Anyone with a SuperAutomatic Espresso Machine?
 

I've been lusting after one since I was 15.. It was 1995 and I was in Switzerland visiting a friend of mine who had one... anyone with any experience?

Seems that the Saeco ones are cheaper.. but reliability is a bit dodgy.. The Jura's look mighty interesting....

I'm not interested in the Nespresso because I like to get my own coffee...

FDW

I had a DeLonghi one for a few years, until the pump broke and I decided to just use a regular coffee maker. It was really nice and convenient. Also cheaper than most of the other ones. A friend has had the same Delonghi since I got mine and his still works fine, so I may have just gotten a dud.

A Dutch friend says Saeco is the best and that he's had Saecos for the last 20 years.

Any real coffee snob will tell you that the super automatic machines are Frankensteinean monsters that make mediocre-at-best coffee and you should buy a $2000 semiautomatic machine for "real" coffee. Don't listen to them. But read http://www.coffeegeek.com/ for more of the geek perspective.

For reasons I won't bore you with we have three Gaggia Synchronys (old model) that I understand were originally made by Saeco. I don't think they make them anyomre and I know that the replacement model isn't as good because a friend has one he bought thinking he was buying the same as ours.

http://gaggia-service.com/img/gaggia...ee-machine.jpg

They are fully automatic and make absolutely wonderful coffee - and (except one) have been faultless for years. I use to use a Gaggia Classic but I just wasn't clever or patient enough.:)

Nespresso
 

curious--how come do you dont fancy the Nespresso machines? I had a Gaggia, a Saeco, and finally a Jura something...and I hated the fact they were expensive, high maintenance, and big..so then my friend showed me his Nespresso...and I was hooked....so simple...put in the pods..put the milk in..whamo--a latte ready to go..

for us overworked and underpaid Americans...it does a good job. :D

I am a service tech for espresso machines. They are pricy to own, yes, but the amount of money people spend at the coffee shops is crazy. Do the math. Saeco makes almost all the decent machines out there. Ask to look at the "Brew Group" thats the giveaway. Delongi, Krupps, Cusinart barely get out of warranty. Saeco/Gaggia are the same thing with different cover. Lots of parts out there for do it yourself repairs. Jura is close in design to Saeco, but they are Swiss made and harder to service. I have a few laying around, the family loves them. Hands down winner in looks is the Jura. As far as coffee quality, they are both great. La Pavoni is hard to use, but have a die hard following. Any questions out there?

If it's about convenience then pod machines are the way to go. If it's about taste then it's fresh bean to cup. People obviously cannot compare something they haven't tried but my starting point was a Classic and roasting and blending my own coffee from green. Pod machines just don't taste as good to me ..........

I have had 2 Juras over the past 5-6 years. Excellent machines. True, they can get finicky but over the years, I figured out what maintenance they need (thanks to a service tech) and so far so good. Nothing like fresh beans -> brew coffee.

We also had a Schaerer machine at work and I became the designated maintenance person. I found it a little harder to work with but all in all, ok. Saeco machine was before the Schaerer (also at work) but that died quickly under the constant use (20-40 shots a day).

Quality of espresso, my fav amongst the 3 is the Jura.

I used to have a simple Saeco espresso machine... the creama on the espresso was really good. Lasted for as long as I can remember. My current machine is a Krups. I have a pref for non-automatics. I pref to use powder over beans. The beans lose flavor if you leave it in the well for too long. A little more work but it allows me to clean the machine more thoroughly (esp the head, etc)

A manual machine allows skill in operation to affect the quality of the coffee; this can be both good or bad :)

I own an old Nespresso, manual but full-pressure Breville, and an automated Saeco Royal. 95% of the time the manual is used as I make better coffee with it when I grind and tamp my own way. Rather ironic as the Saeco costs $1000 more, yet makes worse coffee from the same beans. While it takes skill with the manual, it is enjoyable and not really any more work than the automatic (at least for home quantities). The ony time the Saeco gets used now is at parties, where people can make their own (but the Nespresso would be better for that!).

thanks for all the suggestions.. I am leaning towards a Jura...

there are a lot of refurbished ones available it looks like.. which makes me wonder...

refurb= good because cheaper... also likely picked over, tuned up
but
lots of refurbs= ? poor quality (overall) product?

I want something for a daily drinker; I would pick a semi auto for the once in a while espresso. I like to get my own beans (that's leftover from my Seattle days); that negates the capsule system

thanks
FDW

Saeco Itala, have 2 bought them off Ebay, rebuilt one,

Paid maybe 500, and consider myself money ahead.

You can buy them now for 2 or 300..

Lots of refurbs just means people try the product and it works fine, but not for them (usually too expensive). Bet there are a lot of returns after Christmas.

My own opinion based on experience is that semi-auto is fine for daily drinker, the auto machines come into their own for parties or at an office, when you are making more than 10 at a time. The chore of cleaning the automatic periodically is more labour than using a semi-auto every day; also grinding/tamping controlled by me makes for much better coffee than any automatic can do, so if you are fussy about bean quality then that is a consideration. Perhaps that is the cause of some of the refurbs (people buy the expensive machines thinking they are buying a better quality cup of coffee, when what they are actually buying is an easier to make cup of coffee).

Well I pulled the trigger and got a refurbed Ena 5 from J and R. They had it on sale for $550 with another $15 bucks off (not bad for a machine that is $1100-1200 new)

I love it so far!

FDW

I currently have a Nespresso Delonghi Latissima Chrome and really like it!
Was looking around at other machines and noticed La Pavoni. Anyone with experience of these machines? http://www.pavonishop.com/lapavnap.html

I'm hoping to be buried with my Jura. Love it, got it at a steal price at Williams -Sonoma (I think they put it on clearance by mistake as it was regular price a day later) and will need to dig deeply when it eventually dies.

Saeco Incanto on sale at Costco 699, or Seattle Coffee 799, had 3 of them over them years great machine...

Espresso Machines
 

Apologies if I have inappropriately bumped an old thread.

I am in the market for an espresso machine for my home, and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I haven't decided between fully automatic or "semi-automatic" although I think I am leaning toward the latter because I want maximum control and time/convenience is less of a priority.

I want to keep it under about USD $1,000. The brand "Breville" has some very nice looking machines that seem to fit the bill, and are available locally. I would be happy to spend less as long as I can have great tasting espresso!

Long ago, I used to have a machine from a company called "Pony" that was excellent.

I want to avoid cartridge type machines. Some of them, like LaVazza espresso point are good looking and make good coffee easily, but I don't like them for environmental reasons, and because I don't want to be committed to using a particular product all the time. Long term cost also probably is higher than standard machines, using whatever coffee one wants to.

So, are there any recommendations or insights? Any other brands to look at? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I bought this 2 years ago:

https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/sa...ed-refurbished

I think I paid $300 or so on Woot.com. I wasn't ready to drop $1K or more on a machine, so this was an easier price point for me to give a machine a try.

I've been using this for 2 years. It makes both espresso and drip coffee. I use a Nespresso Aerocino (about $100) for my frothed milk because I happened to have one and it's so easy to use.

I love the machine. 5 cups of espresso and/or drip a day for 2 years running and we have never had a problem. I buy fresh, locally roasted beans and I can't think of another cup of coffee I've had that's better than what I can make myself.

I wasn't expecting to get 2 years out of a refurb'd machine. When the time comes, we'll likely buy another one.

I think there's just one caveat - the machine isn't crazy about highly oiled beans. We've adjusted our tastes more towards medium roasts.

Back when I was investigating an espresso machine (which I never wound up buying), the consensus on coffeegeek.com seemed to coalesce around the Rancilio Silvia as the best bang-for-your-buck semiautomatic machine.

http://coffeegeek.com/guides/howtobuyanespressomachine

http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/consumer/rancilio_silvia

I have used this for the last two years. Brilliant machine and doesn't take up half the kitchen.

http://www.delonghi.com/en-us/produc...85m-0132106179

I have the most expensive delonghi and it sits in the basement. Don’t recommend. After having vac pots, French presses, everything, I’m now just doing pour over with a heated kettle on the stove every morning.

Oh, and one tip. I bought it open box at Williams Sonoma. I think it was like 2k, marked down from 3k, and I offered 1k to the manager and they took it.

Now I use a $5 system and like the coffee more.

Thanks for all replies. The Rancilio Silvia looks very appealing as a good value, solidly built semi automatic.

That DeLonghi looks interesting, but as it seems to be priced at the top end within its class of lighhter duty machines, I feel at that point I would just as soon spend a bit more for a more serious machine like Rancilio or Breville, etc...

If I go super automatic, Jura is also highly recommended and one that I will consider.

I’ve been using one daily for 9 years. One of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

Friends who have one and use it multiple times a day for 10 or so years say that it will last forever if you follow the maintenance and cleaning regimen in the manual. They said they had to replace a switch that wore out, but that's it.

are there super automatics best regarded for quality of espresso/coffee?

Jura has been highly recommended to me. According to a reliable source it sounds pretty much as close as it gets to perfect coffee, with a minimum of maintenance and fuss.

thanks!

curious re the coffee fanatics who talk about things like dryness/humidity and lack of decent coffee anywhere

As an older person-
I had a Pavoni manual, the a Pavoni commercial unit for 15 years. When it died went to Saeco and found it garbage. Then to Jura (F-50) and when it was "permanently borrowed" by my son bought another individual Jura. All the mechanisms of Jura's are the same. The difference is the computerized functions. As a BMW buyer for 40+ years, I will be a Jura buyer until I am past my use by date.

Not exactly espresso but close - I've been using the Delonghi Alicia Electric "Moka" coffee maker for about a year. Makes delicious coffee that is very close to Espresso (no cremma). Inexpensive at about $50. Quick and pretty much fool-proof. It is virtually identical to the Bialetti 6-Cup Stovetop Moka coffee maker but you have to be careful with the Bialetti to turn off the stove at the proper moment and you don't have to worry about that with Alicia because she shuts herself off. It looks like Bialetti also makes an electric version but it's really expensive ($290) compared to Alicia.

so... just wonder.. did you make a decision?

FDW

I am using a Saeco Intelia Deluxe. I only ever make espressos or long espressos with it, I have not made any cappuccinos or lattes in the 9 months I've had the machine.

So far it's holding up well... hopefully it will be more reliable than the Miele automatic that I had previously. That machine looked great, it was built right into the cabinetry. But it failed after a few years and I could simply not find anyone who could service it. It's annoying to have an appliance built into your kitchen cabinets that doesn't work. A replacement Miele would have been around $4,000, while I paid about $1,300 for the Saeco.

I am a die-hard Fan of Jura Machines. Im now on my 3rd machine, the previous two served me for 10 and 12 years, respectively. They are not a small investment, but I continue to be pleased with their long term performance and will continue to give Jura my business when the time comes to replace my current Impressa Z9.

For those on watch for a good price on Jura. If you're Costco member the J6 went on sale today for $1,999. As far as I can tell this is an unheard of price by several hundred dollars. If you aren't a member it would be worth it to join, just for this. I snagged mine this morning. This is online only.

https://www.costco.com/JURA-J6-Autom...100416628.html

This model replaces the J9 and the J90.

My Jura is on its last legs (won’t recognize cleaning tablets) so it’s probably time for a new one. Just a coffee drinker so don’t need the fancy features? Any recommendations? Want to keep it under $1000... doesn’t necessarily have to be a JURA either...

fdw

I agree with the 12 year life-span, more or less. At 4 cups a day (2 each) that comes out to be $0.11 per cup to amortize the Jura. (Not including the actual coffee, filters and cleaning tablets). I think that's a good bargain in the end.

I got my refurbished for $550.... I got it with only 82 shots on the counter.. now it's got 19K+

I think I got pretty darn good use out of it...

FDW

Wait - there's a counter?

i managed to successfully use this amortisation argument to convince my better half to allow me to purchase a Jura E8 (which was 30% off). I owe you a drink :D