# New coffee station



## sanadsaad (Feb 24, 2018)

So after a lot of research, I've decided to start small and buy a basic machine to develop my skills for atleast one year before I even look at a Londinium R(machine I love). I believe I must master the basics first. Here's what I've come up with:

Machine: Gaggia Classic (currently looking at @Rakesh 's thread).

Grinder: Sage smart grinder Pro (already have one at home)

Tamping station: Need advice

Any other accessories?

Coffee bean supply: Monmouth

Anything else I need? All suggestions welcome.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Wellcome









If you've the budget, get a Londinium if you want one. Easy to use and it'll save you money in the long run as you'll be buying once, and not upgrading several times towards one.

Budget for a decent grinder though, as what comes out is only as good as what goes in..


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Scales an absolute must , to weigh dose and espresso .

Unpressursied basket and decent tamper.

Knock box

Cleaning supplies.


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## sanadsaad (Feb 24, 2018)

I will have the budget for it but was wondering if its better to learn on a basic machine, sell it on and then move up once I've perfected my technique. I was at John Lewis the other day and almost got the sage DB for 400 (returned) but unfortunately they realised the manager had sold it internally the day before. Saw the gaggia classic in a for sale thread here and it seems to be getting rave reviews for a beginner setup.

I have a salter digital scale that I use for the v60. I was looking at the acaia ones but seem overkill at the moment.


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## xpresso (Jan 16, 2018)

Following suggestions on the forum I purchased AMIR scales..........

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01DKIYELO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

only £7.99 and spot on, at the moment I don't see the need for upgrading, they wipe down well !!!.

And welcome.

Jon.


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

It may seem that the LR is more intimidating that an entry level machine. The truth is that it is easier to get a good shot from.

If you did go in at the deep end you would need to look at a better grinder to get the most out of the Londinium


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Buy the Londinium by all means if you have the budget also for a grinder that will allow you to get a more consistent output from than your current one. I know this sounds harsh but if you are looking to save yourself the upgrade route / losses that go with it, and I wholeheartedly suggest you do (based on what I know now compared to what I thought I knew when I bought my silvia).

You don't need to spend oodles on a grinder to get a decent cup out of the Londinium but sticking with what you have may lead to some frustrations that you will find hard to overcome, inconsistency being one. There is an old hi-fi adage that works here, garbage in= garbage out, in that if you have decent beans / water / machine the weakest link will be the one that sets the standard which in this case will be your smart grinder

Londiniums are not any more picky of grinder than any other shiny pump machine of the same value and if you look around the forum you will see plenty of examples of members with grinders that would appear on the face of it to be lopsided cost wise (plenty of members with gaggia classics and big burred grinders) but very few with higher cost machines and smart grinders.

Am not decrying the smart grinder



in any way
​
, it's good for the machines it was designed to work with (compact also) just trying to save you some grief on your journey. @Rhys summed it up with far less words than me above and for years he ran a Mazzer Major with a La Pavoni (if you like the idea of levers and not doing too many cups in a row or steaming milk, this could be an option too, better grinder and manual lever?)

Pre used forum member grinders can be a good start, the R120 and K10PB came through connections with the forum, the mythos a fortunate E bay find the only new one I own is the Lido 3.

Buying once is not only smart, if you can afford to do it, you could also find you bypass quite a few of the foibles you need to learn about how best to extract from a particular machine that you would then never use on your final machine and that truly is a waste of time.

Best of luck in your choices, there's some good advice above, all of it hard learnt!

John

p.s. don't rule out brewed coffee sitting here drinking a HasBean Nicaraguan via the moccamaster that has a very different flavour to the espresso and flat white made earlier









p.p.s tamping station: something soft that won't harm it, I use a cork coasters sent with a square mile order a couple of years back, no scratches on either Torr bases


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Yeah, as John says, I had a La Pavoni and a Major for years. The La Pav is a great steamer as well, knocks spots off a Classic (made a sideways leap from a Classic to the La Pav and never regretted it - apart from it's inability to make more than half a dozen shots before it's empty..)










Classics don't have pre-infusion either, whereas the La Pavoni does (unless you add a PID or muck about turning the steam knob to lessen the pressure going to the portafilter)

Grinders do make a difference though..










..was getting some cracking shots from this combo (until I had to give the EK back







)


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## sanadsaad (Feb 24, 2018)

Are you guys suggesting I keep using pour over till I save up for a Londinium/Ek43 combo? (or maybe it's just me hearing things I wanna hear)!!


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

sanadsaad said:


> Are you guys suggesting I keep using pour over till I save up for a Londinium/Ek43 combo? (or maybe it's just me hearing things I wanna hear)!!


Before you part with the money, test both.

Can you live with the 'ritual' of grinding with an EK ? Does the coffee it produces match your preference ?

If you look around for long enough you may be able to grab a well looked after L1 (only one LR has come up for sale on here that I can recall). Pair that with a used high end grinder and you're making great coffee for the price of a new LR


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

+1 on both Rhys and Working dog above, try if you can before you buy and don't get swayed by the spice grinding brigade (







), there are other stupidly priced options with even bigger burrs ( ho hum







) which have less faff attached but you don't have to go to these extremes.

key is: work out what you like, try what you like, buy what you like.

John


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