# Whats the best for your money



## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Ok folks a little bit of fanasy but with a helpful note to it. Your duty is to place in each category your recommendation within the precsribed budget, this is purely for a machine and grinder and doesnt include the plethora of other accessories that we recommend, I have chosen four budgetsThat represent a lot of the questions that we get asked about our recommendations, perhaps I will compile a list of CFUK recommendations as a small reference point for new members or those wishing to upgrade.

Up to £250

This for me is a no brainer, £75- £100 on a used gaggia classic, pre phillips or snag a cheeky used la pavoni europicola and £200 - £225 on a used grinder, eureka mignon for those with very little space, or used commercial mid range grinder for those who know better, SJ or Brassilia

£250 to £750

50 - 50 split £375 on grinder and £375 on Machine, so mazzer major or royal, super 83mm burr grinders coupled to a second hand loved Heat exchanger machine Fracino cherub or Simonelli Oscar, or much better than both (IMHO) a pontevecchio lusso lever machine.

£750 - £1500

Starting to get seriously interesting now £700 on grinder and £800 on machine, interesting thing here is that Eureka Mythos, K30 and K10 are all acheivable in this price range, essentially top end grinders provided you go used. Machine Wise Used dual boiler Expoar or even Duetto, however I purchased my BOSCO within this budget !!!! so carefully found bargains can be had. If you had to have new I would suggest a really good HX coupled to an HG1 grinder.

£1500- £3000

I am biased but absolutley Londinium L1 as machine then the world is your Oyster in regards to grinders, about the only one you cant get hold of second hand is the EK43 the rest are very acheivable, so pair it to a used Versalab, Mazzer Kony/robur, HG1 Mythos and amazing espresso can be had.

Food for thought, bargain hunter special.

Mazzer robur doser and gaggia D90 commerial one group £250 for both !! bargains can be had......

These are just my thoughts and are of course biased towards lever machines, so what do you suggest?


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Where do you go looking for these?


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Can you lend me £3000?


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

Up to £250 I'd be seriously considering brewed options


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## innatelogic (Jan 26, 2014)

CC, I don't quite understand the price brackets. If in the £250-750 range you'd spend £750 then really you're recommending second hand Classic+Mignon/SJ or similar for anyone spending up to £700 It's quite interesting that there's no clear upgrade from the Classic until you have a lot more money to spend.


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

probably not entirely true... based on my recent hunting, you could have a Rancilio Silvia V3 + Super Jolly for about £450-500


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Ha ha the point of this is these are just my thoughts, we all have different thoughts on it, so out down what you would spare commend in those blacks and why? I always look at the high end of a budget to get anything hence why they lean towards the top in each bracket


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

Coffee machines I'm not sure about - Classic is fabulous value for money and represents a chance to make real espresso on a really tight budget. The small La Pav levers are also fantastic for the price and you can pick them up for next to nothing second hand - you need to develop a technique but can make incredible shots on these machines. And finally, my favourite quality - price is the Expobar, which offers excellent control within the framework of traditional espresso making.

What is clear is that if you are looking for value for money, a Mazzer is top of the grinder lists, whichever model to suit your budget.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

xiuxiuejar said:


> Coffee machines I'm not sure about - Classic is fabulous value for money and represents a chance to make real espresso on a really tight budget. The small La Pav levers are also fantastic for the price and you can pick them up for next to nothing second hand - you need to develop a technique but can make incredible shots on these machines. And finally, my favourite quality - price is the Expobar, which offers excellent control within the framework of traditional espresso making.
> 
> What is clear is that if you are looking for value for money, a Mazzer is top of the grinder lists, whichever model to suit your budget.


I'd have to disagree with you about Mazzers being the top of the grinder lists, maybe for the prices and variety you can get in Spain but not so much over here and to be honest once you hit £500+ for your grinder budget there are many far better alternatives to the Mazzers to be had for less money.


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

Depends how many bells and whistles you want Charliej. Love the simplicity of the Royal for example. Big hunks of machine - you know where the money is - not in the blue lights or digital computer. They will go on forever delivering fantastic quality grind. It's all opinion and tastes.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Well put it this way if you want On Demand instead of a doser, even the Mazzers have electronics, and I'm not sure I get what you mean by computer and blue lights the Mythos has a timer and the only blue on it is the display. As far as OD grinders go I'd be looking at anything else instead of a Mazzer below a Kony or Robur and even then I'd still rather have the 1g or so retention of the Mythos not the ~20g or so and the silly step in the grind path.

As an example I'm just at the end of a bag of Londinium Rwandan there were maybe 2 shots worth in the hopper and the Mythos still gave me my 20g dose on the nail.


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## Iwwstriker (Dec 6, 2013)

Where could I get an affordable price for a Nuova Simonelli Oscar? Is it worth every penny if I buy a second handed one? or should I go for a brand new one? How I wish it could have come in stainless steel chassis. A heat exchanger would certainly be better than a single boiler especially when you're in a high demand friends' gathering in the house.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Iwwstriker said:


> Where could I get an affordable price for a Nuova Simonelli Oscar? Is it worth every penny if I buy a second handed one? or should I go for a brand new one? How I wish it could have come in stainless steel chassis. A heat exchanger would certainly be better than a single boiler especially when you're in a high demand friends' gathering in the house.


Looking at £600 new - one seller is doing it £40-£50 lower but has mixed reviews. They come up second hand - have seen them as low as half new price which represents a fantastic bargain for a serious machine. As it has a HX boiler - decent size too - can produce shots and steam milk at the same time.


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## Iwwstriker (Dec 6, 2013)

wow, that would really be a bargain =D I think I should be getting a biweekly job at the cafe in Nottingham to save up for an exchanger. =D coffee craze... I am just wondering how many cups can it pulled in one go without compromising lost in temperature? Is it really worth the money compared to a much expensive heat exchanger such as the rocket or expobar?


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Allegedly the modified version of of the Oscar that Elektros.it sell is as good as the NS Musica a £1k machine. It has an anti vac valve(so you can switch it on and off with a timer, as other wise you have open the steam valve before switching it on), an OPV properly set to 9 BAR and even a Sirai commercial grade pressure stat, or a combination of these mods, which doesn't cost a whole lot more and still has the full warranty. They even sell a kit to plumb it in.

The Oscar has a professional grouphead some serious steam power and is in a class above Classics and Silvias. Although I have no personal experience with one, before the Sage deal happened I was looking at one as an upgrade for this time of year, I had a good read around online about them and from as far as I could tell the results in the cup should be at least as good as a Cherub or Heavenly. Given the price rise in the Fracino machines I would think that an Oscar with all the mods done would be a far better option now.

Fully modified version in black ( to me the best looking colour for an Oscar) for £567.97 plus carriage:

http://elektros.it/shop/en/coffee-machine-nuova-simonelli/103-coffee-machine-nuova-simonelli-oscar-black-kit-opv-sirai-ver-water-tank.html


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