# Time for a new machine!



## CoffeeInca (Mar 25, 2010)

Hi Folks,

I have graduated from a £15 Argos Espresso Maker, to a £100 DeLonghi, and after getting my kitchen refurbished I have finally decided to take the plunge and get a more expensive machine!

I have a budget of around £500 and was hoping to get some good kit for this.

I was initially thinking of a Gaggia Classic, MDF and base. There are bundles here and here that seems to fit all my needs.

There are also bundles with the Gaggia Baby - this doesn't look as nice as the Classic though - any reasons why I would choose the Baby over the classic? Are the bundles I have linked to good machines?

What would you get with £500?

Thanks for any replies!


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

The Classic tends to be the more popular machine with folks on this forum, they are all very similar inside but the classic certainly has the more robust construction so will stay looking good. I had a Baby dose which worked flawlessly for over three years but did begin to lose its finish. Also consider the Rancilio Silvia which is a very solid machine and does in my view produce an even better result than the Gaggia. Bit more money though and you will not go wrong with the Gaggia either if your budget did not stretch that far. Do stick to getting a machine with the three way solenoid to dry the coffee puck out after extraction and preferably 58mm commercial sized grouphead and portafilter all of which the Gaggia Classic does have.

One word of advice the site you have found is based in Italy so you could have issues with warranty buying from them as you would have to send the macchine back to Italy for repair.

Look here for a good range of UK sourced Espresso machines.

http://www.myespresso.co.uk/

I bought my new one from there and it was quickly delivered and you can speak directly for a chat if you need to.

Don


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## CoffeeInca (Mar 25, 2010)

Thanks for the reply.

I think the second link is a UK site. Its listed as .co.uk and has a 0044 number, so I think its in the UK. The contact page lists lots of offices in different countries.

I am going to see if they will do the Classic, MDF and base bundle with the free starter set with cups and beans for the same price.

Any recomendations on a stainless steel milk jug and temperature guage? I might as well do it properly!


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## vintagecigarman (Aug 10, 2009)

...mmm. Don't think they are a UK site. You may want to do a bit of digging before you order from them.


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

Risky Risky

£500 to spend, here you go,

Gaggia Classic from My Espresso £265

Iberital MC2 grinder from Happy Donkey £106

Under grinder knock drawer £90 from either site, though I personally prefer a seperate knock box that stands alone.

Add postage of around £15 so a total of less than £500, get a £15 knock box eg Grindenstein and you are down to £400, then spend some money on good beans and all UK sourced.

Don


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Make sure you get a good fitting tamper (roughly £50)

Re: Jugs

Motta, Espro Toroid, Rattleware all decent

12oz and 20oz are the most popular sizes for home baristas


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

Ahh missed those rather important items as Glenn points out.

So yes spend your savings on beans, tamper and jugs and that`ll be the money well spent

Don


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## sandykt (Dec 3, 2009)

Stay away from Coffee Italia website. They are not in the UK (although they give the impression they are) and they will not support any warranty.


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## LeeWardle (Nov 16, 2008)

Also don't be swayed by free beans or bundles. You don't get anything for free in a real way. Beans will be very nasty. As another poster said buy seperatly for the best possible price rather than a bundle. Bundles seem like value for money but if you look around you will most definatly get better value for money.

Lee


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## ChiarasDad (Mar 21, 2010)

When considering Gaggia vs. Rancilio consider also that some of us have preferred the Rancilio style steam wand, to the extent of retrofitting one on our Gaggias. An extra expense if you end up going that route.


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## BanishInstant (Oct 12, 2009)

There's good advice as usual on here. Just a few personal comments on the recommendations. The Classic is the best Gaggia machine to go for. It's not too difficult to master and will give you good espresso and the odd couple of milk drinks. The Silvia is a better machine, but can be more difficult to master. Read up on the subject and watch a few youtube videos. Neither machines are great for a long stream of milk drinks, so you would have to increase your budget.

On the grinder front, the Gaggia MDF is fine and if you are switching between espresso grind back to filter frequently then is ideal. If you will mostly be brewing espresso then the Iberital MC2 is better because you can tweak the settings each time until you find the sweet spot. It can be more frustrating at first, but after a while you appreciate the fine adjustment you can make. I would also go for the doserless model if you will only be grinding for one or two drinks. An alternative is to look on ebay for your grinder since there always good second-hand bargains to be had.


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## sandykt (Dec 3, 2009)

If you are thinking of a Rancilio Silvia then I would recommend watching the videos on YouTube, Rancilio's own website and the demonstration video on MyEspresso website. The steaming wand is very powerful. MyEspresso (where I purchased my machine from) is currently selling it for less than I paid only a few months ago. The prices have come down (for some bizarre reason) so this might be a good time to grab a bargain. Your choice entirely. The Rancilio does need looking after and cleaning otherwise your coffee will taste cr*p!!


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

Most people on this forum seem to think that the iberital grinder that happy donkey sell is around the 100 pound mark but when you get to checkout it comes to around £140. It's still the cheapest site but not quite the bargain everybody seems to think.


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## LeeWardle (Nov 16, 2008)

MC2 for £140 is still a good buy.


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

Had to change this post as my memory had failed regarding what I paid for my MC2, it was six quid less than now, current price is just shy of £130 delivered which is still best price anywhere

Don


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