# At the start of my coffee journey!



## Wallm0nkey (Mar 22, 2014)

Hello I've been lurking on here a little while absorbing as much info as I can! I've always loved Coffee and last Christmas I received a Delonghi EC155 but I never managed to make anything I actually enjoyed drinking so it's largely sat dormant. I popped into 6/8 Kafe a great place and the Coffee was amazing which has now pushed me to get set up at home properly. I now gather most of my issues have stemmed from bad quality pre ground beans.

After all my researching I've settled on getting the Eureka Mignon and a Gaggia Classic as I believe they will both far outweigh my skill level leaving just me to blame for the bad tasting drinks! We are getting married in May this year so funds are mostly directed towards that so I'll keep an eye on the classifieds. I think the grinder first will be beneficial and at least I can make do with the machine I have for now.

Any tips and advice are greatly received.

Cheers, Niall


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## Thecatlinux (Mar 10, 2014)

Hello and welcome to the forum, there are a lot of people who can answer many of your questions, the classic seems to be a very respected machine on here , and from my limited experience I can vouch for being able to get a great shot without too much effort. You are correct The grinder choice is quite an important part of the setup and there is a few people on here who can source you a decent secondhand grinder , so stick around I am sure they will soon come and say hello. Plus there is an area in the forum where others sell their equipment as they upgrade .


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Welcome to the forum - you've done your research well - Mignon paired with Classic will serve you well. Feed your machine good quality fresh roasted beans and you'll soon have a smile on your face. You'll need some jewellers' scales - check ebay; a decent tamper - Made by Knock offer excellent quality and value. If it's a new Classic, it will come with a pressurised portafilter basket which should be discarded if you're serious about coffee. It's designed to produce lots of crema with coarser ground coffee. Get a stock 58mm portafilter basket - very cheap and widely available. Read up on adjusting the OPV - it will be factory set at 15bar for the pressurised basket - using a conventional one requires a pressure of around 9bar. Plenty of help and support on the forum for adjusting this when and if you are ready to do so.


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## Wallm0nkey (Mar 22, 2014)

Thanks for the tips I'll take notes of the other bits you've mentioned I've been quite enjoying getting the shopping list together so far. The temptation for a cheaper grinder to get going now was there but it sounds as though the Mignon is a good choice and not too big. Itching to get started now!


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## oracleoftruth (Jan 15, 2014)

The mignon looks great and the consensus seems to be that it's a great grinder and a good match to the classic.


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## ajh101 (Dec 21, 2013)

I have the Classic / Mignon pairing and it seems to be deservedly popular. Only recently started so I have a long way to go but everyone here is very helpful and I am learning lots. Just watch out for upgraditis!


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## Wallm0nkey (Mar 22, 2014)

I think the upgraditus has already started! Everything I look at seems to have a shinier more expensive alternative







I had convinced myself to just buy a manual grinder to use with my french press. In the space of a couple of days after everything I've read I came to the Classic/Mignon pair! Glad to see it has a bit of a fan base getting me more excited. I quite fancy a Hausgrind maybe in the future as it just looks like a lovely bit of kit and saves messing with the Mignon's settings.


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