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Is it worth buying a premium machine?

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  • dr.a.j.pickering
    replied
    Is it worth buying a premium machine?

    It's bit like the 110kg man in Lycra on a full carbon road bike, he won't be as fast (or look as good) as Bradley Wiggins!

    Where as Wiggo on my bike would still be faster than the average club cyclist
    Last edited by dr.a.j.pickering; 24 August 2012, 09:51 PM.

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  • mentalist
    replied
    I think it's like buying, say, a good pair of speakers. If you take good care of it you won't need to replace it for a long time. Mind you upgradeitis is a subtle disease.

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  • blend52
    replied
    ...How much better will the coffee be?
    ...What I can say is it make wonderful coffee, !
    One problem i see here is these .. ( "better" , .."wonderful",..).. are subjective descriptions, with no "Standard" to judge against.
    someone else with an "imported m/c" might well say it makes "perfect" coffee, or some such comment, but again no reference to compare to.
    For example, many people will argue how good Starbucks coffee is compared to MacDonalds !! ..See? ..starting from a different standard !
    In reality most of these machines are capable of making better coffee than the average operator's skills can support.

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  • Barry O'Speedwagon
    replied
    fair 'nuff.

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  • dr.a.j.pickering
    replied
    Is it worth buying a premium machine?

    Thanks for the nudge in correct grammatical direction, this was my point

    I have reserved comment on the op's question as the best I have used is the bes900

    What I can say is it make wonderful coffee, therefore is worth spending more? If you have got more you need assess whether the extra outlay will be worth it!

    Well there goes an age old question, what is something worth? What some one will pay!

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  • Barry O'Speedwagon
    replied
    Originally posted by dr.a.j.pickering View Post
    Interesting all your responses where from people justifying there outlay on expensive machines
    'their' (sorry)

    It's hard to see how anyone who hasn't at least used both levels of machines could sensibly comment.

    To the OP the answers is that it depends......on a) how tight your budget is b) how close you are to places that can service BDB-type option / e61 option c) aesthetics (your preferences plus the match with the kitchen it is going in to d) how strong you are (my other half can't lift the e61).

    I perfectly understand why the BDB-type is right for some people at some stages of their life. Not for me at present, but say 15-20 years ago I probably would have gone that way.

    Cheers
    Dr BOSW

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  • jazzy_boy
    replied
    I started out years ago with several cheap machines and found it was a false economy! One of the cheapies burnt out... another was rubbish... As my coffee interests grew, I was increasingly frustrated that I couldn't get the kind of results I wanted from the cheap machine. When visitors came for coffee I was taking forever just to make 4 coffees. In the end, I had tried 3 different cheapie machines before I bit the bullet and bought a ECM Giotto and never looked back. So my advice is buy a decent machine from the start!

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  • Vinitasse
    replied
    Originally posted by dr.a.j.pickering View Post
    Interesting all your responses where(sic) from people justifying there(sic) outlay on expensive machines
    Would you prefer if the OP's question was answered by someone completely unqualified to provide an informed opinion... i.e. someone who hasn't, nor would ever, purchased an "expensive machine"?

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  • dr.a.j.pickering
    replied
    Is it worth buying a premium machine?

    Interesting all your responses where from people justifying there outlay on expensive machines

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  • nzcoffeetech
    replied
    Excelent choice , definitely one of the better machines in that price bracket.

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  • gasman
    replied
    Perfect choice, I still love mine years down the track. Look super slick so no grief from the other half

    David

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  • Stan
    replied
    Enjoy the journey - you have taken the first step into Coffee Snobbery

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  • Yelta
    replied
    Congratulations DRX, have been watching this thread with interest, wondering which way you would jump.
    For what it's worth IMHO you made a wise choice.

    Leave a comment:


  • drx
    replied
    To answer my own question YES!!

    I am now the owner of a VBM Domobar Junior from Talk Coffee.
    I knew that I would not be content having the Breville sitting on my bench, so off I went to Chris where he showed me a number of machines that suited my requirements. I tossed up between the Rocket and VBM but as bench space was at a premium the smaller machine won out.
    Thanks to Chris's instruction on how to pull a shot , I have not had a bad coffee since purchase.Much better than my trusty Gaggia ever did.
    We love looking at the machine , looking at the way the coffee runs down the spout , thick and golden and of course, the coffee.

    Glad I went Italian and not Chinese.

    drx

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  • KJM
    replied
    drx - welcome!

    I have what would be called a "premium" machine - an Expobar Minore III. I upgraded from an NS Oscar and a Silvia (with PID). I didn't actually *intend* to buy the Minore, the opportunity arose (thanks Greg!) and I couldn't say no.

    Does the Minore make *better* coffee than the other machines? Not exactly. It is far, far easier to use though and I can bang out back to back coffees till the cows come home. The one thing I actually like very much about this machine - compared to the BES900 (which I think is excellent - from my very limited playing with it at Beanology last year) - is that it is built solidly and is simple to repair/tinker. It has an e61 group for example - which means it is a bunch of seals and springs and can be disassembled and repaired trivially.

    It might be just me, but part of my "decision matrix" would be repairs/maintenance. When you go visit the relevant site sponsors to play with the machine you're looking at before you buy - ask about that too. Even a browse over coffeeparts and looking through the "standard" componentry would inform you of what is a standard looking widget. Looking inside the machine can really inform you about how hard it will be to keep it going.

    So I don't think you'll find a spectacular improvement in the coffee per se. What you'll find is that you make far fewer duff shots with the better machine. At least I do!

    Cheers
    /Kevin

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