# is pre-ground coffee not really good with an espresso machine?



## jonny11 (Apr 21, 2014)

i am planning to buy an espresso machine soon and now need to think about a grinder too.

i've got loads of illy ground coffee to be used at home so i would probably start with them, but also by reading many posts here, i've gathered that a pre-ground coffee wouldn't taste so nice with a proper espresso machine. is it really that true?

also, please let me know if anyone knows (or is willing to sell) a good second hand under-300 quids grinder matching to a rancilio silvia.

thanks

jonny


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Budget around £300 will get you a very decent grinder. Mignon being offered by forum sponsor for £265 delivered - great match for Silvia.


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## jonny11 (Apr 21, 2014)

The Systemic Kid said:


> Budget around £300 will get you a very decent grinder. Mignon being offered by forum sponsor for £265 delivered - great match for Silvia.


Thats a good deal. Can you give me a link or something? Cant find the sponsors detail here.

Mazzer would be a nice option too but cant find a good bargain atm


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Pre ground won't get you the 25 - 30 second extractions that people refer to on here for " doubles "

All you extractions will be gushers ( 10-15 seconds ) with pre ground , its the wrong particle size and will be stale to boot.

And will taste not good.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

jonny11 said:


> Thats a good deal. Can you give me a link or something? Cant find the sponsors detail here.
> 
> Mazzer would be a nice option too but cant find a good bargain atm


send PM - type in coffeebean - his forum name will come up. Will PM coffeebean on you behalf too.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Hi jonny

yep pre-ground is not good. I may be biased but you may as well as use pencil sharpening in there...sorry.

freshly roasted beans and a freshly ground is definitely the way forward. A good grinder is possibly more important over machine IMHO

id definitely recommend a Mignon great grinder for its size and holds its price well if you were looking to sell it on. For your budget I'd also recommend looking at a used ex commercial grinder, there's a used Mazzer Super Jolly that's up for sale for £225. If your looking for a re-painted one to colour of choice it might be worth speaking to Coffee Chap on the forum.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

preground is not good, whether with espresso machine or not....forumula is as follows

P = Preground

T = time in minutes

S = Shite

P + 20T = S


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Ditch the Illy too!

If you look on the bdans subforum there are loads of people who freshly roast coffee and send it to you, HasBean, Smokey Barn, Londinium, Rave etc all highly recommended on here.

It will revolutionise your opinion on coffee!


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## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

For my two pence worth, I used to buy Taylors espresso pre ground to go in my Gaggia. In fact I used to use it quite a lot as well as Costa pre ground. This was before joining the forum and see in what real coffee people do. I am currently getting the funds together to get a grinder, but as a short-term fix I have resorted to getting my local coffee shop to grind me a bag every few days then storing it in an air-tight container in the cupboard. Yes I know it isn't ideal, but It is the best I can do for now. I have done the opv mod to my machine and switched to standard baskets. So now I an just still experimenting. Things will inprove once I have the grinder though.


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## jonny11 (Apr 21, 2014)

Thank you for all the advice and recommendations on my question.

I shall look around more for a grinder - I'm thinking about the Eureka, Vario, Virtuoso and Mazzer so keep checking the sales forum.

Once I've got the machine, I will consider the coffee beans recommended too - thanks to everyone for this information.

I've got too many illy cans to ditch (all from our hospital members as we need coffees a lot you see), will be sad to waste them all. I would even think about giving them away for free to forum members as a thank-you gift!

I can't believe how much info I've taken since I joined this forum - you guys are star!


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Forum's full of advice - friendly too


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

If you've got a spare illy lid that would be handy for me.


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## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

Me as well. Wish I had found the forum sooner, but hey. Better late than never. I have learned more in these few weeks of being a forum member than I ever did in the previous years.


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