# Hiya



## Mareth (Nov 26, 2020)

Hiya,
Just joined, I'm not actually in the UK, I'm in Ireland, hope that's ok.

I like coffee, but wouldn't be absolutely obsessed, and occasionally have a coffee when I'm out, but at home, if I can be bothered, I'll dig out the moka pot or the French press, if I'm feeling lazy I'll just drink millicano.

I had been hoping to talk the husband into getting me a basic coffee machine for xmas. I was originally wanting a pod machine, just for ease of use and variety of drinks (including non caffeinated things the kids can make for themselves) but can't bring myself to do it with the amount of waste they produce, and the fact that the majority of them are made by, or licenced by, Nestle.

So then we moved to an espresso machine with a steam wand, kids can't use it 😂, but it'll give me nice coffee. But I'm beginning to think even that is out of reach. I'd been hoping to spend no more than around £100 on a second hand machine, but from doing a lot of googling, it seems like I'd be buying rubbish at that price, not to mention the fact that I hadn't realised I'd need a new grinder too (my current one is just a blade grinder).

I literally drink 1, maybe 2 cups of coffee a day, and sometimes not even that. So, is it worth me bothering?


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Welcome to the forum....it's a hobby where you realise spending a little bit more, gets you a lot more.


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## Mareth (Nov 26, 2020)

So if I just want a decent cuppa that's better than instant, but not an actual hobby, how much should I consider spending?


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Mareth said:


> So if I just want a decent cuppa that's better than instant, but not an actual hobby, how much should I consider spending?


 That's a big question....

For the used modded Gagia classic & used commercial grinder combo, about £350

for prosumer stuff at the ground floor level:



used around £600 for machine and commercial grinder


Used grinder and new machine about £1100


New machine and Eureka mignon/specialita grinder about £1220 upwards (but the kit will last you decades)


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## Mareth (Nov 26, 2020)

Thanks for replying. So there's no way to get decent coffee remotely close to my budget then. That's a shame.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Mareth said:


> Thanks for replying. So there's no way to get decent coffee remotely close to my budget then. That's a shame.


 Not unless you go for filter/pourover coffee....


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## Mareth (Nov 26, 2020)

Thanks. I'm just surprised, I would have thought that even fairly 'meh' espresso or espresso based Cappuccino/ latte etc, would have been better than instant.


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## Akp (May 2, 2020)

I would have to agree with what everyone has said before.

Laying out more money up front you will save money in the future.

Have to say for me it's been a journey to get to my final espresso machine. Looking back I don't know how I ever had a bean to cup machine. But without that step I wouldn't be enjoying coffee as much as I am now.

So if the budget is where it is get what you can afford and except that it's not going to be the best (or even close) but it will start you on your journey.

If I could tell my past self anything (about coffee): get a decent hand grinder + aeropress or v60, and explore black coffee.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## earthflattener (Jul 27, 2015)

There are a couple of 'must-do' things anyhow, otherwise it's not really worth getting a machine

1) Buy good coffee - supermarket is no good.

2) Use good water - tap water will screw the machine

As Dave said, you could do pourover. You can

a) Get a good hand grinder (~130-180 EUR and get a V60 kit with nice little pour over kettle for 50-60EUR. Then

b) get a subscription to a nice coffee

The hand grinder will stand you in good stead for a fair old while even if you move to Espresso

The V60 is simple to do, but there is a nice little ritual. It takes about 5 mins all together to make, but with a good coffee, it feels worth it somehow. A lot of folks prefer it to Espresso - very trendy in the Hipster cafes in London if that helps 

In any case,..... go n-éirí an bóthar leat


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## MarkHB (Jun 12, 2020)

Mareth said:


> if I can be bothered, I'll dig out the moka pot or the French press, if I'm feeling lazy I'll just drink millicano.


 It sounds like you might not be up for the challenges surrounding espresso making. As Dave said above it really is a new hobby. To make good espresso there is quite a steep learning curve. Cheaper machines will only make that curve steeper.

You could consider spending your budget on a good burr grinder that won't be capable of grinding for espresso. You could then brew strong coffee in your moka pot and froth warm milk in the french press. You will want to buy fresh roasted speciality coffee as well for the best flavour. Doing this you should get coffee that's a lot nicer than instant.


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

Moka pot and a milk swirler frother thing (currently in Aldi) will beat instant. If you don't have time/desire for the moka pot you won't have time to faff with espresso even with a pressurised basket, you have to wait around 30 mins for a machine to warm. I'm a fan of the aero press for "almost espresso" With the kettle. Decent beans, buy yourself a frothy thing and away you go. Environmentally pods are terrible (remember recycling generally just makes things "go away" To a different place to landfill) my parents have a pod machine which is mediocre, and a milk frothery electric swirly heat jug thing which is actually surprisingly fun.


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## Mareth (Nov 26, 2020)

Thanks all. The aeropress sounds good, I've been thinking about one of those for a while (good for taking camping too, no electricity needed 👍). I'll check out the pour over one too.

I'll look into the frother.


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