Which to choose?

[Fondie]

So I have been driving my poor husband crazy with talk of coffee machines all week

I have narrowed down my choices to three options, what are your thoughts on these?

1.) ECM Barista and a cheap grinder like the breville smart grinder pro
2.) VBM Domobar Jr and either the breville smart grinder or maybe the compak K3 push
3.) Expobar Office Leva and the Compak K3 push

If we bought the cheaper grinder it would be a stop gap measure until we can afford a better grinder.

thanks in advance for any thoughts on these machines

[chokkidog]

Hi Fondie and welcome to CS.

For my money...... you'd be better off spending a little more on a grinder straight up, it will

make a bigger difference to your coffee. Have you looked at the Macap M2M?

The VBM Domobar is a fine machine.

[TC]

Agreed with Greg.

I also really like the Macap M2M grinder. Punches well above weight in the <$500 class.

I have no experience with the ECM mahcine, but would choose the VBM over the Expobar every time. It's a far better built machine.

[dumiya]

The M2M is currently on special @ $489 at the above sponsor, may also be at other sponsors. This would be an excellent grinder to start with. The problem with many cheap grinders is they do not grind the beans evenly so the grandule size is not uniform so it is 'never the same taste twice' this makes it very frustrating for the 'barista'.

[nathanharley]

Fondie, for what its worth, I run the Compak Push and the ECM Barista at home, lets just say I get a little excited when I wake up every morning. My wife loves the ECM too, its quiet, pulls great shots, plenty of steaming power, and looks classy. The Compak Push is a sweet little grinder, it is a little noisy (no more than its peers I might add) and a little slow, but from what I can tell the particle size consistency looks great. I like the easy to clean hopper and the seemingly endless adjustment, its got a very broad spectrum.

n8

[Fondie]

Thank you all for your suggestions, you have all been very helpful
We will be going shopping on Tuesday and I will let you all know what we come home with.

[chokkidog]

I was going to put this in the other thread but when I realised the progression of your thoughts I decided to put my comment here.

If, however, you do decide on the machine first, great grinder second scenario, then you might be in a position to look

at the Macap M4D, in a few months. It is the best home specific electric grinder.

Your coffee can only be as good as your grinder, no matter the machine, the beans or the hands.

[Fondie]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/588823...posted-public/

So this happened and I am finally enjoying a nice coffee I took your collective advice to get a better grinder and blew the budget on a Mazzer Mini! I ended up picking the ECM Barista.
Thanks to everyone who helped me

[artman]

very nice!! enjoy the new toys!

cheers

[iamavapollard]

So I have been driving my poor husband crazy with talk of coffee machines all week

I have narrowed down my choices to three options, what are your thoughts on these?

1.) ECM Barista and a cheap grinder like the breville smart grinder pro
2.) VBM Domobar Jr and either the breville smart grinder or maybe the compak K3 push
3.) Expobar Office Leva and the Compak K3 push

If we bought the cheaper grinder it would be a stop gap measure until we can afford a better grinder.

thanks in advance for any thoughts on these machines

Go for VBM Domobar Jr