# New member in a new house with a desire to coffee-up



## racingclub (Jan 30, 2018)

just moved into a new rural location, so a decent home machine is a must.

a little overwhelmed by a brief browse of the forums, but keen to learn & more importantly, buy some new gadgetry....


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Welcome plenty to tackle on thread wise. What is your budget and what have you been looking at so far.


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

Your budget for the grinder is also important

Some really nice machines and grinders pop up in the Sale section for a great price regularly, if you don't mind second hand (you need 5 posts to access the section)


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## racingclub (Jan 30, 2018)

thanks for the reply.

Second hand is fine. I like the idea of buying something decent quality that has been around a bit & serviceable. (rather than a £50 Tassimo machine!)


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## KTD (Dec 28, 2017)

It's easy to ignore the advice to budget for a grinder but please don't as it's so important, there is simply no point buying a machine and not a grinder. I agree that secondhand is probably the way to go as resale value for well looked after stuff is largely the same. All depends on budget and circumstances I suppose


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## KTD (Dec 28, 2017)

300 could possibly get you a popular combination of Gaggia Classic and Eureka Mignon secondhand that would produce really nice drinks


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## racingclub (Jan 30, 2018)

I'm already browsing Gumtree & Facebook for Classics.... I don't particularly have a budget, but something appeals about spending a little and servicing/restoring/using something old.

However, there are times when I jump from meeting to meeting and just want a mug of something hot...


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## chip_kara (Sep 25, 2017)

Welcome to the forum!


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## racingclub (Jan 30, 2018)

Thanks, super friendly here


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## chip_kara (Sep 25, 2017)

racingclub said:


> Thanks, super friendly here


Yep, everyone is super nice and very helpful! If you provide a rough budget you will be inundated with suggestions of possible machine/grinder combination. If second hand is what you fancy get on the forsale section when you've got enough posts. Some great deals to be had and much better than Gumtree/eBay.


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## racingclub (Jan 30, 2018)

I was thinking £150-200 for a machine, (although I had not considered a grinder).

So max'ish £200 plus whatever a grinder costs plus whatever else I need and you can upsell me on.

Oh, and an invoice for £29 that I can show the missus


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Not much change for £400 there is a nice yellow Eureka Mignon in the for sale I can't believe it's not been sold yet.


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## KTD (Dec 28, 2017)

Grinders are expensive, I would say even secondhand acceptable quality for espresso based drinks will cost you 120+


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## DavidBondy (Aug 17, 2010)

Welcome! You'll learn loads here and get totally honest and unbiased opinions.


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## racingclub (Jan 30, 2018)

My first stupid q then ..... why do I *need* a grinder (at least to begin with). Can't I just buy ground coffee and suffer some taste/smell/quality reduction?


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Coffee, once ground, goes stale pretty quickly. No contest for side by side taste test between freshly ground and stale pre-ground.

Grinder is as, or even more important that the espresso machine. The better and more consistent the grind, the better the coffee.


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## racingclub (Jan 30, 2018)

thanks for the answer TSK - makes sense!


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## KTD (Dec 28, 2017)

Ground coffee is rarely ground fine enough for an espresso machine, 99 percent aren't anyway, you have the option of going to a proper coffee shop and asking them to grind it fine for you but not only will you sacrifice everything already mentioned it's highly unlikely to be the correct grind from one day to the next and different beans change the goal posts each time


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Welcome and all point above "plussed". Another way to think of pre ground coffee is that once you open the bag assuming freshly roasted, freshly ground for you (and at a grind that gives a passable drink) your whole bag of lots of surface area ground coffee is now exposed to oxygen which is staling the whole lot much quicker than you would imagine, somewhere in the multiples of minutes. If you open a bag of pre ground give it a good sniff, leave the bag open, then come back an hour later and all the truly pleasant volatile smells have mosied on out of there.

A whole bean bagged once opened (assuming sealed back up, as much air pushed out, kept in a cool dark place that is not a fridge...) has less surface area for the oxygen to have a go at thus at its prime for much much longer, days or weeks even. This allows you to take out what you need grind just before you use it and thus use as quickly as possible / getting the best out of the bean (plus all the hard work the farmer went to to produce it and hopefully , the roaster in roasting it well enough).

Grinders are not as "sexy" as a shiny machine but as you spend time on here will gather that no matter your brewing method, the better the grinder, the more consistent your coffee will be which applies very much to Espresso but also to a certain extent to brewed. There is an old expression of Rubbish in, Rubbish out that in Espresso terms means the machine cannot make up for any inadequacies of the grinder just pass them along which is part of the reason Espresso is not as easy as could be.

If money an issue as regards grinders then go for a decent hand grinder which will serve you well when travelling as well (my lido3 is with me at the moment along with an Aeropress doing a decent job with Hotel water and own roasted Costa Rica Aquiares beans).

Hopefully, we haven't put you off but as many on here can attest, the first item upgraded is the grinder that is not thought through and pretty sure all will agree the difference in the cup with a better grinder makes all the difference.

John


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## elgordovergatario (Jan 30, 2018)

One doubt, is the coffee addictive? Is it that in the mornings if I do not drink coffee then they give me some horrible headaches that they recommend? decreased consumption?

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One doubt, is the coffee addictive? Is it that in the mornings if I do not drink coffee then they give me some horrible headaches that they recommend? decreased consumption?


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## LukeT (Aug 6, 2017)

Welcome! I'm a beginner - my searching for a machine etc landed me here about 6 months ago and I loitered for a few months looking at for sale threads until eventually I picked up a great 2nd hand machine and a more entry level grinder. Then it took me 2 weeks to make a half decent cup of coffee. But I'm getting better all the time, thanks in no small part to advice in here. An incredibly friendly place.

So good luck with searching and if you're thinking second hand patience is key. You'll hopefully end up with a good deal on something that could last you a lifetime, unless you submit to upgradeitis... (my grinder's already getting replaced in June, fingers crossed!)

Good luck!

Luke


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## racingclub (Jan 30, 2018)

well, when you say patience is key.... I'm meeting a forum member on Thursday to buy his Classic.....


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## KTD (Dec 28, 2017)

racingclub said:


> well, when you say patience is key.... I'm meeting a forum member on Thursday to buy his Classic.....


Nice one! Looks like the perfect machine for you, should be really pleased


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

racingclub said:


> well, when you say patience is key.... I'm meeting a forum member on Thursday to buy his Classic.....


Well done


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## LukeT (Aug 6, 2017)

Ha ha! I only realised after posting that there's a page 2 of this thread, although for some reason it comes up blank on my phone so I haven't read it.

Good luck with the machine!


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

LukeT said:


> Ha ha! I only realised after posting that there's a page 2 of this thread, although for some reason it comes up blank on my phone so I haven't read it.
> 
> Good luck with the machine!


Download tapatalk. It makes things alot more phone friendly.


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## racingclub (Jan 30, 2018)

aaaaand...... the yellow Eureka Mignon from the Sale forum is also mine....

that escalated quickly..


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Yes very quickly,haha so your now 4 month away form another upgrade going to give you until April,haha Enjoy the Grinder not a bad price really.


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

great espresso voyage in making


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## KTD (Dec 28, 2017)

The good thing is that setup in April will be worth exactly the same as you've just paid for it, ideal buys.


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## Kitkat (Jan 25, 2018)

Great stuff. I'll be watching your progress with interest as you've bought the same machine and grinder I am after. Perhaps I'll buy it off you in April when you upgrade


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