Bean to Cup Coffee machine for a complete novice \ starter

[T1berious]

Hello!

This has to be the most un PH thread I've ever started but here goes...

So I'm thinking about moving away from Nespresso and getting a Bean to Cup machine. A trip I did last year to the company offices in Krakow left me in awe. They had a proper coffee machine. You ground you beans, popped it in the puck and chose your hot water amount and out it trickled. It was bliss.

So I'm giving it some thought. In a man maths sort of way i figured a pack of beans would last way longer than the pods which are beginning to feel expensive. Yes, your front loading the cost as the machine is pretty expensive but you haven't got that £80 pcm habit after the initial purchase.

Be great to hear from those of you who do bean to cup, where do you get your roasted beans from? How long does a pack last?

Thanks in advance!

T1b

[NiceCupOfTea]

I ve had a fully automatic Delonghi for 8 or so years and I m 10000 coffees in. It is quite configurable and is very consistent. I ve had to replace a few bits on it (boiler got totally scaled up, as did brewing unit) - was a faff but if you re reasonably handy then not too bad. Descaling is very important. They all have the same innards so they are much of a muchness - £3-400.

I get bought a suubscription coffee service from somewhere which is nice but otherwise my daily is Lavazza red bags from Amazon. 1kg bag lasts a couple of months I would say.

If you want to be a bit more involved in the process I gather Sage do one that s not much more expensive, £600`/

[Stu R]

I use a Jura J10 most days when I can't be arsed to spend time playing barista and like it a lot.

Prior to that I've had various Delonghis spanning probably 25 years and they've all served pretty well.

[T1berious]

Stu R said:

I use a Jura J10 most days when I can't be arsed to spend time playing barista and like it a lot.

Prior to that I've had various Delonghis spanning probably 25 years and they've all served pretty well.

Hey Stu R,

Dumb question, how many machines did you go through?

[T1berious]

NiceCupOfTea said:

I ve had a fully automatic Delonghi for 8 or so years and I m 10000 coffees in. It is quite configurable and is very consistent. I ve had to replace a few bits on it (boiler got totally scaled up, as did brewing unit) - was a faff but if you re reasonably handy then not too bad. Descaling is very important. They all have the same innards so they are much of a muchness - £3-400.

I get bought a suubscription coffee service from somewhere which is nice but otherwise my daily is Lavazza red bags from Amazon. 1kg bag lasts a couple of months I would say.

If you want to be a bit more involved in the process I gather Sage do one that s not much more expensive, £600`/

Yeah, I'm pretty pants at descaling the Nespresso machine, last time I tried it, it 5h@t itself and had to go back to be repaired (I mean, how hard? Press button for 7 Seconds, then press it again for 7 seconds within 45 seconds.. descaling will start... I wish...)

I'm guessing its a messy job? Might watch a YouTube vid on that just to get an idea. Really hoping you can make them last a good few years with proper maintenance.

Thanks for the info!

T1b

[Skodillac]

NiceCupOfTea said:

I ve had a fully automatic Delonghi for 8 or so years and I m 10000 coffees in. It is quite configurable and is very consistent. I ve had to replace a few bits on it (boiler got totally scaled up, as did brewing unit) - was a faff but if you re reasonably handy then not too bad. Descaling is very important. They all have the same innards so they are much of a muchness - £3-400.

I get bought a suubscription coffee service from somewhere which is nice but otherwise my daily is Lavazza red bags from Amazon. 1kg bag lasts a couple of months I would say.

If you want to be a bit more involved in the process I gather Sage do one that s not much more expensive, £600`/

User name does not check out.

But I share your thoughts broadly. I've had a cheapish Delonghi for ages, produces lovely coffee even from Lidl/Aldi cheap arse beans. Always pick strength 5 and don't worry about the brand is my advice.

[NiceCupOfTea]

T1berious said:

Yeah, I'm pretty pants at descaling the Nespresso machine, last time I tried it, it 5h@t itself and had to go back to be repaired (I mean, how hard? Press button for 7 Seconds, then press it again for 7 seconds within 45 seconds.. descaling will start... I wish...)

I'm guessing its a messy job? Might watch a YouTube vid on that just to get an idea. Really hoping you can make them last a good few years with proper maintenance.

Thanks for the info!

T1b

It’s not bad really, takes an hour or so chugging through some citric acid and squirting it everywhere.

[jonsp]

NiceCupOfTea said:

I ve had a fully automatic Delonghi for 8 or so years and I m 10000 coffees in. It is quite configurable and is very consistent. I ve had to replace a few bits on it (boiler got totally scaled up, as did brewing unit) - was a faff but if you re reasonably handy then not too bad. Descaling is very important. They all have the same innards so they are much of a muchness - £3-400.

Same here. But then I only drink espresso so can't comment on the other options. You can set the strength to taste and do singles or doubles. Just need to keep the water/beans topped up and the drip tray empty.

As you say descaling is important but it tells you when it's needed. About every 3 months for me - first kit included.

[toon10]

I have a fairly basic Delonghi Magnifica machine. I've used the Nesspresso type ones in hotels and they are OK but you get a better coffee with a bean to cup. Once you get the settings sorted to your taste they are really good. in terms of coffee beans, I've tried loads. Supermarket staples, online retailers who offer various Columbian, Brazillian and other options and also fancy independent ones picked up on food markets.

In all honesty, I've struggled to find a decent brew. Mrs. toon has a family member who owns a vending machine company and he sometimes pops in with a large unbranded bag of beans that they use in their machines and it's really good. At least to my uncultured palette! Maybe it's because they are free that they taste better!

[Stu R]

T1berious said:

Stu R said:

I use a Jura J10 most days when I can't be arsed to spend time playing barista and like it a lot.

Prior to that I've had various Delonghis spanning probably 25 years and they've all served pretty well.

Hey Stu R,

Dumb question, how many machines did you go through?

Goodness, no idea, half a dozen for home use at a guess. I've bought them for work premises, given them away when moving etc. If the question pertains to how reliable they are I haven't replaced any due to failure.

[Ed Boon II]

Pretty much all you could ever want to know in this thread - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[xx99xx]

toon10 said:

I have a fairly basic Delonghi Magnifica machine. I've used the Nesspresso type ones in hotels and they are OK but you get a better coffee with a bean to cup. Once you get the settings sorted to your taste they are really good. in terms of coffee beans, I've tried loads. Supermarket staples, online retailers who offer various Columbian, Brazillian and other options and also fancy independent ones picked up on food markets.

In all honesty, I've struggled to find a decent brew. Mrs. toon has a family member who owns a vending machine company and he sometimes pops in with a large unbranded bag of beans that they use in their machines and it's really good. At least to my uncultured palette! Maybe it's because they are free that they taste better!

I also have one of those. It's about 5 years old and gets used at least once a day. No issues with it so far.

Dead simple to use.

I read somewhere that medium roast is best for bean to cup machines. Maybe less oil to clog things up, who knows.

Coffeebeanshop.co.uk have been the best I've found. They do a bean to cup starter pack which includes 4 bags x 250g. They aren't the cheapest but they're the nicest. And they do some pretty rare stuff if you fancy treating yourself.

[T1berious]

Thank you all for the replies. I think I'm going to treat myself after doing a bit more research.

Cheers!

T1b

[LooneyTunes]

T1berious said:

A trip I did last year to the company offices in Krakow left me in awe. They had a proper coffee machine. You ground you beans, popped it in the puck and chose your hot water amount and out it trickled. It was bliss.

<snip>

Be great to hear from those of you who do bean to cup, where do you get your roasted beans from? How long does a pack last?

Without wanting to be too pedantic, “bean to cup” usually refers to a type of machine that does it all. You put beans and water in, one machine grinds and makes the coffee.

What you’ve described in Poland sounds like a separate grinder and coffee maker setup where you actually had to load the ground coffee into a holder yourself?

Both setups can produce good coffee but the latter is seen as more purist. Did you have a preference between the two, or are you just wanting a way to start from beans and end up with coffee?

[T1berious]

LooneyTunes said:

Without wanting to be too pedantic, bean to cup usually refers to a type of machine that does it all. You put beans and water in, one machine grinds and makes the coffee.

What you ve described in Poland sounds like a separate grinder and coffee maker setup where you actually had to load the ground coffee into a holder yourself?

Both setups can produce good coffee but the latter is seen as more purist. Did you have a preference between the two, or are you just wanting a way to start from beans and end up with coffee?

I'm going from memory of a year ago but I think it was a separate grinder. So you ground the beans. popped it into the puck. put it into the machine, selected your Short or Long Coffee. Flicked the switch add more water as needed.

T1b

[jonsp]

T1berious said:

I'm going from memory of a year ago but I think it was a separate grinder. So you ground the beans. popped it into the puck. put it into the machine, selected your Short or Long Coffee. Flicked the switch add more water as needed.

T1b

Unless you're a perfectionist that sounds like way too much faff.

Much easier to open the bag of beans tip it into the machine and fill up the water tank. Then just choose your desired strength press a button for espresso, Americano or normal coffee. Works just like a vending machine.

You should be able to get a machine to do that for ~£300. Then it's just a case of experimenting with different beans to find one you like.

[Antony Moxey]

I have a Sage machine that's pretty easy to use. Put the beans in the top and water in the back. Press the buttons on the front (it's really difficult to get it wrong because it won't let you press them out of sequence. Beans go into puck, press a lever to tamp down, move puck to water dispenser and press either one or two cup. You can do things manually, or just use the auto setting - it's probably no more than a minute or two from switching it on to drinking your coffee. I like my coffee black so have no idea how the milk frother works though, I leave that to the rest of the family.

[T1berious]

Antony Moxey said:

I have a Sage machine that's pretty easy to use. Put the beans in the top and water in the back. Press the buttons on the front (it's really difficult to get it wrong because it won't let you press them out of sequence. Beans go into puck, press a lever to tamp down, move puck to water dispenser and press either one or two cup. You can do things manually, or just use the auto setting - it's probably no more than a minute or two from switching it on to drinking your coffee. I like my coffee black so have no idea how the milk frother works though, I leave that to the rest of the family.

Yup, this sounds like what I'm after

[Antony Moxey]

T1berious said:

Antony Moxey said:

I have a Sage machine that's pretty easy to use. Put the beans in the top and water in the back. Press the buttons on the front (it's really difficult to get it wrong because it won't let you press them out of sequence. Beans go into puck, press a lever to tamp down, move puck to water dispenser and press either one or two cup. You can do things manually, or just use the auto setting - it's probably no more than a minute or two from switching it on to drinking your coffee. I like my coffee black so have no idea how the milk frother works though, I leave that to the rest of the family.

Yup, this sounds like what I'm after

It's a ridiculous name: Sage Barista Impress Express. Got it a couple of years ago, descale every whenever and still going strong. Once you're happy with your set up then leave it in auto and job jobbed.

[Smitters]

Antony Moxey said:

T1berious said:

Antony Moxey said:

I have a Sage machine that's pretty easy to use. Put the beans in the top and water in the back. Press the buttons on the front (it's really difficult to get it wrong because it won't let you press them out of sequence. Beans go into puck, press a lever to tamp down, move puck to water dispenser and press either one or two cup. You can do things manually, or just use the auto setting - it's probably no more than a minute or two from switching it on to drinking your coffee. I like my coffee black so have no idea how the milk frother works though, I leave that to the rest of the family.

Yup, this sounds like what I'm after

It's a ridiculous name: Sage Barista Impress Express. Got it a couple of years ago, descale every whenever and still going strong. Once you're happy with your set up then leave it in auto and job jobbed.

I got the Sage Barista Pro over the Express because it has a 3 second water heat time. I absolutely hammer it and it's been solid for two years. It tells you when to descale/flush etc on the screen too and as above, you spend about a million hours on youtube learning how to get a good pour, then leave the settings alone unless you change beans. There's an even fancier one with the same fast water heat and all sorts of digital trickery which my mate has, but the innards are the same and I get quality coffee from mine. I have a mate who ran a restaurant for 20 years, proper big steaming and whistling high pressure machine, and he was blown away by how decent mine was versus a full commercial one.

Whatever you get, you'll need to find the beans you like for the right flavour (as above, I also use Lavazza Rosso) and keep the thing clean (I reckon an hour/month max for mine, including the wipe-downs). Final tip is I got one which is mainly black, not full on chrome. Much easier to keep clean. And the best thing about the Sage is the waste water trough has a little float that pops up when approaching full and says "Empty Me".