Advice sought - finally discarding the Nespresso stabilisers

Gforcemurphy

Hi all

I think I'm ready to finally turn my back on the old Nespresso machine (wedding present of 8 years ago, loved it at the time but moved on a bit since).

I already have a Bialetti moka pot and enjoy the 'ritual' of putting my own coffee together, but want to do it right, so....

I am looking at combining the following two products:

1. De'Longhi Dedica Style EC685R Traditional Pump Espresso Machine (red) at £149; and
2. Sage Smart Grinder pro at £142 (both on Amazon).

I looked at bean to cup, but figured this option was cheaper, and perhaps also would give more control on the grinding front. Plus, while I generally prefer espressos / short americanos, the separate grinder could let me play around with other brewing methods, in time, if I wanted to.

While I see the Sage grinder got a general thumbs up in separate post not too long ago, does anyone have any feedback on the De'Longhi machine? I see for instance there is a Sage machine for £328 also on Amazon (Duo Temp Pro) but I'm struggling to see what extra it would bring to the table, over and above the De'Longhi?

Thanks in advance!

G rock

Check out coffee forums UK.

There are full threads about the sage duo temp Pro.

It seems like a well regarded entry level machine.

I don't have any experience of any machines but have been looking into a purchase and have seen lots written about the sage

Gforcemurphy

Thanks for the tip, I took your advice and have since been (happily) lost in a sea of new concepts, machines and prices I never knew existed and a wealth of knowledge that I can only hope to chip away at.

Think I’m now going / thinking in the right direction though (broadly ditched the above plans anyway). Cheers!

G rock wrote: »

Check out coffee forums UK.

There are full threads about the sage duo temp Pro.

It seems like a well regarded entry level machine.

I don't have any experience of any machines but have been looking into a purchase and have seen lots written about the sage

G rock

Down the rabbit hole you go!

I saw someone here refer to that forum as a possible source of second hand grinders....

As a result I'm now waiting on a march delivery of a niche!

Gforcemurphy

Wow, did you find one second-hand? They look the business but price a bit eye-watering for me, at this early stage at least.

The forum did steer me towards a Gaggia Classic though. Some really cool mods done on some of them for sale there, but between shipping cost and a general preference to sell locally first (as in, within UK) figured I would be better getting one here if I could. Just agreed a price on Adverts today, picking up on Wednesday. Might get this PID kit on sale there to level the water temp (in time). Next job is a grinder, have my eyes peeled for a good second-hand one (here or on the forum), if I don’t succeed I think I could do worse than the Sage Smart Grinder Pro...

Jeffrey Lebowski

G rock wrote: »

Down the rabbit hole you go!

I saw someone here refer to that forum as a possible source of second hand grinders....

As a result I'm now waiting on a march delivery of a niche!

You won't regret it. I got one in November and its fantastic. I cleaned it for the first time since buying and was shocked at how little was retained in the grinder.

G rock

Only just saw reply regarding the niche.

I don't have an espresso machine ATM, but decided to upgrade my baratza encore with something that would do a machine justice in the future.

The encore has served me well, but really hoping I notice some difference with the kalita pour over with an upgraded grinder.

Machine to follow in hopefully the near future....e61 HX or dual boiler if budget allows.

Btw, the baratza will be moved on if anyone here is interested!