Bean to Cup Machine

[tomartomau]

Hi Guys,
I am a long term poster on Whirlpool and they recommend that you guys are the first and last point in coffee related questions.

I would like to purchase my first machine that is a bean to cup, I thought that I would pursue a factory second in the hope to get a reasonable product at a discounted price point. In this case I have decided to use the delongi seconds as they offer a factory warranty albeit it a 6 month warranty at best.

One question that I have is that one machine I have researched has a "duel boiler" as part of its descriptor, whilst no other machines, cheaper and more expensive do not state this fact.

...anyway here is a couple of links to the two machines that I am leaning towards, please note I like cappuccino and flat white, my wife likes cappuccino and our children may have an occasional hot chocolate which I can make with just the frothed milk and add powder.

Silver Compact $679.00

Silver Compact ECAM23450S - Coffee Makers - De'Longhi

Or the more expensive (with duel boiler apparently)

PrimaDonna S Deluxe ECAM26455M - Coffee Makers - De'Longhi

PrimaDonna S Deluxe ECAM26455M - Coffee Makers - De'Longhi


I rang delongi and whilst their customer service didn't appear to be very forethcoming, they stated that all these machines were single boilers? IN saying this they did not have any specific knowledge of the models listed.

I am thinking that the second option the 'primadona' might be a later incarnation and has a newer pump design, but this is all speculative. I thought I would ask here.

I would really appreciate and take on board any advise or guidance from this forum.

Thanks in advance

Tony

[roburu]

Hi Tony,

My advice would be to stay away from complex coffee appliances the likes of what you listed above. They tend not to last very long and the repairs can be pretty expensive once out of warranty. It's the luck of the draw. We used to have an expensive DeLonghi machine at work and after a while it spent more time being repaired then making coffee (mainbord replaced twice, pretty expensive repair bill).

If the budget allows and you are willing to put a bit more effort and time into making coffees I would recommend getting at least a Gaggia Classic machine coupled with a separate, decent grinder. The results will be a lot better once you get the hang of it and the machine will last a lot longer.

[LeroyC]

G'day Tony,

As you may have already guessed you won't find many people here willing to vouch for super-automatic coffee machines. The main reason being that most of us are here because we love high quality coffee, and even at their absolute best super-autos aren't capable of producing what we would consider quality coffee. But everyone has different standards and I know a few people who own Delonghi autos and are quite happy with them. I've also seen how much difference it makes when you use them right. From memory all 3 I've had a coffee from were Magnificas, but I'm not 100% sure. By all accounts Delonghi is probably the way to go at this end of the market.

If this is the type of machine you're set on getting these are the main things to consider:
- Get the most expensive one you can afford. Quality does seem to be fairly relative to price with these machines.
- Buy it brand new from a reputable retailer that has good after sales support. I'd recommend a specialist over a home appliance store.
- Get one that uses fresh milk rather than milk powder.
- Clean it frequently. It'll need a basic clean daily, with more thorough cleaning on a weekly basis and a full clean maybe once every 1-2 months depending on how often you use it.
- You probably don't need to 'single dose' the bean hopper, but maybe just put one day's worth of coffee in there at a time and clean it out at the end of the day. I've heard that the grinder gets clogged quite easily so this should be part of the daily cleaning ritual.
- As with any set up make sure you use freshly roasted coffee from a local coffee roaster. Do not buy coffee from the supermarket.

Finally, if you're open to suggestions I'd consider looking at some sort of semi-auto machine. Obviously it very much depends on what you can afford, but if you're looking for ease of use maybe you could consider the Breville Oracle. It's not quite push button operation, but it's not far off it. The machine does most of the work for you and will give much better results than a super-auto. Good luck, let us know how you go.

[Lukemc]

Second having a look at the oracle. Will produce much nicer coffee

[Melbroaster]

Get a ground bean to cup machine any day of the week

[sprezzatura]

Third having a look at the Oracle: it's the best bean-to-cup machine I've used.

[tomartomau]

Thanks everyone, I will take a pause and have a look at the Oracle and the Gaggia Classic models on offer. I appreciate your help and responses, it is greatly appreciated.
Cheers Tony