Item Wanted: A good home or even prosumer espresso/coffee machine
Packaging Essential: Would be nice, but not essential
Desired Age: Doesn't matter, as long as it's serviced, looked after and clean
Location: Can be shipped, so matters little
Willing to accept a shipped item: Yes
Ballpark/Budget Amount: R4k to R6k
Good afternoon everyone, this is a Wanted thread but I wouldn't mind if it becomes a discussion thread as well. Hear me out!
So I sold my beer brewing kit. Part of the money I got for that was spent on a very nice new stove for the kitchen, and some is to go toward a new coffee machine for me. I posted this elsewhere before, but this is now becoming a proper thread. In my earlier coffee years I've been very, VERY uneducated. Recently I've been digging and reading and learning a lot about making a better cup of coffee (be it espresso, cappuccino, latte, doesn't matter), and it all starts with a decently pulled espresso.
Now, let me be clear, I'm fully aware that I won't get a great espresso pulled at home without some really, really good equipment. Equipment that's WAY out of my budget, but hear me out. 7 years ago I bought a Palermo Coffee Bar off here for R300. In that time, I learned how espresso machines work, and what the idea is behind espresso. I also started grinding my own beans, and learned that nothing beats a freshly ground, and more importantly, a freshly roasted coffee. All this made MASSIVE improvements in the coffee I produced on that crappy machine, and that crappy machine is now giving up the ghost. It literally won't build up enough pressure to pull even a double shot of espresso when I tamper the puck just a little bit hard. Over time I've cleaned it, descaled it, tried to service it, but parts are loooooong gone and even after cutting up most of the housing to get to the internals and trying to fix as much as I can, it's futile. This machine is toast.
I want to build on what I learned, by getting a good home consumer, or even an entry level prosumer level machine for myself. I have a very tight budget. I know what I need, and I know what I want.
I need a good grinder. I have a hand grinder at home, currently, but I am not sure it still grinds like it should, or that it grinds fine enough for a good shot to be pulled. It's also a chore when people come to visit to grind enough beans for 8 cups of coffee when it takes me literally 5~6 minutes to grind enough for a single cup on that grinder. It has to be upgraded. As such, I have thought that an electric grinder is a must. I've looked at those Krups and Russell Hobbs grinders that sell for R1,000~R1,500 and I've looked at their reviews, and they look like they're shit. The basic minimum I found that looks OK, is a Gaggia MD15. I found one for a good price, and I want to jump on it, but before I do, I need to decide what espresso maker I need.
That led me to machines with built in grinders, like the Breville Barista Express, as well as a Kenwood Manual Pump machine that's currently on special for a good price. I need to decide what I want and need before I pull the trigger, so I'm here to ask. What machines do you guys have, and does anyone perhaps have something like a Barista Express they want to sell, or would someone be willing to loan me a machine I can play with so I can see if the manual machines really are for me, and if I shouldn't go with a fully automatic machine (bean to cup) and be done with it?
On the other hand, I've also looked at machines like the Delonghi Stilosa, and watched some nice reviews about it, so machines like that are also options, if their prices are good. So let me know?
FYI
--------
Packaging Essential: Would be nice, but not essential
Desired Age: Doesn't matter, as long as it's serviced, looked after and clean
Location: Can be shipped, so matters little
Willing to accept a shipped item: Yes
Ballpark/Budget Amount: R4k to R6k
Good afternoon everyone, this is a Wanted thread but I wouldn't mind if it becomes a discussion thread as well. Hear me out!
So I sold my beer brewing kit. Part of the money I got for that was spent on a very nice new stove for the kitchen, and some is to go toward a new coffee machine for me. I posted this elsewhere before, but this is now becoming a proper thread. In my earlier coffee years I've been very, VERY uneducated. Recently I've been digging and reading and learning a lot about making a better cup of coffee (be it espresso, cappuccino, latte, doesn't matter), and it all starts with a decently pulled espresso.
Now, let me be clear, I'm fully aware that I won't get a great espresso pulled at home without some really, really good equipment. Equipment that's WAY out of my budget, but hear me out. 7 years ago I bought a Palermo Coffee Bar off here for R300. In that time, I learned how espresso machines work, and what the idea is behind espresso. I also started grinding my own beans, and learned that nothing beats a freshly ground, and more importantly, a freshly roasted coffee. All this made MASSIVE improvements in the coffee I produced on that crappy machine, and that crappy machine is now giving up the ghost. It literally won't build up enough pressure to pull even a double shot of espresso when I tamper the puck just a little bit hard. Over time I've cleaned it, descaled it, tried to service it, but parts are loooooong gone and even after cutting up most of the housing to get to the internals and trying to fix as much as I can, it's futile. This machine is toast.
I want to build on what I learned, by getting a good home consumer, or even an entry level prosumer level machine for myself. I have a very tight budget. I know what I need, and I know what I want.
I need a good grinder. I have a hand grinder at home, currently, but I am not sure it still grinds like it should, or that it grinds fine enough for a good shot to be pulled. It's also a chore when people come to visit to grind enough beans for 8 cups of coffee when it takes me literally 5~6 minutes to grind enough for a single cup on that grinder. It has to be upgraded. As such, I have thought that an electric grinder is a must. I've looked at those Krups and Russell Hobbs grinders that sell for R1,000~R1,500 and I've looked at their reviews, and they look like they're shit. The basic minimum I found that looks OK, is a Gaggia MD15. I found one for a good price, and I want to jump on it, but before I do, I need to decide what espresso maker I need.
That led me to machines with built in grinders, like the Breville Barista Express, as well as a Kenwood Manual Pump machine that's currently on special for a good price. I need to decide what I want and need before I pull the trigger, so I'm here to ask. What machines do you guys have, and does anyone perhaps have something like a Barista Express they want to sell, or would someone be willing to loan me a machine I can play with so I can see if the manual machines really are for me, and if I shouldn't go with a fully automatic machine (bean to cup) and be done with it?
On the other hand, I've also looked at machines like the Delonghi Stilosa, and watched some nice reviews about it, so machines like that are also options, if their prices are good. So let me know?
FYI
--------
- For your and my protection please read our guide to safe dealing: https://carbonite.co.za/index.php?threads/guide-for-safe-dealing-on-carbonite.131249/
- A deal is concluded for purposes of feedback when parties agree to a deal
