Hi All,
After a lot of research and budgeting I came across DeLonghi Dedica EC685 Coffee Machine which I’m planning to buy through Amazon. Before I purchase I wanted to get your advice and valued opinion.
1) is there a deal going on for this machine compared to Amazon anywhere as I don’t want to regret there’s a deal and I paid more ?
2) how is the machine in general for two people as we spend a lot each day on coffee from cafes we would like to cut our costs making coffee at home. We prefer hazelnut lattes
3) I won’t be buying an expensive grinder so I’ll be relying on ground coffee. Where do you get good quality one which is good for lattes ? Would it be Woolies or online ?
Coffee Machine + Ground Coffee Home Solution
justanick on 28/08/2020 - 19:15
Last edited 02/09/2020 - 14:42 by 1 other user
Last edited 02/09/2020 - 14:42 by 1 other user
Comments
Lattes have milk.
Ah huh…
Espresso doesn’t contain milk.
With milk you need a powerful steam wand where it shoots steam only. No drippy water into you milk.
You need steam to stretch the milk and inject air which creates froth.
Good milk stretching brings out the flavour and enhances its silky texture in your mouth.
The way to achieve this is using a thin metal cup and with your fingers feel the heat. Do not overheat where it’s uncomfortable to feel.
The optimal milk stretching sound should be a psssssssh psssssh pssssssh weeeeeeee
A little bit like when a stream train starts to accelerate- just before the toooo tooooooooooot
@jackinyourbox: Ha ha ha, who taught you to texture milk? The best sound when texturing milk is no sound at all.
@jackinyourbox: sigh
Ex-barista here and you're trying to school me.
OP asked for advice on coffee for lattes… The type of coffee being made from the beans makes no different to what you get. Sure, the machine itself affects it but the beans don't.
So please, next time you feel the need to try to prove your e-peen, make sure you actually read the comment you're responding to:
which is good for lattes
Why would coffee for espresso be different to coffee for lattes? lol
Doesnt once say milk…
@spackbace: Italian? How exotic!
How about I invite you upstairs for some coffee and you can talk to me more about “my e-peen”?
1) About a week ago Amazon had at $199. Deals at this price happen a regularly enough.
2) I have one and it does the job for 2 people. Tends to struggle if there are consecutive coffee shots.
3) Coffee beans are subjective. So try your luck with a few varieties. You can try this place - option to buy beans or espresso grind etc…
https://www.thebeanery.com.au/collections/coffee-beansJust answering number 3, I think a grinder is well worth purchasing. I would rather have home-ground $12/kg coles beans than expensive pre-ground beans. Even a $100 Sunbeam or $70 manual grinder (e.g. porlex mini or hario) would make a huge difference. Even better would be waiting for the breville smart grinder to drop to $160
Thanks guys but not planning to buy a grinder soon but definitely in the near future.
For the coffee machine should I get the black or silver - which is easier to clean and build material decent ?
Looks like I missed out on the $199 deal :(Now for pre- ground coffee beans since I’ll be trying my first shot which one should I get ? I shop in Woolworths most often and Aldi is close too. Or I could do Amazon.
But I’m not sure which one to order which tastes good without costing an arm and legCheap machine cheap coffee, no grinder, this will end well lol.
I've had expresso machines for 10 years plus and the cheaper machine is not going to make a hell of a lot of difference. I think good or at least half decent coffee beans (as fresh as possible) + a hand grinder (I got my initial Hario for under $50) are going to make the most difference. Ground coffee might be ok for your first and second coffee but it will very quickly degrade compared to grinding it as you need it. Even the best coffee will be average by the time you get to the end of the bag of coffee if already ground.
Get $30/kg Mana beans (special deals on here quite often) or $13/kg Aldi dark or single origin (can be great for the money but freshness is more hit and miss) at the minimum a give it a go with an inexpensive hand grinder and the EC685 will produce some awesome results. Not too sure how the milk frother goes in those machines so might want to suss that our in person at a shop. I prefer a separate milk frother since I'm making a few coffees at a time in the morning and I want to get it done quickly.
Did you mean espresso?
haha - where did that spelling come from :)
My understanding if you want good tasting coffee, you should budget same for money for grinder as the machine. So if you have no budget for a grinder then don't bother with a machine.
Good decision!!! I am super happy with mine. Got it for $199. Good a good quality grinder second hand for $80 along with some metal jugs for frothing milk and a heavy tamper. I wouldn't bother if you're going to use pre-ground coffee - stick with a nespresso machine.
I would question what you are trying to achieve.
If you are trying to save money : Instant Coffee , Aldi Pod Coffee , learn to live without coffee
If you are trying to make good coffee at home :
- your machine of choice is fine as a first coffee machine, you will probably want to upgrade in a few years
- you will definitely want a grinder
- you will want decent beans (freshly roasted, not supermarket coffee which has been roasted months ago) - plenty of deals on OzBI personally don't buy into the argument of people justifying getting a coffee machine to save time/money:
- Daily : machine needs time to heat up, you grind, you brew, you clean (this vs walking/driving past your local cafe)
- Long term : parts fail, you feel the urge to upgrade something (equipment or quality of beans)I would argue that making coffee at home is more about getting a new hobby or interest. If you want to learn to make good coffee and enjoy a good cup of coffee, definitely check it out.
Way cheaper to make at home.
Even including machine costs and electricity, I calculated my cost per cup at less than 50c.If you're costing time, don't forget to cost the 5 minutes you wait at the Cafe each day and you can value add the time waiting for machine to warm up very easily at home.
Getting dressed, putting on washing, attaching or installing the dishwasher, cleaning /tidying.
The actual time to make a cup is no longer than a minute.The emotional benefits of buying a store bought coffee should not be discounted. It's timeout. It's a treat. It can also be a good human connection.
That's true. I love sitting in a café for an hour or so working on my laptop or playing a game or reading a book and having 1-3 cups of coffee
I've been through all the solutions, different machines, and ended up using the large Clever Coffee Cupper with Hario number 3 filters. It makes great coffee with my Smart Grinder and is easy to clean. I would start with a Smart Grinder and a Clever before buying a machine, but I do have my coffee black.
I have the same coffee machine (got from Amazon for around $130 about 3 years back). It works great and I usually get Lavazza ground coffee from Woolies when it's on half price ($15-16 per kg). They also have a coffee mate hazelnut creamer, which is nice but not very economical unfortunately. I think a hazelnut blended ground coffee would be a better choice if you can find some. Aldi had one for $149 recently btw.
Thank you all for the feedback and opinion.
1) how is the milk frother on DeLonghi Dedica EC685 Coffee Machine ? Can you make the milk silky and smooth for good Latte experience ?
2) I understand the grinder is much needed. Which options can I look into which is cheap around $50 but good ?
3) How much effort is needed to clean up after let's say 2 cup of coffees in the morning and 2 in the afternoon ?
4) I thought the milk frother jug comes with the machine - can someone clarify ?We spend almost $10 a day on coffee sometimes even more now that we stay home more we can save the money and drink coffee more often rather than think we shouldn't and save the extra $
1) It's good, not great. It's a 'good enough' machine that SMEG have the guts to rebadge it and sell it for a steep markup as the SMEG ECF01. It has a Pannarello which typically makes it easy to get reasonable foam even if your technique is only average — and reviews seem to be reasonably happy with the foam on that machine. Still - personally I would go a Breville Bambino Plus over the DeLonghi.
2) $50 is really a bit too low a budget for a grinder — unless you're happy with a manual hand grinder? You might get a cheap second hand sunbeam EM0440 grinder or similar on gumtree which will give you a start — but if the machine is worn out and needs new grinding burrs, you're already losing money. A breville smart grinder pro, or even the dose control pro, will give you a big advantage towards dialing in your coffee accurately and repeatedly.
3) Cleaning: wipe milk wand immediately after frothing, wipe down bench for stray coffee granules, and
4) Most decent machines would come with a stainless steel milk frother jug. $15 or less if not. Brevilles do.Coffee expenses:
Aldi 1kg beans (they are good beans - amazing for the price): $13 a month
Breville Barista Express: $700
Sunbeam bang bang: $30
At 2 coffee a day … this will pay for itself completely in about 7-9 months.It needs to be convenient and consistent or you will likely stop using it.
some really good pointers thank you.
For the recommended coffee machine Breville Bambino Plus and Breville Barista Express are they two different machines ? Could you please give me some links with options to buy ?In terms of cleaning once I clean the milk wand quickly is there any other parts that needs to be cleaned like opening the machine wipe things down etc ?
A Breville Bambino is a nice small machine, you could pair it with a second hand grinder to save some money.
Barista Express is significantly more expensive, but I think it is a good machine all round. Not perfect — but a full cafe espresso shop machine is typically $5000+… ;-)Cleaning — once I've finished making coffees, I normally purge water through the group head, then take out the portafilter and wipe that and the group head shower screen down with the same cloth. Then rinse cloth with drop of dish soap, and wring out to dry, and hang on portafilter handle to air.
I recommend a wonder cloth, they are great for wiping down everything.
Here's a good article on cleaning: https://www.fivesenses.com.au/blog/machine-cleaning-lean-cle…
Good to take out water tank and wash that out every so often too. Some machines also have a water filter cartridge…. they are cheap, but I confess I haven't changed mine anywhere near often enough… no complaints yet…
The Bambino gets great reviews, but I can see it's being sold for silly prices at the good guys… Bambino should be ~$480 or less.
I just saw the Sunbeam Mini Barista EM4300S looks like a good buy at $300. A better buy than the Delonghi IMHO, for a similar price.Maybe also check out the Sunbeam Barista Max Espresso Coffee Machine Silver EM5300S — this looks like a newer model I hadn't seen before, has grinder and espresso machine in one, and is less than $400 on special now… might be the ticket!! The Breville Barista Express I mentioned is an older model, is much more expensive at $700, and I can't see many significant advantages.
@pinchies: There was a bambino deal listed last week with Good Guys commercial st $353. Good guys normal price matched that for me at $370 (at least 1 other did same) I would not have seen it if I hadn’t had a search / notification set up here - waited about 2 months for it to come up. Don’t know if its still available on Good Guys Commercial, but no harm in ringing Good Guys and asking for the deal.
I’ve been using a breville dual boiler for 10 yrs or so, got the bambino for camping.
Fwiw, agree strongly with above about avoiding the pre-ground coffee beans - grind your own.
@gr70: That's a good price on the Bambino. Looks like a sweet lil' machine!
Hehe … I have a BES900 myself too … still going strong.
@pinchies: Thank you so much. The Sunbeam looks good which has everything.
I’m keen to know the review compared to Breville or De’Longhi. I used to think sunbeam is cheap quality machines… ah but can it make good coffee and grind?You have opened another door of options for me. Glad I started the post
Sunbeam Barista Max Espresso Coffee Machine Silver EM5300S ****damn out of stock****
Learn to love the taste of coffee. You’re using hazelnut sugar syrup and milk to disguise the coffee.
Stop the syrup and gradually cut back on milk.Make life easy and and cheap. Buy a stovetop espresso maker. Suggest a 6 cup for two people. Stainless steel. $75. Search up Reddit for technique. Takes me less than 5 min to make coffee in the morning.
Add a dash of milk to your coffee if you need to. Don’t bother drowning it in foam.
AND BUY BEANS. Even a cheap $40 blade grinder will get you a better result than pre ground.
How much difference does having a grinder make over having preground coffee?
2x better, 10x better?
Also, how much wastage do you get if grinding for 1 or maybe 2 cups at a time? Or do you grind enough for a couple of days at a time?
You grind per cup and the size of the grind can alter flavour and is different between levels of roast eg. Light would be ground finer while dark would be courser. There is a science to all this.
I think at least 5 times better. You can get the size just right for your equipment and fresh versus stale makes a big difference.
You don't grind any more than you need for the coffee you're making right now. Unground beans stay in the hopper and the rest of the bag of beans is in the fridge. Zero wastage except what you spill on the bench (less than trying to pour from a bag of preground coffee).
Very subjective as everyone has their own coffee preference. I’d defiantly go 3.14567 times better than preground. You can use a cheapo blade blender and it’s better than pre ground.
Lots of people say use burr grinder for consistency of extraction, but also a lot of people won’t even care or even know the difference
Maybe invest in taking a barista course? About $150 for a day of knowledge and practice on high end machines.
I have the DeLonghi machine you quoted and was using good cafe ground beans. The biggest improvement is buying the Smart Grinder Pro and grinding as needed at home. Huge difference.
We have a saeco they are made by Phillips, its a fully automatic machine, they are the go. It freshly grinds its own beans when you make a cup.
I bought it 1/2 price as an older model for around $700. Many years ago and still going strong every day.
My setup is an aeropress with a Breville frother. I also have a stovetop as a second option (when I make more than one cup). I started with a porlex hand grinder and later upgraded to a Breville smart grinder.
I honestly don't think this setup can be beat in terms of time, ease of use and maintenance cost.
I'm sure you could get a better cup of coffee from an expensive machine (and I'm talking at least $1000) but at that point coffee becomes a serious hobby.
For most people that drink flat white or lattes this setup is more than enough.
TL;DR use the money you were going to spend on a machine to buy a grinder and frother instead.
I think you're going to find it difficult without a grinder. The water will just run straight through the portafilter if you use pre-ground beans. You need a grinder that you can dial in so that the coffee grinds provide enough resistance so that there is a build up of pressure as it goes through. Then the coffee that you paid for actually ends up in the cup.
How is the Sunbeam Barista Max Espresso Coffee Machine Silver EM5300S ?
It depends on your coffee tastes but a hack job for your latte on the cheap is to do the following :
Half cup Moka pot coffee - taste between an Americano and espresso.
Put in your hazelnut syrup and sugar to preference, add desired cold milk content to cup.
Microwave for 1 min.
You can use this method with preground. Mokapot is forgiving if you add boiling water then heat.
Try this method before you commit hundreds on an maker. Your preference is artificial flavoured coffee so I suspect this may work for you
Sorry to sound dumb but what’s a Moka pot coffee? Search online gives me
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_potIt’s a small machine - right ? Could you please send me some links to buy ?
The Sunbeam if I can get it looks like a bargain but not sure the quality compared with Breville or De’Longhi
@mhz: Yeah, it’s those machines, however rather expensive.
Check eBay too as they can be had much cheaper. My recommendation is choose one that stainless steel construction rather than the traditional aluminium. Some seem to support induction stoves now which is mandatory for new stove tops .
Size it appropriately for the two of you as it’s quite inconvenient to make constant batches of coffee. The output coffee it makes is more resistant to oxidisation than espressos.
Lastly view YouTube for making tutorials, however if they say fill with water - change that to boiling water.
Hope this information is helpful!
I have the Dedica and use it with a second hand Breville grinder I bought of facebook marketplace. I'm pretty fussy with my coffee and usually will only buy a takeaway from certain cafe's and this machine does the job for me.
Actually looks like the black model is cheapest on the market by a decent amount
Why would coffee for espresso be different to coffee for lattes? lol