularly if you want a larger cup or more than one. Recently I’ve also started using an Aeropress which is such a simple device as it’s quick and easy to clean.

I’ve basically given up on the machine as I don’t really want real espresso coffee anymore as I tend towards an Americano style drink.

What I still want is a decent electric burr grinder that I don’t need to take out a mortgage to purchase…

[RickChard]

I've just ordered a DELONGHI Dedica EC685BK

Thank you all.

:)

Now, which coffee to order. to compliment it......

[Jon Kenney]

The difference is that the burr grinder actually grind the beans, whereas the blade jobbies just thrash them to bits. So the grind can be very inconsistent. The blades also generate heat, which is considered to alter the delicate flavour profile of your fancy beans.

Thanks both.

I have a £50 Delonghi grinder. I assumed it did the job as good as any other.
Will now have to investigate further.

DTRH

[crazyp]

We seem to go through coffee a few coffee threads per year - always fun to see how others have progressed and welcome newbies into this deep rabbit hole!

I've settled with V60 as my preferred method - it's cheap and I like drip coffee over espresso in the morning. Key is getting a good grinder as others have pointed out, I have a Made by Knock and am very happy with the consistency of grind and enjoy the whole hand grinding.

I'd start of with V60, learn more about coffee (also Hoffman has a great video on how to make a great V60 coffee) and then go through the other ways of making coffee (like aeropress) and slowly move to espresso. Grinding is even more important for espresso so most bean to cup can be compromised hence why things can get very expensive.

Have fun!

[smalleyboy1]

Rabbit hole.
Over 5 years I have moved from Aeropress to Gaggia Classic to Profitec Pro 600.

Depending on how deep your pockets are, I think the Gaggia Classic can deliver great coffee relative to the price point.

[Citizen Tomatio]

I had a Rancilio Silvia for years, just sold as I didn't use it enough.

I tend to use the V60 or Aeropress as its much less faff.

[ed335d]

I’ve been looking at purchasing a grinder recently and the Niche Zero looks a quality piece of kit

I've been extremely happy with mine. Easy to use, calibrate, clean and gives very consistent results. Nice design too.

[reecie]

I’ve been looking at purchasing a grinder recently and the Niche Zero looks a quality piece of kit

It depends what coffee you are brewing. the Niche is more set up for expresso than filter due to the grind settings. You have to manually go beyond the scale to get to filter. It's annoying that there is not really an all around grinder, afaik, once you get to those kind of prices.

[klunk]

It depends what coffee you are brewing. the Niche is more set up for expresso than filter due to the grind settings. You have to manually go beyond the scale to get to filter. It's annoying that there is not really an all around grinder, afaik, once you get to those kind of prices.

I use a mokka pot - assume it would be ok for that - is that correct?

[Kingstepper]

I use a mokka pot - assume it would be ok for that - is that correct?

I use a Niche with mokka pot and works fine. Obviously use the coarse end of the range (30 of 0-50 where 0 is fine).

Only problem is the capacity. My 10 cup mokka takes 45-50g coffee which is at limit of the Niche hopper/dosing cup so is a bit messy if done in one batch.

[nick67]

I would highly recommend Jura, we have had ours for over 15 years, they are very much a commercial supplier, look at many pubs, coffee houses etc.

The beauty of the domestic machine is that it uses the same grinding mech as the commercial ones.

The chap who services our does also the commercial ones and send you'd be hard pushed to find a better machine.

Also they are not noisey unlike others we have seen

[Middo]

Aldi have some machines in

https://www.aldi.co.uk/de%27longhi-c...17463541049400

https://www.aldi.co.uk/de%27longhi-s...17657573950500

[Wolfie]

I've just ordered a DELONGHI Dedica EC685B

Thank you all.

:)

Now, which coffee to order. to compliment it......

I was about to recommend this…. I have had one for a couple of years and it’s been ace…. But I’m too late!! Bean to cup are always your best bet…. Plus it’s on budget for you


Beko 8813513200 Bean to Cup Coffee Machine CEG5301X Stainless Steel Design, 19 Bar Pressure, Includes Easy to use One Touch LCD Control, Pre-Brewing System & Removable 1.5L Water Tank https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KPPF3...9R2E7JHHZJ2X16

As for your coffee…. I had about 10 people use my 25% off code referral for pebble and pine and everyone seemed to enjoy it! They do some good reasonably priced stuff

http://i.refs.cc/uv7GTvcN?smile_ref=eyJzbWlsZV9zb3VyY2UiOiJzbWlsZV9 1aSIsInNtaWxlX21lZGl1bSI6IiIsInNtaWxlX2NhbXBhaWduI joicmVmZXJyYWxfcHJvZ3JhbSIsInNtaWxlX2N1c3RvbWVyX2l kIjo0NzAxMDczNDR9

[paw3001]

I use a Fellow Ode Grinder it is a single dose grinder and will take up to 80g of beans at once. It is no good for espresso grinding but for everything else from drip to aero to French press to cold brew it works great.

It is small, neat, quiet and is around £200 for a quality burr grinder. You dial I. Your grind and push one button and it’s done.

You can also replace the standard burrs and get it to grind for espresso if you really want to.

[GMC41]

I've just ordered a DELONGHI Dedica EC685BK

Thank you all.

:)

Now, which coffee to order. to compliment it......

Get yourself a decent tamper (the plastic one is crap) and a stainless steel milk jug for frothing. Makes a big difference.

I have the same machine and it makes a decent cup and is easy to use.

[Mj2k]

No you are right. I brought this to replace my Citz right at the beginning of lockdown and before I fell down the hole as I was using 2 capsules to get a large coffee and thought the Vertuo might be a good option. I didn’t realise it just foams the coffee rather develop a crema via pressure. If you stir the coffee then that helps and actually makes the coffee taste better but I would not buy one again. I just keep it on when I need a quick coffee or wish an espresso like shot for martinis!



Yes it is warmed as I rinse the filter with hot water before any the coffee grounds. The excess water warms the server nicely. I then throw this water away before doing my pour. I use a 2 cup server and find that my coffee stays nicely warm for around 40+ mins. Another bonus for me is that as the second cup is much cooler than the first, I find the flavour profile changes with more fruits coming out and so I get 2 differing coffees for the sake making no one. If you get my meaning!



It is a constant battle not to get an aeropress, a chemex or even more exciting a Japanese style siphon coffee maker. My wife tries to keeps me grounded. However, I have invested in pouring kettles, grinders, French presses, vacuum coffee canisters, scales, cups, cold brewers. Plus I now only get my beans from a speciality Roaster which are never older than 5 days from roasting. So my cost to cup is higher than the Nespresso!

It sounds like a lovely process in making a coffee compared to a capsule for sure.

I never did try stirring the sea foam into the coffee on the large capsules. Upgraded my small unit to one of the Creatista Plus models after my kitchen aid one kept leaking & was no longer supported.

Only in the office 1 day a week but need to find a small portable solution to utilise the boiling water tap as I don’t like their coffee and no longer have access to any storage for my clever drip and filters. Keep looking at the manual pumps for nespresso capsules but feels overkill.

[Hash]

Get yourself a decent tamper (the plastic one is crap) and a stainless steel milk jug for frothing. Makes a big difference.

I have the same machine and it makes a decent cup and is easy to use.

100% Agree

I bought an tamper mat and jug combo off amazon

Sent from my Redmi Note 9 Pro using Tapatalk

[Hash]

I've just ordered a DELONGHI Dedica EC685BK

Thank you all.

:)

Now, which coffee to order. to compliment it......

Congrats. Nice machine for sure

Sent from my Redmi Note 9 Pro using Tapatalk

[Jon Kenney]

It sounds like a lovely process in making a coffee compared to a capsule for sure.

I never did try stirring the sea foam into the coffee on the large capsules. Upgraded my small unit to one of the Creatista Plus models after my kitchen aid one kept leaking & was no longer supported.

Only in the office 1 day a week but need to find a small portable solution to utilise the boiling water tap as I don’t like their coffee and no longer have access to any storage for my clever drip and filters. Keep looking at the manual pumps for nespresso capsules but feels overkill.

I’ve got one of these as a portable

[martynw]

This looks right up my alley - good price point, well-reviewed etc...

This is exactly what I do!

[Mj2k]

I’ve got one of these as a portable

They were the ones I was looking at Jon, thanks. Office is 2 mins from Paddington station, so bringing my own feels very strange given I’m not in the middle of nowhere.

That said I drink about 6 coffees a day at least, so this pays for itself very quickly.

[PickleB]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK0F5PqJ1Gk

Moka pots are complicated :-)

If you want a frothy coffee then the simplest solution is Nespresso machine that can do them. You can often get deals that make the actual unit virtually free. The actual cost per coffee is not that different to buying decent beans and grinding them. Just the latter will probably be better coffee. Or just go with a straight filter coffee as the solutions are a lot cheaper and give better actual coffees. So a V60, Chemex or Aeropress with a hand grinder.

Episode 3 is worth a watch for anyone with a Moka pot: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfDLoIvb0w4...if only to confirm your own opinions.

I note two things that I might change from his technique. Firstly I simply pour out the coffee once I judge the pot is about to reach "the hot, sputtering phase" rather than dashing off to the sink. If you want to use cold water to stop the brew, why not have some in a pan on the stove..it won't take much to cool the boiler and reduce the pressure.

The other point is that I saw a video (that I can no longer find) where they recommended using the paper filter in the basket under the coffee, rather than on top. There it evens and slows the water flow into the coffee rather than filtering the final product.

If anyone wants to try raking the coffee in the basket as JH shows, use a plastic cork from a wine bottle and some wire to make your own. Stainless, Monel and Inconel wire is freely available, or buy some acupuncture needles. Cut to length, heat the end and push them into the cork. That's much cheaper than the commercial version.

[Citizen Tomatio]

Edit. The following will not suit the OP wanting espresso coffee with milk. But for filter coffee, the following is a good start.

Aero press
Good quality beans (for filter not espresso roast) eg from Square Mile
Wilda grinder
Poor over kettle with narrow spout and temp adjuster
No need for frother as filter coffee is better without milk


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Exactly my set up.

I also had a rancilio Silvia, but found I didnt use it enough so moved it on