Ok,

So my beloved Saeco Magic Deluxe that has served me well for well and truly over 12 years has decided that enough is enough.

I have taken it to Espresso Italia for a Service $120

The bloke there says he will give me $250 Trade in if I buy a Saeco Syntia for $1450 - $250 Trade $1200


I have always said if I buy another coffee machine, I want twin boilers and pref manual, mainly for two reasons. I feel a manual machine gives a better crema and they usually have twin boilers.

The Syntia is a Full automatic machine with twin boilers however it is a full auto.

The other machine he showed me was a Cuadra by La Nuova Era $1,999 web price however in store is $1499



Well straight away the Cuadra looks cool and watching the video all I can say is wow!

However there are two other players that come to mind.

Firstly is Purecremas Expobar range, once again twin boilers etc.. however around $2000+


Finally the Kitchenaid Artisan Serious $1500 from dome

I found it funny that the guy at Espresso Italia said he would give me $250 for mine on the Syntia however the web price says it is $1200 without trade.. nice try by him I guess

Anyway does anybody have any recommendations on either a kick ass auto or excellent Manual and should I be dealing with another mob etc..

Yep just got my Seaco comfort magic + serviced. Damnd exxy!

I would preffer a separate grinder and manual combo personally. Thats all i know though sorry.

ARGH.. avoid the Kitchenaid. It's a glorified Gaggia, and its very overpriced.

If you want to step up, you need a manual machine and grinder.. simple as that.

Read my lips... ISOMAC.

http://www.fivesensescoffee.com.au/shop/equipment

Basically, if you're going to spend Expobar money, you're better off buying an Isomac Tea and a Mazzer Mini grinder. Up to 3k, Isomac and Mazzer ftw. Over 4k its a different story, PM me if you need more in-depth advice for that price range. In that price range, I recommend the Mazzer grinder and La Cimbali Junior DT1, plumbed in water feed and drain, with rotary pump.

YOU WILL NEED A GRINDER if you go manual.. it will be the key for awesome coffee.

The analogy I use is, if you use a top of the range auto machine, you can get your coffees to a level of about 5 out of 10. Even a crap manual machine will make a 6 out of 10 coffee. A good manual machine and half a brain, 7 out of 10. A good manual machine and lots of practice, 10 out of 10!

I recommend a Barista course also if you don't know much about making coffees, and read as much as you can on the internet.. start with www.home-barista.com.

Caleb (L4UNCH on these forums) works at Five Senses.. you should pop in for the grand tour, its a pretty awesome place!

Edit: I recommend a Balistca course also if you don't know much about making coffees

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Arguably my Automobile is Awash with Alliteration - Subaru Sti S202

Cheers Joe.

5 senses are smoking crack for that Expobar, $800 cheaper with Purecrema

I got all my stuff from http://www.coffee-a-roma.com.au They are very helpful have a great range and have lots of package deals. Delivery is super fast too.

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Quickest Pig in Perth

I can vouch for La Cimbali machines. We have an M21 junior in the office - Awesome machines and you can't really beat the coffees (if you get everything right!).

Everyone's got their own opinion - We use Gino's Blend beans (from Gino's in Fremantle) which is rebadged Dimattina. I've tried 5 Senses, and it's up there too

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TD06 - Oink.

We have a minicimbali machine and hardly ever use it, becomes too much of a PITA. Get yaself a Saeco Royal professional, bit of a step up from your current machine, twin boilers. If you keep an eye out you can get one around $500 on ebay then spend $100 getting it serviced.

One of the problems with the automated machines is it's easy to get lazy and not perfect the size of the grind, water temp and the tamp pressure etc.

juk:

I've been thinking the same thing, i want dual boilers and quality stuff, basically the ducks nuts.

Australia as always is overpriced, so i came up with this, but yet to convince the missus:
http://www.espressocoffeeshop.it/izz...e_machine.html

It's only just over $2500 with the low Euro

It's got two boilers, the water one is nice and small for fresh water, it's got PID control on both boilers, brass boilers. It's the bomb. I'm temped to just credit card it and tell her later.

I thought about the expobar Minore III, but the water boiler is larger, and it runs a pressurestat on the steam.

Minicimbali? Do you mean La Cimbali?

Let me know if you want to sell it.