# Advice please



## Danny g (Nov 1, 2020)

Hi guys,

I am after a bit of advice please in these crazy times! The threat of a new lockdown has made me realise that now may be the time for an upgrade on my equipment. I currently have a sage coffee machine and a baratza virtuous and grinder. I can't seem to get a fine grind out of my grinder anymore. Tried adjusting it and sent for it to get recalibrated but seems worse than ever. So pretty much given up on it and looking for a new grinder and possibly machine. I do love my coffee but relatively new to the barista game so would really appreciate some advice

Potential budget £1,000 - £1,500.

I use the machine twice a day for espresso only

I would prefer new rather than second hand kit.

Question 1 - should I stick with my machine for the minute and invest my budget in a new grinder or sack it off and replace both?

Question 2 - if replacing both machine and grinder - what would be the best split be between the cost of the grinder and machine?

Question 3 - what products would you recommend for my budget - grinder and machine?

Thanks in advance!


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## Jason11 (Oct 25, 2019)

I would say a Lelit MaraX or Elizabeth paired with a Niche Zero would fit your budget nicely 

There's plenty of info on the forums to help you decide between the two machines if you decided to go down that route.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Danny g said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I am after a bit of advice please in these crazy times! The threat of a new lockdown has made me realise that now may be the time for an upgrade on my equipment. I currently have a sage coffee machine and a baratza virtuous and grinder. I can't seem to get a fine grind out of my grinder anymore. Tried adjusting it and sent for it to get recalibrated but seems worse than ever. So pretty much given up on it and looking for a new grinder and possibly machine. I do love my coffee but relatively new to the barista game so would really appreciate some advice
> 
> ...


 For espresso only, a tricky decision! I personally would avoid dual boilers or HX machines. Just more to go wrong, for no reason. No point having steam inside a boiler if you are not going to use it, or a while extra boiler if you are not going to use it. For espresso only you'd want to maximise your espresso extraction possibilities. The downside..... most of those are in Dual Boiler machines, such as Bianca with the flow control paddle, or a Vesuvius, or, dare I say, a Sage Dual Boiler.

for now, focus on the grinder. The Niche Zero is a popular choice. See how a new grinder makes a difference with your equipment.

there's the ECM Puristika - prototype, not yet released... or... a Cafelat Robot? Allows you pressure profiling, fully manual.

It's a tricky one he "espresso only" machines.... I'd not know what to choose myself.

question: what are your expectations from your future coffee machine? What do you want it to do that your current machine can't?


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## BlackCatCoffee (Apr 11, 2017)

If you are espresso only and will stay that way I would say don't bother paying for an Hx or DB. Go for a single boiler PID machine and save some cash on purchasing it and some energy as you wont be boiling up a lot of water you don't need. Plus there is less to maintain in the long term. The Bezzera Unica PID is fabulous as is the Lelit Grace.

You could go nuts on a grinder with the rest of the budget on something like an Atom 75 or Helios 80 or go with a solid mid range option like the Niche or Eureka Mignon Specialita.

David


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## Jason11 (Oct 25, 2019)

*note to self "read the OP properly"

I missed the 'making espresso only' part.


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## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

@Danny g - If you like a bit of retro looking kit and would be interested in being more hands on, how about a La Pavoni Europiccola? You should be able to get one, temp strips, a pressure gauge kit and a Niche grinder for under your budget.

Has some quirks in temp management, but once you have the knack they are hard to beat for a couple of espressos at home in terms of heat up time and simple to maintain.


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## Danny g (Nov 1, 2020)

Hi guys,

Hope you are all well!

I am after a bit of advice please! I am looking to upgrade my current equipment. I know there is lots of information on here regarding choice of machines and grinders but I am after some specific advice. I do love my coffee but relatively new to the barista game so would really appreciate some help.

What products would you recommend for my budget - grinder and machine?

Potential budget £2,000 - £3,000.

I use the machine 3/4 times a day for espresso only

I would prefer new rather than second hand kit.

Thanks in advance!


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Hi @Danny g welcome back to the forum....did you upgrade before or did you keep your sage and Virtuoso and increase your budget? With your current budget, the world is your oyster, you can get pretty much whatever you want. Plus you can sell your old kit here to help supplement the cost.

The decisions for you to really think about are



Grinder, flat burr or conical, single doser or doserless on demand


HX, dual boiler or Lever machine, does it need any features like profiling, volumetrics etc.. and which machines do you like the look of at the moment.


How much space you have for the equipment


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

@Danny g - for espresso only, personally, I'd go for a single circuit machine which heats up to coffee temperature water rather than steam temp. No point in having a second boiler there which will never going to be turned on or the water in it recycled, unless of course you are a fan of Americanos. my rationale is simple: keep it simple, less maintenance, less to go wrong.

the main issue is that most machines which are single circuit are rather basic and not full of bells and whistles.

with your budget, if you want to make the most of espresso, have you thought of a Decent Espresso? There's a new one about to be launched on KickStart called Kafmasino too, much cheaper. There's a thread about that here.

if you think dual boilers or HX are good for you, take a look at Bella Barista, or BlackCatCoffee. Plenty of choices there.

another alternative&#8230; have you seen the Vesuvius Leva? (Aka V Vostok 1 group).

as for grinder&#8230; Niche Zero? Or one of those fancy ones like Option-O?


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

If I were looking for a machine and it was only for espresso I'd be considering the Kafmasino one and ECM Puristika but I know at least the former isn't out yet and the latter might not be either.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Rob1 said:


> If I were looking for a machine and it was only for espresso I'd be considering the Kafmasino one and ECM Puristika but I know at least the former isn't out yet and the latter might not be either.


 I'm pretty sure Puristika will come out....it's just when. I have one of the prototypes and it's just a little jewel, very small and neat for those who only want Espresso/Americano. I get the hot water from the Osmio...although in a pinch, you could draw it from the group of Puristika.


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## John Yossarian (Feb 2, 2016)

@DavecUK This revived thread very much reminds of a prank. The OP never came back after the first post, to, at least, acknowledge the contributions of forum members. Six months later they come again with everything doubled and more or less the same opening.

I cannot help but think that this might not be a genuine request.

I will stand corrected should I be wrong.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

John Yossarian said:


> @DavecUK This revived thread very much reminds of a prank. The OP never came back after the first post, to, at least, acknowledge the contributions of forum members. Six months later they come again with everything doubled and more or less the same opening.
> 
> I cannot help but think that this might not be a genuine request.
> 
> I will stand corrected should I be wrong.


 We did have a period where people were intentionally disrupting the forum with fake accounts, and they had an agenda. Fortunately most have gone and I think it's easy for us to become paranoid or unwelcoming as a result of past very poor behaviour by a small minority. I prefer to take every new user at face value (which is what I did before) and give them a warm welcome.

I think it's essential to do this, or we get dragged down to the same level as those who created those fake accounts some months ago, and I won't do that 😉

So I'm glad to see @Danny g back, and I hope we can help and guide him (if he needs it) in his quest for some new equipment. 🙂


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## profesor_historia (Sep 1, 2020)

If the OP comes back (again) in 6 months with a budget of 4000-6000 than definitely it's a prank 😁.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Even better, if OP comes back in *12* *months* and doubles the budget, then at least there's some consistency. 😂


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## Danny g (Nov 1, 2020)

Thanks all for your advice. Plenty of food for thought. @ John yassarian - you are right. should have responded to thank everyone for the previous advice! I


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Danny g said:


> Thanks all for your advice. Plenty of food for thought. @ John yassarian - you are right. should have responded to thank everyone for the previous advice! I


 So&#8230; the big question everyone here is wondering&#8230;😊 - what made you double your budget and drink twice as much espresso in the space of 6 months? Was it your existing equipment (had an upgrade at some point) which contributed to it? I'm not saying this is crazy or uncommon, many of us did it! - but would love to hear more about your journey thus far.


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## John Yossarian (Feb 2, 2016)

@Danny g I stand corrected! 🙂

Welcome back!


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