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Limited budget - which Breville machine is best?

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  • Limited budget - which Breville machine is best?

    Newbie here. Our Nespresso machine kicked the bucket last weekend and I need a new coffee machine ASAP. I’ve been eyeing off a nice Italian machine but funds are limited until we pay off a $10k tax office bill! I have about $600 of David Jones vouchers and they have some good prices on Breville machines at the moment so was thinking of getting one to use for a 2-3 years and then sell and upgrade. But which one to get? We make about 4 coffees a day. I’m super fussy about milk so often have a short black, but if I could get one with a decent steamer I might start to enjoy lattes again.

    Looking at:

    - Dual Boiler is $900 which seems like a great price but I would have to get a grinder. Is there a decent cheap grinder?
    - Barrister Pro is $800
    - Barrister Express is $630

    Theres an Oracle for about $1700 but I feel like if I’m going to pay that much we might as well get a better brand ...

    Advise please?

  • #2
    I haven't tried the Barista (barrister is a lawyer) with the touch screens but I would put my money on the dual boiler for sure. They're currently $827 at Harvey Norman so you should be able to get DJ to price match. A second hand grinder from the forums or gumtree (if you're feeling a bit more brave) should be able to get you making coffee again for around $1k all up.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by mthomas87 View Post
      I haven't tried the Barista (barrister is a lawyer)....
      As far as Barristers go -

      Dual boiler - Lawyer X Nicola Gobbo

      Barrister Pro - David Galbally

      Barrister Express - Saul Goodman (Better call Saul)

      The Oracle - Geoffrey Robertson

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      • #4
        Originally posted by CafeLotta View Post
        As far as Barristers go -

        Dual boiler - Lawyer X Nicola Gobbo

        Barrister Pro - David Galbally

        Barrister Express - Saul Goodman (Better call Saul)

        The Oracle - Geoffrey Robertson
        They all use the most expensive beans and transform it into bitter regret in 6 minute, charged increments...

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        • #5
          Originally posted by CafeLotta View Post
          As far as Barristers go -

          Dual boiler - Lawyer X Nicola Gobbo

          Barrister Pro - David Galbally

          Barrister Express - Saul Goodman (Better call Saul)

          The Oracle - Geoffrey Robertson
          You never know what you can extract with a good Grindr.

          Comment


          • #6
            Low end Brevilles may not come with an unpressurized basket thus making it difficult to extract a proper espresso. Is the ability to steam and pull a shot at the same time a priority on your list. Is a single boiler a possibility? If so Gaggia Classic may be a good choice. Here in the States it's about $400.00 USD. And getting a grinder that's "better" than your espresso maker may make sense if you intend to upgrade in the near future.

            Gaggia classic seems to hold value. It comes with pressurized and unpressurized baskets to boot

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            • #7
              Originally posted by mthomas87 View Post
              I haven't tried the Barista (barrister is a lawyer)
              Oh gosh, now I’m super embarrassed can I blame a combination of no morning coffee and autocorrect?

              In all seriousness, I need to get this coffee thing sorted quickly. So you think hi the breville dual boiler and grab a 2nd hand grinder?

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              • #8
                Plus 1 from me for the dual boiler, given that you're not expecting to keep it for more than 2 or 3 years.
                I have a couple of good Italian HX machines, but I wanted to play with a double boiler that has PID brew temp control, so I picked up a cheap factory second BDB.

                I found it was fast to heat up, easy and convenient to use, and makes damn good coffee too. Steam is not what I would call powerful, but when it is set to max, it is more than adequate for good caps/latte's.

                Unless you can find A S/H bargain, there is no such thing as a "good cheap grinder". However, you may be able to pick up a package deal on a Smart Grinder with the BDB. I have not used one, but there seems to be some consensus here on CS that this grinder is O.K. as an entry level espresso grinder.

                I have not used either of the other Barista models, so I can't comment on them, but I agree completely with your comment on the Oracle.

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                • #9
                  The dual boiler is a solid machine and if looked after properly (i.e. better than the manual tells you to do) should last 5 years. The Breville smart grinder is the absolute bare minimum quality grinder for espresso, you can do a lot better with a second hand grinder. The dual boiler is far more capable than the smart grinder will allow it to be anyway.

                  What's your location?

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                  • #10
                    These grinders will tide you over well:

                    https://coffeesnobs.com.au/coffee-ha...sh-sydney.html

                    https://coffeesnobs.com.au/coffee-ha...r-grinder.html

                    https://coffeesnobs.com.au/coffee-ha...er-sydney.html

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                    • #11
                      Popping back in to say Thank You for the advice - I purchased the Breville Dual Boiler + grinder package for $1,075 at DJs, and after using our vouchers and other discounts total outlay was $460. Not bad for a dual boiler machine. Looks a bit bulky but we plan to keep it in the butlers pantry anyway. Hoping this purchase will inspire a love for coffee so we can justify spending a bit more $$ on a La Marzocco or Rocket in a couple of years time.

                      Now time to research accessories and beans while I wait for it to arrive.

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                      • #12
                        Nice! Hope you have a fun weekend with a bag of beans and a whole lot of coffee. I'd recommend buying a kilo of cheaper beans (aldi is quite good if you have one nearby) to get cracking with. Lots of threads on here about the dual boiler and in general how to dial in a grinder.

                        My favourite accesory has been a Pullman tamper (awesome) but also the grindenstein knock box (very small), a milk thermometer and some gram scales ($6 for cheapies).

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