[SIC PLS] Coffee Thread II - Recommend best option for *BEAN-TO-CUP* coffee machine

[joesph]

https://www.harveynorman.com.sg/promotions/coffee-extravaganza.html


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[CCCustom]

The things with beans ... especially arabica beans, you need to consume it fresh.. The best timing to espresso it is 10 day from the roasted date and finish within 2 weeks. U will realise this is the freshest period with healthy looking crema.

Once open, try to consume the coffee in a week or so to ensure its freshness.

starbucks
% arabica
ralph lauren
tasogare

Use only fresh roast beans

With those local boutique roasters the emphasis is on how fresh, the roast date … but how about retail brands e.g. Starbucks, Lavazza, etc? What is the typical roast date like when you buy 1 of these?

 

[WhItERaT]

With those local boutique roasters the emphasis is on how fresh, the roast date … but how about retail brands e.g. Starbucks, Lavazza, etc? What is the typical roast date like when you buy 1 of these?

moi see expiry date

 

[joesph]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonath...n-hot-streak-from-selling-premium-coffee-tea/

 

[joesph]

 

[joesph]

 

[CCCustom]

More important question is you need to know your taste profile. Do you enjoy light / dark/medium brew? Do you like the light fruity type? the strong bold chocolatey/ nutty type? What may appeal to someone may not necessary suit you.

As to how much beans to buy, it also depends on your consumption. How many cups a day? How many drinkers? As a rough gauge, 1 shot of coffee is around 10grams. so a 250g bag would give you around 25 shots. Once open, try to consume the coffee in a week or so to ensure its freshness.

Usually I load 1-2 shots each time. so that my beans do not sit in the machine and be exposed to air that much. the rest of my beans, i would keep sealed up in a air tight container.

So my machine arrived. Will GPGT when I have firmed where its final position will be (the whole idea of looking for 1 with small footprint was because of the lack of worktop real estate, after all) …

I still haven’t bought beans though … doing a lot of reading and watching Youtube videos … it looks like 1 of the managing expectations things about getting a bean to cup is that, you need to avoid getting dark roasts, because dark roasts tend to be oily beans and bean oil will clog up the grinder over time, and while you can get away with it using oily beans on a standalone grinder or semi-automatic or espresso machine where the grinder can be accessed and taken out to clean, a bean to cup’s grinder is usually difficult to access or not possible to access without actually fully or at least near to fully dismantling your machine. So the general recommendation is, to stick to medium roasts for bean to cup.

Starbucks’ Espresso Roast for example, is a dark roast … anything with the word “French“ or “Italian” is also most probably a dark roast

 

[joesph]

 

[joesph]

 

[mcylo]

Ah Sia Kia coffee maker

 

[j4jersey.]

Am using De’Longhi 35.31 and Kin grinder K6 for about a year

The thing is you get itchy fingers to upgrade your setup lol

The espresso you get from using a good grinder and freshly roasted bean is unlike what you will drink at coffee chains.

From initially using arcaffe beans to now I only use local roasted beans

 

[menthol28]

I'm been using Nespresso for more than 10 yrs, now thinking of trying out bean to cup coffee.
For basic espresso machines with or without grinder, breville or delonghi is better?
A few I've shortlisted is breville barista express 870 and breville 840.
Delonghi EC 230 and EC9155
Which is more flexible in using 3rd party accessories and ease of use
Or any brands $1000 and below

 

[Darknights]

I'm been using Nespresso for more than 10 yrs, now thinking of trying out bean to cup coffee.
For basic espresso machines with or without grinder, breville or delonghi is better?
A few I've shortlisted is breville barista express 870 and breville 840.
Delonghi EC 230 and EC9155
Which is more flexible in using 3rd party accessories and ease of use
Or any brands $1000 and below

maybe consider 2nd hand espresso machine if that's the case?
anything that's with a E61 group head as a minimum should be good enough.
i remember selling off my expobar for 600 bucks.

for grinder wise, a DF54 should be a really good start.

 

[menthol28]

maybe consider 2nd hand espresso machine if that's the case?
anything that's with a E61 group head as a minimum should be good enough.
i remember selling off my expobar for 600 bucks.

for grinder wise, a DF54 should be a really good start.

What's a E61 group head?

 

[Darknights]

What's a E61 group head?

it's basically the assembly that holds your portafilter..
E61 group head is a pretty common group head used in espresso machines https://comisocoffee.com/blogs/blog/what-is-the-e61-grouphead
i think any machine that is using this group head will be able to produce pretty good espresso, and you can be certain of that.

 

[deokiejisoo]

I'm been using Nespresso for more than 10 yrs, now thinking of trying out bean to cup coffee.
For basic espresso machines with or without grinder, breville or delonghi is better?
A few I've shortlisted is breville barista express 870 and breville 840.
Delonghi EC 230 and EC9155
Which is more flexible in using 3rd party accessories and ease of use
Or any brands $1000 and below

Sad thing is if you want a decent espresso set up, it has to be for me at the very least a df64 or at least 1zpresso hand grinder and a gaggia. I won't even recommend a eureka specialita. Once you decide this is for you then you can upgrade to a lelit and maybe a niche or modified df64 with different burrs.

Not being a coffee snob but I learnt the hard way that something like the 870 or a jura isn't comparable to a grinder + machine setup.

For beans it's a whole different world out there. For locals there's tons like round boy etc but my favourite is cowpresso. I usually try beans overseas, like small lots in Vietnam etc.

 

[testerjp]

Get a second hand heat exchanger better than those breville delonghi domestic machines using thermobloc

 

[CCCustom]

moi using this

yes, if TS needs the smallest possible footprint, this is it.

I got mine at $729 on Amazon during Prime Day. Model number is BCC02.

I kinda forgot about this thread …

Anyways … my machine:

Looks kinda like the Smeg don’t it? That’s because they are the same OEM In fact, several brands in Europe have the exact same internals and have interchangeable spare parts e.g. the grinder and the brew group. Google for Tchibo and Simplissima for others from the same OEM … all look similar, outside aesthetic differences, but same form factor and internally all are the same machine.

Some people claimed Beko is the OEM … they are the only brand that even has an “Eco” version where the body is made (I assume partially) from used coffee grounds … there are also others who say it is made by Grundig because spare parts dealers call these “original Grundig parts” … anyways, small footprint + more importantly the price, made the decision for me.

All in I paid S$260 or so including shipping to S’pore But mine was a clearance item missing the drip tray in front though … so there’s that

 

[menthol28]

Get a second hand heat exchanger better than those breville delonghi domestic machines using thermobloc

What brand I should be looking for?

 

[menthol28]

I think probably I will start with breville barista express 870 to try if I can really go thru with all the inconvenience of making a fresh cuppa espresso or will go back to Nespresso machine. If I can tahan all the hassle and like coffee making then upgrade to a better equipment.
Btw I realised that a weighing scale is very important, what brands do U guys recommend or just get any cheap scales from AliExpress?