NobbyR Senior Member Joined: 10 Jul 2011 Posts: 1,611 Location: Germany Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Poccino Opus One, Ariete Grinder: Eureka Mignon Istantaneo,... Vac Pot: N/A Drip: Melitta Linea Unica de Luxe Roaster: N/A
Posted Wed Sep 5, 2012, 6:56am Subject: Re: New to the forum, looking for my first machine, advice needed!
Some HX machines you might care to take a look at include the Nuova Simonelli Oscar, the Isomac Tea, the Bezzera BZ07 or the La Nuova Era Cuadra. None of those machines fits your budget when new, but you might get lucky looking for a used model.
Besides, I still think the QuickMill Cassiopeia would work fine for you.
*** "This drink of the Satan is so delicious that it would be a shame to leave it to the infidels." (Pope Clement VIII on coffee)
qualin Senior Member Joined: 30 Jun 2012 Posts: 464 Location: Calgary, AB Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto 3 Grinder: Mazzer Mini Elect. Type A Vac Pot: Looking to buy Drip: Manual Roaster: Considering?
Posted Thu Sep 6, 2012, 12:06am Subject: Re: New to the forum, looking for my first machine, advice needed!
IMHO, The Rancilio Silvia still presents good value if you can find it used.
One of the things that impressed me the most about the Silvia is the amount of commercial grade components you'll find on it. Namely, the brew group looks identical to an Epoca, which is their light commercial machine. The switches are of a high quality and the all stainless steel construction really shows that it has some quality.
What I don't like about it is the shallow drip tray, lack of a water level indicator, no low-water shut off (You can hear the pump change tone though.) and it can be a little tedious to have to wait for it to get up to steaming temperature to make a milk drink, then one has to cool it down so they can brew with it. Not to mention the problem of having to temperature surf to get consistent shots. (Not really a problem if you drink lots of milk drinks.)
My wife doesn't like coffee, so I only make about 2 drinks a day with it, which is perfect for a machine like that. When company is over though, making a few drinks can end up becoming a time consuming process. They'll finish their drinks before you can start yours. I personally hate that.
I've grown fond of my Silvia, but there are some aspects about it that already have me hankering for upgradeitis. (They warned me, I listened and I jumped on a good deal, what can I say.) My friends think I'm nuts for wanting more, but I guess I'm just finicky that way.
Of course, I'm speaking from personal experience here. Here in Canada, the big runner up are the Lelit machines, which really give Rancilio a run for their money in this price market. Their machines are a better value and have a few features that the Silvia doesn't have. (Like a pressure gauge and the upper end ones have built in PID temperature control.) I don't know if they sell them in the UK though, but you'll know what I mean if you look them up.
It all really comes down to a few different things. You do get what you pay for. A lot of coffee boutique shops usually offer good deals on an espresso machine/grinder combinations. Sometimes they pick a combination that just goes together really well.
I guess now that I think about it, something like the Silvia would be one of the very few things you'll find on the market that doesn't have any electronics in it, whatsoever. It's completely electromechanical. That could be a good or bad thing, depending on your point of view.
skookumjo Senior Member Joined: 14 Mar 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Switzerland Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Baristar HX-E61 rotory pump Grinder: Mazzer Mini E-B,Baratza...
Posted Mon Sep 17, 2012, 3:07am Subject: Re: New to the forum, looking for my first machine, advice needed!
hello Scubadoo I too have been looking for information on the new Fracino Piccino, it's very new, ther's not much out there. the machine however looks very interesting, this morning i found an interesting thread from the UK, here it is cheers daniel
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 