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I started with the Breville BCG820, then upgraded to a Eureka Atom, then side-graded to a Niche Zero so I can use it to do filter coffee etc as well. (Incidentally my Atom is currently for sale in the "hardware for sale" section of the forum )
In terms of the quality of coffee you can produce out of the 920, it's much much more than the Breville grinders will lead you to believe. Upgrade the basket, tamper and grinder and you'll have to spend serious money to beat it. If you do find yourself wanting to upgrade at some point I suggest buying a good grinder that you won't need to upgrade again, then you can upgrade the machine at a later date if you want but will have great coffee in the mean time.
It's a super easy machine for pulling walk-up shots and you can also play around on the weekend with things like pre-infusion, volumetric shot programming etc.
Just make sure you do all the maintenance as specified! Change the water filters as per the instructions, backflush with water until clear after every coffee making session and run the cleaning cycle with a cleaning powder or tablet every week if you've used the machine once or more that week (I use Cafetto Espresso Clean powder, much cheaper than tablets). Descale it as often as it says or more.
Whatever you do don't overload the baskets, the double basket can take 18.0-20.0g. If the shot is running too fast you need to grind finer, don't pack more coffee in.
Awesome thanks! Will take the above on board when I set it up. Wasn't expecting to buy a machine today but couldn't pass up the deal so I don't have a grinder yet... Will decide on one this week and go from there.
It's a super easy machine for pulling walk-up shots and you can also play around on the weekend with things like pre-infusion, volumetric shot programming etc.
Just make sure you do all the maintenance as specified! Change the water filters as per the instructions, backflush with water until clear after every coffee making session and run the cleaning cycle with a cleaning powder or tablet every week if you've used the machine once or more that week (I use Cafetto Espresso Clean powder, much cheaper than tablets). Descale it as often as it says or more.
Whatever you do don't overload the baskets, the double basket can take 18.0-20.0g. If the shot is running too fast you need to grind finer, don't pack more coffee in.
After looking more into the BES920 plus getting it for a good sale price today I decided to go this path for now.
The main reason being like Erimus said I'm familiar with Breville but even more so my wife is... I would love to get into them more as a hobby and I would enjoy "geeking" with machines but in the end it's there to serve a purpose to make 2 coffees during the morning rush before work. For now this is a good little step up that should keep me satisfied for a while!
It really depends what balance you want between upgrading the build quality of the machine vs keeping the same features.
All those machines you list there except the Quick Mill are SBDU (single boiler double use) machines. That means you'll have to wait between pulling a shot and steaming, or vice versa. If you're happy to wait etc about that then all good, I'd recommend the Casa V or PL91T. If not either the Quick Mill or a Nuova Simonelli Oscar II, however they won't be built to as high a standard as the Lelit, and especially not the ECM.
The other option as Erimus suggested is the Breville BES920. For the money you're never going to beat it on features, but if it's longevity you want it's still an appliance grade machine. If you really look after it properly it could last 5+ years. It also might not if you get a dodgy one. I have one that's about 4 years old and I'm about to do a bit of an overhaul (replace main pump, OPV, solenoid valve, all rubber seals throughout machine). I do give the machine as easy life as possible and never miss a clean etc, however from some reports I've read some people have only had the machine last ~2 years even when looking after it properly.
If your Breville 870 is still working, you can always just let yourself "get lost in the maze" for a while. Read old threads. Read more, make notes and visualise your own coffee routine with a different machine. How much do you enjoy geeking with machines? Do you want a hobby, or just a cup of coffee? And so on.
If you keep reading the forum and getting lost in some YouTube channels for long enough, it is possible to come out from the other side of the maze and suddenly find yourself being quite clear about what you want.
Not always. But it's possible...
Sorry I don't have any advise for you. Just wanted to wish you good luck and enjoy the maze.
You'll be better off sticking with Breville and going for the BES 920 double boiler. You're familiar with the Breville mode of operation, so it's not a giant learning curve. Plus the 920 is cheaper and will out perform all of the models in your list. If I was to go with one on your list it would be the ECM.
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