Espresso Maker with Milk Steamer

Samuel T. Cogley · 06-05-2019 6:08pm #1

Hi all!

Looking to get one of these to replace a Lidl/Aldi jobbie the wife bought and loves with something in the €200 - €400 range. Any suggestions for a good machine please?

Thanks in advance.

Slaphead07 · 07-05-2019 1:34pm

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Hi all!

Looking to get one of these to replace a Lidl/Aldi jobbie the wife bought and loves with something in the €200 - €400 range. Any suggestions for a good machine please?

Thanks in advance.

Curry's have DeLonghi at about €340 at the moment.

J_E · 08-05-2019 9:51pm

I love my Rancilio Silvia. Got it 2nd hand for €300. A bit of a step up from automatic machines but worth the learning curve. I make better coffee at home than I get in most cafes.

aisling86 · 11-05-2019 7:17am

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Hi all!

Looking to get one of these to replace a Lidl/Aldi jobbie the wife bought and loves with something in the €200 - €400 range. Any suggestions for a good machine please?

Thanks in advance.

Just wondering is this the machine you have & would you recommend as a first machine? https://www.lidl.ie/en/special-offers.htm?articleId=19314

AndyBoBandy · 11-05-2019 7:20am

I have a Gaggia Cubika Plus the last 6/7 years or so and love it. Great machine all together.

Samuel T. Cogley · 11-05-2019 11:33am

aisling86 wrote: »

Just wondering is this the machine you have & would you recommend as a first machine? https://www.lidl.ie/en/special-offers.htm?articleId=19314

The one we go doesn't steam milk properly, other than that (we have to warm it in the microwave first) it's grand. We bought another for my wife's parents and there's is great - steams milk well - been going strong for over a year.

However that's not either model that we bought I'm afraid. My guess would be it's probably at least as good as the first machine we bought.

Samuel T. Cogley · 17-05-2019 3:49pm

Thinking about pulling the trigger on:

https://www.coffeeitalia.ie/rancilio-silvia.html

Is that a good machine, maybe overkill for occasional use? Any feedback on the vendor?

Thanks all!

Edit: Whats the difference between manual and automatic?

Blueshoe · 18-05-2019 1:03am

Heston Blumenthal

babybuilder · 18-05-2019 9:38am

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Thinking about pulling the trigger on:

https://www.coffeeitalia.ie/rancilio-silvia.html

Is that a good machine, maybe overkill for occasional use? Any feedback on the vendor?

Thanks all!

Edit: Whats the difference between manual and automatic?

Google customer reviews of the vendor.
Great machine but if it's your first semi-automatic it can be a steep learning curve. I started with delonghi espresso machines. Although they are cheap and normally don't last more than a year or two it's a good start. Spend 200e + on a good grinder. I've moved on to
http://www.quickmill.it/eng/group-quick-mill-quick-mills-group-quick-mill-silvano-model04005.aspx
Great machine since I sorted out a couple of manufacture errors.

mvl · 18-05-2019 10:22pm

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Thinking about pulling the trigger on:
https://www.coffeeitalia.ie/rancilio-silvia.html
Is that a good machine, maybe overkill for occasional use? Any feedback on the vendor?

It is supposed to be good. From my readings long time ago think I remember it could be fiddly to start with, and since you'd need to get a really good grinder to match, that would get you off your price range.
But there may be ones that include the grinder in the 400+ range.
(I am not meaning Sage=Heston B, I have that one atm), I would look at this Lelit
- gifted it to a friend who later told me is happy about its performance.

SuperGrover · 22-05-2019 10:12am

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Thinking about pulling the trigger on:

https://www.coffeeitalia.ie/rancilio-silvia.html

Is that a good machine, maybe overkill for occasional use? Any feedback on the vendor?

Thanks all!

Edit: Whats the difference between manual and automatic?

Highly recommend you do not buy from this site. Very dodgy after sales. There was a big thread in here a few years ago and also a slot on The Consumer Show on RTE re people (including me) affected after purchasing from them.

J_E · 23-05-2019 11:40pm

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Thinking about pulling the trigger on:

https://www.coffeeitalia.ie/rancilio-silvia.html

Is that a good machine, maybe overkill for occasional use? Any feedback on the vendor?

Thanks all!

Edit: Whats the difference between manual and automatic?

Basically there is no timer or automatic stop. Once you switch it on you have to switch it off yourself. Usually I set a timer for about 25 seconds.

Also, it runs on a single boiler. So when you turn on the steam, you wait for it to heat the water to steam, and cool down afterwards. There are one or two tricks to make everything as fast as possible and ensure the boiler is kept full. I find it very handy to use now.

As was said by a previous poster, a good grinder is a must. I was using a hand grinder for quite a while with the machine which did work but it was time-consuming.

Samuel T. Cogley · 24-05-2019 5:12pm

Blueshoe wrote: »

Heston Blumenthal

He seems to be associated with the Sage brand. Would this be any good?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sage-BES875UK-Barista-Express-Stainless/dp/B077YZXR1W/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1XDNZV0PCTO76&keywords=sage+espresso+machine&qid=1558714273&s=gateway&sprefix=sage+esspreso%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-3

Thanks for all the help so far folks, sorry for all the questions.

Zagato · 25-05-2019 12:12am

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

He seems to be associated with the Sage brand. Would this be any good?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sage-BES875UK-Barista-Express-Stainless/dp/B077YZXR1W/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1XDNZV0PCTO76&keywords=sage+espresso+machine&qid=1558714273&s=gateway&sprefix=sage+esspreso%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-3

Thanks for all the help so far folks, sorry for all the questions.

Haven't owned either (have Silvia with mecoffee PID and a niche zero), but from what I hear you are better getting the Sage Duo Temp Pro and a separate grinder.

JaimeLannister · 25-05-2019 12:18am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_JD1JU4YHo

mvl · 25-05-2019 5:29pm

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

He seems to be associated with the Sage brand. Would this be any good?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sage-BES875UK-Barista-Express-Stainless/dp/B077YZXR1W/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1XDNZV0PCTO76&keywords=sage+espresso+machine&qid=1558714273&s=gateway&sprefix=sage+esspreso%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-3

Thanks for all the help so far folks, sorry for all the questions.

I have the Sage for 4 years now // so this one lasted me more than previous Gaggia classic, I barely got 3 years out of that.
It is semi automatic, means there are few small tasks needed except pressing buttons before getting your coffee.
But it is very easy to use and makes nice coffee (in less than 1 minute).
- also, has own water filter that needs changing every couple of months; this annoyed me initially (as I didn't read about it in reviews, so didn't know of extra maintenance needed) - but now I see value in doing this, cause I moved to a place with harder water.

Unfortunately for me now I need to stay on decaf for a while (actually I was told no coffee, but I can't give it up !!!); my SO is using regular, so the Sage's hopper is full with regular beans, and I'm making my espressos' with shop bought ground decaf.
This hopper keeps up to 250g of coffee - and I am not sure if it would work well to just add beans for a shot at a time; should you want to use various types of beans at any time - maybe separate grinder might be better.

Espresso Maker with Milk Steamer

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