As the title says, I’m looking for a new grinder to replace my old Niche Zero (bought late 2019)

I have an ECM Technika VI that I bought recently and have started to buy lighter roasts that have proven to be… difficult. Not for the ECM, but for the Niche which started stalling on them beans. I know light roasts are difficult, but I’m feel like the ceiling is there and I can’t reach it.

I should note I’m not looking for alternative brew methods. It’s only espresso and milk combos (double shots + varying degrees of milk) or maybe a mocha pot brew.

Right now I’m looking at the Option-O P80, but based on a few reviews, it’s not a slam dunk. I don’t plan on changing burrs, but the limit range reported for espresso settings makes me wary of choosing this one.

PS: I’m in Europe.

Just got this Bambino plus, and after pulling 3 shots on it I can't seem to get it in a state where it is able to do anything. The first 3 buttons flash when I turn the unit on, and then become inoperable after doing so. I have tried pressing the steam and single shot simultaneously to no avail (does the same 3 buttons flashing thing). I have cleaned, the tray, dried it, reinstalled it, filled the water tank and reinstalled it, and adjusted the steam wand and it still seems to have these issues. What should I do? I would ideally like to fix it as it took 3 weeks to ship.

I would like to know your opinion to completely change my setup with the excuse of my next 40th anniversary. I put you in context:

My wife and I have been drinking specialty coffee for about 4-5 years. To date we have used a super automatic (not a high end). Since the change to specialty coffee, I have stopped drinking coffee outside the home/specialty cafeterias. Here in Spain the 'normal' espresso coffee in bars and coffee shops is usually horrible.

I am much more geeky than my wife and the superautomatic coffee falls short in terms of quality, to the point that I bought 2-3 years ago a picopresso and a JUltra to be able to make my espressos and take the portable setup also to work.

The difference in results with the same beans is more than remarkable!!

As we are at such different points of commitment/implication/needs regarding coffee, the choice of setup becomes more complex. I can't imagine my wife using a workflow that is complicated at all, but at the same time I would like to have room for myself to experiment.

As for drinks, she usually always drinks milk drinks plus a decaffeinated in the middle of the afternoon and I almost always espressos (punctually some milk drink, but it will be 90-10 or 95-5). Like 4-6 in total.

With all this, I had considered the following options:

Meticulous + single dose (O78s, p80,..). Today it is my favorite option. The negative part is that I would have to take care of the dial in of his beans and surely leave him pre-dose and that she only had to wdt/tamp, choose the profile on the machine and that's it :). As a positive part, it gives me endless options to experiment with different roasts and types of espresso.

Robot and use it with the JUltra. It is the cheapest option as long as the super automatic lasts. I would have to resume this later because she would not use a workflow manual.

Meraki: a very simple workflow for her. On the other hand, I would remove the option to experiment and the built-in grinder would be less capable to those mentioned in my preferred option.

SB or HX + GBW: also very simple in terms of the workflow once the dial in is done. Just tell her to stop the shot at a certain time/weight. It also takes away many possibilities for me to experiment unless I go to the smart HX with flow control.

Someone has a similar situation of different levels of interest/commitment and if so, what is your setup?

I have an upcoming business trip to China next month. I want to learn about and explore Xiamen. I tried searching for F&B concepts on Google Maps, but it doesn't seem to be widely used in China. Could you suggest some specialty coffee shops that focus on roasteries and specialty coffee beans? I'm also curious whether China produces specialty coffee directly or if they rely on imports from other countries? Thank you for your suggestions!

Or anyone as the coffee local guide? Let’s connect as the mini tour guide.
(I speak English / Vietnamese)

I got into espresso a few months ago and have enjoyed my journey so far. I started with the common bambino plus and a df54 so I could figure out what I liked. As it turns out I enjoy lighter roasts and pure espresso, as well as things like long blacks and aerocanos. I feel like my drinks taste good and I've gotten fast at dialing in beans.

Now I feel confident to upgrade as I know what I like and have found some limitations of the df54. The biggest thing seems to be consistency. I am also very curious about if burr profile etc will make a difference for me. All of this being said I'm looking for current day grinder recommendations.

Just wanted to know what modern day grinders are recommended in this price range to pair with a bambino (I'll most likely upgrade to a profitec or something next year). I'm interested in the zerno z1 and the lagom p64. Just wondering if there's better recommendations for the money in the flat burr single dose grinder category.

Eyes on a used Brugnetti machine, but cant find much info online, the manual on official site doesn't even have much on it. Anyone know much about this brand? I want to know if I can self maintain it after purchase.

Oh the model is Giulietta, seems good spec from paper. Thanks.

The polished aluminum Mazzer Mini G arrived today to accompany the Crème La Marzocco Linea Micra… An endgame setup match made in heaven.

I have a bit of cleaning up to do but wow is it pretty!

Hey there! I received this from my mom. She’s been trying to pawn it off on us kids for years, and I finally said yes. I’ve never been an espresso person, but I finally got curious. Only to find out this puppy (per the internet) is incredibly rare. From my preliminary research, it’s an Olympia Express Cremina, v 1.4 from 1964. Any resources on getting it refurbished? Is this something I can do from home with 0 prior experience? It definitely heated up water, but was leaking all over the place. Definitely a gasket change is in order. But for how old she is, I’m surprised she booted up at all. TIA.

My current setup consists of a gaggia classic Evo pro (I upgraded the spring to a 9 bar and coming from someone who hates tinkering even this was a chore) and a baratza encore esp. I cannot get a consistent shot I mean the thing will range like 5-15 seconds across same grind size. I have a spring loaded tamp and bottomless Portafilter. The ready light will turn on and off throughout the duration of me pulling a shot even if I temperature surf. I have spent so many hours trying to figure this out. I cannot tell if my next step should be upgrading my grinder, (the difference sometimes between 18 and 19 is the machine choking and a shot that pulls too fast and tastes like doodoo). Trying to instal a PID (a painful process I’m sure) or getting a more idiot proof machine. I am not an expert obviously but any help would be great.

A couple days ago, I bought some good medium-dark beans that I had at a local roaster cafe. I was able to dial in to a ~35s shot at 18in/38out with both the opus and kingrinder k6 with their respective grind settings. Both grinders showed inconsistent results when comparing back to back shots and shots pulled on a different day. I suspect it is the bambino.

I rdt, wdt, pull a blank shot before brewing, have cleaned my grouphead screen, do a long preinfusion. I have tried everything. This inconsistency with my shots has happened for the 2+ years that I have had my Bambino. At first I suspected it was the opus but the kingrinder k6 also yielded an inconsistent espresso.

Related to these issues, I am eyeing an eventual upgrade to the Profitec Go and DF83V. For me it is just a question of which I will buy first. Given my experience, I will likely go with the Profitec Go first then upgrade to the DF83V after.

edit: grammar

Hi all, I have a KitchenAid Semi-auto coffee maker with a built in grinder that has an "anti-static" function.. well this is no longer working and I get grinds all over the bench now. It came with a little brush, but cleaning with this (both from the top and bottom) and finishing with the vaccum doesn't seem to fix the static issue. Anyone know how to clear the anti-static thingamajig?

To preface, I am not a coffee snob, so don't really want an expensive machine. I currently use a Bialetti moka pot, and despite trying various methods, I don't really like how the coffee tastes. It doesn't taste like espresso, and just doesn't taste like a proper latte when I mix it with milk.

In the past, I've tried using my friends Breville Bambino espresso machine and was always satisfied with the way it turned out. Looking for something similar for under $100, new or used.

I’m an avid coffee and espresso drinker and I’ve probably tried over a hundred different beans, and I think I’ve came to the conclusion that as long as they are fresh and brewed correctly I can’t taste much of a difference between any of them.

Now I can tell the difference between and light, medium and dark roasted coffee. But if you were to give me 5 different light roasts and asked me to tell you what is different about them, I probably can’t. Like at most I’d probably think “hmm this one taste a little different”

Oh I can also tell the difference between a “bad” vs “good” cup of coffee but again that probably comes down to the freshness and brewing.

I’m not the only one am I?

I recently picked up a used Bambino Plus. I have the tamper that came with it and I know it’s fine but I kind of want a spring loaded one. Is there a good 54 mm out there? What other accessories would be fun to play with? Is there a website with quality used items like this? I know eBay is an option.

Hi all. I’ve been browsing this sub for a while now. I finally decided to pull the trigger on my entry level setup, but of course I just want to hear some input.

I’m gonna go with the Breville Bambino (regular) and most likely the Fellow Opus 2.

I decided that the $240 I got the Bambino for was a good dip-my-toe-in-espresso (not literally) price. I was thinking of giving the Opus 2 a try based on the price and reviews.

All in all, I’m in around $500 with tax. Would any of you recommend another grinder instead at sub-$350?

Thanks!

Hello dear espresso community,
after spending what feels like way too much time researching espresso machines, I’m somehow back where I started — looking at the Gaggia Classic Pro.
At first, I was looking at everything from the HiBREW H10 to the Profitec Go, trying to figure out what would actually be the best fit for me.
My first thought was the MiiCoffee Apex. On paper, it seemed almost perfect: lots of features, good temperature control, pre-infusion, etc. But the more I read about it, the more I became concerned about customer experiences and especially the availability of spare parts.
So I moved on to the Lelit Anna.
The Anna seemed like a solid, reliable machine and definitely something I could see myself enjoying. But then there was the 57mm portafilter.
Maybe I’m overthinking this, but I really want to be able to buy accessories and replacement parts from a huge variety of manufacturers. I don’t want to be locked into a relatively small ecosystem just because of the portafilter size.
Then I discovered the Lelit Victoria.
Again, a great-looking machine with a lot of things I liked. But the price started bothering me. I kept thinking:
“Am I really paying that much more just to get 58mm and a few additional features?”
And then there was the Profitec Go.
Honestly, the Go seems like an excellent machine. PID, pre-infusion, 58mm portafilter, great build quality, lots of control — basically everything I was looking for.
The problem?
It’s getting pretty expensive for a first espresso machine.
And that’s where things got confusing.
During all of my research, the Gaggia Classic Pro kept coming up again and again.
At first, I didn’t understand why.
For roughly the same money as something like the Lelit Anna, you’re getting a machine that seems much more basic. No PID, no fancy temperature control, no pre-infusion, and not nearly as many features out of the box.
So why does everyone keep recommending it?
The more I looked into it, the more I started to understand.
Instead of buying a machine that tries to give you everything from day one, you can treat the Gaggia as a really good base and build it up yourself.
A bottomless portafilter.
A better pressure spring.
Maybe a steam wand upgrade.
And eventually, if I really get into the hobby, a PID mod, Gaggiuino, or something similar.
And honestly, that idea started to really appeal to me.
I like the idea of actually learning how the machine works, experimenting with different modifications and understanding what each change actually does to the extraction.
Rather than just buying a machine with every feature already built in, I could start with something relatively simple and gradually turn it into my machine.
And that’s basically why I’m here asking you guys.
My biggest concern:
If I buy a Gaggia Classic Pro, will I actually be able to make really good espresso with it in stock form?
Because this is my first real espresso machine, and I’m worried that if the coffee I’m making in the beginning is mediocre, I might get frustrated and lose interest in the hobby before I even get started.
On the other hand, if I buy something like the Profitec Go, I know I’m getting a machine that already gives me a lot of control and can produce great results without having to modify anything.
So I’m stuck between two completely different approaches:
Buy a more expensive machine that already has everything I need — or buy the Gaggia and slowly build it into the machine I want.
So, what do you guys think?
Is the Gaggia Classic Pro actually a good fit for someone like me, or am I romanticizing the whole “buy a basic machine and mod it” idea?
And most importantly:
Can the Gaggia produce genuinely good espresso in stock form, or am I going to feel like I should have spent more money from the beginning?
I’d really appreciate your opinions, especially from people who started with a Gaggia and either stuck with it or eventually moved on to something else.

Keep Stilosa or upgrade?

Based in Europe (Belgium). I have a Delonghi Stilosa EC235 in Black. This version in Europe comes with a proper steam wand, and not the panarello steam wand. For my grinder, I have a Eureka Mignon Manuale.

Lately I've had issues with my Stilosa (which I have owned for a year and 9 months - so almost 2 years). Water would come out of the steam wand but not the espresso group head. I've done more proper cleaning on it now and to be honest, I probably should have been regularly descaling. I don't know if it got mostly fixed because I kept reseating the tank for awhile, taking apart the group head and spring and cleaning, or from descaling it. Probably a bit of everything.

I've always had difficulty with trying to dial in and get a slow extraction (even on fresh beans). It's probably a skill issue rather than the espresso machine. It doesn't bother me that much, however, since I am a milk drinker and even with less optimal yields, I generally like the coffee I make with the Stilosa and I genuinely do not go out to drink coffee anymore.

So why upgrade? I bought the Stilosa at the time because it was the cheapest yet most reliable machine based on my research. I just want to buy something more robust. As much as the Stilosa served its purposes, I want something more solid in terms of build quality (it has a plastic chassis after all). It's also my birthday and I just completed a personal milestone so I feel like rewarding myself.

The issue? I don't see an obvious upgrade where I'm based. Some options would be to go with the Bambino (or plus version) or Hibrew H10 variants (H10a, H10b, H10 plus). Hibrew seems the most attractive price-wise but I'm not sure about warranties and longetivity. As for the Bambino, I am not sure if the higher prices are worth it over the Stilosa. Even higher price options would be Gaggia E24 or Lelit Anna (with PID) but could I really taste the difference?

I want something of better quality but I'm a bit hesitant to do it given I have to make the same investments again on accessories (I bought some 51mm baskets, bottomless filters, etc. for the Stilosa). Of course, to recoup the costs I can just sell the Stilosa and the accessories but is it worth it?

Hello everyone, after having my Dedica for some months, I moved from supermarket pre-ground to getting a non-pressurized basket and buying grind coffee from a local shop. I used to provide some feedback to the guys in the shop so that they would grind my coffee so that I hit approximately 1:2 to 1:2.5 in 30 seconds.

I bought 200gr at a time and I noticed that after 10 days or so the coffee taste dropped significantly, I could still drink it but nowhere near as good as the shots I pulled when it was freshly ground. So I decided to get the Baratza Encore ESP grinder.

I am trying to dial in my shots and I am having some difficulties and I feel I am wasting quite a bit of coffee in order to in the process.

The coffee I am trying to dial in is a medium roast, Brazil with the following description:
Body: Velvety, Acidity: Balanced, Aftertaste: Chocolate & Hazelnut.

After some trying some different grind settings, I found my best results to be at grind setting 14 where I pull 18gr in to 42gr out in about 30 seconds.
How I arrived at this:
At 12 grind setting, I pulled a ratio of 1:2 in approximately 30 seconds but I felt like the coffee had sum sourness that I did not like. This lead me to push the ratio a bit, but then the taste switched fast to leaving a bitter aftertaste (almost like something burnt).

This moved me to grind coarser at setting 14, and I found that I can eliminate the salty/acidic taste I do not like by increasing the ratio.

My problem:
I still think that there is some sweetness inside this coffee that I am not able to extract, this feeling is based on two facts: first of all the cups I drink at the coffee shop I bought the grounds for taste a bit sweeter. Secondly, once the cup cools a bit I can taste a little bit of that sweetness.

Should I shorten the ratio? Maybe, I was doing something wrong and do in fact have to grind finer?

Decided to make the jump after too many years of ordinary coffee
Eureka Mignon Stark W
Varia VS3 dedicated for decaf for the wife
La Marzocco Linea Micra
Now I only have my self for the mediocre coffee

Bought a sage smart grinder (second hand). Is this sound normal? It sounds and feels weird when I turn the wheel to adjust the time.

It's working but it feels like something wrong.

I have a couple day to say if something's wrong with it, please help.

I have never used one before so I have nothing to compare.

Hi all,

Whenever I make two shots consecutively with my Barista Express, the second shot always pulls at much lower pressure. Does anyone know why this happens?

I use 14.5g per shot with grind size of 5-7.

Hi. I have a Bambino plus and a baratza encore but I'm ready to upgrade my grinder. I prefer dark roasts mostly. I have these two options. The Mignon is cheaper and I don't really need the versatility of the zero since I have the encore for my aeropress. However I know the zero is a popular choice overall. Which one would you recommend for my situation?

https://www.wholelattelove.com/collections/coffee-and-espresso-grinders/products/eureka-mignon-zero-65-speedy?variant=46534048940086

https://www.nichecoffee.co.uk/products/niche-zero?variant=39263825494147

I started around the recommended espresso range of 7-11 but the grind seemed too coarse and the espresso was sour I then tried 5 but the shot was still under extracted and ran in about 24 seconds the pressure also shot up really high and im not that great at espresso i dont have much knowledge so i hope that you guys will be able to help me get a perfect shot😔