hi all,
I'm looking for recommendations for best sub $1000 machine.
Over the last 12+ years I've had two Sunbeam Cafe series machines - the EM6910 and a more recent version (EM7000?) bought three or four years ago.
I was very happy with machine #1 and nursed it along for many years doing lots of R&M, including replacing the collar, which was a fairly mammoth job in the end. I finally gave up on it when the steam pump went.
Machine #2 has never felt as good, which was reflected in comments on this forum at the time, about the lowering of build and materials quality in those Sunbeam machines. I had to go to a metal workers to remove the shower screen as the screw just wouldn't budge, even after days of soaking it in various liquids, upside down and all the other usual tricks. Replacing the seal is really difficult, unlike the other machine. Now the collar has got so worn that even a new seal won't give decent performance. This is all after relatively light use (and no use for over 18 months when we were overseas), so I'm not going to go back to Sunbeam ... unless they've seen the error of their ways and improved their quality.
I've been away from coffee forums for the past few years while enduring the miserable coffee in Europe/Ireland, so I'm really out of touch with what is out there in the sub-$1000 range. Would prefer closer to the $500 mark, as my partner isn't keen on a big spend, but can be convinced to the higher end!
Many thanks Snobbistas!
I'm looking for recommendations for best sub $1000 machine.
Over the last 12+ years I've had two Sunbeam Cafe series machines - the EM6910 and a more recent version (EM7000?) bought three or four years ago.
I was very happy with machine #1 and nursed it along for many years doing lots of R&M, including replacing the collar, which was a fairly mammoth job in the end. I finally gave up on it when the steam pump went.
Machine #2 has never felt as good, which was reflected in comments on this forum at the time, about the lowering of build and materials quality in those Sunbeam machines. I had to go to a metal workers to remove the shower screen as the screw just wouldn't budge, even after days of soaking it in various liquids, upside down and all the other usual tricks. Replacing the seal is really difficult, unlike the other machine. Now the collar has got so worn that even a new seal won't give decent performance. This is all after relatively light use (and no use for over 18 months when we were overseas), so I'm not going to go back to Sunbeam ... unless they've seen the error of their ways and improved their quality.
I've been away from coffee forums for the past few years while enduring the miserable coffee in Europe/Ireland, so I'm really out of touch with what is out there in the sub-$1000 range. Would prefer closer to the $500 mark, as my partner isn't keen on a big spend, but can be convinced to the higher end!
Many thanks Snobbistas!

Comment