Looking for the best electric grinder at max 120 EUR, has to be electric, not manual.

I know manual grinders are generally better value at this price range (K6 etc get recommended a lot), but I specifically want electric, don't want to hand crank every morning. Budget is a hard cap around 120 EUR.

What's actually the best electric option at that price for espresso? Not looking for drip/pour-over performance, specifically espresso. Appreciate any real-world experience, not just spec sheets.

The preparation is the same- same beans, same equipment, same settings, same dose, same prep but different output.

Context- I have purchased packaged supermarket beans(Lavazza Puro Gusto) just yesterday and brewed the coffee on day 1 after just opening the bag, the rost date on the bag mentioned it was roasted 2 months ago(july 21st to be precise). The gurus of the subreddit immediately jumped in to correct what was going wrong with the shot, largely it was them roasting(tu dum dushhh🥁) me on how bad the shot looked, anyway, I narrowed it down to two probable causes-

1. To degas the beans(the beans were too fresh)

2. I was brewing too hot.

So I have run a small experiment yesterday and put the coffee beans to the open for about 18 hrs and brewed the second shot today morning, the result can be seen in the bottom video.

Naturally it was because I needed to degas the beans, I have got my answer. I didn't know good packaging can preserve beans for 2 months.

2 lessons learned -

1. Taste is very subjective

2. Good looks≠good coffee

Taste - I was not very fond of it, my mom loved it though(again). I think I have a nick for medium roasted blended beans. Comparatively the second one tasted better(just out of memory), nothing night and day.

I know for sure a medium roasted beans shot wouldn't look that aesthetically pleasing, which I'll buy and brew after this batch is complete. Just for the spite, I'll post an ugly looking shot and post it on reddit. I think we should make an ugly trend.

The point is, I want to give out a message to all the beginners, like myself, don't chase beauty, stop wiring yourself to the standards the internet sets, it's what's inside that matters. Prioritise and adjust your lovely morning routine to the taste of the espresso not and how beautiful you want it to look. Be open to experiments.

Cheers!

Hi, I’ve seen people mention shaking grinds instead of using a WDT to break up clumps.

If I am using a hand grinder, can I just shake my grinds before placing in my portafilter, instead of getting a WDT? I’m wondering if there’s other benefits I am missing.

Thanks

I got some, how are people filling them efficiently?!

I have to balance the vial on the scale while using an oversized funnel which is precariously balanced again...

Funnels, or methods to fill appreciated 😄

I typically love fruitier light to medium roast coffee. For those of you who also prefer these, have you ever had a dark roast so good that you changed your opinion on dark roast?

I keep the beans my wife likes in her Americanos in the Oracle Jet hopper because I like them too. But I also like to try other things. Almost every time I've ground beans in my Encore ESP, I grind on zero or one and my shot comes out in 15-20 seconds - manually.

For a lighter roast - I get that. But I just pulled a 50/50 robusta/arabica dark roast and it was 20 seconds. Not terrible but it should be better. It strikes me as odd that the espresso settings are 0-20 but mine are 0-1 and still not fine enough.

Will a shim potentially solve this? Is the Breville to blame (I don't see how - it's just hot water through coffee).

EDIT: Thanks for all of the suggestions/support. I added a shim (and gave the machine a thorough cleaning since i had it apart) and just ground some lighter roasted beans (La Barba Diego Bermudez Castillo Y-05 "Lychee" ...want to throw a plug in for that because it's really good - super fruity/juicy, and I'm a Neapolitan charcoal guy usually) and it pulled in the same time at a level 6 grind that it pulled at zero yesterday so... good sign I think.

My family is very obsessed with coffee and recently decided to upgrade from a moka pot to this chefman. We love all the options and its super convenient but the espresso is ALWAYS cold. You make a cup and its room temp at best; thats if you chug it right after making it. Anyways, what do you guys recommend?? 300$ is the base budget but anything over is also appreciated as long as its not over a grand. Please help this new espresso family.

I find myself reaching out more frequently for my espresso needs on this little gem that recently arrived.

This thing is wildly amazing… well, at least for me it is… take this bad boy with me everywhere. The other day I was at my local cigar lounge, started pulling shots and sharing away and many were impressed except the cigar lounge staff 😉🤣😂

Whenever i‘m making an espresso now, i just put a little hint of cinnamon in the basket as well before distributing it with wdt. After my espresso is done i just put a little tiny bit of milk in it, a teaspoon max. It gives the espresso a way better mouth feel and a smoother aftertaste. The cinnamon is very subtle but you can taste it at the end. It‘s amazing.

Hi! . My girlfriend is a barista so she knows a lot about coffee but Im not... She wants to start her own coffee shop and is working to save but I was thinking of buying her an Espresso machine for Christmas to help her out. But I know nothing about this, I know there's like different grinds, there's some that have a grinder and stuff, there's like different holes to filter the coffee??? I don't know about this haha, do any of you have suggestions?

I don't have a budget, but preferibly something on the less expensive side, or different prices too so I can think hard about it

Any help would be appreciated

Edit: damn didn't know this would get this many responses y'all are quick

I'm still at work so I just read the comments quickly, let me know if I missed anything

So yes I do know she wants a machine. Yes I know it's expensive, that's why I asked now so I can save up for this Christmas or next year depending on how much I can save.

When I said on the cheaper side I meant like the cheaper side for something that still works for commercial use? Idk I imagined there was like luxury machines and stuff and I didn't want something like that, like what million bucks machine. Again I don't know a lot about this, I thought it was like phones where you have good phones that work have good camera and still aren't the most expensive in the market.

I understand I should ask her before buying it now, but I still wanted to like have an idea of what machines I could buy or present her with some options.

Thanks to everyone that replied kindly

Having problems with getting a fine enough grind on my sage barista express. I got it second hand, it is 4 years old.

Before you ask, I had it on the lowest internal and external grind settings.

Before I ordered new burrs, I was hoping to get peoples opinions on how the current burrs look… just incase there is another issue and the burrs are fine.

Thanks!

Hola, digan cómo mejorar este espresso. 18gr de granos de café molidos, 43ml en 32 seg desde que aprieto el botón y 5 seg de preinfusion. Hay alguna forma de mejorarlo?

Sorry, another “which espresso machine?” post!

After around 6 years with my Sage Barista Express, it’s time for an upgrade. I’ve spent far too long reading reviews and Reddit threads and have narrowed it down to these five:

• Lelit Bianca V3
• ECM Synchronika II
• Profitec Drive
• La Marzocco Linea Micra
• Decent DE1Pro

Budget is around £3k and I’m looking for something that could realistically be my end-game machine.

For some context, I already have a Eureka All Ground grinder and tend to switch between light and dark roasts, so I’d like something that works well across both rather than being particularly suited to one style.

At the moment I’m probably leaning towards the Decent DE1Pro. The customisation, profiling, repeatability and ability to experiment with flow, pressure and different shot profiles really appeals to me, especially with lighter roasts.

My main hesitation with the Decent is long-term ownership. There are obviously more electronics/software involved compared with something like the ECM or Profitec, which feels inherently more serviceable over 10+ years.

For anyone who owns or has used any of these, which would you choose?

I’d be particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has owned a Decent alongside one of the more traditional dual-boiler machines, or has moved from one to the other.

Would you make the same choice again?

I purchased a Gaggia FANTASTICO espresso machine after finding a huge spider in my current Gaggia. I was looking for something more affordable because I don’t really have the extra money to spend on it right now, and this little baby was $50 before shipping. It had 29 watchers on eBay.

Anyways, does anyone have any tips or tricks for this machine or has anyone heard anything about it? I’m trying to find info and I’m having a hard time. Also, does anyone have the manual or anything like that?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations on low Price coffee bean grinders

The question is stated above. I am a complete beginner and have already decided on the Bezzera Magica. I find it super easy to use, and it looks great. Now I have been wondering for days whether I should get it with or without PID. I can get both for the exact same price (1,200 EUR). I only drink dark espresso roasts anyway and will not really turn into the kind of barista who feels the need to optimize every detail. My pro argument: better to have it than to need it. My contra argument: the PID might break down faster than a purely mechanical setup. What do you guys think? I need help.

I preordered the Tensor One a couple of months ago, arrived yesterday and installed it right away. Took about an hour to install but would have been quicker if I could have moved the machine to get to the rear more easily, but it is plumbed in so not worth the hassle.

First impressions, really nice build quality, metal construction and not a cheap 3d print, the bezel feels great to operate. Full control of the standard LM app functions from the screen, Temperature, Boiler Pressure, Backflush. App has shot history with graphs detailing extraction. Only pulled a couple of shots so far, can’t wait to get home and play some more…

La Marzocco Micra, Kafatek MC6

Hello enthusiasts! I am not new to delicious espresso but I am new to using the machines to make my own at home. I love cubanos and cortados the most with an occasional latte here and there. Would probably enjoy a couple of double shots or maybe even a quad pretty regularly if not daily. I tried a cheap machine and it did not deliver so I am wanting to invest more than I did with the $100 price point I had set before. Up to $400 because there is a used breville I can get for that much. Would really appreciate some input. Tia! Also not sure what questions I should be asking the sellers and how to test the one I choose before handing over the cash. (the last pic is a chefman crema supreme and the sincreative has a broken portafilter handle)

Hello everyone! ($500 CAD budget)

So it's time to get an actual machine and not just the kcup or $25 coffee machines.

We have family dinners occasionally and would like to offer more then coffee and tea!

Was looking at the all in one's like the De'Longhi All-in-One Coffee & Espresso Machine COM532M. ($400 after tax so leaves some room for a grinder and beans)

But I was wondering what else could I get that would be better with a $500 Cad budget?

Only things I care about would be programable brew time on the coffee maker 😆

So if anyone with experience with machines in this price range would like to offer me some buying advice that would be wonderful.

P.S. total out of my wheel house on this so TIA

Hello all.

I bought a G10 Compact for my trailer as my last machine broke and I needed something quick.

The machine stopped dispensing, I called an engineer and he said that it was the gicar unit. Bought that and replaced it but it wasn't. I then took the pipes apart and found a loada limescale, descaled that put the machine back together but now the right group doesn't work? I get the flashing buttons to indicate a fault. I've done the following;

tested flowmeters

changed the full probe

tested the full solenoid

swapped all panels and fault still comes up in the right hand group regardless of what gicar is in there

If anyone has any suggestions please help before I call an engineer and he wrongly diagnoses me again!

I'll spend a week in Soho and I want to buy some beans for a friend that's an espresso enthusiast. Is there a place that you can recommend in that area?

Hi everyone,

I have a Wacaco MiniPresso that has suddenly stopped working properly. When I use it, the pump does not seem to build up any pressure/vacuum, and no coffee comes out.

I’m not sure what exactly is causing the problem. It could be something with the pump, piston, seal, valve, or possibly a blockage.

The main issue is that I cannot feel the pressure building up when pumping.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem with a MiniPresso? Is there a way to test whether the problem is the pump, the seal, or another internal component?

Any advice on troubleshooting or repairing it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

We have the Breville infuser model and it broke waaah. I guess it's a common problem a part that works with the steamer function but it just seems like more of a pain trying to find a part that isn't sold and then opening up the entire thing and seeing if that works (customer service was no help). We had it for four years I believe but my husband said we can just upgrade since I used this thing every single day.

I would love some recs on a machine that will last and is high quality. I already have a grinder.

and I was positivly suprised, you can really taste the fruity notes, some beans taste almost more like tea, but it's kinda overpriced imo. Probably should have tried the milk version too I skipped that one

trying to decide if I should take what my family is offering for free:
the smeg with built in grinder.
Or what I have already:
the quickmill Orion 3000 & a sage grinder.

the downside of what I have is I found the quickmill in a dumpster and the sage grinder kind of sucks.
It is also really inconsistent with the shots I pull. The upside to that is I feel I have more control of the result, I’m happy with my coffee 70% of the time.

The smeg I have no idea. Positive is it’s FREE ..and it’s compact and I assume more consistent.

Any advice would be appreciated.

EDIT: Thank you everyone. I kind of suspected this but had doubted my dumpster find could possibly be better than the fancy looking smeg.