To ask for recommendations for a good espresso machine

[LuckySantangelo35]

Hello, looking to get an a machine that produces good espresso with a good crema that is really simple to use (i.e one touch of a button) that is small and compact and also quite cool and stylish to look at. Any recommendations?? Thanks so much 😀

Have a look at the Sage Bambino (costs around £280) or if you’re willing to pay a little more, you can’t go wrong with a Gaggia Classico.

Agree with PP - Sage Bambino Plus all the way! Had mine a few years and still really pleased with it.

I’ve heard the sage bambino is really good but it’s more than I wanted to pay… was hoping for something £100 or cheaper

When you say one touch, do you mean you want bean to cup? Or are you OK with filling up with ground coffee each time? Or do you want to use (ew) pods?

@FrodoBiggins

basically whatever is the simplest easy option! I’ve heard the pods are quick and easy but don’t make good espresso?

Pods are OK tbf just create a lot of waste and you're tied to one brand (or compatible shapes).

I have a DeLonghi Delica which look a bit like the Sage one you said you liked above. Actually I have one at home and one at work! They're very slim but make good coffee. They about £179 new, cheaper on Black Friday etc, but I got mine refurbished on Ebay for about £90.

@FrodoBiggins

thank you! Do you know of any cheaper alternatives?

Jura

I have the delonghi dedica as well and I really like it. It’s 8 years old and still going strong.

I have a Sage but the best crema on an espresso was from my old Delonghi Icona. This looks like their latest versions and is under £100. https://amzn.eu/d/1BrSTXM

The one linked above looks good. Tbh I wouldn't get a cheap imitation cos they are lighter and break easily. I would get a cheap DeLonghi or Sage, even if you have to get a second hand refurbed one, it'll probably still last you longer.

Sage

@Iamthemoom

thanks so much!

Have a look at the Delonghi stilosa EC230 for under £100. It's slightly different to the EC260

Are these machines easy to clean? Never had one before!

Yeah you just wipe the bits which get coffee on / run under a tap. Similar effort to cleaning a microwave I guess (not that I have ever cleaned mine lol).

Then you have to descale them once in a blue moon but that's just putting a sachet on and choosing the descale setting. Again, my partner does that but he never seems to exhausted after 😂

I was about to hop on and sing the praises of our Sage barista machine, but then saw you’re after something one touch. We had a Nespresso Pixie for absolutely years. Served us well, ultra easy and convenient. Cheaper than a bean to cup machine, and simpler than our new Sage with an integrated grinder. Also didn’t take up much counter space.

Now that you can get nespresso compatible pods, and compostable ones too (or kerbside recycling depending on where you live), I think a pod machine isn’t a bad choice for the convenience.

Have fun, whatever you decide on!

I have the Nescafé Dolce Gusto by Delonghi, def wasn’t any more than 100 , I think 80 , I have it a good few years & it makes lovely coffee with a nice crem on top ..

You need to decide which is more important to you - good espresso or convenience. You won’t get good espresso using a pod machine but you will get cheap and convenient. For decent espresso, you’ll need to put a little (but not loads) more effort in and it would be worth the investment to buy a better quality machine (so a refurbished Sage or Gaggia or similar) as the quality of coffee is much better and the machine will last longer. With coffee machines, you tend to get what you pay for. But if you’re happy with the taste of pod coffee (and these vary with Nespresso being better and Tassimo being bloody awful), this will be the easiest, cheapest, smallest and more convenient option for you. Not great for the environment and doesn’t taste in the same league as proper espresso but it depends what is most important to you.

Has anyone ever tried a Tassimo Finesse?

@HundredMilesAnHour

sorry just seen your post now! Tassimo not good then

@LuckySantangelo35 Only if you like the taste of bitter mud. 😫

At the budget end of the market, Dolce Gusto is better than Tassimo.

But you mentioned in your first post that you wanted “good espresso with a good crema”. For good espresso you need to avoid pod machines.

The compromise might be getting a very cheap espresso machine (like the Delonghi a poster suggested earlier) and using ESE ‘pods’ (the ‘pods’ are actually paper. They taste much better than Nespresso etc (I recommend the Illy ESE ones) but save you any mess like you get with ground coffee. ESE stands for Easy Serve Espresso.

Or if you could push your budget to £179, you could get one of these basic Gaggia espresso machines (and use ESE pods with it):

https://www.gaggiadirect.com/espresso-range.html?store-page=Gaggia-Espresso-Style-Lava-Red-EG2111-03-p594188555

This is direct from the UK distributor and has a 5 year parts warranty. I bought my first ever Gaggia from them many years ago and they’re lovely people (who will do video calls with you if you need any support).

Edit: I was just checking their website as they used to sell refurbished machines sometimes but they’re not showing any at present.