New machine $200

[Sahm24]

Hi all,

first time on the forum so please go easy and excuse my lack of knowledge in coffee machines.

i recently discovered the love for coffee (long nights at uni) and is looking into buying a decent coffee machine for $200-$300. I usually drink 1-2cups of flat white everyday. Some things that I think I need to understand first is if a grinder is an absolute necessary? Can't I buy grinned coffee say from Jasper? Are there coffee machines that comes with a grinder?

Once again thanks for all the inputs.

[artman]

Hello and welcome!

If you want great coffee, freshly roasted quality beans (no older than say 4 weeks post roast) and beans ground on demand for each brew is must.

Your budget is quite tight but you could get lucky and pick up a used sunbeam 6910 and grinder for this amount, they appear from time to time.

Some machines come with grinder built in and are quite convenient, small single package , one power plug, but makes it hard if you want to later on upgrade just the grinder or the machine.

Lelit combi is one such machine, and very similar almost identical machines include Nemox, Quaha. There is also a rancillio Silvia with built in rocky grinder, can't recall the name. All of these are single boiler machines, and probably over your budget.

You could always get a used grinder and aero press to start with?

There is a wealth of info on this site, do a search for lots and lots good info and advise.

Cheers

[richard_m_h]

Best bang for buck for that money is an aeropress and a decent hand grinder.

[Hildy]

EM450, EM2300, dremel disc, robina's your aunty.

[blend52]

Best bang for buck for that money is an aeropress and a decent hand grinder.

You do know that its really hard to make a decent FW with just an aeropress !!

[ax72]

For under $200 you could pick up a Bodum burr grinder ($99 on sale last year) and a Moka pot (starting from $30) and produce a version of coffee that's similar to espresso. That's my morning coffee and, believe it or not, about 50% of the time what I produce at home is more enjoyable than the coffee that I have in a city cafe later in the day made on a machine that costs more than my first car did.

[blend52]

.. pick up a Bodum burr grinder ($99 on sale last year) and a Moka pot (starting from $30) and produce a version of coffee that's similar to espresso. That's my morning coffee ........

Yes but if you want something resembling a FW.... ( see the OP !)... you need to be able to texture milk !

[Lukemc]

second hand gaggia classic is the go i reckon

[richard_m_h]

Yes but if you want something resembling a FW.... ( see the OP !)... you need to be able to texture milk !

or get a milk frother

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

or get a milk frother

Or just a straw and learn to take deep breaths.

[blend52]

or get a milk frother

If you have ever used one,..you would not recommend it to a friend.
Anyway, you are still going to end up with a non espresso coffee with just foamy warm milk !
..Not what i would like as a FW drinker !

I second the used Gaggia Classic suggestion .

[Sahm24]

Thank you all for the suggestions....second hand machine was not an option. I read other threads in the forum and went with Breville ES800 and a CB2B grinder. Made a few cups, already feel the upgrade from the instant one's I used to drink....however still far from the one's I get from the local cafe. Any suggestion on how to get the best out of the machine? I noticed that when brewing, the coffee does not flow smoothly at the start maybe I something is not right with the tamping.

[Barry_Duncan]

I assume that the CB2B grinder is a blade grinder. Some CoffeeSnobs say that the grinder is more important than the coffee machine. Burr grinders do a much better job than a blade grinder. You need at least a Breville Smart Grinder that can be bought for about $200.

As mentioned above the quality and age of the beans is most important.

Does the 800 come with a single walled filters or just a double walled ones? A single walled filter along with fresh coffee and a burr grinder will lead to best results for your machine.

Barry

[Dragunov21]

Any suggestion on how to get the best out of the machine?

Get a proper grinder and single-wall basket if your machine has a dual-wall (lots of holes on the inside, single hole in the centre on the outside). May have to go for a handgrinder like a Hario if you can't stretch to a Smart Grinder. The statement that it is more important than the machine (at the low end) is not a figure of speech or exaggeration.

Thank you all for the suggestions....second hand machine was not an option.

Unfortunately, at the money you're talking, a second-hand machine was your only option.

[kava]

Moka pot? Economical, simple to use, reliable, quick for a busy morning. As you're a student I'm guessing that you're not in a financial position to indulge in an outrageously-priced machine that blows you while it brews your coffee, and needs no end of servicing and fussing when it's not brewing anything?