@@yazcarloman3327 Are you kidding? You know people like this know their coffee inside out right? He'd nail it. This isn't a beer test or even whisky. Knowing what to look for in espresso and being experienced means you could easily pick good ones.
@@yazcarloman3327 Blind testing kills a lot of hobbies, yes. If it's something like a gaggia cc and a hand grinder for 300$ vs. a 2000$ machine + 800$ grinder things could get very interesting. especially if oneself had to prepare and taste the espresso.
Well regarding the price level....good luck ! You'll be better served with a mocha express ;) or crowdfunded maybe but otherwise it's a tough price line if you wanna stay profitable and competitive
i could imagine you could make a cheap machine that could consistently do one fixed temperature, pressure & pour time for some nominal coffee grind and dose. so if james set up a machine that worked well on some specific load, he could release it with the warning that IF you work around the machine's limitations, it WILL make good coffee if you experiment enough with bean, grind, dose & tamp. although james requires a flexible machine that will get the best out of a wide range of inputs, i think most people would be happy with a machine that, eventually, produces the same good coffee indefinitely
What I've learned from picking up a handful of hobbies and becoming a bit of a nerd in each, is that the amount of knowledge and equipment that you need for a hobby is just as much as it takes you to enjoy it. For some people, that might mean investing thousands, and seeking perfection in every aspect, but for others, it might be a cheap machine that doesn't get up to 10 bar pressure and pre-ground coffee from the Dollar General. Point being, if you like the coffee you make, and you have fun doing it, then you're doing it right.
@@CrunchyTire everything is subjective. Say you were on an island with 20 people and those 20 people really enjoyed drinking piss. You prefer pineapple juice but they think that's disgusting and piss is the only drink that's really good. Are they right?
@@mountaindew267 Interesting comment, weird example but I get where you are going with it. I don't happen to think everything is subjective. I think there are somethings that can be measured as good or bad right or wrong. But the fact of the matter is everyone can't afford a $2000 professional machine or maybe they can afford it but do not want to invest that kind of money on a machine. If comparing head to head a professional machine with anyone of these machines the professional machine wins hands down but that doesn't mean people can't enjoy using a cheaper machine.
I feel like this is one of those things where you need to spend quite a bit to get to the point where it's really enjoyable and not just a gimmick that ends up unused on a shelf. I've had a cheap espresso machine and preground coffee / a terrible blade grinder... it wasn't fun and I gave it away. I'm not saying that anyone is wrong for enjoying messing about with a cheap and nasty setup... but I didn't, and I suspect they could get more fun and nicer espresso-adjacent coffee spending the same money on a burr grinder and a moka pot (and maybe some way to foam milk for a little latte type drink, but that could be an £8 French press from the supermarket). That's certainly been my experience, and there's a good reason why the moka pot is the standard way of making coffee in italian households - they're delightful, and although what you get out isn't quite espresso, it scratches the same itch.
@@CrunchyTire If people like it, it's good for them and that's all that matters. If someone likes the taste of McDonalds, that means the taste is good for them. There is no general "good" or "bad" in taste. There is only "they like it" or "they don't like it".
If James does do this I can recommend the Sunbeam Barista Max expresso machine. Got it during lockdown, while my son, who is a barista, was at home with me. Paid $420NZD, about 210 uk, and he thought it pulled really decent shots and frothed milk well for a home machine. When I told him the price afterwards he was stunned. You have to grind a little coarse (somewhere between 18-20 on the machines grind settings) but I always get a nice sweet shot with good flavour. Dunno if it is available in the uk though
It would be great to see this "series" continued and see which espresso machine gets your stamp of approval for a price that does not completely break the bank
That was my thought. In my opinion, none of these machines should have existed, since they are not even worthwhile. Buying a drip coffee maker instead would arguably be a better decision. Although to be fair, it seemed like it may not be possible to be done by any manufacturer, considering the price point. The standard just need to be higher up. I would say $250-400 is going to be a more appropriate price range for budget options. All of these are just waste of money. 7:43 James statement here pretty much summarizes it, except for me it applies to every appliances discussed here. Edit: I watched his other video, same topic but the under $500. Now those are real options.
"If you can get the Sage duo temp pro at a good price it’s definitely worth it. James endorses that model" - I can vouch for this. The older staple 'minimum' machines are: - Gaggia Classic (but apparently after Philips take over they made the solenoid smaller, making it more prone for scale build up/blocking). You can get older ones second hand, but requires more research. - Rancillio Silvia - Same quality as the old Gaggia Classic, but bigger boiler but more expensive. But the new Sages are new in town (in comparison) and have done great. I have heard very good things, and James Hoffman does rave about them. If I recommend to my friends, I would opt for the Sage Due Temp Pro as a 'buy it and you'll be happy'. Or a second hand 'Gaggia Classic' or 'Rancilliio Silvia' and learn to clean/use/service it properly if you want to do it on the cheap, but this level of commitment isn't for everyone. Or wait for a new video :) I'm sure it will surface soon.
@@livingart2576 , I had the Breville Barista Express (appears to be similar to that model but with the grinder etc). I'd say that's the bare minimum. However, I upgraded to a Breville "Dynamic Duo" (Dual Boiler and Smart Grinder combo), and I'd never go back. It has a full size group handle, adequate steam pressure, turns itself on in the morning, has the ability to steam and extract at the same time etc. Making a coffee is now a 5mins exercise instead of a 15min exercise, and it's been a daily workhorse for >3yrs now. Easily worth the AUD1100 compared to buying a daily coffee (365days*3yrs*$4.50=$4927!)
Not James but got some decent recommendations since I've been where you've been. Some options would be the gaggia classic ,rancillio Silvia, sage/breville higher end stuff works well but my favourites are the entry level lelits preferably with a pid. I got seriously the best budget extractions at 6 bars using a lelit pl41tem with a baratza sette 280 compared to other machines, but that's just one case
Play with a more expensive machine and you'll realise why the cheap ones are junk. Flimsy, small group handles with smaller diameter basket, junk tampers, single hole weak steam wands that take ages to heat up, and just a chore to use instead of an enjoyable experience.
A week ago I was unaware of James. A week ago I was thinking I being cool with one of those (In comparison to those who drink instant coffee) A week ago I was still thinking: " I know something about coffee". A week ago my life was much easier as I was ignorant about all of this science behind coffee. A week ago I was also richer because I didn't feel the need to buy a coffee Crushgrind and was happy to do that with blades. A week ago UA-cam suggested me to watch a video about a guy who is buying coffee stuff from IKEA...🤦🏽♂️ A week later: Watching 10 of his videos a day till 3am. Thanks James for making my life more difficult but more knowledgeable about something I was in fact ignorant about.
I'm hearing ya, I've been watching his videos for an hour and am considering spending hundreds on a coffee machine.....I don't even drink coffee, I prefer tea. Definatley addictive
@@garyhost1830 Don't start watching Bit Tech then or you will also be looking into buying a CNC machine and making high end Gaming PCs when you don't even play computer games ! Also avoid people making tables with epoxy resin !
I found the DeLonghi machine in this vid at a thrift store for AU$5... and for that it makes great AU$5 coffee. I grind my beans in a kitchen blender, it's a beastly little machine and only used for coffee.. 8 seconds for a fine grind for the Delonghi, 5 seconds for a coarser grind for the plunger. Yes, I am a heathen lol
Am I the only person seeing James so disappointed and stressed by testing these machines? I really enjoyed it James. Nicely done and I want to thank the patrons as well 😅
some of you may be wondering what he meant by "PID controlled." Well basically the temperature of the water has a sensor which talks to a computer, the way PID control works is if the temperature gets too low, you need to add more heat to get it back to the right temp, and if it gets too high you have to remove heat, but then you get iunto a back and forth where the temperature is always dipping and rising trying to catch up. the way pid works is it uses the area under the curve to calculate the error from the desired temperature, and it also takes the derivative to calculate how fast the error is changing, that way it can correct the error and find the "sweet spot" without having lots of temperature fluctuation.
@@ho0dedguy09 good for you but I personally wouldn't spend more than 200$ on a machine I just want to make home made cappuccino I don't really care how hollow the coffee is if I'm not even drink it alone. I just find this guy kind of a purist who don't respect people who doesn't have the same compulsive passion for coffe
Things I learned in this video: the reason my coffee might be tasting bad is that I simply am not preparing it right. I had no clue that things that seem like small details could affect the flavor of the coffee so much. I'm glad I know now!
I paid approx. €500 for a decent set up. Lelit PL41E with a Sage Smart Grinder Pro. It may be not the best grinder, but one of the better ones you could get for €200.
@@mjamjom4698 Agree. Researched grinders for some time; came to conclusion that Sage/Breville SGP is simply the best low cost grinder at the moment. Amazon here in Australia had it for AU$180 (111 Euros). I really didn't want to like it given all the snobbish forum comments, but honestly it's well designed and a bit of WDT (ie stirring) sorts out its main issue - clumping.
Depends if it's espresso or not. If it's pour over I'm sure it would be a 10$ pour over and a $50 hand grinder. Add a cheap scale to that and you could probably get away with like $65.
We had exactly the same DeLonghi espresso machine at the office and I can confirm it made drinkable espresso. Unfortunately, we "upgraded" to a bigger machine (as if that makes it better) that makes hot sewer water. :) And this is when my journey to discovering manual coffee started, so at least something good came out of this situation. ✨
Like already other people said: could you please do a video about a decent espresso machine around 300 £? I watch your videos now since quiet a while and i know that good a espresso machine cant cost less than 100£. But i think many of your viewers simply can't spend arround 1k (including a mill), it would be also way overpowerd for my single houshold. So jeah, i would enjoy a budget espresso machine and mill video! Thanks anyways for the good content, beside tha fact that it has turned me a bit in a espresso snob^^
Cheap machine that is ok for proper espresso is Delonghi ECP31.21 series and their variations. They come with pressurised baskets but there are non pressurised available. If you have a little bit more money and spot Sage duo temp pro on offer this is the one to buy. Nothing comes closer to that machine at that price range, smeg, and anything similar are no better than what James has shown .
I have the Sage Duo Temp Machine, comes with pressurised and unpressurised baskets for proper espresso. It's about £350 but does go up and down in price so you might be able to catch it for a good price at John Lewis. I have had it just over a year and it's great, has a proper steam wand as well so you can create micro foam for the rubbish steam wands that make airy fluffy milk.
The De'Longhi's EC152 (very similar to the machine in the video) was my first home espresso machine back when I was still a broke student. And with that, and a decent hand grinder, I made pretty good coffee in the most labour intensive way imaginable, for about two years. I pushed it to the very limits of what it's capable of, and during my time with it, it taught me an awful lot. I opened it up, serviced, tweaked, tinkered, and made perhaps a half dozen diy upgrades to it before I finally retired it. And actually, right now, with my full-size machine tragically out of service - needing expensive parts I just can't find during lockdown - I'm considering dusting off the De'Longhi again.
The swan has been rebranded by kmart in Aus/NZ and has become really popular after a couple of consumer advocacy groups rated it better than a $1000 espresso machine and a $4500 fully automatic machine. I really suspect that preground store bought coffee was used in all machines but paywall prevents me finding out
i work in tech and i am convinced they make these cheaper options bad on purpose just to sell more of their expensive ones. manufacturing and tech has advanced too much for me to believe that for over 100 bucks they cannot put multiple temp sensors and a pressure gauge and a mechanism to stop the steam spewing out .. the premium ones could be sold at 100 bucks for a profit these days .
I love watching these videos not only as a coffee freak, but also as a product designer. In all of the ‘coffee equipment’ videos James mentions so many tiny details concerning design and handy usage, that’s just amazing! :) I think every product designer should watch a couple of these, thank you James!
@@jeremychristian5409 I'm not quite sure I would call $600+ cheap! You're right about him being surprised though, and I think his continued use really shows how much he likes it
Dear mr Hoffman, I own a really cheap espresso machine. After pressing my coffee in the basket, I put a piece of round paper filter cut from a v60 coffee filter. This way, the really bad water distribution of my machine is kind of normalised and I get a solid puc, a delicious espresso and a smile. Every owner of a crappy espresso machine like these should try it. Totally worth the extra effort.
Dear George, I used your advice and seeing great results from my cheap De'longhi espresso machine. Shots are consistent and produce balanced and tasty shots. Channeling is practically gone. I honestly recommend the paper filter on top to any one having trouble getting good espresso due to flow issues. Thanks again George
I really enjoy lidl ground espresso coffee. Think it's great. I've been doing espresso at home with various (obviously) machines for 35 years and must admit there's an awful lot of wanking that goes on. I've tried lots of cheap brands of machine and really you just have to learn to work with what you've got to some degree.
Calvin Rey I do! It’s kind off weird coffee, like it’s somehow inconsistent in taste. Sometimes it’s really sour and sometimes it even tastes a little burnt, but most of the time it’s pretty decent 🤷♂️
I bought the DeLonghi twice. The first one I used for years until it broke and the second one I eventually replaced with a more time convenient method. I learned to get get okay espresso by watching videos and practice. I have always had a limited budget and I wanted to make espresso as inexpensively as I could instead of spending all my money at coffee houses. I am considering going back to this DeLonghi machine because it was an easy machine to maintain and I don't have a quality experience to compare it to so I was used to having to hold the machine while removing the filter and live with it's other cheap quirks. I bought a real tamper instead of using that weird attached one which also helped.
What I have found most interesting since watching your video is that there is more to coffee than espresso. Its a precise thing and for good drinking a V60, Mocha Pot or similar will do nicely. I dont need a £500 bit of machinery to make a nice drink.
My old Gaggia Baby was less than £100 back in 2012. Far from the best home machine but decently built with a commercial size portafilter and worked fine with non-pressurized baskets (although I think I had to buy one separately). Those were the days!
You can depressurize some of the Gaggia baskets and older DeLonghi too. The ones that have screws through the botom. Unscrew it, gut it, put it back together. Probably irreversible, though.
If I can't come up with the $2000+ that produces really excellent espresso, I'll stick with the $30 that produces really excellent drip coffee and spend the other $1970+ on good beans.
Swan Retro owner here (mine has another name, it is the same cheap asian product, which sold under various brand names). I've drilled out the pressure thingy, which leaves me with a "regular" portafilter. Its holes are pretty big, though, which makes it tough to have good pressure. This modification alone improved the espresso by a lot (given that I have a decent grinder and good coffee beans). Also a good third party tamper is pretty much needed. Overall, the espresso isn't great, but good enough and much better than one might expect at that price point.
I had a somewhat older DeLonghi, but similar in build and style to the one listed here. The best thing I can say about it was that it was an interesting way to learn about espresso. And I did have a lot to learn about the basics, and about general machine maintenance. And I even jury-rigged an unpressurized portafilter, and got some decent shots out of it. But ultimately, when my skills were a bit better, I still couldn't get reliably good results, and it was difficult to clean and maintain. I switched to Aeropress for a long while. Then recently I got the Flair on a bit of a whim, and I've really enjoyed using it. It scratches the itch of "occasional espresso" without large investments of money, counter space, or maintenance. That's all to say that I tried, for a long time, to be content with a machine in this price range, but ultimately I recommend against it. I've also started recommending against home espresso in general, unless you're already pretty familiar with coffee and cheaper brewing methods. To make concentrated coffee, I think most people would be much better served by an Aeropress or a moka pot.
I agree 100% with the last suggestion of just getting an aeropress of moka pot. The price/value ratio is going to be leagues higher than any espresso machine. I love really strong concentrated coffee, and so I use my moka pot basically every day. If I want real espresso I can just go to an amazing café in my city and get an espresso that will 100% be better than anything I could get at home without pouring so much money and effort into
So glad your channel exists. I started out wanting to get an espresso machine to make myself some lattes at home. That led me down a rabbit hole and learning I can't make espresso for under 500 bucks. That then led me to your channel where I've learned a ton. So, Thank you.
There's a LARGE community that hacks the DeLonghi - depressurize the basket, add pressure meters, change out the steam wand for one that can actually do things. I'd love to see your take on modifying the machine.
Thank you for the lesson, rather enjoyable, since I found myself confronted with the same question about two years ago. I did some research and went with a Gaggia Baby from the early nineties for 80 Euros. These are identical on the inside with the Gaggia Classic of the same time, but go for about half the price. There is no use pretending I know a lot about espresso, but I really like what I get from it and so do others, so much so, that my girlfriend who used to work as a barista got one for the same amount just a few month later and her friend, after drinking espresso at her place, bought one for herself as well. My point being, everybody I know who owns one, including myself, enjoys using it and the resulting espresso from it. I also bought a Gaggia MDF grinder for about the same amount. Also, if you want to, still every single part of the machine is available as a spare and the internet offers plenty of advice on fixing them. I like the idea of something lasting for a while and repairing instead of replacing. The Gaggia is already sought after, but prices for working units still seem decent, might go up though if more people pick up on them. Anyway, I appreciate the content, entertainment and knowledge you provide, please keep up the good work.
Could always go manual! A ROK or a Cafelat Robot paired with a Comandante C40 or Kinu M47 Phoenix can make excellent espresso if you have the patience!
@@danlarwood4068 gotcha. Mr. Ruck is in Japan, so there may be better options there for the price. I see people selling used ROK or Robots with some regularity around $150 in USA, and used premium hand grinders (picked up a Lido E myself) in the $150 range. EDIT: definitely should have specified "used" on my end!
As an experiment I've been trying to get a decent coffee out of my old Dualit Espressivo (~£160 a few years ago) because I wondered the same thing. So I replaced the pressurised basket with a DeLonghi single-wall basket and bought a nicer tamper. The cheap DeLonghi grinder I used to use (~£40) wasn't up to the task of grinding for espresso. So I dialed in some tasty Square Mile beans on my Barista Express, then ground extra and extracted with the Dualit. It was less consistent, and didn't taste quite as good as with the BE, but it was absolutely better after a couple of tries than anything I used to make with it using a cheap grinder. Certainly good enough to make a half-decent cafe latte that tastes better than anything from Costa. I won't trade in my BE but at least the Dualit would work as a backup in an emergency. Thanks James.
Me before watching the video and recently got a delonghi espresso machine: nervously sweating edit: I'm glad the best one out of these was delonghi, I dont actually have that exact model and mine was a bit more expensive as a beginner to coffee I enjoy my first machine lol
@@_leoniden Dedica 685 here. Bought a naked 51mm portafilter and plain 18g basket from alibaba for about £25 and a better tamper off amazon for about a tenner I think. After a bit of grinder hacking to get good consistent fine grounds I can pull consistently good shots. After reading this - hackaday.io/project/162176-open-source-espresso-machine/log/157592-temperature-stability-in-the-delonghi-dedica-style-ec685m and doing my own experiments with a thermometer I also found that thermal stability was better after running two shots through with an empty basket first. I've got it set on the "high" temp setting and my brew temp is about 90c. I don't let the double shot button run all the way but instead use a small scale and stop at the yield I want. Next step is some water chemistry because Bristol has mega hard water and although my v60 experiments with bottled water (tesco ashbeck as recommended by David at extract coffee) were good it's not sustainable.
@@_leoniden I owned a Dedica 685 for a while, and was getting very nice shots using a good grinder (Kinu M47 Phönix), after refitted it with a regular basket. It only lasted about 4 weeks though, until the motor could not get up to pressure any more, and I sent it back. I'm now a very happy owner of a Cafelat robot....That could be one of the cheaper options for good espresso at home....:-)
I use a EC850. It is pretty neat machine. Though I mostly drink french press at home , as my hand grinder is too slow with fine grind, and it lot more cost efficient than Espresso.
I have a similar machine, a Krups Il Primo circa 1994 with a “Made in Switzerland” stamp on the bottom. It’s true that every coffee puck has a blast mark from the water, but I’ve been using this for decades and I enjoy my cappuccinos far more at home than at most high-end coffee shops, which to me taste bitter and acidic. Maybe I’m a coffee wimp but to me it should taste bold, rich and full-bodied and not have me needing to add sugar to compensate for bitterness. With the exception of a few fine Portuguese restaurants, it seems no matter where I buy coffee from out, I need to temper it with sugar. Krups of course doesn’t make machines under $150 in Switzerland anymore, but maybe that is the secret in my case. Heck I don’t trust myself with a grinder so I have a subscription for Lavazza Qualita Rossa which I’ve enjoyed for ages now. To each his own I suppose! Thanks for your video, it was entertaining and educational. I don’t know how many more years I will get from my 27 year old machine so I will keep the deLonghi in mind... :D
My home setup right now is a delonghi ec702 I got used for $35, a better tamper and a distributor, around $30 or $40, and an unpressurized basket for $15. I also cut the bottom off the portafilter. All in all I think it pulls decent enough shots for a little under $100 and it was fun assembling all the little accessories and diving into the hobby! I've pulled some horrendous shots learning how to dial in the grind settings and ratios I want, but I've also pulled some very tasty shots. And overall it's just been an absolute pleasure to fiddle with the process of prepping a puck and sip my morning coffee thinking about the flavors and the extraction and all the variables I can continue to play with. The EC702 is, however, I think over $200 new and very much not worth that price 😅 but I think buying used may really be the way to go for people who KNOW they're interested in the hobby of espresso
@@Solaxe yeah I agree, I really don't think his reviewing style is aimed at the a more general audience. I got my partner a Breville one-touch VCF109 from Currys during black Friday sales and she absolutely loves it. 150 quid in the end (reduced from 300) and well worth it. Makes a great espresso and the milk frothing attachment is quality, lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos all come out great. Does the end product taste like I've ordered it from a lovely little cafe in Italy? No, definitely not. But it's comparable to Starbucks/Costa etc. (in fact better because it all depends on what roasts/blends you're buying) and a damn sight cheaper in the long run.
Bought a cheap but nice retro looking machine to replace a Nespresso machine.. Couldn't get anywhere near decent (N)espresso. Tried different beans, bought a good grinder, bought other filters, created 5kg of waste. And then, I came across this video and what does James look at first?.. The same but slightly older model that I have. There is just no way I can get anything decent from this and I don't know why. *sadcoffeeface
James: "I don't wanna put my hand on a warm-ish machine, to remove the portafilter." Also James: *Will put both his hands on the machine just to mock the quality of the plastic*
As much as I love the educational and informative content (and find it really useful, more of these!), I'm really here for that "I can't believe I just drank that" expression
I have a DeLongi that my husband bought. For both of us, the cost for a good quality expresso machine was way out of our budget. Honestly, it tastes fine to me when compared to what we can get from local coffee shops and is fine for lattes and Americanos. I only pay for iced drinks now and make hot ones at home.
I finally got to a point where I wanted to try and start making my own coffee as opposed to Starbucks or 7-Eleven in between pay periods. With that said I don't think I know what a truly great espresso can be but I started on my journey. I purchased an "espresso machine" the Mr. Coffee Cafe Barista and then came across your videos (unfortunately lol). I hope eventually this machine makes one of you comparison/review videos so I can learn a thing or two that may help me. Anyway, keep up the awesome work James!
Hey bud, I bought this machine a month ago! He would almost 100% say it's okay coffee because he's just used to professionally brewed coffee everyday. But we can enjoy our lattes and cappuccinos! I love this little machine so far and it's a great entry machine! Happy new year
Some tuning and customization needed to get good espresso from cheap machine. 1. Pressure. Most of them dont have OPV or have OPV at 10-11 bars. Set it down a little to 9 bars. 2. Temperature. It's better if coffee machine has a boiler. And if boiler combined with group - you're lucky! Just install some boiler insulation and temperature will be more stable. 3. Portafilter. Buy new one or remove pressurized basket. Of course it makes sense if you already have a good grinder. Tuned cheap coffee machine could make one good espresso, but not two or more good espresso in a row.
I’ve been dying to find a way to turn down pressure from 15 bar to 9 bar on my Klarstein Passionata/Capresso EC100. Any DIYers out there with a hint or direction for me to explore? I’ve taken the machine apart but don’t know how to make heads and tails of it.
I actually bought a delonghi because of this video a few years ago and it’s been great in my experience. It looks like that one but it’s metal on the front (ECP3630). Totally recommend it if you wanna get into making espresso without breaking the bank.
James Hoffmann, when you find the most affordable machine that (perhaps with some minor design changes) could produced acceptable espresso-experience why not chat to the manufacturer of that machine to affect said improvements and re-launch it as the most economical good espresso machine according to you. Design rescue, as it were. r:)
Cause it does exists already. James started with that too, the Gaggia Classic - pre 2015 - or the cheaper plastic but identical siblings like Baby Gaggia ... Also decent community with loads of doable open source upgrades.
@@horvathpeti84 Rocking my pre 2015 and i can confirm the community support is brilliant. They offer help on everything from dialling in to full rebuilds or just fancy mods.
The thing with pressurized filters is easy to fix even by a child. After that, you have an equalizer with the Delonghi and maybe some decent shots can be pulled
Thank you for addressing the "pressurised PF" found in so many home espresso machines. I happen to own a Saeco Aroma unit, that I like quite well. However I am always struggling to get the right grind size + right tamping pressure + 35 seconds brew time sweet spot. I found the following information on a Saeco parts and repairs site. "All Saeco pressurized portafilters have built-in valve for pre-infusion delay. The operator does not have to worry much about the fineness of grind or tamping. The grind setting should be like the table salt grain. No tamping is necessary. The valve inside the portafilter prevents flow of water through for 4 to 5 seconds allowing the extraction pressure to build to the required 9-Bars. The 4 to 5 seconds delay allows the coffee grounds to be soaked and swell allowing water to dissolve essential aromatic elements in the coffee before extraction. As the valve opens up at 9-Bar pressure, the coffee extract drips into the cup as a classic shot of espresso. If the quantity of extract is limited to 2-Oz., it will not be bitter or have any burnt taste because the extraction time is never more than 12 seconds". It seems 12 seconds and no tamping is the sweet spot here. Interested in hearing your thoughts.
Most have pressurised/dual wall baskets, I think the Saeco pressurised PFs are meant to be fairly easy to remove the spring from to prevent that valve from restricting flow (not something I've tried as I've never oned one), someone else in these comments said that they did that for the PF that came with their Saeco Poemia machine, perhaps it's worth looking into? 17 seconds sounds really short to me as a lay person (I'm presuming they aren't including the 4-5 second "preinfusion" in the 12 seconds, and I think espresso timings, such as the 35 seconds you meantion aiming for, usually include preinfusion time)
This thing is beast of its own. With a spring loaded pressurized PF (PPF), never expect an extraction time beyond 20 seconds. As soon as you see it does not make good crema anymore, it means you have the pressure spring doing funky things because it has to "know" that the puck is at 9 bars, with enough through flow to keep the spring fully compressed. That is why you should not tamp the coffee in a PPF. As soon as the PPF does not make good crema, it means that the top of the puck is already doing the organic equivalent of a valve, but the flow at the bottom of the puck is also constricted by the mechanical valve as well as the small size of the exit drip hole. Basically the puck extraction pressure profile become totally messed up because of the spring load sensitivity, and the extraction time ends up meaning nothing. When the coffee is not coarsely ground to "grain salt" size, you can also expect the fine grounds to clog the pressure valve and make a overly over-extracted shot. Too fine a ground and the machine will completely stall and the valve getting silted, result in having to manually remove the silt accumulated into the valve. You can tinker with the ground fineness to end up just short of clogging/underpressurize the valve to get to the best espresso shot possible with this pressurized crap, but that's actually extremely tedious : it beats the whole point of having a PPF.
@@aryafeydakin Thank you. You pretty much summed up my experience with it. Adjusting the variables gives me extremely inconsistent results (specially when changing the/roast level) of coffee beans. I feel like I have no control, whatsoever. I will try your suggestion of grinding coarser and no tamping. Probably need to find me a non pressurize portafilter to replace the PPF that came with it. Any suggestions where to get one that will fit? This one has a 54mm basket. BTW, I found a hack to get the coffee flowing again when stalled. I just gently open and close the steam knob.
@@gutti4508 I don't think there is. Just gut out the whole original portafilter and make it a bottomless. A PPF is nasty and unhygienic, running it empty we see the water is always somewhat dirty and rancid from the accumulated gunk. Just unscrew the 3 screws holding the metal assembly to the plastic base, throw away all rubber and other plastic parts that's in there. Clamp the upper metallic part of the portafilter into a vise. Get a dremel and just hollow it out. Or use hand tools, drill several contiguous holes just enough to start cutting with a mini hacksaw, clean the rough cut with a half round file. Then finish by sawing off the black plastic spout just short of the screw holes.
@@aryafeydakin alright. Thanks for all that info. I'll get into the modified home made bottomless, then. Hopefully I don't screw it up and ruin it for good.
Morning James and that your answer is exactly what I have come to the conclusion of just doing five minutes of research, lol. The cheapest, easiest and best espresso machine I found is the Gaggio Pro Classic.
Hey James, thank you for being such a fantastic resource for us! An idea I would really love to see is a review of some machines with grinders built in; I’m curious as to how quality they may be, something like the Breville barista express or DeLonghi La specialista. For me personally I’d rather one unit that I can work at than several machines, but not at the expense of quality
From previous videos, I would guess James has no love for built in grinders. I think the video on robotic pour over machines has a machine with a built in grinder that he goes on at length about.
Amazon sells a 4 bar "espresso machine" (Von Shef) for £54 and Robert Dyas sells a similar-looking 5 bar machine (Salter) for £35. "Ideal for any coffee lover." I am fascinated and would love to see a review of one of these not-really-espresso machines.
James's personality and his videos tends to lure people in that might not have an interest in coffee. It's nice to see people stumbling onto his videos. They're very good.
If you like these videos dive into the fountain pen world, same vibe there. Not sure if there is a corresponding James Hoffman in the fountain pen aficionado mondo 🖋
I love coffee and make it at home but don’t plan on buying an espresso machine or grinder and I have been watching lots of videos about espresso machines and grinders
@@AWanderingEyeI don't drink coffee but love James' videos, and am also in the fountain pen hobby (albeit not at the very high end) - I'd say Figboot is the 'James' of fountain pen youtube to me in that he's very pleasant to watch and knowledgeable, without an abrasive or condescending attitude like can be found in some niche hobbies.
So we did formerly own the DeLonghi - my partner had started working at a large coffee chain as a barista whilst saving up to pay for her masters degree, and I was a PhD student... so budgets were tight but she cared enough to want to practice her coffee at home and make espresso and lattes. We did get some OK coffee out of it, despite a horrible cheap grinder (or preground) but it proved to be quite frustrating and fiddly so eventually we stopped using it and it went to the charity shop. I wouldn't recommend it.
The delonghi was the machine i came into coffee with. I modified the portafilter and used a basket from another delonghi model and managed good espresso from it before grabbing a Rancilio Silvia and Mazzer Mini Electronic. Now looking for another upgrade.
Hi James, I have a John Lewis 'pump espresso machine' that I got for £70, however it can be bought second hand for more like £20. First step, ditched the pressurised portafilter altogether and got a new 52mm portafilter with unpressurised basket. Luckily all the cheapy consumer machines (including amazon basics) use this thread size and a generic third party 52mm Portafilter seems to work in all of them. Then rather than buy a larger basket (which im not really sure I like the idea of having a really deep basket) I found the trick of gently patting down each spoon of coffee to allow more to go in, allowing me to put between 19-20g. I'm guessing you could just use more finely ground coffee and aim for 17g to make the process easier, but my grinder wasn't quite good enough to manage that fine. But now I get LOVELY coffee from my machine, and my whole setup including my hand grinder takes the total to about £110 with everything brand new :) sure, it's not terribly consistent but 95% of the time get a lovely espresso 🤗 Also my brew ratio is usually between 1:2 - 1:2.5 and I can get between 25 - 35s for that ratio :)
I have a De Longhi for about two years now. It's been sitting on a shelf for the past few months, coz I started to experiment with V60. It's coming down soon for the variety sake. But anyway, it does a good job, I think I figured it out. I'm using a normal Lavazza espresso preground coffee and was grand.
Hi James, The reason why the group head sprays all other the place is because its not tight enough if you turn it on its side there's screw witch needs tightening until you cant move it anymore Just to note this happend to me so maybe try the krups again Its AMAZING
I'd really love to see your 'best basic espresso machines' so less focus on price but more just simple machines for beginners without fancy extras and a massive price but with full manual espresso functionality. Things like the delonghi dedica, sage bambino, gaggia classicx rok and Flair that don't take up much space.
I couldn't sleep the other night and I was browsing some used things online, found used, old espresso machine for 10$, Delonghi, good condition, they were selling because they bought a newer, more expensive one. I cleaned it, descaled it and now every morning I am enjoying a nice shot of espresso. Today I rewatched this video and realized that my Delongi is THE Delongi from the video. Feels good.
@@marcMH I'm certainly no expert on grinders, but the grinder James is using in this video is the Niche Zero, it's a single-dose, conical burr grinder. You can see his video on that here: ua-cam.com/video/FzOY2tHyZ4w/v-deo.html I believe some people prefer flat burrs to conical burrs for espresso, if so something like the Eureka Atom (or cheaper Mignon) could be a good starting point all the way through to the Ceado E37s and beyond.
I wanna see a James Hoffman and Marc Rebillet collaboration - imagine Lood Daddy making songs about espresso with samples from James' delightful reviews
look for a machine made by delta this is the one i am using its been a year now still doing good none of the parts warn out yet removable nozzles work well easy to clean has good pressure it makes better coffee than anywhere ive had outdoors apart from real italian machines with decent coffee made by a pro who knows what they are doing
4 of those have the same portafilter, and use the same chinese thermoblock with the same switch mechanism... They all fit 51mm baskets, you can use EC685 non-pressurized baskets, singles, or even ESE (though I'm not sure how well that would fare...). With some practice and a $10 non-pressurized portafilter, you can get decent shots out of the ones with a working dispersion screen - just like you did from the Delonghi.
my experience with non-pressurized baskets is that these machines have simply too much pressure for a normal basket ... high pressure and a pinhole is the formula for constant flow rate regardless of what you put in the basket. it seems to me that slowing the flow with actual coffee means a grind so fine that you're on a knife edge between flow and blockage, and for me that meant i definitely got better coffee but it was very inconsistent. my grinder isn't great, so i can see how a better grinder would improve things, but i'm thinking that even with a good grinder you're fighting against the laws of physics. it seems a pity they can't add a low-pressure switch. i can't seem to shake my skepticism that decent machines must be expensive
When you go for round two, could you look at the Gaggia Classic Pro? I currently have the delonghi ec155 (college present) and, after a lot of effort, I’ve found a way to get good tasting espresso. Is something like a PID/some temperature gauge necessary? Im very excited to see the rest of these entry-level series videos.
Spencjon if it helps, I went from a DeLonghi to a Classic Pro recently, was a bit of a learning curve but quite a step up. I get more intense espresso than I did.
In response to your question I have the Swan machine ( Aldi £39). Used it three years solid ( two cups morning and intermittent through days and evening). I use a Braun grinder and with a bit of experimenting get pretty decent coffee. Probably not the best but better than a lot of cafe coffee I have paid through the nose for. Aldi Italian beans ground almost to talc are good enough and easy enough to use for every day brew. I accept it's not top quality but forty quid and much better than instant, cafeteria, filter etc and quick to use.
Upvote for James to do a blind test on espressos made on cheap machines vs expensive ones
I bet he wouldn't hit 60%.
@@yazcarloman3327 Are you kidding? You know people like this know their coffee inside out right? He'd nail it. This isn't a beer test or even whisky. Knowing what to look for in espresso and being experienced means you could easily pick good ones.
@@yazcarloman3327 Blind testing kills a lot of hobbies, yes. If it's something like a gaggia cc and a hand grinder for 300$ vs. a 2000$ machine + 800$ grinder things could get very interesting. especially if oneself had to prepare and taste the espresso.
He wont make such a video, this pretentious prick.
Yess plz
Challenge of the year...you should collaborate with a manufacturer and design your own entry level unit
Hope i can Like this a thousand times! :) That project would be such a treat to the coffee world. Up, up!
Well regarding the price level....good luck ! You'll be better served with a mocha express ;) or crowdfunded maybe but otherwise it's a tough price line if you wanna stay profitable and competitive
very good idea!
i could imagine you could make a cheap machine that could consistently do one fixed temperature, pressure & pour time for some nominal coffee grind and dose. so if james set up a machine that worked well on some specific load, he could release it with the warning that IF you work around the machine's limitations, it WILL make good coffee if you experiment enough with bean, grind, dose & tamp. although james requires a flexible machine that will get the best out of a wide range of inputs, i think most people would be happy with a machine that, eventually, produces the same good coffee indefinitely
He did this!!..........for a high end machine lol
What I've learned from picking up a handful of hobbies and becoming a bit of a nerd in each, is that the amount of knowledge and equipment that you need for a hobby is just as much as it takes you to enjoy it. For some people, that might mean investing thousands, and seeking perfection in every aspect, but for others, it might be a cheap machine that doesn't get up to 10 bar pressure and pre-ground coffee from the Dollar General. Point being, if you like the coffee you make, and you have fun doing it, then you're doing it right.
@@CrunchyTire everything is subjective. Say you were on an island with 20 people and those 20 people really enjoyed drinking piss. You prefer pineapple juice but they think that's disgusting and piss is the only drink that's really good. Are they right?
@@mountaindew267 Interesting comment, weird example but I get where you are going with it. I don't happen to think everything is subjective. I think there are somethings that can be measured as good or bad right or wrong. But the fact of the matter is everyone can't afford a $2000 professional machine or maybe they can afford it but do not want to invest that kind of money on a machine. If comparing head to head a professional machine with anyone of these machines the professional machine wins hands down but that doesn't mean people can't enjoy using a cheaper machine.
I feel like this is one of those things where you need to spend quite a bit to get to the point where it's really enjoyable and not just a gimmick that ends up unused on a shelf. I've had a cheap espresso machine and preground coffee / a terrible blade grinder... it wasn't fun and I gave it away. I'm not saying that anyone is wrong for enjoying messing about with a cheap and nasty setup... but I didn't, and I suspect they could get more fun and nicer espresso-adjacent coffee spending the same money on a burr grinder and a moka pot (and maybe some way to foam milk for a little latte type drink, but that could be an £8 French press from the supermarket). That's certainly been my experience, and there's a good reason why the moka pot is the standard way of making coffee in italian households - they're delightful, and although what you get out isn't quite espresso, it scratches the same itch.
@@CrunchyTire If people like it, it's good for them and that's all that matters. If someone likes the taste of McDonalds, that means the taste is good for them. There is no general "good" or "bad" in taste. There is only "they like it" or "they don't like it".
I bought an areo press and buy fairly cheap pre-ground coffee. It's good enough for me
Love the Marc Rebillet shirt
LOOPDADDY
Let's give a quick shoutout to Marc Rebillet!
How did I miss that! Also, imagine seeing James Hoffman at a Marc Rebillet gig. That would mean that anything is possible.
Was so happy to see this. Saw him in Chicago- was great. Makes me happy to know Hoffman is a fan too!
For real. Proud of you James lol
“A shape that makes me slightly uncomfortable.” - James Hoffman 2020
Do we need to put the beans in slowly again? giggity
onlyfans dot com backslash coffeedaddy
It sounds like the title of an erotic lovecraft fan fiction
Took me a minute to understand the context, but it makes sense...
Phalic tamper included....
Imagine making this guy a coffee in the office...
Wouldn’t even try…
I'd give him a Nescafe instant and tell him to like it or lump it.
He's the Gordon Ramsay of coffee.
Gordon’s more humble than this pillock
@@god8347 somebody who's youtube profile name is "god" is criticising somebody else for not being humble 😂😂😂
Potential next video idea: "Can you get good espresso for under £300?" ?
Yes! I would love a second phase to this.
We just need the Delonghi Dedica Style reviewed basically. Hahaha
@@anubhavchak that's not a good machine
If James does do this I can recommend the Sunbeam Barista Max expresso machine. Got it during lockdown, while my son, who is a barista, was at home with me. Paid $420NZD, about 210 uk, and he thought it pulled really decent shots and frothed milk well for a home machine. When I told him the price afterwards he was stunned. You have to grind a little coarse (somewhere between 18-20 on the machines grind settings) but I always get a nice sweet shot with good flavour.
Dunno if it is available in the uk though
how about the Breville 870XL guys ?
His voice is so calming. He’s the David Attenborough of coffee
On my goodness, so yes!!!!!
I could listen to him talk about anything.
if he was a chain smoker, he could pass as david attenborough with some fine-tuning using software
A very accurate description.
Except Attenborough usually seems to enjoy the things he talks about, when James is just full of contempt for anything that relates to coffee.
It would be great to see this "series" continued and see which espresso machine gets your stamp of approval for a price that does not completely break the bank
That was my thought. In my opinion, none of these machines should have existed, since they are not even worthwhile. Buying a drip coffee maker instead would arguably be a better decision. Although to be fair, it seemed like it may not be possible to be done by any manufacturer, considering the price point. The standard just need to be higher up. I would say $250-400 is going to be a more appropriate price range for budget options. All of these are just waste of money. 7:43 James statement here pretty much summarizes it, except for me it applies to every appliances discussed here.
Edit: I watched his other video, same topic but the under $500. Now those are real options.
The question is, which gives a better product, this or a pod machine like Nespresso or Illy?
I’m canceling my machine order just to wait and hear your thoughts on the “minimum” machine to buy for a “good” good espresso. Cheers, James!
Me too. Waiting for upgrade of that Deloghi.
"If you can get the Sage duo temp pro at a good price it’s definitely worth it. James endorses that model" - I can vouch for this.
The older staple 'minimum' machines are:
- Gaggia Classic (but apparently after Philips take over they made the solenoid smaller, making it more prone for scale build up/blocking). You can get older ones second hand, but requires more research.
- Rancillio Silvia - Same quality as the old Gaggia Classic, but bigger boiler but more expensive.
But the new Sages are new in town (in comparison) and have done great. I have heard very good things, and James Hoffman does rave about them.
If I recommend to my friends, I would opt for the Sage Due Temp Pro as a 'buy it and you'll be happy'.
Or a second hand 'Gaggia Classic' or 'Rancilliio Silvia' and learn to clean/use/service it properly if you want to do it on the cheap, but this level of commitment isn't for everyone.
Or wait for a new video :) I'm sure it will surface soon.
@@livingart2576 , I had the Breville Barista Express (appears to be similar to that model but with the grinder etc). I'd say that's the bare minimum. However, I upgraded to a Breville "Dynamic Duo" (Dual Boiler and Smart Grinder combo), and I'd never go back. It has a full size group handle, adequate steam pressure, turns itself on in the morning, has the ability to steam and extract at the same time etc. Making a coffee is now a 5mins exercise instead of a 15min exercise, and it's been a daily workhorse for >3yrs now. Easily worth the AUD1100 compared to buying a daily coffee (365days*3yrs*$4.50=$4927!)
Not James but got some decent recommendations since I've been where you've been. Some options would be the gaggia classic ,rancillio Silvia, sage/breville higher end stuff works well but my favourites are the entry level lelits preferably with a pid. I got seriously the best budget extractions at 6 bars using a lelit pl41tem with a baratza sette 280 compared to other machines, but that's just one case
Play with a more expensive machine and you'll realise why the cheap ones are junk. Flimsy, small group handles with smaller diameter basket, junk tampers, single hole weak steam wands that take ages to heat up, and just a chore to use instead of an enjoyable experience.
A week ago I was unaware of James.
A week ago I was thinking I being cool with one of those (In comparison to those who drink instant coffee)
A week ago I was still thinking:
" I know something about coffee".
A week ago my life was much easier as I was ignorant about all of this science behind coffee.
A week ago I was also richer because I didn't feel the need to buy a coffee Crushgrind and was happy to do that with blades.
A week ago UA-cam suggested me to watch a video about a guy who is buying coffee stuff from IKEA...🤦🏽♂️
A week later:
Watching 10 of his videos a day till 3am.
Thanks James for making my life more difficult but more knowledgeable about something I was in fact ignorant about.
I'm hearing ya, I've been watching his videos for an hour and am considering spending hundreds on a coffee machine.....I don't even drink coffee, I prefer tea. Definatley addictive
Totally true haha
Check out CoffeeGeek, you're welcome.
@@garyhost1830 Don't start watching Bit Tech then or you will also be looking into buying a CNC machine and making high end Gaming PCs when you don't even play computer games ! Also avoid people making tables with epoxy resin !
Same... and only started drinking coffee a month ago to get through University....
I found the DeLonghi machine in this vid at a thrift store for AU$5... and for that it makes great AU$5 coffee. I grind my beans in a kitchen blender, it's a beastly little machine and only used for coffee.. 8 seconds for a fine grind for the Delonghi, 5 seconds for a coarser grind for the plunger.
Yes, I am a heathen lol
Omg
So brave! You're like a thrifting Macgyver
just.. why?????
Because where there's a will (and no eff you money for expensive coffee grinders) there's always a way 😁
@@Tomeccho damn :D I am happy with sage dose control pro (200$ grinder) for my espresso needs (with gaggia classic pro).
"Thanks Jeff" made me laugh way more than it should have
Am I the only person seeing James so disappointed and stressed by testing these machines? I really enjoyed it James. Nicely done and I want to thank the patrons as well 😅
some of you may be wondering what he meant by "PID controlled." Well basically the temperature of the water has a sensor which talks to a computer, the way PID control works is if the temperature gets too low, you need to add more heat to get it back to the right temp, and if it gets too high you have to remove heat, but then you get iunto a back and forth where the temperature is always dipping and rising trying to catch up. the way pid works is it uses the area under the curve to calculate the error from the desired temperature, and it also takes the derivative to calculate how fast the error is changing, that way it can correct the error and find the "sweet spot" without having lots of temperature fluctuation.
no one has said this yet but thank you that's really interesting
Time to brew myself some filter coffee that I can sip on while watching this espresso related video.
Oh god so relatable
I’m sipping my “pour over” cup now.
Ha I'm watching in a cafe, sipping my barista made cappuccino (that isn't that good really)
Watched this drinking my pour over made with a Finnish filter holder older than me.
Title: "The Best Espresso Machines Under 100"
James: "no"
True we all held out hope that we could have some decent coffee, but not for under £100 it seems :)
@@shardlake 90% of people won't even tell the difference so why spend 1000 pounds on some crazy coffee makers
@@Solaxe because we’re the 10% :)
@@ho0dedguy09 good for you but I personally wouldn't spend more than 200$ on a machine I just want to make home made cappuccino I don't really care how hollow the coffee is if I'm not even drink it alone. I just find this guy kind of a purist who don't respect people who doesn't have the same compulsive passion for coffe
@@jose91807 then why are you even here
Things I learned in this video: the reason my coffee might be tasting bad is that I simply am not preparing it right.
I had no clue that things that seem like small details could affect the flavor of the coffee so much. I'm glad I know now!
James' face always says more about how good the coffee is than his words :)
And that's more than enough!
Definitely looking forward to the "minimum entry level for pleasant coffee making experience" video.
I paid approx. €500 for a decent set up. Lelit PL41E with a Sage Smart Grinder Pro. It may be not the best grinder, but one of the better ones you could get for €200.
@@mjamjom4698 Agree. Researched grinders for some time; came to conclusion that Sage/Breville SGP is simply the best low cost grinder at the moment. Amazon here in Australia had it for AU$180 (111 Euros). I really didn't want to like it given all the snobbish forum comments, but honestly it's well designed and a bit of WDT (ie stirring) sorts out its main issue - clumping.
@@mjamjom4698 PS the grinder might be cheaper here but the Lelit is over 600 Euros, and all other decent Italian machines even more. Sigh.
Depends if it's espresso or not. If it's pour over I'm sure it would be a 10$ pour over and a $50 hand grinder. Add a cheap scale to that and you could probably get away with like $65.
We had exactly the same DeLonghi espresso machine at the office and I can confirm it made drinkable espresso. Unfortunately, we "upgraded" to a bigger machine (as if that makes it better) that makes hot sewer water. :) And this is when my journey to discovering manual coffee started, so at least something good came out of this situation. ✨
So how do you make your coffee now?
If you don’t mind, do you the name of the particular model i can’t seem to find it
@@Adam-gv3uythe cheapest one is ec230(235)
Like already other people said: could you please do a video about a decent espresso machine around 300 £? I watch your videos now since quiet a while and i know that good a espresso machine cant cost less than 100£. But i think many of your viewers simply can't spend arround 1k (including a mill), it would be also way overpowerd for my single houshold. So jeah, i would enjoy a budget espresso machine and mill video! Thanks anyways for the good content, beside tha fact that it has turned me a bit in a espresso snob^^
D. I bought a SMEG coffee machine and I love it! I want James to do a review on it.
or just simply "what's the least amount of money you will need to spend to get a good enough espresso at home"
Cheap machine that is ok for proper espresso is Delonghi ECP31.21 series and their variations. They come with pressurised baskets but there are non pressurised available. If you have a little bit more money and spot Sage duo temp pro on offer this is the one to buy. Nothing comes closer to that machine at that price range, smeg, and anything similar are no better than what James has shown .
I have the Sage Duo Temp Machine, comes with pressurised and unpressurised baskets for proper espresso. It's about £350 but does go up and down in price so you might be able to catch it for a good price at John Lewis. I have had it just over a year and it's great, has a proper steam wand as well so you can create micro foam for the rubbish steam wands that make airy fluffy milk.
Comandante grinder + flair
The De'Longhi's EC152 (very similar to the machine in the video) was my first home espresso machine back when I was still a broke student. And with that, and a decent hand grinder, I made pretty good coffee in the most labour intensive way imaginable, for about two years. I pushed it to the very limits of what it's capable of, and during my time with it, it taught me an awful lot. I opened it up, serviced, tweaked, tinkered, and made perhaps a half dozen diy upgrades to it before I finally retired it.
And actually, right now, with my full-size machine tragically out of service - needing expensive parts I just can't find during lockdown - I'm considering dusting off the De'Longhi again.
More interested in the best least expensive bean grinder for espresso?????
What kind of mods did you do to the De'Longhi?
I agree, we need an explanation or even a video of your improvements!
Be interested to know what mods you did, as I have just got the same machine as you, and am pretty handy tinkering with things.
He described that third one like I do my ex. "Hollow, empty, sour, and bitter." lmao
😂😂😂
😂😂😂
:DDDD
Best comment ever.... Made my day dude!
"It's just disgusting" XD
"I bet you thought I was going to say 'déjà brew', but I didn't 'cause I don't hate you or me."
I laughed a little too much.
I literally lol'd
"Dejabrew" got my like.
//cue the Initial D music.
Dejabrew earned the like for me!
I had to replay it for my girlfriend to groan at!
The swan has been rebranded by kmart in Aus/NZ and has become really popular after a couple of consumer advocacy groups rated it better than a $1000 espresso machine and a $4500 fully automatic machine. I really suspect that preground store bought coffee was used in all machines but paywall prevents me finding out
Im in nz im looking at getting the kogan machine
"I bet you thought I was going to say ' Déjà Brew'... But I didn't because I don't hate you or me..." 😂😂😂 I love you James
still better than the coffee puns Derren Brown made when James was on his show
That sentence from James has made me feel oddly happy and appreciated.
Umami*
"It makes me sad that this was made in the first place. Thanks Jeff -_-" That line had me dying!
i work in tech and i am convinced they make these cheaper options bad on purpose just to sell more of their expensive ones. manufacturing and tech has advanced too much for me to believe that for over 100 bucks they cannot put multiple temp sensors and a pressure gauge and a mechanism to stop the steam spewing out .. the premium ones could be sold at 100 bucks for a profit these days .
I love watching these videos not only as a coffee freak, but also as a product designer. In all of the ‘coffee equipment’ videos James mentions so many tiny details concerning design and handy usage, that’s just amazing! :) I think every product designer should watch a couple of these, thank you James!
Cool ! I wish I discovered how much I love marketing, earlier in life!
I love how much James hates everything in these cheap reviews. I'm going to keep watching in the vain hope that one day something surprises him
I'm using a cheap 80 pound machine , he should use 17 gram of coffee not 12 gram!
I also love how much he hates them! Weirdly makes me smile!
I think that was the story behind that grinder he is now using. Look up the video
We can't all afford expensive machines!!!
@@jeremychristian5409 I'm not quite sure I would call $600+ cheap! You're right about him being surprised though, and I think his continued use really shows how much he likes it
Dear mr Hoffman,
I own a really cheap espresso machine. After pressing my coffee in the basket, I put a piece of round paper filter cut from a v60 coffee filter. This way, the really bad water distribution of my machine is kind of normalised and I get a solid puc, a delicious espresso and a smile. Every owner of a crappy espresso machine like these should try it. Totally worth the extra effort.
Dear George,
I used your advice and seeing great results from my cheap De'longhi espresso machine. Shots are consistent and produce balanced and tasty shots. Channeling is practically gone. I honestly recommend the paper filter on top to any one having trouble getting good espresso due to flow issues.
Thanks again George
@@shnitz22 dear Gil, I am honestly really glad to hear that!!!!
Great video. You hit all the key notes I was looking for
Fancy finding you here. :)
😎
Me: watches james hoffman videos
Also me: drinks lidl brand coffee from a krups nespresso machine
I really enjoy lidl ground espresso coffee. Think it's great. I've been doing espresso at home with various (obviously) machines for 35 years and must admit there's an awful lot of wanking that goes on. I've tried lots of cheap brands of machine and really you just have to learn to work with what you've got to some degree.
Haha
As long as you like it...
Calvin Rey I do! It’s kind off weird coffee, like it’s somehow inconsistent in taste. Sometimes it’s really sour and sometimes it even tastes a little burnt, but most of the time it’s pretty decent 🤷♂️
If you enjoy coffee then you should be welcomed here without judgement!
I bought the DeLonghi twice. The first one I used for years until it broke and the second one I eventually replaced with a more time convenient method. I learned to get get okay espresso by watching videos and practice. I have always had a limited budget and I wanted to make espresso as inexpensively as I could instead of spending all my money at coffee houses. I am considering going back to this DeLonghi machine because it was an easy machine to maintain and I don't have a quality experience to compare it to so I was used to having to hold the machine while removing the filter and live with it's other cheap quirks. I bought a real tamper instead of using that weird attached one which also helped.
"The bare minimum to have a good espresso at home" .. I'm waiting for that James
Flair manual press with the gauge, an electric kettle and a manual grinder. Probably looking at 350 all in.
@@JC-fj7oo مخوممووى
حممي😝🍐😛🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😛
#MeToo
What I have found most interesting since watching your video is that there is more to coffee than espresso. Its a precise thing and for good drinking a V60, Mocha Pot or similar will do nicely. I dont need a £500 bit of machinery to make a nice drink.
You do actually... that bit of machinery being the grinder.
My old Gaggia Baby was less than £100 back in 2012. Far from the best home machine but decently built with a commercial size portafilter and worked fine with non-pressurized baskets (although I think I had to buy one separately). Those were the days!
You can depressurize some of the Gaggia baskets and older DeLonghi too. The ones that have screws through the botom. Unscrew it, gut it, put it back together. Probably irreversible, though.
@@lukedgos what do you mean by gut it? I'm willing to try
If I can't come up with the $2000+ that produces really excellent espresso, I'll stick with the $30 that produces really excellent drip coffee and spend the other $1970+ on good beans.
That Marc Rebillet shirt tho! Recently discovered this maniac, he's DOPE! :D
I'm so glad he's blown up. I started tuning in during his first few livestreams at the brewing company when he had about 2000 subscribers!
(googling Marc rebillet)
"I know you thought I was going to say deja brew, but I didn't because I don't hate you or me" 😂😂😂😂
I came down to the comments section specifically to look for this comment
Swan Retro owner here (mine has another name, it is the same cheap asian product, which sold under various brand names). I've drilled out the pressure thingy, which leaves me with a "regular" portafilter. Its holes are pretty big, though, which makes it tough to have good pressure. This modification alone improved the espresso by a lot (given that I have a decent grinder and good coffee beans). Also a good third party tamper is pretty much needed.
Overall, the espresso isn't great, but good enough and much better than one might expect at that price point.
aside from the actual content of the video, my first thought was "if your local cafe is charging £100 for espresso, you should find a new cafe"
I had a somewhat older DeLonghi, but similar in build and style to the one listed here. The best thing I can say about it was that it was an interesting way to learn about espresso. And I did have a lot to learn about the basics, and about general machine maintenance. And I even jury-rigged an unpressurized portafilter, and got some decent shots out of it.
But ultimately, when my skills were a bit better, I still couldn't get reliably good results, and it was difficult to clean and maintain. I switched to Aeropress for a long while. Then recently I got the Flair on a bit of a whim, and I've really enjoyed using it. It scratches the itch of "occasional espresso" without large investments of money, counter space, or maintenance.
That's all to say that I tried, for a long time, to be content with a machine in this price range, but ultimately I recommend against it. I've also started recommending against home espresso in general, unless you're already pretty familiar with coffee and cheaper brewing methods. To make concentrated coffee, I think most people would be much better served by an Aeropress or a moka pot.
I agree 100% with the last suggestion of just getting an aeropress of moka pot. The price/value ratio is going to be leagues higher than any espresso machine. I love really strong concentrated coffee, and so I use my moka pot basically every day. If I want real espresso I can just go to an amazing café in my city and get an espresso that will 100% be better than anything I could get at home without pouring so much money and effort into
So glad your channel exists. I started out wanting to get an espresso machine to make myself some lattes at home. That led me down a rabbit hole and learning I can't make espresso for under 500 bucks. That then led me to your channel where I've learned a ton. So, Thank you.
There's a LARGE community that hacks the DeLonghi - depressurize the basket, add pressure meters, change out the steam wand for one that can actually do things. I'd love to see your take on modifying the machine.
Normal people: *enjoys espresso with these machines*
James: This is Krups
Lol now im drinking coffee for years but stil dont know when coffee is good or not..
Thank you for the lesson, rather enjoyable, since I found myself confronted with the same question about two years ago. I did some research and went with a Gaggia Baby from the early nineties for 80 Euros. These are identical on the inside with the Gaggia Classic of the same time, but go for about half the price. There is no use pretending I know a lot about espresso, but I really like what I get from it and so do others, so much so, that my girlfriend who used to work as a barista got one for the same amount just a few month later and her friend, after drinking espresso at her place, bought one for herself as well. My point being, everybody I know who owns one, including myself, enjoys using it and the resulting espresso from it. I also bought a Gaggia MDF grinder for about the same amount. Also, if you want to, still every single part of the machine is available as a spare and the internet offers plenty of advice on fixing them. I like the idea of something lasting for a while and repairing instead of replacing. The Gaggia is already sought after, but prices for working units still seem decent, might go up though if more people pick up on them. Anyway, I appreciate the content, entertainment and knowledge you provide, please keep up the good work.
Now these are the questions I want to know the answers too. How cheap can I be?
Could always go manual! A ROK or a Cafelat Robot paired with a Comandante C40 or Kinu M47 Phoenix can make excellent espresso if you have the patience!
😆
@@thegetupkid311 that's about £500 though. Barista version of the robot imported to UK is £300 ish and commandante is £190 at best
Get a sage barista express 😀
@@danlarwood4068 gotcha. Mr. Ruck is in Japan, so there may be better options there for the price. I see people selling used ROK or Robots with some regularity around $150 in USA, and used premium hand grinders (picked up a Lido E myself) in the $150 range. EDIT: definitely should have specified "used" on my end!
This channel is a total lifesaver. this man is saving us potentially thousands of dollars. Thank you thank you thank you
Dunno about you, but I wasting so much more money now on coffee. But I'm loving it
As an experiment I've been trying to get a decent coffee out of my old Dualit Espressivo (~£160 a few years ago) because I wondered the same thing. So I replaced the pressurised basket with a DeLonghi single-wall basket and bought a nicer tamper. The cheap DeLonghi grinder I used to use (~£40) wasn't up to the task of grinding for espresso. So I dialed in some tasty Square Mile beans on my Barista Express, then ground extra and extracted with the Dualit. It was less consistent, and didn't taste quite as good as with the BE, but it was absolutely better after a couple of tries than anything I used to make with it using a cheap grinder. Certainly good enough to make a half-decent cafe latte that tastes better than anything from Costa. I won't trade in my BE but at least the Dualit would work as a backup in an emergency. Thanks James.
Me before watching the video and recently got a delonghi espresso machine: nervously sweating
edit: I'm glad the best one out of these was delonghi, I dont actually have that exact model and mine was a bit more expensive as a beginner to coffee I enjoy my first machine lol
I also started out with a fully automatic delonghi. A lot of their machines actually provide great value for the price.
Do you use a Dedica 685 or a different one? How are you doing with it?
@@_leoniden Dedica 685 here. Bought a naked 51mm portafilter and plain 18g basket from alibaba for about £25 and a better tamper off amazon for about a tenner I think. After a bit of grinder hacking to get good consistent fine grounds I can pull consistently good shots. After reading this - hackaday.io/project/162176-open-source-espresso-machine/log/157592-temperature-stability-in-the-delonghi-dedica-style-ec685m and doing my own experiments with a thermometer I also found that thermal stability was better after running two shots through with an empty basket first. I've got it set on the "high" temp setting and my brew temp is about 90c. I don't let the double shot button run all the way but instead use a small scale and stop at the yield I want. Next step is some water chemistry because Bristol has mega hard water and although my v60 experiments with bottled water (tesco ashbeck as recommended by David at extract coffee) were good it's not sustainable.
@@_leoniden I owned a Dedica 685 for a while, and was getting very nice shots using a good grinder (Kinu M47 Phönix), after refitted it with a regular basket. It only lasted about 4 weeks though, until the motor could not get up to pressure any more, and I sent it back.
I'm now a very happy owner of a Cafelat robot....That could be one of the cheaper options for good espresso at home....:-)
I use a EC850.
It is pretty neat machine.
Though I mostly drink french press at home , as my hand grinder is too slow with fine grind, and it lot more cost efficient than Espresso.
I have a similar machine, a Krups Il Primo circa 1994 with a “Made in Switzerland” stamp on the bottom. It’s true that every coffee puck has a blast mark from the water, but I’ve been using this for decades and I enjoy my cappuccinos far more at home than at most high-end coffee shops, which to me taste bitter and acidic. Maybe I’m a coffee wimp but to me it should taste bold, rich and full-bodied and not have me needing to add sugar to compensate for bitterness. With the exception of a few fine Portuguese restaurants, it seems no matter where I buy coffee from out, I need to temper it with sugar. Krups of course doesn’t make machines under $150 in Switzerland anymore, but maybe that is the secret in my case. Heck I don’t trust myself with a grinder so I have a subscription for Lavazza Qualita Rossa which I’ve enjoyed for ages now. To each his own I suppose! Thanks for your video, it was entertaining and educational. I don’t know how many more years I will get from my 27 year old machine so I will keep the deLonghi in mind... :D
Why do I have a sinking suspicion that James Hoffman is actually jacked as hell
Wyatt Parker funniest comment I’ve read in a while
I couldn't help but notice his lats every time he turned sideways.
azcomeazgo yeah when he leaned forward towards the espresso machine I saw his arms and was like... “huh, so, is James Hoffman jacked?”
My home setup right now is a delonghi ec702 I got used for $35, a better tamper and a distributor, around $30 or $40, and an unpressurized basket for $15. I also cut the bottom off the portafilter. All in all I think it pulls decent enough shots for a little under $100 and it was fun assembling all the little accessories and diving into the hobby! I've pulled some horrendous shots learning how to dial in the grind settings and ratios I want, but I've also pulled some very tasty shots. And overall it's just been an absolute pleasure to fiddle with the process of prepping a puck and sip my morning coffee thinking about the flavors and the extraction and all the variables I can continue to play with. The EC702 is, however, I think over $200 new and very much not worth that price 😅 but I think buying used may really be the way to go for people who KNOW they're interested in the hobby of espresso
Finally, he reviews something I can actually afford.
Yeah and then shits on absolutely all of them.
Something we can buy it is shit so we would waste our money 🤣
@@hasanshah1470 I mean a horrible coffee by his standards is likely very good to most of us
@@Solaxe yeah I agree, I really don't think his reviewing style is aimed at the a more general audience.
I got my partner a Breville one-touch VCF109 from Currys during black Friday sales and she absolutely loves it. 150 quid in the end (reduced from 300) and well worth it. Makes a great espresso and the milk frothing attachment is quality, lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos all come out great.
Does the end product taste like I've ordered it from a lovely little cafe in Italy? No, definitely not. But it's comparable to Starbucks/Costa etc. (in fact better because it all depends on what roasts/blends you're buying) and a damn sight cheaper in the long run.
Bought a cheap but nice retro looking machine to replace a Nespresso machine.. Couldn't get anywhere near decent (N)espresso. Tried different beans, bought a good grinder, bought other filters, created 5kg of waste. And then, I came across this video and what does James look at first?.. The same but slightly older model that I have. There is just no way I can get anything decent from this and I don't know why. *sadcoffeeface
I actually had a delonghi machine for years and it was exactly as you said: an impulse purchase that spent years in the cupboard.
James: "I don't wanna put my hand on a warm-ish machine, to remove the portafilter."
Also James: *Will put both his hands on the machine just to mock the quality of the plastic*
5:20 Subtitles say "Craps" for the "Krups" 😅... Even UA-cam knows it is bad!
At least it's auto generated subtitles. It would be kinda shady if he would've wrote it that way. 😂
As much as I love the educational and informative content (and find it really useful, more of these!), I'm really here for that "I can't believe I just drank that" expression
I have a DeLongi that my husband bought. For both of us, the cost for a good quality expresso machine was way out of our budget. Honestly, it tastes fine to me when compared to what we can get from local coffee shops and is fine for lattes and Americanos. I only pay for iced drinks now and make hot ones at home.
I finally got to a point where I wanted to try and start making my own coffee as opposed to Starbucks or 7-Eleven in between pay periods. With that said I don't think I know what a truly great espresso can be but I started on my journey. I purchased an "espresso machine" the Mr. Coffee Cafe Barista and then came across your videos (unfortunately lol). I hope eventually this machine makes one of you comparison/review videos so I can learn a thing or two that may help me. Anyway, keep up the awesome work James!
Hey bud, I bought this machine a month ago! He would almost 100% say it's okay coffee because he's just used to professionally brewed coffee everyday. But we can enjoy our lattes and cappuccinos! I love this little machine so far and it's a great entry machine! Happy new year
he would have a heart attack knowing i'm drinking instant coffee while watching this
I hope you dialled it in? :D
heathen
Same
Nah, as he's said in this very comments section- whatever coffee you drink, as long as you enjoy it that's good enough for him.
I came here searching for a budget friendly espresso machine. I left with so much enjoyment on my man’s displeasure for everything.
Some tuning and customization needed to get good espresso from cheap machine. 1. Pressure. Most of them dont have OPV or have OPV at 10-11 bars. Set it down a little to 9 bars. 2. Temperature. It's better if coffee machine has a boiler. And if boiler combined with group - you're lucky! Just install some boiler insulation and temperature will be more stable. 3. Portafilter. Buy new one or remove pressurized basket. Of course it makes sense if you already have a good grinder. Tuned cheap coffee machine could make one good espresso, but not two or more good espresso in a row.
РУССКИЕ ВПЕРЕД!
So frustrating that Gaggia Classic Pro has non-adjustable 12bar OPV.
Or just buy a used pre-2015 Gaggia Classic for £100-120 and be merry
@@ad_fletch are you sure that it's non-adjustable? I'm sure that it's simple and cheap to change it :)
I’ve been dying to find a way to turn down pressure from 15 bar to 9 bar on my Klarstein Passionata/Capresso EC100.
Any DIYers out there with a hint or direction for me to explore? I’ve taken the machine apart but don’t know how to make heads and tails of it.
Andrew James machine to James:
No YOU’RE a drippy little group head
I actually bought a delonghi because of this video a few years ago and it’s been great in my experience. It looks like that one but it’s metal on the front (ECP3630). Totally recommend it if you wanna get into making espresso without breaking the bank.
James Hoffmann, when you find the most affordable machine that (perhaps with some minor design changes) could produced acceptable espresso-experience why not chat to the manufacturer of that machine to affect said improvements and re-launch it as the most economical good espresso machine according to you.
Design rescue, as it were. r:)
Cause it does exists already. James started with that too, the Gaggia Classic - pre 2015 - or the cheaper plastic but identical siblings like Baby Gaggia ... Also decent community with loads of doable open source upgrades.
@@horvathpeti84 Gaggia Classic
@@horvathpeti84 Rocking my pre 2015 and i can confirm the community support is brilliant. They offer help on everything from dialling in to full rebuilds or just fancy mods.
5:28 I literally had to pause the video and digest that moment for a second.
The thing with pressurized filters is easy to fix even by a child. After that, you have an equalizer with the Delonghi and maybe some decent shots can be pulled
Thank you for addressing the "pressurised PF" found in so many home espresso machines. I happen to own a Saeco Aroma unit, that I like quite well. However I am always struggling to get the right grind size + right tamping pressure + 35 seconds brew time sweet spot.
I found the following information on a Saeco parts and repairs site.
"All Saeco pressurized portafilters have built-in valve for pre-infusion delay. The operator does not have to worry much about the fineness of grind or tamping. The grind setting should be like the table salt grain. No tamping is necessary.
The valve inside the portafilter prevents flow of water through for 4 to 5 seconds allowing the extraction pressure to build to the required 9-Bars. The 4 to 5 seconds delay allows the coffee grounds to be soaked and swell allowing water to dissolve essential aromatic elements in the coffee before extraction.
As the valve opens up at 9-Bar pressure, the coffee extract drips into the cup as a classic shot of espresso. If the quantity of extract is limited to 2-Oz., it will not be bitter or have any burnt taste because the extraction time is never more than 12 seconds".
It seems 12 seconds and no tamping is the sweet spot here. Interested in hearing your thoughts.
Most have pressurised/dual wall baskets, I think the Saeco pressurised PFs are meant to be fairly easy to remove the spring from to prevent that valve from restricting flow (not something I've tried as I've never oned one), someone else in these comments said that they did that for the PF that came with their Saeco Poemia machine, perhaps it's worth looking into? 17 seconds sounds really short to me as a lay person (I'm presuming they aren't including the 4-5 second "preinfusion" in the 12 seconds, and I think espresso timings, such as the 35 seconds you meantion aiming for, usually include preinfusion time)
This thing is beast of its own. With a spring loaded pressurized PF (PPF), never expect an extraction time beyond 20 seconds. As soon as you see it does not make good crema anymore, it means you have the pressure spring doing funky things because it has to "know" that the puck is at 9 bars, with enough through flow to keep the spring fully compressed. That is why you should not tamp the coffee in a PPF. As soon as the PPF does not make good crema, it means that the top of the puck is already doing the organic equivalent of a valve, but the flow at the bottom of the puck is also constricted by the mechanical valve as well as the small size of the exit drip hole. Basically the puck extraction pressure profile become totally messed up because of the spring load sensitivity, and the extraction time ends up meaning nothing.
When the coffee is not coarsely ground to "grain salt" size, you can also expect the fine grounds to clog the pressure valve and make a overly over-extracted shot.
Too fine a ground and the machine will completely stall and the valve getting silted, result in having to manually remove the silt accumulated into the valve. You can tinker with the ground fineness to end up just short of clogging/underpressurize the valve to get to the best espresso shot possible with this pressurized crap, but that's actually extremely tedious : it beats the whole point of having a PPF.
@@aryafeydakin Thank you. You pretty much summed up my experience with it. Adjusting the variables gives me extremely inconsistent results (specially when changing the/roast level) of coffee beans. I feel like I have no control, whatsoever. I will try your suggestion of grinding coarser and no tamping. Probably need to find me a non pressurize portafilter to replace the PPF that came with it. Any suggestions where to get one that will fit? This one has a 54mm basket. BTW, I found a hack to get the coffee flowing again when stalled. I just gently open and close the steam knob.
@@gutti4508 I don't think there is. Just gut out the whole original portafilter and make it a bottomless. A PPF is nasty and unhygienic, running it empty we see the water is always somewhat dirty and rancid from the accumulated gunk. Just unscrew the 3 screws holding the metal assembly to the plastic base, throw away all rubber and other plastic parts that's in there. Clamp the upper metallic part of the portafilter into a vise. Get a dremel and just hollow it out. Or use hand tools, drill several contiguous holes just enough to start cutting with a mini hacksaw, clean the rough cut with a half round file. Then finish by sawing off the black plastic spout just short of the screw holes.
@@aryafeydakin alright. Thanks for all that info. I'll get into the modified home made bottomless, then. Hopefully I don't screw it up and ruin it for good.
Morning James and that your answer is exactly what I have come to the conclusion of just doing five minutes of research, lol. The cheapest, easiest and best espresso machine I found is the Gaggio Pro Classic.
THIS is how to do reviews. Honest, highly attentive to every detail, and almost snobbishly picky.
Hey James, thank you for being such a fantastic resource for us! An idea I would really love to see is a review of some machines with grinders built in; I’m curious as to how quality they may be, something like the Breville barista express or DeLonghi La specialista. For me personally I’d rather one unit that I can work at than several machines, but not at the expense of quality
From previous videos, I would guess James has no love for built in grinders. I think the video on robotic pour over machines has a machine with a built in grinder that he goes on at length about.
Love the Marc Rebillet shirt, rep'n that Loop Daddy!!
He got +2 awesome points on my list because of the tee.
The world isn't ready for that crossover
God shut up dude
Amazon sells a 4 bar "espresso machine" (Von Shef) for £54 and Robert Dyas sells a similar-looking 5 bar machine (Salter) for £35. "Ideal for any coffee lover." I am fascinated and would love to see a review of one of these not-really-espresso machines.
Q: If I wanted something resembling espresso and only had 100 pounds, what would I buy? A: 4 moka pots
I don’t even drink coffee what am I doing here
Learning about others likes and hobbies, good on ya😀
James's personality and his videos tends to lure people in that might not have an interest in coffee. It's nice to see people stumbling onto his videos. They're very good.
If you like these videos dive into the fountain pen world, same vibe there. Not sure if there is a corresponding James Hoffman in the fountain pen aficionado mondo
🖋
I love coffee and make it at home but don’t plan on buying an espresso machine or grinder and I have been watching lots of videos about espresso machines and grinders
@@AWanderingEyeI don't drink coffee but love James' videos, and am also in the fountain pen hobby (albeit not at the very high end) - I'd say Figboot is the 'James' of fountain pen youtube to me in that he's very pleasant to watch and knowledgeable, without an abrasive or condescending attitude like can be found in some niche hobbies.
So we did formerly own the DeLonghi - my partner had started working at a large coffee chain as a barista whilst saving up to pay for her masters degree, and I was a PhD student... so budgets were tight but she cared enough to want to practice her coffee at home and make espresso and lattes. We did get some OK coffee out of it, despite a horrible cheap grinder (or preground) but it proved to be quite frustrating and fiddly so eventually we stopped using it and it went to the charity shop. I wouldn't recommend it.
I have the delonghi with the pressurized filter. I can say that I've pulled better shots on it than I've gotten from a few specialty coffee places.
You must have a very weird idea of what a good shot is
@@Laurabeck329 You'd be surprised how hit-and-miss coffee shops can be depending on where you live.
The delonghi was the machine i came into coffee with. I modified the portafilter and used a basket from another delonghi model and managed good espresso from it before grabbing a Rancilio Silvia and Mazzer Mini Electronic. Now looking for another upgrade.
How is the Silvia? It's an interesting machine. Why are you looking to upgrade? Just for more variety or is the Silvia not doing it for you
Hi James, I have a John Lewis 'pump espresso machine' that I got for £70, however it can be bought second hand for more like £20. First step, ditched the pressurised portafilter altogether and got a new 52mm portafilter with unpressurised basket. Luckily all the cheapy consumer machines (including amazon basics) use this thread size and a generic third party 52mm Portafilter seems to work in all of them. Then rather than buy a larger basket (which im not really sure I like the idea of having a really deep basket) I found the trick of gently patting down each spoon of coffee to allow more to go in, allowing me to put between 19-20g. I'm guessing you could just use more finely ground coffee and aim for 17g to make the process easier, but my grinder wasn't quite good enough to manage that fine. But now I get LOVELY coffee from my machine, and my whole setup including my hand grinder takes the total to about £110 with everything brand new :) sure, it's not terribly consistent but 95% of the time get a lovely espresso 🤗
Also my brew ratio is usually between 1:2 - 1:2.5 and I can get between 25 - 35s for that ratio :)
I've been waiting for the video on what machine is the bare minimum for a good home espresso experience. I'd love to see that!
I have a De Longhi for about two years now. It's been sitting on a shelf for the past few months, coz I started to experiment with V60. It's coming down soon for the variety sake. But anyway, it does a good job, I think I figured it out. I'm using a normal Lavazza espresso preground coffee and was grand.
Hi James, The reason why the group head sprays all other the place is because its not tight enough if you turn it on its side there's screw witch needs tightening until you cant move it anymore
Just to note this happend to me so maybe try the krups again Its AMAZING
Waiting so badly for your recommendation for the BARE Minimum to have espresso at HOME 🏡 please hook us up ASAP
I'd really love to see your 'best basic espresso machines' so less focus on price but more just simple machines for beginners without fancy extras and a massive price but with full manual espresso functionality. Things like the delonghi dedica, sage bambino, gaggia classicx rok and Flair that don't take up much space.
I couldn't sleep the other night and I was browsing some used things online, found used, old espresso machine for 10$, Delonghi, good condition, they were selling because they bought a newer, more expensive one. I cleaned it, descaled it and now every morning I am enjoying a nice shot of espresso.
Today I rewatched this video and realized that my Delongi is THE Delongi from the video. Feels good.
When the scale is more expensive than the espresso machine
When all 5 espresso machines combined (£315) are still only worth 63% of price of the grinder (£500).
@@feralferret to be fair that was the premise of the video
@@feralferret I am looking for a grinder. what is the James's model? Any tip to choose a good one?
@@marcMH I'm certainly no expert on grinders, but the grinder James is using in this video is the Niche Zero, it's a single-dose, conical burr grinder. You can see his video on that here: ua-cam.com/video/FzOY2tHyZ4w/v-deo.html I believe some people prefer flat burrs to conical burrs for espresso, if so something like the Eureka Atom (or cheaper Mignon) could be a good starting point all the way through to the Ceado E37s and beyond.
This will be cheeky, but even after getting super into coffee, I still like my Nespresso machine every so often!
I wanna see a James Hoffman and Marc Rebillet collaboration - imagine Lood Daddy making songs about espresso with samples from James' delightful reviews
Okay, so I'm gonna buy the De'Longhi and an EK43 to go with
look for a machine made by delta this is the one i am using its been a year now still doing good none of the parts warn out yet removable nozzles work well easy to clean has good pressure it makes better coffee than anywhere ive had outdoors apart from real italian machines with decent coffee made by a pro who knows what they are doing
4 of those have the same portafilter, and use the same chinese thermoblock with the same switch mechanism... They all fit 51mm baskets, you can use EC685 non-pressurized baskets, singles, or even ESE (though I'm not sure how well that would fare...).
With some practice and a $10 non-pressurized portafilter, you can get decent shots out of the ones with a working dispersion screen - just like you did from the Delonghi.
my experience with non-pressurized baskets is that these machines have simply too much pressure for a normal basket ... high pressure and a pinhole is the formula for constant flow rate regardless of what you put in the basket. it seems to me that slowing the flow with actual coffee means a grind so fine that you're on a knife edge between flow and blockage, and for me that meant i definitely got better coffee but it was very inconsistent. my grinder isn't great, so i can see how a better grinder would improve things, but i'm thinking that even with a good grinder you're fighting against the laws of physics. it seems a pity they can't add a low-pressure switch. i can't seem to shake my skepticism that decent machines must be expensive
When you go for round two, could you look at the Gaggia Classic Pro? I currently have the delonghi ec155 (college present) and, after a lot of effort, I’ve found a way to get good tasting espresso.
Is something like a PID/some temperature gauge necessary?
Im very excited to see the rest of these entry-level series videos.
Spencjon if it helps, I went from a DeLonghi to a Classic Pro recently, was a bit of a learning curve but quite a step up. I get more intense espresso than I did.
I would like to hear james Hoffman's opinion on nespresso capsule machines
Look at his cisno portable nespresso review.
@@aryafeydakin thanks
He despises them basically
Probably won't be good😅😅😅
That's what I just spent money on and now as I watch my first video of his, I'm rethinking my purchase
In response to your question I have the Swan machine ( Aldi £39). Used it three years solid ( two cups morning and intermittent through days and evening). I use a Braun grinder and with a bit of experimenting get pretty decent coffee. Probably not the best but better than a lot of cafe coffee I have paid through the nose for. Aldi Italian beans ground almost to talc are good enough and easy enough to use for every day brew. I accept it's not top quality but forty quid and much better than instant, cafeteria, filter etc and quick to use.
I was just thinking of getting an affordable espresso machine 😭 thank you for this
Now that i've finished the video maybe i'll wait 😳 please do more!
Get a second hand Gaggia Classic Hanna
@@glutoxim i've seen that in the comments, it's pretty pricey brand new but ima look it up more. Thx!
Get a mocapot ;)
Again, as James stated in the video, your grinder is SO important. A gaggia can make good coffee if you have a good grinder.
I see James has great taste in music, love the Rebillet shirt