Coffee machine

[PinkDaydreams]

Hello!
I have Googled and am completely baffled! Husband is after a coffee machine for a morning espresso, occasionally a latte and/or iced coffee.

Something simple to use, easy to clean and won't take up too much space on the worktop.
We had a pod machine years ago and didn't rate it at all.
Thank you kindly!

Oh he's just told me espresso machine only 🙄 not bothered about lattes and iced coffees.

Bump!

The best espresso comes from a stove-top pot in my opinion.

You can get some really stylish ones and it doesn't take up much room

I've got a sage creatista uno. Takes standard Nespresso pods and
Makes a lovely latte.

Just espresso? Then I would go with a stove top which is what we had before we moved onto bean to cup. We did bean to cup for cappuccinos etc so wanted the milk carafe.

Thank you, I'll have a nosey at the stove tops then, I've honestly no clue about them! Any particular brand?
@Toddlerteaplease I've been put off a pod machine after the last one we had, thank you for the recommendation though :)

Sorry yes just espresso

Italian household member here from a family who drink only espresso! We use a Bialetti Moka (stove top) or a Delonghi Dedica, both are used several times a day.

I have a Sage Bambino Plus and love it. It’s a small machine, but feature rich for its size and price point. It’s simple to use, will steam milk excellently automatically and can adapt to either freshly ground or pre-ground coffee depending on the baskets used.

It’s worth considering that it doesn’t come with an integrated grinder, so if you want to grind beans yourself then you’ll need to invest more money into an espresso capable grinder. Also worth noting, the Sage machines are designed differently to machines like the Gaggia ones, where modding and tinkering is common. Sage machines are designed so that you use them as they come. Suits me, but not for everyone.

Thank you! I'll take a look at those as well 🙂 you've all been so helpful.
He doesn't want a stove top, to be honest he loves electrical gadgets so I think he thinks that it must be electric to work efficiently 😂

Moka pot and Lidl milk foamer gadget. Amazing coffee every time!

I'd suggest he rethinks this. We had friends to stay and they both commented on how much better our coffee was than anyone else's (and we only use a ready-ground Jackson's coffee)

I have an aero press and it makes great expresso coffee. Easy to use and takes up hardly any space. Its really easy to clean as well.

Another vote for Delonghi coffee machines (endorsed by Italian SiL)

Ours is also a DeLonghi and wouldn’t be without it. Makes a perfect espresso.

If you want to go over the top, the La Pavoni lever machine makes brilliant espresso, lasts for ever (mine is nearly 30) and is the best looking coffee machine in the world.

I know a bit late to this thread but I did loads of coffee experimenting and research in lockdown as was craving a good coffee. The journey went as follows:

First got a grinder then

1. stove top mokka pot and watched James Hoffman’s YouTube video on method for closest to espresso as possible. It was ok but not quite there.
2. aeropress - one stage better than mokka pot - possible to get smoother coffee and I still use this if travelling with a hand grinder and at work but still wanted the smooth chocolate coffee I got from my local coffee shop and this still isn’t there.

Then got a better grinder (niche zero) capable of true espresso grind and decided to get an espresso machine - narrowed it down to

1. sage bambino and
2. second hand rancillo Silvia -
3. the bambino uses a higher pressure than used for classic espresso as it’s designed to be able to use with pre ground coffee but you can alter the pressure to the standard 9 bar for espresso and get a basket for it to use if you want to experiment with grinding your own from local roasters and freshly roasted coffee beans.
4. the rancillo is capable of making fantastic espresso and it’s a solid machine which will last forever but it has no temperature gauge so you have to do something called temperature surfing to have a control on the temperature when you pull a shot through it.

I went for the rancillio and did get the most amazing espresso from it. I like the Square Mile Red Brick beans although have tried a few local roasters for freshly roasted beans. It involves soooooooo much time though that now we’re out of lock down I only use it at the weekend.

I have wondered if the bambino might have been the best compromise on quality and convenience.

you can alter the pressure to the standard 9 bar for espresso and get a basket for it to use if you want to experiment with grinding your own from local roasters and freshly roasted coffee beans.

Just a few notes on the Sage machines. You can’t alter the pressure on either the Bambino or the Bambino Plus, but the machine is set at 15 bars pressure with a 9 bar over-pressure valve (in comparison to cheaper machine which have 15 bars pressure with no valve so the espresso is brewed at higher pressure). You really can’t tinker with much on any Sage machine, outside of the settings covered in the manual. For me that’s not a downside, but many people love tinkering and modding so would find the machine limiting.

Not sure where you are in the world, as it varies, but in the UK the Bambino and Bambino Plus come with both dual and single wall baskets as standard as in the UK (I believe they don’t as standard the US), so everything you need is included in purchase. Personally I don’t find it takes much longer to make espresso with single wall baskets than dual wall with the Bambino Plus. I’ve never timed either process start to end, but I don’t feel like it takes much longer than a pour over.