Looking to get a coffee machine as a gift for someone else. I don't drink coffee myself and on the rare occasion I do it's a cheap 7-11 coffee which I'm fine with. I don't have any experience with making coffee and have no knowledge of what's good.
https://www.bigw.com.au/product/breville-the-duo-temp-pro/p/….
I saw this online and would this be the best option around the ~$300 mark? If not are there any other suggestions? Thanks
Would they prefer to grind their own beans or use pods?
What pod format would they prefer? There's more than one.
$219 at the moment (not the cheapest it has been) and similar to the breville you have listed.
https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/delonghi-dedica-pump-espr…
I have this and it hasn't skipped a beat.
I really want mine to blow up so I can justify replacing it with something more expensive. 4 years and the only cost I've had was buying an unpressurised basket for $10. Only cleaning I do is descaling, occasionally washing the water tank and wiping it down.
2 coffees a day through 2 years of WFH too.
Might be more than you want to spend, but this normally goes for $1000, $529 is a steal for a much better machine..
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/685091
…these guys might be worth a read…
https://coffeesnobs.com.au/forum/equipment/brewing-equipment…
…entry level machines can vary considerably in their ability to make good coffee
this machine is regularly at $600-700, I don't know of any ozBs who would buy this at $1000.
Sorry I should have put more information in but I'm sure that they'd prefer a machine where you grind your own beans instead of a pod machine.
i wouldn't be so sure about that, machines where you have to do it yourself require so much more effort, it also depends on their skill level of making coffee as well, if they are a barista or know how to make coffee then yes definitely, but making coffee is an artform, over tamping the coffee will over extract it and make it taste burnt and bitter, under tamping it will make it taste like dirty dish water, it definitely takes skill to make good coffee, Nespresso machines are extremely simple to use and the coffee tastes good consistently, any manual coffee machine worth using would be at least $1000, i would recommend a pod machine, and i recommend it be a proper Nespresso one that comes with a milk frother, i had an aldi one once, i got about 10 cups of coffee out of it before it literally broke in front of my eyes as i tried to hold it all together, also if you do, use the proper Nespresso pods, it is possible to get some decent after market pods, but most of them taste like watery trash, you can get a DeLonghi Nespresso Citiz & Milk which is what i have for $300, probably $250 would be a better price if you can find it somewhere, they do go on special as well, this will do the job for sure
The person has worked as a barista at their family owned cafe before so they're definitely experienced enough to work a machine.
fair enough, well that changes things a bit, but still, nothing beats chucking in a pod in the morning, pouring your milk in the frother, buttering your toast while it froths then pouring the milk in, and like i said, any decent machine would be more than $1000, can you maybe bring the conversation in general finding out what they would prefer without giving it away? Maybe you could even tell them you are getting a machine for yourself and ask what their advice is
Do they have a grinder? If not they would also have to go and buy that too before being able to use it
Exactly, might need 2 machines, a grinder and a coffee machine.
The combination grinder/coffee machines tend to be cheap and nasty unless you have a huge budget.
Yup the person already has a grinder
Unless you know for sure that your friend wants a coffee machine and has told you which model then I wouldn't recommend buying one.
Coffee machines are highly subjective.
I was part of a group gift for a colleague that was going on maternity leave and her closest friend at work organised a coffee machine as a gift as both parents-to-be were big coffee drinkers and she thought they would appreciate the gift as they would be busy and spend more time at home after the baby was born. You can imagine the emails that circulated at work when the friend visited the new parents at home after the baby was born and noticed that they had replaced the coffee machine that was given as a gift.
Here's the first thing you need to buy.
Get the grinder later or use freshly ground coffee in the meantime
I wouldn't suggest buying a coffee machine as $300 is really going to get you the bottom of the barrel. Perhaps something like a Pour Over Coffee Kit or a Moccamaster if they like black coffee?
An ex barista would also look an a cheap espresso machine unfavorably compared to the commercial ones they have used.
They might be using pods or vertuo lockin, are you sure they'll like the machine?