Espresso Machine Recommendations

4 Dec 2020

Having seen the size of the bean to cup machines, I decided to instead look at traditional espresso machines.

The 3 contenders in the frame are the Delonghi Magnifica, Sage Duo Temp and Sage Bambino Plus.

The Delonghi looks nice but I've heard they use cheap components and are prone to failing. Sage machines are higher end and should last a decade if treated well. The Bambino Plus would be the first choice but at £399, I don't know if I can stretch that far.

Mind you, if you drink 3 coffees a day with Nespresso pods, and have friends over a fair bit, that's the financial cost of around 1000 pods p.a., not to mention the environmental costs.

To put that into perspective: Firenze Arpeggio £0.36 x 150 = £54.00 (my last order). So £300 p.a. on pods alone (USD$400!). Yikes!

I'll decide which one in the post Xmas sales. The Bambino is fully automatic and a smaller footprint so I'm leaning that way:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-EC685M-Traditional-Espresso-Machine/dp/B06WGTZ874/ref=sr_1_12?crid=QV15XKGYM58K&dchild=1&keywords=delonghi+magnifica&qid=1607070650&sprefix=delonghi%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-12 £199.

https://www.johnlewis.com/sage-the-duo-temp-pro-espresso-coffee-machine/p1749201 £299.

https://www.johnlewis.com/sage-ses500bss-bambino-plus-coffee-machine-silver/p3779133 £399.

Any other recommendations sub £400?

4 Dec 2020

Bump to knock down the other thread coffee

7 Dec 2020

A friend of mine has the bambino and swears it's the best thing she's ever bought.

Whatever was posted is always meant in love and respect never to offend.
I'm also highly likely to have posted this from a phone so there may be typos or odd word changes, auto correct can be a pain.

I've been listening to my kinky pencil here's my current work

14 Dec 2020

Quote by Twisted_Skald
A friend of mine has the bambino and swears it's the best thing she's ever bought.

I'm leaning this way.

The price gougers at Amazon have marked the price £100 higher than it is at a local department store. Let me guess, after Xmas, there will be a £100 OFF!!!! big notice on it on the website. Grrr ... I'd rather buy local anyway.

Hopefully it will be reduced in the sales after Chrimbo so I can treat myself to a nice gift.

20 Jan 2021

I had a bit of a windfall on a share investment and went for the Sage Bambino Plus.

It takes a lot of experimentation with grind sizes and blends, but after a few weeks, I'm already making a better cup than any coffee shop I know.

Highly recommended.

21 Jan 2021

I am into my second De Longhi. After 10 years the first one developed a problem - it wouldn’t heat the water. The guy told me I had also blown the register of coffee cups made - evidently it kept count. I replaced the bigger model with a Magnifica S. I have had this for two years and no problems. I do feel that the water container is too small as I am refilling it every day - maybe we drink a lot of coffee. The rinses(2) use I full cup in the process. As for using cheap components - not my experience, maybe price is an indicator. Quality of coffee depends upon the beans. This machine makes beautiful Crema. I am a long black fan (Americano) and they are excellent. Not sure how they go for milk frothing I don’t use it. The machine I use for travelling ( by car) is a smaller Breville and is cheap and uses ground coffee - it makes better coffee than you get in most hotels etc. I am not a fan of Nespresso machines or the capsules from various sources.