Hello, my name is Brendan and I have been thinking about coffee machines for two days straight. Please help! 
I am leaning towards the Lelit Combi, it has a few features that are appealing and the wife likes the look of it.
- Quick warm up time
- Neat and tidy package with grinder built in
- Support and accessories
- Right price range
I am a little concerned over the steaming capacity of the 250ml boiler and was wondering how practical it would be to make four milk based drinks on a semi regular basis.
Normally coffee is just for the two of us but we regularly have guests over, but rarely more than 2 at a time other than special occasions. However we are expecting our first child early next year and I feel coffee might play a slightly larger role in our life and we might have a few more visitors for a while. I would like to knock out four drinks fairly quickly as I think it will be fairly common need.
I have read a fair few of the threads from this forum and the heat up time to steam from brewing temperature seems fairly quick, 30-40 seconds.
Now this is where it gets a little bit tricky for me.
What is the best procedure with a small single boiler to make drinks quickly and effectively? Pull the shots first and then steam the milk. The video from Jetblack espresso makes it appear that steaming milk for four drinks would be very possible, but I don't want to be running the boiler dry. Would it be wiser to steam milk for two and then draw cool water in to the boiler and pull another two shots and then steam again? Is the cool down time relatively quick as well or would this whole process get too frustrating leaving me with regret not just buying a dual boiler or heat exchange machine?
Would a machine like the VBM Domobar Piccolo with its 750ml boiler be a better choice as it would have a greater capacity to make four drinks or will it require longer warm up and cool down times and be slower overall?
- It is significantly more expensive + would require a separate grinder
- It is still 1200 watts so heating the extra water would just take longer between brew and steam time?
- Pro: E61 Group head Con: requires longer warm up time
Letit Victoria:
- Honestly probably appears to be the smart option. Auto refill feature makes it easy to use and advertises great steaming capacity.
- Significantly more expensive + would require a separate grinder
- Aesthetically I don't like it for some reason and neither does the wife
Wait for second hand dual boiler / HX ... anyone looking to upgrade?
Sorry for the long post. Your help and opinions will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance.

I am leaning towards the Lelit Combi, it has a few features that are appealing and the wife likes the look of it.
- Quick warm up time
- Neat and tidy package with grinder built in
- Support and accessories
- Right price range
I am a little concerned over the steaming capacity of the 250ml boiler and was wondering how practical it would be to make four milk based drinks on a semi regular basis.
Normally coffee is just for the two of us but we regularly have guests over, but rarely more than 2 at a time other than special occasions. However we are expecting our first child early next year and I feel coffee might play a slightly larger role in our life and we might have a few more visitors for a while. I would like to knock out four drinks fairly quickly as I think it will be fairly common need.
I have read a fair few of the threads from this forum and the heat up time to steam from brewing temperature seems fairly quick, 30-40 seconds.
Now this is where it gets a little bit tricky for me.
What is the best procedure with a small single boiler to make drinks quickly and effectively? Pull the shots first and then steam the milk. The video from Jetblack espresso makes it appear that steaming milk for four drinks would be very possible, but I don't want to be running the boiler dry. Would it be wiser to steam milk for two and then draw cool water in to the boiler and pull another two shots and then steam again? Is the cool down time relatively quick as well or would this whole process get too frustrating leaving me with regret not just buying a dual boiler or heat exchange machine?
Would a machine like the VBM Domobar Piccolo with its 750ml boiler be a better choice as it would have a greater capacity to make four drinks or will it require longer warm up and cool down times and be slower overall?
- It is significantly more expensive + would require a separate grinder
- It is still 1200 watts so heating the extra water would just take longer between brew and steam time?
- Pro: E61 Group head Con: requires longer warm up time
Letit Victoria:
- Honestly probably appears to be the smart option. Auto refill feature makes it easy to use and advertises great steaming capacity.
- Significantly more expensive + would require a separate grinder
- Aesthetically I don't like it for some reason and neither does the wife
Wait for second hand dual boiler / HX ... anyone looking to upgrade?

Sorry for the long post. Your help and opinions will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance.



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