# Pre ground vs Supermarket Beans



## JamieC (Jan 30, 2013)

*Supermarket pre ground or supermarket roasted beans?*​
Pre ground00.00%Beans7100.00%


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## JamieC (Jan 30, 2013)

Hi there. I am fairly new to espresso making and am starting up at home on a very low budget. So I have bought a a s/h Delonghi ECO310, and am planning on buying a s/h Dualit 75015 and modding it.

So my epuipment is low end and my skills lower still. Having done some reading up here on the forum and the info articles, I see it is as or more important what coffee you put in the equipment as the equipment itself.

I also cannot afford to buy good fresh roast beans from the good suppliers and my coffee will almost always be bought at the supermarket . So my question is... Am I better off buying preground coffee or roasted beans at the supermarket?

Poll response and personal thoughts really appreciated please.

Thanks, Jamie.


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## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

Go for beans if you have a decent grinder. Although the supermarket ground coffee usually has the words "suitable for all coffee makers" on the packaging they're usually a coarser grind suitable for stove top pots or even a French Press rather than espresso. If you use that coarse grind in an espresso machine the coffee will be watery and disappointing. There may be some that specify themselves as "espresso grind" and actually are, but I tend to buy beans so wouldn't know for sure so perhaps other forumites might enlighten you on that. If not go for beans and grind them finely in a decent burr grinder.

Steve.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

You might not want to hear this, but if I were you I'd sell both those machines and buy a cheap grinder and a cheap pourover filter. Then use the money from the sales to buy fresh beans.

You will make a much nicer coffee this way, honestly.

If you insist on the machine route then you are better buying the beans, but you need a pretty good burr grinder to be able to grind consistently for espresso (many have tried and failed with cheaper grinders) and I honestly think you will save yourself a lot of hassle by doing the above, you can make some lovely coffee with a filter these days.


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

As above. Espresso cannot be made on the cheap. It can't happen.

All in for the minimum set up (assuming buying new) you are talking around £400 minimum spend. When you've spent that much you then don't want to put cheap nasty supermarket beans through it, essentially wasting that investment.

However for about £50 only you can get a good hand grinder and something like an aeropress/CCD which can provide excellent results with fresh beans far above anything a cheap espresso machine could make.

If you don't have the money to seriously invest in the kit then you will only be disappointed.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

to be honest I'd not even go that far, if you are on a budget buy a blade grinder (or a porlex for £30 if you can stretch to it) and a cheap plastic pourover cone or cafatierre. With good fresh beans you can make a nice coffee cheaply, but with the espresso machine and cheap beans you'll just make bad coffee.


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## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

Aeropress. The cheapest, simplest way to get something that is close to an espresso. You can even get a jug that makes frothy milk to go with it if you like that sort of thing.

But, as others have said, making espresso on a cheap domestic machine is seldom satisfactory. But there are simple ways of making coffee that can give great results.


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

As I was scrolling down I was thinking Aeropress then Rolo said it for me. I agree whole heartedly with the comments, and I have an aeropress.

Ian


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## aphelion (Nov 23, 2012)

+1 for Aeropress/Porlex combo


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## RisingPower (Dec 27, 2009)

forzajuve said:


> As above. Espresso cannot be made on the cheap. It can't happen.
> 
> All in for the minimum set up (assuming buying new) you are talking around £400 minimum spend. When you've spent that much you then don't want to put cheap nasty supermarket beans through it, essentially wasting that investment.
> 
> ...


Alternately, you could buy a used classic and grinder of your choice for a fraction of that.


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## Ian_B (Jan 14, 2016)

aphelion said:


> +1 for Aeropress/Porlex combo


I have this combo and the coffee is quite different to an espresso.

I also believe it is perfectly possible to make an acceptable espresso in a budget machine like an ECO310 (which I also have). Of course if you want to explore the more esoteric aspects of espresso coffee then yes you will need better gear but dismissing budget gear is not really helpful and to compare an Aeropress to a bidget espresso machine is not comparing apples with apples.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

True. But the original post was made 3 years ago and he hasn't been seen since. He probably gave up and went back to Maxwell House.


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## Ian_B (Jan 14, 2016)

I hope not. It's all very weill telling someone that his new found gear is useless because it's not Lamborghini or Ferrari performance or quality. I'm sure you'd agree that an entry level pumped espresso machine is not comparable to those but is a massive step up from Maxwell House!


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Ian_B said:


> I have this combo and the coffee is quite different to an espresso.
> 
> I also believe it is perfectly possible to make an acceptable espresso in a budget machine like an ECO310 (which I also have). Of course if you want to explore the more esoteric aspects of espresso coffee then yes you will need better gear but dismissing budget gear is not really helpful and to compare an Aeropress to a bidget espresso machine is not comparing apples with apples.


I've had espresso out of various budget machines (even owned a Delonghi for a while) and it just isn't espresso, its watery dishwasher. I'd disagree that you can get a decent espresso out of them, even with good quality beans.

It can be done on a budget, but if you want a tasty espresso that is comparable to your local speciality coffee shop really a second hand Gaggia Classic and burr grinder is the minimum you can get away with.

A brewed coffee is different to an espresso based coffee sure, but it can be done so much cheaper (the aeropress and hand grinder combo can produce specialty coffee shop quality brews).


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## Ian_B (Jan 14, 2016)

Not my experience but I do have a (Porlex) ceramic burr hand grinder. I don't use expensive coffee but I have found beans that suit my taste and in my opinion my results are better than most commercial espressos in the high street. I do occasionally experience a superlative coffee but usually someone else is paying and it's in a place I could not normally afford to frequent! I do confess I sweeten my espressos at home. I can, however, drink unsweetened espressos when they are of exceptionally good quality. So yes, I can get better espressos than I routinely make at home but my espressos are better than many and much, much, better than even the best instant coffees (I used to exclusively buy Nescafe Alta Rica but the price just got stupid so I now drink less cups per day but it's much better and more fun to make, and for less cash, too). It's all relative.


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## PPapa (Oct 24, 2015)

Shall we start locking old threads? People who want to increase their post count so they see for sale threads couldn't abuse the forum?

Just a thought. I am sure the OP is irrelevant now anyway.


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## Ian_B (Jan 14, 2016)

I hope the 'abuse' reference isn't being aimed at me - I have nothing to sell! I did think the discussion was interesting today. I run several vBulletin forums myself and have never really understood the point of locking older threads.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

No harm done here that I can see - no one has to read what people post and sales threads are what drives a ton of people here . We all bought stuff at some point.

First world problems


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Personally I dont like to see old threads locked just because they have been inactive for a while and if someone has taken the time to search for a particular answer to a question then kudos to them.

I prefer that to people not using the search function and starting identical threads to existing ones, albeit older but may have the relevant information on them.

And yes,, supermarket beans over supermarket preground every time, no matter how entry level your grinder or whole set up may be.

And I agree with Ian_B over the point of making better tasting coffee indoors on cheap equipment than I can get in the highstreet or even some supposed artisan coffee shops.


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## Rickystyx (Jan 10, 2016)

I've been making my own espressos for years using a variety of different machines and to be honest, I really believe that you will get much better results out of any machine with freshly roasted beans that are freshly ground - I was taught that beans should have been roasted no more than two weeks ago and no less than 2 days ago and should be ground within 2 minutes of being used to make the coffee. I know you will never get the perfect espresso out of a cheap machine but if you are just starting out then the chances are that you would not get a perfect espresso out of the best quality machine either.

So start out with the best that you can afford - the cheapest thing that you can change is the beans - so buy freshly roasted beans from your local coffee roaster (OR HAVE FUN ROASTING YOUR OWN) Then save up for a really good grinder - then when you have got the best out of the machine you already have then save up for a good machine. if you don't get the beans right and a good grind then you will never get a good espresso - so learn about the grind and about the timing first then spend the money on a better machine if you can afford it.

Cheers

Ric


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Rickystyx said:


> roasted no more than two weeks ago and no less than 2 days ago


Lots of god advice in that post but do bear in mind this isn't a rule to cover all roasters and beans, the roaster I use most often their beans don't peak until 2-3 weeks post roast and are unusable 2 days after roasting, and I believe many other roasters advocate a minimum 2 weeks resting period too.

If in doubt ask the roaster, they know what profile they used and what works best for their style.


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