Bean to cup coffee machine

I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but I think the grinder is the important part. Makes a huge difference INE.

There’s a seller on eBay that does (properly) refurbed Sage machines, in the past they’ve done extra discounts on BF (which is coming round soon). Got an Oracle for around £650 (they are £1800 at John Lewis!!) Not put a foot wrong in almost 3 years now, used every day.

I went for that one as it occupies a pretty much unique niche as a “semi-auto” machine, so in theory better coffee than a one-push bean-to-cup but without needing to fall down the whole bean coffee rabbit hole 😂 (which might still happen one day but not got time for right now 😀)

I bought a De'Longhi  Eletta Bean-to-Cup Coffee Machine in 2018 - it's not missed a beat and so far has made 10313 shots of coffee...

Machine was an eye watering £600 but thats only 6p a shot, Bean consumption probably works out to be £1250 - £1500 over the same time period so you're looking at 19p a shot of coffee so 38p for a long.

I never faffed with it / changed grinder settings etc just cleaned it and descaled every few months.

Any idea what the eBay shop name is?

Sounds promising!

@bavariangaz idoodirect

this the idoodirect seller:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334700617049?var=543854463990

Another De’Longhi here.

Bought it used off here in 2018.

I just keep feeding it beans and water (with the occasional clean) and it keeps making me coffee (about 4 or more a day!)

I've seen too many threads about repairing (various) Gaggias for me to entertain buying one.

What’s your budget ?

possible to spend £££

We have had Sage Bambino and then graduated to Sage Oracle which has been brilliant

All these re conditioned Sage machines for sale or already sold , do they all need returned and sold off cheap to traders

I have a delonghi bean to cup, I can't be arsed boxing it up and sending it off , buy an old Gaggia or Rancilio

I’ve got a delonghi machine that is three years old and has been faultless. We are in soft water area which I think helps with machine working forever without intervention

i did break it once though my own fault, delonghi service was first class. They sent a box, then courier abs returned it three days later without any charge.

i have older version of this one, seems to always be on offer at curry’s

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/delonghi-magnifica-s-ecam250.33.tb-bean-to-cup-coffee-machine-titanium-black-10237053.html

Budget would help, probably around £600 but can be flexible.

Have just seen the Sage oracle through the eBay link above. Very tempting!

My delonghi was great when new.

Then after 3 years broke. Went to delonghi to be repaired. 6 months later the same issue. Opened it my self found that they used a plastic nubbin to locate and drive the basket base to eject the puck.

This nubbin was what was breaking off.

Manufactured a replacement in aluminium. Worked fine till the day my brew head needed replaced and that was 60 quid.

Replaced it with a jura at that point.

<We have had Sage Bambino and then graduated to Sage Oracle which has been brilliant</span>

My Oracle is total rubbish. And definitely not worth the money. Had three and is very inconsistent despite much experimentation and beans selection. Most of the issue has been grinder and tamping consistency.

Purchased a separate grinder which is the way to go - maybe with a Gaggia Classic Pro/Evi. But that is not bean to cup.

The little Beko is the cheapest/okay ish B2C I've used. (Silly cheap and same design as the Smeg.)  I've also used some of the delonghis too and they're not bad-ish.

Basically decent coffee is actually a bit of hassle and a ritual as I've discovered!

I personally would not go anywhere near the Sage machines again for the money - just get a decent grinder and the Gaggia Evo or similar.

I just had my Oracle repaired (3rd replacement model) 18 months old - as the boiler had blown a fuse due to leaking from hard water - despite twice filtered water and descaling.

We’ve got a bean to cup machine from Miele similar to the photo. It was very pricey but was a 50 th birthday present from Mrs Stern. We’ve been very happy with it and as far as we are concerned it makes great coffee. It’s had some serious use, too what with at some point there has been eight people at home! We had one problem with milk frothing part of the machine which was still under warranty and Miele sent a box and we sent the machine to Miele and a week later we had perfectly working machine back.

All these re conditioned Sage machines for sale or already sold , do they all need returned and sold off cheap to traders

My Oracle is total rubbish. And definitely not worth the money. Had three and is very inconsistent despite much experimentation and beans selection. Most of the issue has been grinder and tamping consistency.

I just had my Oracle repaired (3rd replacement model) 18 months old – as the boiler had blown a fuse due to leaking from hard water – despite twice filtered water and descaling.

fair enough, totally the opposite of my experience though 🤷‍♂️

fair enough, totally the opposite of my experience though 🤷‍♂️

Yep and mine too.

Every different type of been, and even the age can mean that you need to adjust the grind, but ours has been faultless

in English please?

Well I read it clearly to say why are so many returned to need refurbed.he has a point No one i know who has one seems to buy a new one . They are all returned.

Same as no one ever pays more than half the rrp for a delonghi

We have a Melitta Barista TS Smart - everything at a touch of a button including lattes and cappuccinos, has been flawless and really good coffee, added advantage of two bean containers so you can have either different roasts or in our case normal and decaf. Every possible coffee type you could ever want.
These are a bit above the £600 budget though. I’m sure purists would say it’s sacrilege but I love it.

Had several delonghis - they are pretty good for the money, make great coffee and last 3-4 years with very heavy use in our household. THe ebay delongh shop has refurbs that are good value.

Looked at the sage, but as it isnt really a bean to cup - you have to move the grind basket over - decided it wasnt for us

The miele above looks fab, I ve bought a few items from miele direct.  It's worth subscribing for email updates as they do bf offers.  I m sticking with my knock grinder and Alessi stove top for now.

DeLonghi recommended here was the gateway drug 😉

I have a Sage Barista Pro. I don't need double boiler as 95% of stuff I make is espresso. It's three years old and apart from a new seal in the brew head (about 5 quid and 5 mins to fix) has made 2-3 coffees as day without missing a beat.

You do need to keep on top of backflush/descaling tho. Also using the pin tool to keep the steamer clean if you use that. Also every six months I'll full clean out the grinder of old coffee shards.

We get great beans locally and I'm sure that makes a difference,

Oh and if you do want to steam milk, it's very satisfying when you get it right (1m YT videos on how to do it!). Worth getting a jug with a temp gauge on it to make it consistent. I'm very good at 'fluffly clouds' latte art when I am asked to make a non espresso 🙂

Well I read it clearly to say why are so many returned to need refurbed.he has a point No one i know who has one seems to buy a new one . They are all returned.

Looked at the sage, but as it isnt really a bean to cup – you have to move the grind basket over – decided it wasnt for us

Are sage really that big of a company .... Although iirc they are a rebadge in other countries

$1.4 B globally in sales in 2022 apparently, yeah you’re right probably a niche product 😉

Delonghi corso here. Makes a semi decent cup of coffee. Needs descaling monthly and I've fixed a few issues myself but it's still going after 3 years of heavy usage. Then my son brought his sage Barista express refurb home. With the same beans, and after a bit of faff to get it set up for those beans, it makes a way way better coffee - on a par with the best coffee shops round here.

Sage is made/owned by Breville but so many reconditioned ones on eBay, do folk buy them off Amazon and send them back or they just stop working?

$1.4 B globally in sales in 2022 apparently, yeah you’re right probably a niche product

Just on their coffee machines alone. That's an impressive number.

*Edit*

😉

That Miele machine looks very similar to the Melitta and is the same price, it lacks the 2 coffee bean containers which for our family is a big plus.

Melitta Barista TS Smart

Seconded, ours has been flawless since we bought it in early 2020 and coffee seems great to me. Think we paid £700 from here, looks to be £850 now (rrp is £1260).  There is a Melitta refurb store which in theory has mega margins, but it's pretty challenging to find things in stock.

I also have a reconditioned Oracle. Two years and I’m happy with it.

HOWEVER, if I was buying now I wouldn’t go bean-to-cup. Great coffee, but inflexible - I live with someone who lies decaf, and this means we have to put in just enough beans for a single cup each time we use it. It doesn’t take long to suss out how many beans this is, but it would be simpler with a separate grinder.

I got a Siemens EQ 300 last year for my 50th last year.....its perfect...tbh it get me up in the mornings...nothing....NOTHING ...beats first cup of coffee of the day

I would never buy anything named Oracle.

You are likely to find yourself audited for licensing costs...

Easily: see my comment ref Melitta TS Smart! Two bean containers so we always have one with normal and one with Lavazza decaff beans in. Not sure how many of any other b2c machines have this feature though.

HOWEVER, if I was buying now I wouldn’t go bean-to-cup. Great coffee, but inflexible – I live with someone who lies decaf, and this means we have to put in just enough beans for a single cup each time we use it.

As andylc points out the Melitta mentioned has a split bean hopper so you can choose between two different beans when you make a cup. It also has port in the top to add ground coffee directly if you want to bypass the grinder with something different.

EDIT; beaten by andylc himself!

Are there any machines with a dual hopper, but without any of the milk gubins? I drink a varying ratios to caff/decaf throughout the day, but never touch milk.

The Melitta has a separate milk container which you connect for milky stuff. Just leave it in the cupboard! Surely useful to have for visitors etc??

I’ve had a De’Longhi magnifica for maybe seven or eight years now. It gets used once a day during the week and two or three times a day at weekends and has done so now ever since I’ve owned it. It’s been totally trouble fee and still makes great coffee as far as I can tell although I’m no James Hoffman!
if it broke tomorrow I’d get another one exactly the same.

jcaFull Member
I would never buy anything named Oracle.

You are likely to find yourself audited for licensing costs…

😀

I had a delonghi esam bean to cup for over ten yrs. half a dozen coffees every day, serviced a couple of times as had something go awry due mainly to not descaling regularly enough but the service from their service team is excellent and fixed price. I replaced it after 10 yrs and bought a slightly better model which was a bit smaller, quieter and nicer looking. I paid £200 for it on their eBay site as there was a 20% off voucher that weekend. It’s been great again and gets loads of use. The coffee is pretty good, does us at least and the milk frother is effective. It just works and did t break the bank, cleans itself and doesn’t need a lot of attention.

I'm sure some people have good experiences with Sage stuff - but just ask yourself why there are so many recon units available. They're all returns.

I think coffee is a bit of journey - I wanted something in lockdown and for my 50th and the Oracle caused me to age another 10 years. My coffee shop friend told me not to get one but I just ignored him that said his bar is much higher than mine.

My current set up with separate grinder is now good - but a bit of a faff which I don't mind. The convenience of the oracle with bean hopper which is subject to letting beans going stale is a pain - and not the smart idea it thinks it is. Single dosing is the way to go. Oracle is designed for around 22-24g - I tried adjusting the dose down but the machine is simply expecting that amount. And even at 22g sometimes it does 19/20 which is a big difference when trying to get good extraction. One day you will get a tight shot next shot is super flowy and no good.

Best tip with Oracle. Use a 1:1.8 ratio as it produces bitter coffee at 1:2 or more.

That Beko unit is great and looks classy for £200 ish quid.  Got one at work.  Double shot and dark roast and it's okay.

Not particularly well extracted but what do your expect?

Anybody have an ariete? Seen these on special offer too

I have a Sage Barista Pro.

I think that's the model I have that stopped heating a while back and I've yet to get fixed* I've gone back to either the drip brew - if I want quantity or I'm being lazy or the stove top. I grind beans in a blade grinder and as well, so I'm clearly going to hell The biggest single difference IME is the beans, the rest is just comment.

* where do you get them fixed?

We have a DeLonghi Dinamica Plus in the office and it makes perfectly nice coffees but I have a Sage Duo-Temp Pro with a Sage Smart Grinder Pro at home and the coffee is far superior.

I had a DeLonghi Magnifica or similar for 6-7 years and had no real complaints. It was great at just putting out pretty much the same shot of espresso every time, with minimal involvement beyond adding beans and water. It wasn't so good at milk frothing though; and although there are DeLonghi models with more milk options, I don't love their approach so much (several of them have built in milk pots which feels like an inherently bad idea.

Now got a Sage Barista, and although it's bean to cup (beans go in top, coffee comes out bottom) it's much more hands on - you have to set the grind coarseness for the beans, the quantity of grind for the shot, tamp it down, then you can set the temperature of water/ steam being used for the shot etc. In theory it's more adjustable than the DeLonghi, and I find that when adding a new bag of coffee I'll need to adjust the grind coarseness etc. I think it's supposed to be more serviceable (eg gasket, etc) than the DeLonghi. And one clear benefit is the frother wand is a league above DeLonghi's solution, makes really good frothed milk and much easier to clean.

where do you get them fixed?

Sage use Coffee Classics.

I asked them the cost of my last repair it was about £300. Including initial call out + parts + Labour + VAT

My was done out of warranty. The warranty is pretty good. It needs to be.

Beko BTC just popped up on HUKD for £134!

I wonder how much this beauty is..

‘Upwards of 20k’ according to an eBay advert for a second hand one!

As far as I can tell (having owned one and had a look inside various models in John Lewis) the grinder and coffee-squishing bits are identical throughout the range so it doesn’t really matter which one you buy if you don’t want a fancy screen.

Got a delonghi magnifica around 4 years ago. Came from a cuisinart espresso machine with a steam wand. It's was a faff to use.

The delonghi is easier to use, has a removable milk jug that goes in the fridge after use and has been faultless for 4 years. Easy to clean and the milk jug can go in the dishwasher.

Delonghi have an eBay shop and regularly have offer codes.