Tax return time is here and the mrs and I decided to amp up our coffee game. I am trying to decide if its worth dropping ~$3k on one of the heat exchanger machines (I'm kind of 50/50 between the ECM Mechanika slim or the Rocket Apartamento, as they seem pretty similar in quality and function. While the treasury can bear such expense (not happily but) I am trying to weigh it up against a dual boiler machine, specifically the Breville Dual Boiler. I'm finding it difficult to find any material about whether the Italian brand machines are worth the extra coins; I did find a video on YouTube comparing the Apartamento with the Breville, saying they were in a similar price bracket (might be true in USA but for sure the Rocket is about double here), and she seemed to think they were roughly similar. But the Breville is about half the price even if you get it with the grinder from Good Guys.
So it comes down to these factors:
One of my main concerns about getting the Breville machine is the electronics / etc, I have had enough bad experiences with mass produced whitegoods at this point that I assume everything is going to break as soon as the warranty runs out, they no longer make the specific machine you have/can't get replacement parts/the replacement part costs more than a whole new machine, so the only reasonable option ends up being to buy the new model. So if the Breville was going to cost $1400 now and another $1400 3-5 years from now, it will be worth just spending the $2800 now IF the Italian ones actually have better longevity. I don't want a fancy Italian machine if its just going to give me similar problems, but, the Rocket machine seems like it has fairly simple-ish mechanical internals that I can probably repair myself if needed. Maybe.
Sorry for rambling. I've been thinking about this a lot.
TL;DR- is a Rocket Apartamento / ECM Mechanika Slim worth ~twice the cost of the Breville Dual Boiler ?
So it comes down to these factors:
- I want to be able to make espresso and steam milk at the same time.
- Ideally it would be the last machine I buy for the next 10 years, hopefully ever. I would rather repair something then replace it.
- $2800 is pretty much the hard limit.
- Kitchen bench space is a factor, but theres enough room to fit the larger Breville machine there.
One of my main concerns about getting the Breville machine is the electronics / etc, I have had enough bad experiences with mass produced whitegoods at this point that I assume everything is going to break as soon as the warranty runs out, they no longer make the specific machine you have/can't get replacement parts/the replacement part costs more than a whole new machine, so the only reasonable option ends up being to buy the new model. So if the Breville was going to cost $1400 now and another $1400 3-5 years from now, it will be worth just spending the $2800 now IF the Italian ones actually have better longevity. I don't want a fancy Italian machine if its just going to give me similar problems, but, the Rocket machine seems like it has fairly simple-ish mechanical internals that I can probably repair myself if needed. Maybe.
Sorry for rambling. I've been thinking about this a lot.
TL;DR- is a Rocket Apartamento / ECM Mechanika Slim worth ~twice the cost of the Breville Dual Boiler ?

Comment