Help with selecting Espresso Machine

offroad on 22/05/2024 - 19:27

Hi guys, i currently have nespresso machine at home and i buy aroeggio capsules for it. I love the latte at cafe and wish to own espresso machine of my own.

I dont have any espresso experience. Which machine will be a good starter for beginner barista and it will serve well for years? Dont want to spend a fortune ofcourse.

The 2 options in my mind are:
Breville barista express bes870
Barista express impress

I did little bit research and my understanding is that impress is better for beginners as it is more automatic which means less room for errors. Waiting for some good price drop on these machines so that i can do price beat 10% at briscoes before i pull the trigger.

Please recommend what will be better option and if there are any other machines as well to consider, thanks heaps.

General Discussion

Comments

  • spam on 22/05/2024 - 22:02

    I have this Delonghi machine from this deal: https://www.cheapies.nz/node/32230, which is the cheaper side of the machine. I'm also a beginner and while I find this one is good at the start, as you upskill your coffee making skill, there's a lot of things that irk you with this machine.

    • offroad on 22/05/2024 - 22:16

      Thanks, it looks like briscoes dont stock this anymore

  • wowbigdeal on 22/05/2024 - 22:13

    I've owned a number of breville machines from the most basic when I very first started getting into home coffee's to now owning two BES870 machines (one at home, one at the office). I shouldn't have wasted my time and money on lesser machines and should have just gone straight for the BES870. I'm no pro, but have my machines dialed in pretty well and get a good coffee every time. I don't see myself upgrading from here.

    • offroad on 22/05/2024 - 22:17

      Thanks, so you wouldn’t recommend spending extra couple of hundred dollars on impress model?

      • wowbigdeal on 22/05/2024 - 22:22

        Personally I wouldn't. As far as I'm aware the only difference is the tamper. 870 done by hand, impress done by lever. I quite enjoy tamping the coffee by hand and so do my daughters when they make coffee.
        For myself I'd spend the savings on coffee beans for the next few months.

      • Jizah on 23/05/2024 - 08:51

        I'm the opposite to wowbigdeal. I personally would go the Impress if I was replacing my BES870. I'm lazy and it keeps everything tidier as it stops you spilling ground coffee. And it helps guests when they use it too.

  • Gamzallup on 22/05/2024 - 22:30

    BES870 is a good start for any beginner. You learn the essential skill how to tamper your coffee, rather than using the auto tamper tool. As your get abit more experience you will start upgrading your accessories for better espresso Extraction: WDT tool, tamper with calibrated spring, distributor, bottomless portafilter, standalone coffee grinder and etc… then you will upgrade to proper espresso machine with dual boiler that takes 58mm cafe size bottomless portafilterthat cost thousands or up to $20k… Gets expensive as you demand for better espresso down the track. Any barista that makes the espresso for you in the top cafe would disappointed you as you have mastered the skill of making the best espresso for your taste. Ever since i have my own espresso machine, I have stopped going out to buy my coffee. You will see the mistake barista makes that makes bad coffees

    • offroad on 22/05/2024 - 22:44

      I have no idea about a lot of words that you have used but they all smell like a premium coffee, lol. Thanks for your feedback, i will go for bes870, learn the basics and slowly progress my coffee making journey from there

  • BROX-NZ on 23/05/2024 - 08:20
    +1

    I went from a nespresso pod machine to BES870 as well, no regrets. If you price matched Heathcotes today you could get it for 629.99 from Briscoes.

    Suggest setting up a price alert through PriceMe.co.nz to notify you when your magic $ mark is hit otherwise.

    • offroad on 23/05/2024 - 21:07
      +1

      Thanks for the great tip, i didnt know u could setup price alerts on priceme

  • airbourne20 on 23/05/2024 - 09:12
    +1

    Coffee's a strange mistress, started out some years back with a free hand me down entry breville (think sub $100) and quickly learned investing in a good grinder was the way to go (next investment $600 second hand mazzer) and with freshly roasted local beans could make coffee better than local cafes or people with 'fancy' machines. Those breville's are popular first choices, anything above takes you into the prosumer market. Once at that level it's not actually the front end outlay that's the expensive bit, it's the service fees/part repairs that add up over the years. With daily use you'll very much end up profiting if it replaces cafe spend. coffeesnobs.com.au was an awesome daily browse when getting started.

  • RJA7 on 23/05/2024 - 14:42
    +1

    I own a bes870 , and like some have already mentioned if you love the process of making a coffee then don't bother with the impress.
    I have now added more tools like a WDT tool , a screen puck and a distributor , etc and have got it dialed in to a point where I honestly prefer the coffee I make to most cafe's ( the right beans matter!!) .

    If you cant be arsed with the art of making coffee then get the impress !! so much easier to get it right all the time. I know in my family, only I care about the process and the rest would rather have the convenience.

  • falloutshank on 23/05/2024 - 15:06

    We personally use a De'Longhi La Specialista for over two years now without missing a beat, once you dial it down you can make decent coffee every time with good technique and fresh beans. Based on my experience I would recommend it to friends and family. It also comes with a decent grinder.

    https://www.delonghi.com/en-nz/ec9335-bk-la-specialista-manu…

    Brisco's selling it for $674.99.
    Heathcotes selling it for $629.

    Best of luck in your coffee journey.

  • Everettpsycho on 24/05/2024 - 07:51

    We have the Breville infuser which is pretty much the bes780 minus the grinder. Coming from a nespresso machine and aeropress it was a big step up.

    We then had a Bodum grinder and recently changed to a Breville dose control pro.

    The big take away from this journey, the grinder matters, it really matters. The biggest jump in quality was going from pre ground to the Bodum I'm the aeropress and then again up to the dose control in the Breville.

    I recommend the Breville because it comes with both pressurised and unpressurized ports filter baskets. The difference is the pressurised one is good as a starter and builds the pressure needed despite grinding mistakes, once you're more confident you can swap out up to the normal basket and continue to get better at coffee making.

    If you want to go down a rabbit hole find James Hoffman on YouTube.

    • offroad on 24/05/2024 - 16:16

      Thanks for all the info 😊

  • spam on 28/05/2024 - 17:09

    If you are in Auckland and a costco member: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=7756063524478471&set=pc…

    BES875 currently at $599.98.

    • offroad on 29/05/2024 - 00:57

      Yes im in akl and just renewed my costco membership last week 😊 thanks

    • offroad on 29/05/2024 - 06:58

      Do u know if briscoes does price beat for costco if we show them costco promotion?

      • wowbigdeal on 29/05/2024 - 07:52

        They don't price promise with this one as Briscoes don't stock this model. I think this is a Costco exclusive (different milk jug).

        • offroad on 29/05/2024 - 08:33

          I see, its bes875 instead of bes870

          • spam on 29/05/2024 - 09:58

            @offroad: Yeah sorry, just looked. @wowbigdeal is right, Briscoes has got different model and I can't find BES875 anywhere else.

  • offroad on 30/05/2024 - 18:32

    Hey guys, how long does 1kg warehouse coffee beans bag last (2cups coffee a day)??

    • wowbigdeal on 30/05/2024 - 19:13
      +1

      A 1kg bag should last 2-3 weeks with two coffees a day. It's rumoured on cheapies that The Warehouse beans are roasted by Wellington based Havana.

      • airbourne20 on 30/05/2024 - 19:17
        +1

        Store them in a dark/cool place or freezer.and only take out what you need for one dose at a time.

    • Everettpsycho on 30/05/2024 - 20:03
      +1

      Can work it out pretty easily.

      If you use about 8g per shot that's 125 shots.

      So at two a day it's 62.5 coffees.

      If your a double shot coffee drinker you'd get 31.25 daya

      • offroad on 31/05/2024 - 00:13

        Makes sense, thanks. The normal medium latte that we buy at cafe, is that a single shot or double?

        • wowbigdeal on 31/05/2024 - 00:19

          Often a single shot nowadays. In most cases you have to ask for a double and pay extra for it.

        • FiveFeetUnder on 31/05/2024 - 08:57

          Most mediums will be double shots. Some places do doubles on everything, others give single shots for smalls. It depends.

          • offroad on 31/05/2024 - 09:27

            @FiveFeetUnder: hmmm, makes sense, I will check with my local cafe what they do and then decide but I can already see by buying espresso on the long run I will be savings $ compared to Nespresso where I buy a 10 capsules sleeve for almost $10.

            • wowbigdeal on 31/05/2024 - 09:47
              +1

              @offroad: I only ever order a small coffee, so mark sense about larger having a double shot.

            • Everettpsycho on 31/05/2024 - 20:20
              +1

              @offroad: I'd say just try it, make a single and if it's weak make a double. Part of the coffee game owning a machine is to meeting and fiddling until you find what you like from a coffee. It never ends as we tend to change beans regularly depending on what's on sale.

  • offroad on 31/05/2024 - 00:15

    So this means on long run espresso works out much much cheaper than nespresso capsules

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join