Lelit Combi PL042EMI

[snedden9485]

Hi all

a friend of mine is looking to spend up to $1k on a new machine and this has popped up on my radar for him. I'm feeling this is far better than the $700 breville option, I like the built in grinder. My question, is this a single boiler? Is it like the Silvia which will need time between brewing and steaming to heat / cool the boiler? He's far from a snob and having something relatively easy to use is a big key. I'm not very educated on the cheaper machines other than the Silvia. I've told him he should lash out and get a HX, but as most know, spending $2500 on your first machine is a big ask.

Any my help would be great. I'll likely get him to buy it through a sponsor.

Cheers people

[artman]

I was in a similar predicament many years ago. I got the Nemox version of the combi which was my first "real" machine and it served me very well. In essence its a silvia style group setup (single boiler) but is 57mm (not 58mm) and has built in grinder which does a decent job.

Yes you need to wait a minute to get steam and remember to refill the boiler afterwards but it is not really an issue for doing a couple of doubles with milk.

It is also small and compact and being a single unit makes a great travel machine to keep when upgradeitis kicks in.

You can even get a PID version for better consistency.

If he is near a sponsor that stocks them I would recommend checking it out.

He could always consider used to get more for the money?

Cheers

[snedden9485]

Yes the machine would be used for milk based drinks only i think. What sort of time is required to heat to steam after pulling the shot? I dont think he would be too keen to go second hand. The breville option is around $700 inc the built in grinder, but I feel the quality would be lacking considerably compared to the Lelit.

[snedden9485]

I've done a brief search of gumtree and seems to be a few brand new DB Breville's, without the grinder for around $900. Thinking this may be a good option for him, reports are that these are a little more user friendly than euro machines (good for him as he's not exactly a CS )

[allitnils]

The breville dual boiler is brilliant. I had one for 2 years and never skipped a beat. Only recently upgraded to an hx but only because I didn't have the space for the DB.

[>JetBlack_Espresso]

There will be a reasonably big space difference on the bench between the compact 42EMI (with built in grinder) and the Breville DB + grinder combination. That could be a factor for a non snob (and many snobs too).

charlie

[artman]

I would go the lelit over the breville combi, it is more of a "proper" machine than the breville.

The time to steam is about a minute, maybe less? Never timed it but basically after pulling a shot, flick the switch and by the time I get milk out of fridge etc it's good go.

The dual boiler is great when it's working well but as above takes up considerably more bench space.

Cheers

[iMagoo]

Don't hesitate to haggle if you decide to go for the Brevilles on Gumtree. They were recently available for $699 from Harvey Norman after cashback. I'd wager the brand new Brevilles are the result of this sale.