# new member totally lost



## PAUL SAWYER (Jul 25, 2016)

hi i am looking to purchase a coffee machine and looking for advice?

having searched all the main web sites i was recommend to try here. not looking at spending a fortune with a budget of up to £300.

but not wanting to end up with a machine that dose not produce? a decent cuppa.

so i need a machine that can make me an espresso and the wife a latte, so a milk thingy is required. not sure if i want to grind the beans or not.

so that`s about it

thank you

Paul


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

hi Paul, welcome to the forum.

If you're interested in getting a really good coffee then we collectively believe you need to have a grinder and grind the beans yourself. Coffee loses freshness incredibly quickly once it's ground and it's also very difficult to get ground coffee to work well for espresso - part of the fun of this being that you will need to slightly adjust how fine or coarse the coffee is ground depending on the age of the beans (time since roast) and even things like the weather humidity can affect this...


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

£300 will get you a decent used Gaggia Classic espresso machine and leave enough to find a decent grinder - possibly a used Mignon both from the 'for sale' section of the forum. You'll need a few extras - scales to weigh beans, a decent tamper, jug for foaming milk and a milk thermometer. These bits and pieces aren't expensive. You will, of course, need some decent beans - freshly roasted - see the roasters who advertise on the forum. It will take some practice to get things right but the reward of good coffee is worth the effort. Forum is a great place to get info and members are generous with their knowledge and expertise - we've all been there.


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## Jacko112 (Oct 29, 2015)

I'd emphasise the above - Gaggia Classic for around £100-150 which then leaves plenty for a grinder such as a Mignon. You might even get lucky and get something better. You'll both notice the huge difference in grinding your own beans rather than buying stale supermarket pre-ground stuff - I was in a similar position a couple of years ago and it's amazing how your taste buds notice the difference - instant soon becomes a dirty word!

And I now hang my head in shame for mentioning such a word here!


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## PAUL SAWYER (Jul 25, 2016)

wow thanks for the reply's, i have just read the starter page and with your comments explains a lot

looks like i am going to have to re think this coffee game. their is so much more to think about

thank you all


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## Umar (Jul 26, 2015)

To be honest I can't say anything else that hasn't already been said. Like yourself I was lost to begin with but decided to get myself a Gaggia Classic. I started using supermarket pre-ground coffee but time on this forum convinced me to start grinding my own beans. I picked up a cheap Porlex hand grinder (tall) for about £20 and it made a huge difference.

I've recently upgraded my grinder to a Eureka Mignon which I'm very pleased with







But grinding your own beans is a must for a decent cup of coffee!


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## Vieux Clou (Oct 22, 2014)

You have to be aware, though, that buying an espresso machine of the type recommended is a bit like buying a guitar: you still have to learn to play it. There is a LOT to understand and probably much frustration and wasted coffee before before you can make sweet music.

It's heresy in here, but if you'd be happy with a cup that would be always OK but never great**, then a so-called bean-to-cup machine might suit you better. For 300 quid you can probably pick up a fairly simple one brand new or a fairly decent one second hand. Some of them will even make your latte or capuccino for you, as long as you don't want palm-trees or portraits of Christ in the foam.

**although in a world where most people think Nespresso is sophisticated 95% of the folk you serve it to will find it wonderful and the others will be polite.


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## PAUL SAWYER (Jul 25, 2016)

thanks guys, been looking at a The De'Longhi Magnifica ESAM4200 Dual Boiler Bean to Cup machine ? any advice?????

paul


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