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Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

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  • Bames
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    I found the same... massive difference for the better!
    Could you post up some photos? Id be keen to see what they look like.
    Also, Maybe if all us Sunbeam owners who actually like decent tasting coffee complain about not having the option of non-pressurized baskets, maybe they would look at producing them? Its worth a try I reckon.

    Leave a comment:


  • Greenryder
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Another first post.
    I like to think I can make a drinkable cup of espresso.

    I purchased a Sunbeam 5900 about a month ago after my old unit died. I have an existing EM480 grinder that I had purchased earlier to improve my coffee.

    I also had the no flow or watery coffee problem with the EM5900 from fresh beans with the supplied filter baskets. Using a double basket to make about 50ml of coffee gave the best results but still bitter & thin. Took me about a 250g bag of freshly roasted beans to get to this with my grinder set on 9 or 10.

    Sunbeam Customer Service were pleasant to deal with but ultimately I could not fix this short of returning the unit & getting a refund.

    I joined Choice to get a review of a decent coffee machine to decide what to replace it with & their recommendation based on best taste from a panel of coffee industry experts was the Sunbeam 5600, a model below the one I already had. To all you Rancilio owners out there, you have wasted your money according to Choice. This threw up a red flag that this outcome was probably not correct. Oh yeah - they used supermarket sourced pre-ground coffee [un-named] as the reference. Probably this is in keeping with the intended audience. More research was definitely required.

    I did read & research posts on this issue of crappy coffee on the EM5900 on a few coffee sites on the net. As stated a number of times here & elsewhere, the pressurised basket appears to be an optimal solution for generating crema from pre-ground coffee from supermarkets, and not from freshly ground beans. Does not however do anything for taste or body.

    I still cannot fathom the reason why Sunbeam & others would provide 2 filter baskets for oxidised coffee & not 1 of each for stale & freshly ground coffee. I know their competitors do the same thing, but they do not offer a solution at all for some one who wants to use freshly ground coffee. You can purchase from Breville, Krups & a few others, non-pressurised filter baskets.

    Fortunately a reference on this forum to an eBay seller in NSW who had unpressurised filter baskets specifically for Sunbeam machines resulted in 2 eagerly awaited baskets dispatched to home. Compared to the originals, looked identical to the original Sunbeam 2 shot filter basket without the pressurised chamber but the 1 shot was quite different with no reference to pod coffee.

    I assume Sunbeam made but could be wrong. Fit perfectly. If anybody wants an image of these baskets, let me know & I will post up.

    Good news is problem solved & now decent coffee. Bad news is my coffee intake has jumped big time.

    Current beans are Panama Emporium & taste is the best yet. Too damn nice actually. Im in love

    Anyway have joined this forum as so much great info.

    Thanks to all who have posted & have helped me get to where I am.

    The Rancilio Silvia is on the wish list along with a string of other things. Always hoping the bills will be lower than income sooner than later so that $799 can be put aside but I fear the usual house/car/clothes/... will try to syphon the $$$.

    Leave a comment:


  • bonsaiboy
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Same here. I use a teaspoon to pry out tight baskets.

    Leave a comment:


  • Thundergod
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Originally posted by 5141504352525B220 link=1282830060/22#22 date=1303437666
    Getting the filter out of the handle is an absolute pain as the groove to get your finger/thumbnail in is stupidly shallow - get out a curved file and go nuts and make that groove as deep as you can or you will break your fingernails repeatedly like I did
    I use a teaspoon on tight baskets.

    Leave a comment:


  • scrappy
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Bought this combo recently on super special. Heres my tips (aimed at newbs like me) after a few weeks experimentation:
    The grinder for me seems best set on around 11 or 12. This will vary between individual grinders but seems a good place to start. Much finer and the machine simply wont pump water through. This grinder design is basically flawed in that it hold a lot of grinds in the mechanism when you finish, a lot of tapping and shaking will see a lot of grounds coming out the spout which would otherwise have sat there going stale and spoiling your next cup, so tap and shake like a mad man both after grinding and before the next grind.
    The supplied double wall filters are crap, like everyone here will atest. I was lucky enough to have an old Breville Bar Italia I could steal the single wall filters from. The 4 shot filter is too tall but the 1-2 shot filter is abouth the same size as the original Sunbeam 2 shot and fits tightly (I had to take out the spring from the filter handle and modify, i.e. bend it so it didnt hold so tight). To use this filter I found a 52mm tamper was best and good ones can be found on ebay for a shade over $20. Tamping firmly but not gorilla strength is best, I pressed the tamp on the bathroom scales to about 10 - 12 kilos and try to replicate that force on the coffee. Knocking out the used coffee puck afterwards is a dream. Getting the filter out of the handle is an absolute pain as the groove to get your finger/thumbnail in is stupidly shallow - get out a curved file and go nuts and make that groove as deep as you can or you will break your fingernails repeatedly like I did
    Using Jaspers Ethiopian Yirgacheffe or Oomph Java Jo beans gets me a delicious cuppa and Im now more than happy with the set up. The snobs around here wouldnt be impressed but its still up to the standard of the local cafes around here and way cheaper and more convenient.

    Leave a comment:


  • Darkfalz
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Got mine from Breville - should be easy to find on their website.

    Leave a comment:


  • kjw2011
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Ok, i too have one of these. I am booked to do the course in a couple of weeks so hopfully that will help a bit.
    A quick question to all those that are using unpressurised baskets. Where did u get them? If u could PM a link, that would be great.
    Also when making a coffee who uses the single filter? i have used it but find the coffee to weak, the double is good.. anyone else find this?

    Thanks in advance..

    Leave a comment:


  • Vint
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Hi all,

    I am also a newbie who decided to take the plunge by buying the above combo - on special at the moment.

    Hope I can get some kind feedback from fellow owners on the following:

    a) I get OK coffee but my expectations were higher. I thought my temperature was not high enough so I checked the temperature of the water coming out of the group head with my thermometer in a warmed-up cup and it seems to be only reading around 68 deg C to 70 deg C although the manual says it "has been calibrated to the precise temperature of 92 deg C at the group head". I know I may not be measuring precisely at the group head but should there be such a big difference. There is a setup feature on the EM5900 to increase the temperature and I have tried +2 setting but it does not seemed to make any difference. What are your temperatures?

    b) The pump seems unusually loud under operation (yes I am still using the supplied pressurised filter basket at the moment). Is this normal. My friends EM3600 seems only half as loud. What are your experiences?

    Look forward to your feedback on my above newbie concerns and many thanks in advance.

    Cheers Vincello.

    Leave a comment:


  • Hildy
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    All the screws on the burr carriers, as well as making sure they were seated properly.  I think it came out of the box maladjusted.

    My Hario Mini-Mill Slim came today.  I can compare numbers.

    I dont have a bangbang (yet). I have an old biscuit tin - I eat a lot of chinese sesame cookies. These are similar to the tins that chinese egg rolls come in.

    The 5900s portafilter and handle are heavy and solid enough that I get complete pucks coming out by tapping the phenolic of the portafilter handle on the edge of the biscuit tin. The tin is bent but I will throw it out with the coffee.

    Leave a comment:


  • Darkfalz
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Hildy - exactly what did you tighten to turn the 3 into a 10?

    Leave a comment:


  • Hildy
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Ive just gotten one of these. Today was the first day I tried the 5900 - for the past few days Ive been using the 450 to grind for my aeropress (how I discovered coffeesnobs!).

    Out of the box:
    - I took the plastic insert out before even turning the machine on. With the pressurised basket it shoots straight out the screwhole and made dishwasher crema. Didnt taste awful but it would do super quick extractions.

    Half an hour with my drillpress later and Ive cut out a 45mm disc in the bottom of the basket. There are small indents where the drill tip was pushing through but no new holes.

    With the 450 on about 3 and a gorilla tamp I could make a 60ml in 25s extraction. Not bad as affogato but the stale beans meant no crema.

    I took the 450 apart to clean it and tightened all the screws at the same time. Now it grinds about as fine at 10 as it did on 3, and clogs at 1. Havent drunk any yet since there is work tomorrow.

    Ill try sourcing a breville basket at some point for comparison. I have an old starbucks machine basket but its about 1mm too small to fit )-: (its a saeco something or other rebadged.)

    Leave a comment:


  • Darkfalz
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Ive now exchanged my PU5900 pack three times. Each one has had a different quirk which leads me to believe that production quality is not consistent. First one was great for a few weeks, then started getting really lopsided pucks and the milk ending up with more bubbles in it. Took it back and exchanged it for a near perfect machine... until it flat out broke about 10 coffees in with a horrible high pitched sound when I went to pull the shot. The grinder in this pack was much better, giving me ideal grinding around 14 (instead of 9). Went back and exchanged it again, and get this - the supplied baskets did not fit in the PF handle! It was 1-2mm smaller than the previous two. Also the grinder button stuck when the PF handle holder was clipped on. So took back the grinder and PF and swapped it for the one Id just returned. This one does good shots but the steam is a bit dodgy, makes sporadic "tic" sounds while on steam (like its dripping internally onto a hot area) and end up with small bubbles in it no matter how good my technique is. I hate to pack it all up again and go swap it yet again because the previous two (at least initially) did better milk but its got a 12 months replacement and judging by the last two, Im sure itll get exchanged in that time. Sunbeam has well and truly lost any profit on my purchase (considering I got it for $353). Ah, maybe Im getting too fussy - forgetting that this machine is still making nicer coffee than 90% of the places Ive been to.

    Leave a comment:


  • Darkfalz
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    I think I can even get $30 cash back for this. So that takes it down to a total cost of $353.

    Leave a comment:


  • kate.simpson1
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Hi Darkfalz, im on my 3rd day with the Breville BES860 and am having some issues with the umpressurised basket. (not the machine, but due to my inexperiance) I think your advice is making a lot of sense and im going to try your sugestions! thanks for posting.

    Leave a comment:


  • Darkfalz
    replied
    Re: Sunbeam EM5900 Machine + EM0450 Grinder - Impressions from a newbie

    Okay, a few things I have concluded. If you end up with a layer of water above the puck (with the pressurised basket), you havent filled the basket enough or packet it tightly enough. The puck once expanded should come in contact with the shower screen to create the necessary pressure. With a finer grind and tighter tamp to within 2mm of the top, its perfect. Even with the pressurised one I got a pretty solid puck (though it still doesnt come out cleanly) and a longer pour (too much white foam though). With the unpressurised basket, it is perfect. The tigther tamp, even though the grind is finer, means there is less grounds getting out the bottom as there just isnt as much give in there for things to move around.

    Leave a comment:

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