I’ve been pretty happy with my home setup for a while. I have progressed from the Sage Barista Express to the Sage Oracle and never had any issues at all. I recently bought a hand grinder for when I have a speciality blend or am on the road and so purchased a KinGrinder K6. I have found that it is actually a lot better than the grinder built into the Sage.
I am now looking at upgrading to a separate grinder and maybe swapping to a more manual Espresso machine also.
I have looked at Niche and Eureka as well as the Df83 grinders but honestly am a little lost. I only drink Espresso based drinks and am UK based.
I have also looked at the La Pavoni and Eureka machines for Espresso.
Just really looking for some guidance. I have an independent coffee roaster that I get my beans from and like a darker roast and am happy with what I get. I very rarely change blends or if I do I switch between one or two blends.
For a slightly more manual espresso maker, I’ve had my Elektra Micro Casa a Leva for nearly 20 years now, and will probably never replace it. It’s simple enough that, of anything goes wrong, you can fix it yourself. It’s a beautiful machine, and the steamer is peerless. The boiler is capable of continuous operation of pulling shots and steaming, limited only by the amount of water in the boiler, which is fairly large. It heats in a few (5?) minutes.
It’s solidly made. The entire machine is brass and steel, with only the gaskets and the drip tray being non-metal. Oh, the lever handle grip is plastic(?), as is the grip of the portafilter it comes with; but the first thing I did was replace the portafilter with a naked portafilter with a wood handle, and I’ll eventually replace the lever handle with wood - it just screws off. It will certainly outlive me. My niece has her eye on it, when I die, and I don’t doubt it’ll last for her as well. I’ve replaced the heating element once, at its 20th anniversary, and the gaskets every year or two. There’s really nothing else to wear out.
Looks like they’re running a bit more expensive now; I paid closer to $1000 new when I got mine. The current price is a bit shocking; maybe they’re less in Europe, since they are made in Italy.
The downsides to the machine are first that the portafilter is smaller (49mm), while the standard in the US is 52(?); it makes for fewer accessory options. Second, if you do run low on water, you have to completely depressurize the boiler to add more water. There’s no reservoir. It’s literally a tank with a heating element that you fill and seal, and then pull either hot water or steam out of. So if you need to fill it, you turn it off, open the steamer, and wait until the pressure drops. It’s an inconvenience I only ever encountered when we have a house full of guests, but it is then an inconvenience.
So, aside from the eye-watering current price, it’s a fantastic machine.
Ah nice. Thanks. I did look at a similar one. I don’t mind the traditional styling. I do however have to think of my wife who loves the oracle because it is zero hassle for her. So I maybe have to go somewhere in between where if she does miss the water empty more something it isn’t a massive deal. I also thought about just getting the grinder first as then if she feels confident to do her grind and tamp herself it’s fine but if not she can continue to use the standard grinder.
She was fine with the express where she had to do everything but I think something with more of a quirk like that might be a step too far possibly.
Oh, yeah. The a Leva of not a good option. It’s not quite as manual as pulling shots fully manually - the lever has a big spring that controls the actual pressure, but you have to charge the lever, and the common complaint in reviews on RoastMaster (back in the day) was that it requires upper body strength, and many women found it hard to work.
There’s nothing automatic about it.
Have you considered the DF54? It’s getting quite good reviews, and the price is reasonable.