# Choosing the right machine for me



## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

Hi guys,

I've currently finished reading some great posts on this forum about the different types of coffee machines out there. What a great community we have!

After reading these posts I'm left even more unsure what the best coffee machine is for me. So hopefully one of you will be able to help me get closer to making my first dive into espresso making.

A quick few things to mention:

I started treating coffee brewing as a hobby about 6 months ago and I'm loving how far you can take things. I've never owned a proper espresso machine so I started off with an Aeropress and a hand grinder. This was great fun learning all the different techniques etc so I then chose to take on the moka pot and then v60 pour over. I'm now currently brewing with my V60 as an every day driver with a bodum bistro coffee grinder. I love brewing everyday so the process for me won't ever become tedious.

So,

My budget for a coffee machine is between £0-2000 max. I'm interested in the profitech dual boiler pro 700 with PID and also upgrading my coffee grinder to a niche. The idea of getting a lever machine would be the dream but I worry that with little experience in espresso making I'll struggle to produce great espresso. The lodinium compressa or the profitech pro 800 seemed great options for lever machines but I'd like to hear peoples thoughts? I was also considering going for a cheap option IE the gaggia classic pro if people think it will not be worth spending the extra money. Looks aren't everything for me but a good looking machine will reassure the girlfriend that it was worth every penny.

I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts and thanks again for taking the time to read my post.

Many thanks,

Callum


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## GrahamSPhillips (Jan 29, 2021)

Take a look at the classifieds. There are some fantastic bargains. Also @Paulo was offoffering a ridiculous price on the Vesuvius.. its literally an end game machine for a fraction of the price of the alternatives


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

Thanks Graham, I really appreciate it. I'll look into Paulos deal


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

GrahamSPhillips said:


> Take a look at the classifieds. There are some fantastic bargains. Also @Paulo was offoffering a ridiculous price on the Vesuvius.. its literally an end game machine for a fraction of the price of the alternatives


 I think it's gone. I couldn't find the listing.


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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

Levers are easier to use in my opinion.

You have a cracking budget

Depending what you want

Profitec 700

Lelit Bianca

Londinium compressa * but needs plumbing with good water conditioner so add £200 for that.

The Vesuvius is true profiling but just over the 2k

Then the acs leva 2500 ish iirc

Grinder worlds your lobster


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

Cuprajake said:


> Levers are easier to use in my opinion.
> 
> You have a cracking budget
> 
> ...


 Thanks Cuprajake , what's your setup? I might have a browse in the setup threads just to see what is the most popular and has the most support


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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

Ive had a few

Started with:

Gaggia classic - terrible

Sage duo temp pro

Non brand e61 vibe pump

Acs minima

Londinium l1

Crem one profiler - faulty

Londinium lr24 - faulty

Bianca - still have and happy with

Once you get up to the dual boiler stage your going to get great results its then finding what suits, do you want temp control, flow control, pump control, what you drink etc and what water you want to put into it - one of the most import parts imo, pointless spending 2k on a machine then destroying it with lime scale


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

Cuprajake said:


> Ive had a few
> 
> Started with:
> 
> ...


 I've seen a Londinium R for sale for £2000 but I was wondering if it was a steal for £1800? Obviously buying used always scares me as I'm not someone to get my hands dirty and try and trouble shoot faulty equipment and playing with wires. What's your thoughts on buying used?

thanks for the reply!


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

Cuprajake said:


> Ive had a few
> 
> Started with:
> 
> ...


 Do you have a post about the lelit bianca? How long have you had it for and why do you think it's better than the rest of the ones you've tried.

Thanks


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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

£1800 for an lr is good, esp if it has the digital module. Being used is always a gamble, need to check what water been unsed, if the seals have been changed etc.

Londinium are easy enough to work on and fairly simple. Plus they have good back up and all parts of them are available too.

Re the bianca, i have a thread if you click on my name and then posts.

The bianca is quiet, easy to use/service had plenty of adjustability. Just works for me


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

Cuprajake said:


> £1800 for an lr is good, esp if it has the digital module. Being used is always a gamble, need to check what water been unsed, if the seals have been changed etc.
> 
> Londinium are easy enough to work on and fairly simple. Plus they have good back up and all parts of them are available too.
> 
> ...


 I'll check that thread out! Thanks for the help.


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## Evergreen88 (Jun 7, 2021)

Rather than jumping into suggestions, budget and options... have you thought what you actually like and what you want to achieve? Are you planning to drink mostly espresso? Milk-based drinks? Light/medium/dark roasts? Any interest in flow profiling?


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

Evergreen88 said:


> Rather than jumping into suggestions, budget and options... have you thought what you actually like and what you want to achieve? Are you planning to drink mostly espresso? Milk-based drinks? Light/medium/dark roasts? Any interest in flow profiling?


 So I'll probably be making a range of drinks but my favourite is a macchiato and a flat white. I am interested in profiling but I'm not too bothered but I haven't given it a go so I have no idea if I'd love it. I like light roasted coffee but that's from my v60 use so id like to experiment with different roasts.


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## Evergreen88 (Jun 7, 2021)

Osheac10 said:


> So I'll probably be making a range of drinks but my favourite is a macchiato and a flat white. I am interested in profiling but I'm not too bothered but I haven't given it a go so I have no idea if I'd love it. I like light roasted coffee but that's from my v60 use so id like to experiment with different roasts.


 HX or dual boiler might be the right choice then. Do you have any space constraints?

If you are interested in levers, did you consider la Pavoni?


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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

If you have the budget for dual boiler then dont even consider a hx machine, there not the most temp stable, you're in to cooling flushes etc.

Do unlike i did an buy right first time, you will save a tonne of money.


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

Evergreen88 said:


> HX or dual boiler might be the right choice then. Do you have any space constraints?
> 
> If you are interested in levers, did you consider la Pavoni?


 I was interested in the la pavoni but I wasn't sure about it not being a dual boiler and the issue with temp problems with it. If I were to go lever I think I would go spring rather than manual pulling.


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## Evergreen88 (Jun 7, 2021)

Osheac10 said:


> I was interested in the la pavoni but I wasn't sure about it not being a dual boiler and the issue with temp problems with it. If I were to go lever I think I would go spring rather than manual pulling.


 I have never tried a spring lever so I can't say. My brother has a Pavoni and I use it every now and then. It's a good solution if you want to have steam on tap readily available in a small simple machine (the position of the wand is a bit odd though).

From the little I have tried temp stability doesn't seem a big problem especially if you don't drink straight espresso, but obviously a semi-automatic PID machine is slightly more consistent.


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

Evergreen88 said:


> I have never tried a spring lever so I can't say. My brother has a Pavoni and I use it every now and then. It's a good solution if you want to have steam on tap readily available in a small simple machine (the position of the wand is a bit odd though).
> 
> From the little I have tried temp stability doesn't seem a big problem especially if you don't drink straight espresso, but obviously a semi-automatic PID machine is slightly more consistent.


 Oh okay, there's so much choice and variety. I really appreciate all your input guys. 👍


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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

I looked at the pavoni but there propper specialist in my eyes and require too much faff, 😂


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

Evergreen88 said:


> I have never tried a spring lever so I can't say. My brother has a Pavoni and I use it every now and then. It's a good solution if you want to have steam on tap readily available in a small simple machine (the position of the wand is a bit odd though).
> 
> From the little I have tried temp stability doesn't seem a big problem especially if you don't drink straight espresso, but obviously a semi-automatic PID machine is slightly more consistent.


 Oh okay, there's so much choice and variety. I really appreciate all your input guys. 👍


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

If anyone has experience with these 3 machines please could you let me know if they're any good.

Rancilio Silva Pro Dual Boiler

Profitec 300 Dual Boiler with PID

ECM Classika PID

Thanks guys


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## Evergreen88 (Jun 7, 2021)

Osheac10 said:


> If anyone has experience with these 3 machines please could you let me know if they're any good.
> 
> Rancilio Silva Pro Dual Boiler
> 
> ...


 I have the ECM Classika PID, I got it a month ago from Bellabarista as an upgrade from Gaggia Classic Pro.

It's a very different machine from the other two on your list, since it's a single boiler. The main drawback is that being a single boiler when you want to steam milk you need to flick a switch and wait for the boiler to come up to steaming temperature (40-60 seconds). You can look at some YouTube videos to get an idea. For me that I make mostly espresso this is not a problem and those couple of cappuccino that I make every week are still very enjoyable. If you are the kind of person that only drinks milky drinks you might want to look elsewhere though. This also means that is smaller and cheaper/simpler to maintain (easier to descale for example).

I love the machine, the build quality and design is way ahead of most of it's competitors (all of them in my opinion, I had to see and touch most machines at BB). It's incredibly temp stable, very forgiving (I suppose thanks to the E61 group) and a joy to use. Everything about it feels premium (steam wand, valve, drip tray, portafilter, lever etc..) well built and heavy.

I think it's the ideal machine for espresso drinkers.


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## Osheac10 (Dec 19, 2021)

Evergreen88 said:


> I have the ECM Classika PID, I got it a month ago from Bellabarista as an upgrade from Gaggia Classic Pro.
> 
> It's a very different machine from the other two on your list, since it's a single boiler. The main drawback is that being a single boiler when you want to steam milk you need to flick a switch and wait for the boiler to come up to steaming temperature (40-60 seconds). You can look at some YouTube videos to get an idea. For me that I make mostly espresso this is not a problem and those couple of cappuccino that I make every week are still very enjoyable. If you are the kind of person that only drinks milky drinks you might want to look elsewhere though. This also means that is smaller and cheaper/simpler to maintain (easier to descale for example).
> 
> ...


 Thanks for the reply. Nice setup. I'll definitely have to consider choosing the dual boiler machine if I really think I'll be making lots of milk drinks every day.

Thanks Again


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