Long time lurker etc...That time of year again when SWMBO asks...what would you like for your birthday?
Have been thinking about upgrading the home coffee setup so this might be timely.
To let you know where I'm at
- I am a home coffee maker only and have been using a Delonghi Magnifica for the last 4 years which is starting to get a little tired. I had a Gaggia machine before that which just wore out and wasnt ecomomical to service.
- I enjoy Andy's beans but takes me a while to go through them as I'm the only coffee drinker at home unless we have guests.
- I drink a mix of expresso and milk drinks. Perhaps a bias towards espresso when getting good results from the machine.
- I am getting inconsistent results from my machine which I put down to user knowledge, grind quality and the ageing and drying of the freshly roasted beans over time (using them up to a month after being roasted).
The things I would like to achieve are :-
- some training aimed at home makers as opposed to requirements of cafe barista's using commercial machines
- upgrading my domestic machine to get better quality, more control and improved consistency
- exploring roasting as a means of having fresher coffee on hand more often.
I'm not after specific recommendations on machines at this time but what I'd appreciate is advice on what I should do first. Do I purchase the best machine (whatever that is..) within my budget and then learn specifically how to use it? Should I get some training first and armed with some fundamentals use that knowledge to find the right machine for my needs? When is a good time to get into roasting? I sort of think roasting will be a bit wasted if my making skills and equipment don't measure up.
Have been thinking about upgrading the home coffee setup so this might be timely.
To let you know where I'm at
- I am a home coffee maker only and have been using a Delonghi Magnifica for the last 4 years which is starting to get a little tired. I had a Gaggia machine before that which just wore out and wasnt ecomomical to service.
- I enjoy Andy's beans but takes me a while to go through them as I'm the only coffee drinker at home unless we have guests.
- I drink a mix of expresso and milk drinks. Perhaps a bias towards espresso when getting good results from the machine.
- I am getting inconsistent results from my machine which I put down to user knowledge, grind quality and the ageing and drying of the freshly roasted beans over time (using them up to a month after being roasted).
The things I would like to achieve are :-
- some training aimed at home makers as opposed to requirements of cafe barista's using commercial machines
- upgrading my domestic machine to get better quality, more control and improved consistency
- exploring roasting as a means of having fresher coffee on hand more often.
I'm not after specific recommendations on machines at this time but what I'd appreciate is advice on what I should do first. Do I purchase the best machine (whatever that is..) within my budget and then learn specifically how to use it? Should I get some training first and armed with some fundamentals use that knowledge to find the right machine for my needs? When is a good time to get into roasting? I sort of think roasting will be a bit wasted if my making skills and equipment don't measure up.

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