(Hi all, first time poster - I didn't find any threads for this particular combination so figured I'd start one.)
We currently have a Breville Cafe Roma and a Sunbeam burr grinder that have both seen better days. They've been used for the better part of a decade with only a few repairs/tweaks but coffee has recently gone from "not really the best" to "undrinkable" and it's probably time to upgrade.
We're looking for a new grinder and machine setup that will be making long blacks 90% of the time. Not much call for frothed milk in our house.
Main priorities:
Desirable things:
Budget:
So far considering:
What other factors and models should I be considering? Thanks in advance.
We currently have a Breville Cafe Roma and a Sunbeam burr grinder that have both seen better days. They've been used for the better part of a decade with only a few repairs/tweaks but coffee has recently gone from "not really the best" to "undrinkable" and it's probably time to upgrade.
We're looking for a new grinder and machine setup that will be making long blacks 90% of the time. Not much call for frothed milk in our house.
Main priorities:
- Makes good black coffee.
- Can be repaired/serviced and probably last 10+ years making a 2-3 coffees a day.
- Can buy replacement parts and consumables easily.
- Not too fussy to use. I know there are a bunch of nifty manual espresso machines that don't even have heaters, but that's probably too much fiddling for us.
- No bigger than what we have now.
Desirable things:
- Single wall portafilters.
- Pressure gauge.
- Service manuals (exploded diagrams, etc) available somewhere would be amazing. I like to fix my own stuff, when I can.
- Combo machine that doesn't make a mess on the kitchen bench would be a bonus.
Budget:
- $1000-ish but would consider spending a bit more for something that ticks all the boxes. New or used.
So far considering:
- Lelit Combi or its PID-enabled cousin. Has almost every feature but look like they might be fiddly to repair/service yourself.
- Rancilio Silvia and a Rancilio or similar grinder. Silvia doesn't tick all the feature boxes but there is tons of technical info about it on the web, and simple internals.
What other factors and models should I be considering? Thanks in advance.

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