Bean to cup coffee machines

Author
Discussion

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,280 posts

250 months

Sunday 17th September 2017
quotequote all
My cheapo Krups Vivo 880 is coming to the end of its life and I have decided I need a bean to cup in my life.

Finding it rather comfusing so looking for some recommendations. Budget is £400 max. Don't need automatic milk stuff, prefer to get my hands dirty and it's just more to clean.

I have been looking at the Delonghi machines but my god they are confusing - the model numbers are like telephone numbers with no pattern to them, they seem to have about 30 or 40 machines which are basically the same, but impossible to work out a pecking order or what is an old model or a new model. There is a webpage I found dedicated to how confusing they are, but that in itself is confusing and doesn't tell you much...

Hoping somebody can make sense of it all here.

I have looked at:

ECAM 23.420 £349 @ Currys - looks good, even has a display on it - but discontinued according to DiLonghi website. Parts availability? Don't mind so much as long as I'm not paying over the odds for an old one. If I'm getting money off because it's a better one but old model I'm happy,
Magnifica S ECAM 21.117.SB - £350 @ John Lewis (although none on display when I went in today) my brother has an older version that he rates apart from a slightly weak frother. According to Delonghi website it's been discontinued though!
Autentica ETAM 29.510.B - £350 @ John Lewis. Looked OK but saw one in person and it's very plasticky, membrane buttons, and pretty ugly

Looked at quite a few others online with totally different model numbers, but the features all seem the same - 1450W, 15 bar pressure, all have milk steamers, etc.

Any other makes worth looking at? Krups?

mi1ne

307 posts

197 months

Monday 18th September 2017
quotequote all
I had the older version of the Magnifica you listed above and that lasted roughly 2-3 years with a few fixes in between. It gave up (I gave up tinkering with it) and bought the Sage machine https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sage-Heston-Blumenthal-BE...

I know its over the £400 budget but its a good bit better than the Magnifica IMO, and less to go wrong. I was worried about spending so much on it, but glad I did. Milk thingy is much better on the sage, it was poor on the MAgnifica as you said. Just my 2p.

(Edit- I am aware that the sage isnt bean to cup but its almost...)

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,280 posts

250 months

Monday 18th September 2017
quotequote all
That does look lovely and I would love one in the corner of the kitchen. I just can't be spending that though, I am the only person who drinks coffee in the house! How is it not bean to cup though?

mart 63

2,068 posts

243 months

Monday 18th September 2017
quotequote all
I've had my Magnifica S 3 years now and is still working great. Very easy to use .

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,280 posts

250 months

Monday 18th September 2017
quotequote all
Trouble is, there seem to be loads of Delonghi Magnifica models, all slightly different, but no bloody order to them - no pecking order, no idea of what is current or discontinued!

Not even sure where you get that above one from? Amazon has some shonky marketplace seller and JL looks like they've stopped selling them. Are they in the middle of bringing out a new range or something?

James P

2,950 posts

236 months

Monday 18th September 2017
quotequote all
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
Sorry - i Forgot the link.

This is the one I have. paid about £250 from Amazon IIRC


https://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-Magnifica-Espres...
We bought the same one 5 years ago, used every day for 5/6 cups and still going strong. It did develop a slight habit of not collrcting the grounds in the hopper but seems to have recovered after we starting talking about a replacement.

While we were looking, we struggled to find anything we preferred for below approx £600.

hairyben

8,516 posts

182 months

Monday 18th September 2017
quotequote all
A lot of these electronics companies and retailers too work in cahoots and play games with model numbers to frustrate comparison. The similar price point versions are probably all the same bit of kit.

We have the 200ishsomething quid delonghi, seen us at least 4 years now of service and a great many cups of coffee.

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,280 posts

250 months

Tuesday 19th September 2017
quotequote all
Seen this one in Currys, looks pretty good but a bit unsure about buying from there, they always used to be crap. Also I found a video on youtube from 2011 making me think it must be a really old model...

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/...

Thoughts?

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,280 posts

250 months

Tuesday 19th September 2017
quotequote all
(Weirdly, the 23.120BK (which seems a model down from the above) is for sale at £430 at Argos and indistinguishable featurewise from my brother's (ECAM 22.110B) , bought a year ago for £300!)

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/7453605


Moominho

893 posts

139 months

Wednesday 20th September 2017
quotequote all
Aargh I am this close to buying the Sage Barista, but this thread is making me change my mind!

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,280 posts

250 months

Thursday 21st September 2017
quotequote all
Currys one (23.610?) has doubled in price since yesterday. You can't make this st up. It was £350, now £600. And it still seems to be an old model.

Moominho

893 posts

139 months

Thursday 21st September 2017
quotequote all
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
Without a doubt looks a lovely piece of kit.

Think it'll make better coffee than the DeLonghi at half the price ?
I was looking at similar priced Delonghi's. really not sure now!

princeperch

7,911 posts

246 months

Thursday 21st September 2017
quotequote all
NiceCupOfTea said:
Seen this one in Currys, looks pretty good but a bit unsure about buying from there, they always used to be crap. Also I found a video on youtube from 2011 making me think it must be a really old model...

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/...

Thoughts?
I have that exact machine which I purchased in April for 300 quid from currys. its a very nice machine, makes superb coffee. I got the extended cover for 50 quid for 5 years cover as well.

KungFuPanda

4,324 posts

169 months

Thursday 21st September 2017
quotequote all
If it helps, from Monday Costco have the DeLonghi Autentica for £380 delivered.

Yipper

5,964 posts

89 months

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,280 posts

250 months

Thursday 21st September 2017
quotequote all
Thanks chaps

princeperch> looks good value for the £350 it was at, not so much at the £600 it went up to yesterday!!

kungfupanda> do you know which model? Unfortunately Delonghi have a mental naming strategy - they have several autenticas, dynamicas, elettas, magnificas, prima donnas, they have ETAM / ECAM / ESAM letters after them, they have daft double numbers (29.510, 44.620, etc.) and some of them say 2700 or 4000 instead. The only decipherable bit is the .B or .S afterward denoting black or silver.

There is no "bigger number, higher up the range", or "bigger number, more recent" protocol, they just seem to be random. It can only be deliberate.

I have found one that looks good though - the Eletta ECAM 44.620s. Seems to have a lot of bells and whistles, generally retail from £500-700 depending on where you look, but it's £400 on AO.com. Current model as well, it seems, been out 2 or 3 years (not sure of what their model life policy is). Still £100 more than I meant to spend (given that the old 22.110B was £300 a year ago and has the same guts) but can't see anything other than the awfully cheap and plasticky 29.510 at John Lewis for £350...

http://ao.com/product/ecam44620s-delonghi-eletta-p...


KungFuPanda

4,324 posts

169 months

Friday 22nd September 2017
quotequote all
It's the ETAM29.620.SB

Available online from Monday.

Bonefish Blues

26,454 posts

222 months

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,280 posts

250 months

Monday 25th September 2017
quotequote all
Just thought I'd update this. Bought the Delonghi Eletta 44.620s in the end. It seems to be from a higher up range than the others I was looking at. I am sure they are all the same inside but it has a brushed aluminium front rather than black/silver plastic, and a 2 line backlit display which is obviously good for bragging rights.

http://ao.com/product/ecam44620s-delonghi-eletta-p...

£399 from AO delivered (actually £389 with a voucher code), and the coffee... oh, the coffee. Absolutely fantastic, lovely crema, totally consistent every time, dead quick. Steamer very easy and consistent, all easy to clean. Not too noisy either. Really happy with it, and soooo much nicer than the 29.510 (??) from John Lewis that was only £40 cheaper.

Saving me lots in shop bought coffees already!

Vroom101

828 posts

132 months

Wednesday 4th October 2017
quotequote all
NiceCupOfTea said:
Just thought I'd update this. Bought the Delonghi Eletta 44.620s in the end. It seems to be from a higher up range than the others I was looking at. I am sure they are all the same inside but it has a brushed aluminium front rather than black/silver plastic, and a 2 line backlit display which is obviously good for bragging rights.

http://ao.com/product/ecam44620s-delonghi-eletta-p...

£399 from AO delivered (actually £389 with a voucher code)
And now £549! The pricing on these machines is all over the place. I can see why it drove you mad banghead



And I'm quietly chuckling to myself at your username in relation to this thread biggrin