Best machine under $1200

[willsmother]

If that's the Breville seconds store in Smith St Fitzroy they were very honourable: I went in enquiring about a dynamic duo and they said they had one but it was on hold for a customer.....ended up with a Barista Express also for a very good price ($330)

[Logga]

Seriously? Have you not heard of Orphan Espresso Paul?

My thoughts exactly. Has he been living under a rock or something

[LeroyC]

I like that. I'll be chasing these down. Where did you buy it?

Seriously? Have you not heard of Orphan Espresso Paul?

[chokkidog]

3 million households have coffee machines

In 2011 the average household in Australia ( I presume we're talking Oz here?), was 2.6 persons.

Our current population is a bit over 23 million.

That gives more than 8,846,000 households and you're saying that 3,000,000 of them have coffee machines?

That's more than 1 in 3 households having a 'coffee machine'.

I have seen the article in the Telegraph ( No Cookies | Daily Telegraph ) which, by the way, doesn't quote it's source for this data
but does attribute the bulk of domestic machine ownership to Pod so-called 'machines'.

It also quotes data from Illy which seems to contradict this other claim.

Rubbery figures indeed when talking to members of a coffee forum but I guess,

in the end, it all depends on what your definition of a coffee machine is.....

[wattgn]

That's a an easy one - a quality tamper.
Congrats on taking a step up from Pods. My own fascination with coffee started with a Sunbeam, so you might be standing on the edge of the same slippery slope

Tampers are nice objects. I got a Reg Barber Copper base with a Rosewood handle. They last a lifetime. I chose copper as it is the heaviest of all the metals used. The only issue is you need to clean it frequently. 11 years old now.

[Dimal]

I like that. I'll be chasing these down. Where did you buy it?

Probably from Chris at Talk Coffee...

Mal.

[mentasm]

Dosing funnel:

[jymorgan]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the suggestions and comments (both on-topic and not).

I thought i would just provide a quick update as to what i have purchased.

I toyed with many different options and combos, including built-in grinders, external grinders, etc. I simply couldn't pass up on a Breville dynamic due that i found for $615 that was a ex-display unit in the Breville seconds store.

Given that I'm not convinced that my wife will embrace the move from pod coffee to manual coffee, i figured this was a good starting point with minimal outlay and when/if she loves it, i can then look at purchasing a better Italian machine in a year or so down the track.

If i didn't come across this machine, i think i would have opted for a Lelit combi based on various suggestions/reviews.

Now that i have a machine, i need to buy accessories, so.....what's your number 1 coffee machine accessory that you cant live without?

[TC]

Hi CS community,
I'm also a first timer, altho' I too have been reading CS blogs for months.

Like jymorgan, I'm looking at a Lelit PL042TEMD for an "all-in-one" solution or a Lelit PL041TEMD. My question is simple. How adequate is the grinder on the Lelit PL042TEMD, or should I buy the Lelit PL041TEMD with, say a Macap M2M grinder? The price difference between these choices is about $50 at the moment. ($1350-$1400) My aim is 2-3 lattes in the morning & again at lunchtime, +/- one in the pm.

Any help or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.
dryk

Welcome dryk,

I may have a solution for you!

The mantra (as always) is seperate your grinder from your machine if at all possible. Coffee is not meant to be kept near heat and you also get insurance. If grinder or machine require service, you still have a means of producing your daily...

Cheers

Chris

[dryk]

Lelit PLo42TEMD vs PL041TEMD

Hi CS community,
I'm also a first timer, altho' I too have been reading CS blogs for months.

Like jymorgan, I'm looking at a Lelit PL042TEMD for an "all-in-one" solution or a Lelit PL041TEMD. My question is simple. How adequate is the grinder on the Lelit PL042TEMD, or should I buy the Lelit PL041TEMD with, say a Macap M2M grinder? The price difference between these choices is about $50 at the moment. ($1350-$1400) My aim is 2-3 lattes in the morning & again at lunchtime, +/- one in the pm.

Any help or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.
dryk

[noidle22]

Took me a few months to sell one of my Silvia's. I had several interested parties but once i determined their usage, it was inappropriate.
Eventually found a buyer who would be happy and who the machine suited well. He researched and read pretty much all that this thread is talking about and realised he wanted the Silvia.

In the same time as I was waiting to sell the Silvia, I probably sold 5-10 Breville/Sunbeam machines.

[simonko]

A $20/hr shop assistant neither knows nor cares how to use or maintain one and couldn't give a toss re training either. Hell, many (most?) can't even use a pod machine.

I rent part of my place to tourists. Comments on the pod machine I have in there have been:

1. It doesn't work (it does)
2. The coffee is terrible (they extract 250 mL from the pod)
3. It leaks (drip tray full)

The Robert Timms coffee bags I leave are far more popular.

[skidquinn]

The Australian Consumer Law is there but it is a soft law.

Most companies will make you fight for that. IMHO forget it. You either have a warranty or you don't. I know some people have succeeded after three weeks of calls back and forth and hours spent. Not worth it. As you say though if Breville has it then that is good. Some appliances that are complex, like coffee machines, and expensive to fix, like coffee machines, you should just take out the extended warranty with the shop. I know one of the salesman at HN for years and he finds it sad that people depend on this Australian Consumer Law and make life really tough for themselves trying to get companies to honour it. If you buy the extended warranty, it is easy.

Agreed - FWIW neither was a BDB, but one was a breville. One had a 1 yr warranty and the other a 2 yr warranty. They both broke within months of the warranty period ending. A big reason I started reading about what else was around.

[skidquinn]

Chris, yep that makes perfect sense. And goes a long way to explain why these appliance machines are so prominent in households. For those of us not in Sydney or Melbourne, those two specialist importers and sellers are simply an online presence. Can see why not many people have even heard of a Rancilio let alone have one on their bench.

I'm not convinced that if an average punter wants to put in the effort with a breville et al, that they couldn't manage a single boiler.

I think our overall move to a more disposable way of life irks me as well.

[wattgn]

If that was a Breville dual boiler, it has 2 yr warranty. Even if it didn't, consumer protection would be on your side as it would be a reasonable expectation a $1000 plus coffee machine should last more that 2-3 years in a home environment.

The Australian Consumer Law is there but it is a soft law.

Most companies will make you fight for that. IMHO forget it. You either have a warranty or you don't. I know some people have succeeded after three weeks of calls back and forth and hours spent. Not worth it. As you say though if Breville has it then that is good. Some appliances that are complex, like coffee machines, and expensive to fix, like coffee machines, you should just take out the extended warranty with the shop. I know one of the salesman at HN for years and he finds it sad that people depend on this Australian Consumer Law and make life really tough for themselves trying to get companies to honour it. If you buy the extended warranty, it is easy.