I am wanting to upgrade from a krups basic machine which is my second in 9 years and has been excellent to something capable of greater output rate. like the look of the em6910 but seems there are some concerns regarding quality etc. Any suggestions? Are there any other machines similar in about the same price range? what about a silvia? is this a twin thermoblock machine or is that not a neccecity?
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sunbeam em6910 or alternative?
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Re: sunbeam em6910 or alternative?
Welcome aboard Kammy!
A very controversial question on this site there has been much debate about the EM6910 and in particular versus the Silvia. The Silvia is a single boiler machine and as a result is not capable of steaming and extracting espresso at the same time. Both machines have there pros and cons so is worth you weighing them up to see what suits you. A grinder is a must not matter what machine you go for so you need to budget that in. Even if that means buying a grinder before you get a machine.
There is a list to the right of all the site sponsors and is well worth contacting your closest one to identify what would suit your needs and budget. Are you near a capital city? That may help you to be directed to the most suitable site sponsor to you. None of them sell the Sunbeam though but you will get many reviews from owners of them on this site. So browse away. The EM6910 seems to be more reliable than the EM6900 that it replaced and is getting good reviews.
So best of luck with it all. If you have fresh beans and a grinder you will be anjoying great coffee. Budget in some training as well where you can take your new machine along.
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Re: sunbeam em6910 or alternative?
Hi kammy and welcome to CoffeeSnobs...
Yep, as Coffeechaser said, there have been serious reliability issues with the Sunbeams - more the 6900 than the more recent 6910 (but hasnt been out for long.....)
IMHO the Sunbeam is a brilliant concept (can texture milk and extract at the same time) - and nothing else comes close to it in price for those abilities. Maybe, because of keeping the cost so low a few corners have been cut with quality - a few too many.....
So if you really want a machine which will allow you to texture your milk and extract at the same time its either Sunbeam - or pay quite a bit more (and get quite a bit better build quality).
There are also single boiler machines (like the Silvia) which have stood the test of time and are known to be reliable.
Have a chat to the site sponsor in your state. (and a demo). They will give you a far better explanation of each machine strengths. But none sell the Sunbeam....
And , as Coffeechaser said - get yourself a good grinder capable of fine adjustment of grind size - that is more important than the machine when it comes to quality espresso - again talk to a site sponsor.
Enjoy your journey.
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Re: sunbeam em6910 or alternative?
Thanks for the quick replies. I have been grinding my beans for some years, beginning with a blade grinder, and moving to a mill grinder 4 years ago. I had so much practice with the old blady that I could tell by the way the grinds sat when it was the right texture! wasted lots along the way too!
Can get excellent results from my krups and know from trying other machines that some experimentation is neccesary for each. I think I will be ok in this department. Attended a workshop once and found that what I had leaned from lots of tials/errors/adjustments was pretty close to the mark. Love my coffee!! find it hard to buy coffee out cos we are often dissapointed.
I am particulary wanting a machine that will allow me to cater for groups (up to 20 people). In this regard, I guess the sunbeam has a lot going for it. sounds like the 6910 is able to produce the goods regarding steam? Dont want something that has a reputation for problems. Krups has been excellent and reliable!
Also I guess a grinder with dosing ability would speed up the process a bit?
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Re: sunbeam em6910 or alternative?
Kammy...Originally posted by kammy link=1170726626/0#4 date=1170729359I am particulary wanting a machine that will allow me to cater for groups (up to 20 people). In this regard, I guess the sunbeam has a lot going for it. sounds like the 6910 is able to produce the goods regarding steam? Dont want something that has a reputation for problems.
Also I guess a grinder with dosing ability would speed up the process a bit?
MMMM 20 people (fairly frequently????)- you are really looking at something a bit better than the Sunbeam - ideally a plumbed in machine.....
There are two problems making LOTS of coffees with a small domestic.... one is recovery time (the time for the boiler to get back up to temperature (and additionally to switch from brewing to steaming with a single boiler).... with thermoblocks (like the Sunbeam) recovery time isnt an issue, neither is switching between the two modes - dual thermoblocks on the Sunbeam....
But you will need water - lots of water! And the water container is relatively small. So it will need to be filled several times.... not a big issue - but a pain none the less. And the drip tray will also fill fairly quickly...
I do similar amounts from time to time - thats why Ive got the Commercial machine - makes 20 cups a breeze... as much water as I need and the waste goes straight down the drain! (with the domestic machine I had I hated these words from my wife "Im having a few friends over for coffee"
).....
And a grinder with a doser is almost essential..... or that will also take forever!
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Re: sunbeam em6910 or alternative?
20 people would be the max and not very common, more ofter 10 or 12, and mostly only 2-4 cups at a time. I need the machine to be portable, so a plummed machine will not do. I guess the concept of the 6910 looks appealing, 3 lt water container is double what I currently have and I assume recovery time woudnt really be an issue? Would like to hear from anyone using a 6910 regularly what issues you have come accross. Or are they basically really good?
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Re: sunbeam em6910 or alternative?
kammy,
There have been a number of posts regarding the 6910 on the site.
If the search function on the site is not giving you the results you seek, try using google and putting the string
site:www.coffeesnobs.com.au
at the end of your search criteria.
Basically, I think all here who own one reckon they are very good units. The only minus seems to be some reliability issues.
Have a hunt through the posts though.
Brett.
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Re: sunbeam em6910 or alternative?
You would probably "get away" with a Sunbeam in that case...Originally posted by kammy link=1170726626/0#6 date=117073120220 people would be the max and not very common, more ofter 10 or 12, and mostly only 2-4 cups at a time. I need the machine to be portable, so a plummed machine will not do. I guess the concept of the 6910 looks appealing, 3 lt water container is double what I currently have and I assume recovery time woudnt really be an issue?
The problem Ive found is you can comfortably make about 2 cups a minute from a single group - everything going well.
Now you can either serve them straight away- or leave them sitting until all are ready. If the first scenario then people wait politely until the others have their coffee - so they are getting cold, in the second they are getting cold on the bench - and seeing they only start out at about 65C ....
So up to about 4 is easily managed - after that it becomes more and more of a problem.
Recovery time wouldnt be an issue with the Sunbeam. Not sure how reliability will go making many cups in a row..
You will find varying views (wildly varying).Would like to hear from anyone using a 6910 regularly what issues you have come accross. Or are they basically really good?
Have a read of:
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1167733794
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1167733695
(in both cases click on "I dont own one, I just want to see the results!"
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1166787529
(there are quite a few others as well)....
but because they have been available a relatively short time..... there arent too many who have used them for all that long..... and possibly very few, if any, who have made as many coffees at once with one as you will......
The design would come closest to fulfilling your needs..... its really just a question of reliability.
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Re: sunbeam em6910 or alternative?
Originally posted by fatboy link=1170726626/0#7 date=1170731518kammy,
There have been a number of posts regarding the 6910 on the site.
If the search function on the site is not giving you the results you seek, try using google and putting the string
site:www.coffeesnobs.com.au
at the end of your search criteria.
Basically, I think all here who own one reckon they are very good units. The only minus seems to be some reliability issues.
Have a hunt through the posts though.
Brett.
Good point Brett.
Welcome kammy and I would also reiterate that you have a read of the now many other threads on this machine. I would be inclined to lock this thread but will probably just end up joining it with the other 6910 thread in existence. So, if your thread suddenly seems to disappear, that is where it will have gone.
I believe you will find that many of your questions have in fact, been asked before!
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Re: sunbeam em6910 or alternative?
I did my research on this site and coffeegeek and got my grinder first.
It was a La Cimbali Cadet....damn beast it was....now owned by another CS member!
Then I purchased a Rancilio Silvia.
Now Im on my 2nd setup. Sunbeam EM6910 and Mazzer Mini.
Thats gotta say something....well not really :P...but the fact is, is that I used to own a Silvia and now I own a Sunbeam.
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Re: sunbeam em6910 or alternative?
drove an hour and three quarters each way to adelaide and got the goodies. fist pull was pretty good and with a couple of tries real nice. hopefully will sleep tonight! didnt drink all of them hey! so far very happy, machine is pretty noisy with no pressure on the head, but its ok. old krups is in the caravan already. sweet! Grinder was a bit untidy the way I did it, but will develope a process no doubt before long. first coffee job on tuesday for a group of mums! look out! Might have some more questions before then. By the way, Ive been working on this upgrade for years too...
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