Pretty good deal on a good espresso maker. Part of Briscoes Flash Sale 23 Feb 2022.
Delonghi Pump Espresso Coffee Machine (ECP3531ST) $149 @ Briscoes
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Well this is tempting.. $130 cheaper than it's been previously in briscoes at least.
It looks like it's got a pressurised filter so I wouldn't want to spend $300 on one, but at $150 it could be worth the punt.
Is this a good one to have?
This is coming from a nespresso machine user so not sure on what to have. I'm not sure I want to go with the $699 Breville machine on the other post. Anyone can give a summarised review?
Would also like to know. 3 stars out of 5 based on 21 reviews so safe to assume it ain't the greatest?
It's $150 so no chance it's the greatest.
Reviews seem favourable on things like Amazon but I'm assuming people buying this likely have no exposure to anything better. If you're using pre ground or a cheap grinder I'm sure you probably won't get much better coffee from a better machine as that will be what is holding you back.
The filter looks to be double walled/pressurised which is aimed at making it easy and consistent but not the greatest quality of coffee. Most machines in this price range have this though as it's usually a pretty safe bet of you're only spending this much you probably didn't spend big on a grinder.
Bought it and currently using store brought espresso grind (using altitude atm). And seeemed to be okay-ish coffee that you get from chain store coffee like mc cafe or the likes.
Overall improvement from nespresso apart from the convenience.
Wondered if freshly ground beans would be another pleasant surpriseHow are you finding this now? It's back on sale at this price and I again find myself tempted.
@Everettpsycho: It's better than the nespresso at least. I rarely go back to drinking the nespresso unless I'm tight with time.
Tricky bit for me i find is to put the amount of ground coffee in the basket and tamping it correctly. Have not tried grinding beans myself so can't comment on that just yet. I used 30s extraction time and seemed to be consistently good so far.
For $150, I'd say it's good to get an okay coffee but can't get myself to make a good cafe coffee just yet. Perhaps that's grinding my own beans
i currently have this and a nespresso along with other coffee 'machines' and this one it pretty good for its price.
this model is not a new models but the reviews i read back then were good as well, heres one
https://www.rollingstone.com/product-recommendations/lifesty…If you're seriously keen to get a barebones home espresso setup, buying new the best bang for buck would be the Breville Bambino with a 1zpresso hand grinder. I'd have serious doubts this delonghi machine is actually capable of producing espresso.
I bought this at Briscoe on 28 Sep 2019. Same price 149.99
@baishishun how have you found it? Reliable?
Yea it’s cheap and good enough. You need a good grinder. I used till last month then I upgraded:) sold it 100.
any recommendation on a good grinder?
@spam: Depends how much your willing to spend. With a pressurised filter like this machine you would likely be fine with the bodum that's about $100 from bodum. Most people say if you are willing to spend on coffee the grinder is the place to spend.
Just don't buy a blade grinder, they perform inconsistently and you will taste it in the coffee you make. Burr grinders are good and if you can afford ceramic burrs they are the best. As I said though on a $150 machine you'll be hitting diminishing returns pretty quickly, I'd only spend big on the grinder if you plan to upgrade to a better machine down the line and don't want to buy twice.
@Everettpsycho: So i bought it thinking might worth trying for $150. .
This is me coming from nespresso type coffee and used to plunger coffee otherwise. I doubt I can distinguish between great and good coffee. I'd like to think I can distinguish between yucky coffee and okay coffee.
I'll try with store bought espresso grind first as a benchmark, then perhaps look for decent grinder.
@spam: This is the bodum and you can get it for $107 with the code bodum_10
https://www.bodum.com/nz/en/10903-01aus-3-bistro
I have it and it's good enough for use in our aeropress. I think it would be fine in this machines, like I said the pressurised filter means you can get away with cheaper grinding and it kind of covers it up. Good coffee won't taste as good as it could, but bad coffee will be better as the filter controls the pressure not the coffee bed itself.
I did read you can buy a non pressurised filter if you are feeling like experimenting down the line.
Grinding fresh will see a noticeable improvement in your coffee though. I just didn't believe it but even using an aeropress once we got the bodum our coffee tasted significantly better. So if it's not great right out the gate definitely consider picking up a grinder to try and make it better.
@Everettpsycho: Thanks for the recommendation.
No hurry in this, so I'll keep an eye for further discount; perhaps during easter? Would you against hand-cranked grinder? Apart from taking time and perhaps sweating yourself before pouring a cup of coffee anything against the manual grinder?
@spam: Mainly that I'm lazy. I did try a hand one but I got it off Ali express to use up beans we got by accident. Took forever to grind and I couldn't see anything wrong with it that would have caused that as it had ceramic burrs that lines up well. Considering the electric one spins at thousands of rpm and takes 15 seconds to grind for two cups you could be there a while with a hand grinder. Admittedly a better one would probably do a better job than mine but at that price you can get the bodum.
I got the grinder for about $80 from a deal on here last year so there might be another sale that brings it down again. I'm seriously considering the $630 deal for a better machine with a grinder.
@HaydnE: Not too sure is the answer haha. I'm a beginner in the home espresso side so haven't got a clue
@spam: If you wanna dip your toes, see if you can get a second hand Breville Machine (Bambino, Barista Express or Infuser) and a good quality hand grinder. Cheap hand grinders aren't worth your time, you need to spend about 150-200 on a hand grinder to get something that is capable of espresso and not take 2 years to grind. I have a 1zpresso J-Max and it's a piece of engineering, very good grinder.
That's probably the bare minimum you need to produce something drinkable. $300ish for a used machine, then $200ish for a hand grinder.
First post and nothing for me to fix. Good stuff OP 😎 & welcome to Cheapies.