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I've had a Sage Bambino for a couple of years now. It's been ok - pretty consistent and I generally can make a decent espresso with it. However, the descaling / cleaning function is pretty poor. I had an issue last year where regardless of how many cleaning cycles or which descaler I used, it kept thinking there was no water in the tank and various warning lights flashed. It went back under warranty and all they did was clean it (apparently, but comms weren't great so not 100% sure what they did). I've now got the same issue and it's out of warranty so it's time for a replacement.
I quite like the machine but I want something that will last longer than warranty period+2 months or is more robust / has better backwash cleaning function. Any thoughts / suggestions? Budget is (ideally) <£400. I never use steam function or have frothy milk only need the espresso function.
Can't advise on machines at that level but hard water seems to be the enemy of coffee machines and descaling is an imperfect process. After a bad experience trying to descale my QuickMill Silvano I installed a Brita Purity Quell ST water filter ( https://www.brita.co.uk/coffee-shop-bakery) and haven't needed to descale since (it's been about 5 years or so now).
you can pick up the heads and cartridges for a decent price on eBay. (I use a C150 size and replace about annually, but it's feeding the water supply to the fridge as well so gets a lot of use)
I live in a very hard water area and have had a Rancillio Silva for mebbies ~20 years. I descale/clean very infrequently and like you, only use it for Espresso. Being a heathen, I nuke my milk when making flat white. In its life, it's had a new pump but that's it. The spring broke in the wobble pump rather than anything getting gunked up or calcified. I'd buy another if aliens stole this one or it spontaneously combusted...
the water level sensor uses the grey plastic float (round thing in the bottom left on the image below) in the water tank (with a little magnet and hall sensor) to work out if there is enough there to work from. If you are getting an empty indication even when the tank is full I'd take a look to see if that is freely moving and possibly try and give it a clean if there is any residue built up around it (nothing to do with the cleaning or de-scaling function on the unit) to see if it comes back to life
I recently bought a Gaggia Espresso Evolution for about £200 (including a modification to reduce the pressure). Been happy with it thus far, but I live in a soft water area.
we live in the East Midlands, where the water is basically granite. Our Gaggia Pro keeps soldiering on with a descale every time I remember and a back flush every weekend.
I have a Silvia and a Classic and now have worked out how to get silky smooth foamed milk but my latte art always looks like cock and balls no matter what I do
The Rancilio is a heavy solid machine with no leaks whereas the Gaggia is like an old TVR when it's working it's great but constantly needs looking after and off the road for a month or two
Flair Pro2/3
Cafelat robot
Other manuals are available. Let the kettle do the scale stuff, if you don't need milk these will be within budget and there's very little to go wrong. I've been a Flair user for multiple years now and the only problem is aging silicone parts which have no impact on the shots produced. Quality of coffee is high for a reasonable (relative) price!
Gaggia Classic Pro Evo is the default answer. They're damn near apocalypse proof, can be completely rebuilt and make excellent espresso. If you want better tasting coffee just feed it bottled water bought by the 5L drum from Tesco for £1.50. Far less descaling required.
I've been running a Sage DuoTemp Pro for the last 8 years or so, and am in a hard water area. I descale about once a year ish, and have never had any issues with it (fingers crossed emoji) . Would recommend as an upgrade to the bambino and within budget.
Ninja for the win. Mine is getting lots of abuse and churning out very good coffees
Same as boblo, have a Silvia and my descaling happens, but is infrequent. Backflushing a bit more maybe. Anyway mostly all fine, but I did write off a boiler doing this slack maintenance approach. But it was easy to source a new boiler and a quick job to swap it for the old one. On that basis, and with good spares availability, I think I will attempt to keep this going in a trigger's broom fashion for many years.
Water for coffee can be quite complex if you are a coffee geek or even if you just value your equipment. The best water for great tasting coffee isn't always the best for espresso machines. I'm in a hard water area so use 5L bottles of Tesco Ashbeck. If you go down the bottled route, be careful as the mineral content and thus scaling potential of some brands is quite high. Basically you want a decent mineral level for best extraction, but not so high that it scales your machine.
Ashbeck is a good compromise and makes great coffee with no sign of scaling in my Profitec Go. I still give it a very light descale every 6-8 months. That probably isn't strictly necessary but it was quite expensive, so I want to do all I can to prolong its life. I'd rather not use bottled water for environmental reasons so have explored alternatives. I tried a jug filter and tested the results, but it was still too hard. A plumbed in filter seems a bit OTT for 2 or 3 espressos a day. Another option is buying pure (deionised) water in bulk. You can't use it 'as is' as it's actually corrosive to your machine and makes awful tasting coffee, but it can be remineralised to optimum levels quite cheaply. It's an extra level of faff though, so I'm sticking with Asbeck for now, 5L actually lasts a long time.
just feed it bottled water bought by the 5L drum from Tesco for £1.50. Far less descaling required.
+1
It's (Tesco Ashbeck) the homebrewing water of choice because it's basically as soft as you can get.
As for coffee making, I have a Delonghi Dedica, I feed it ground coffee from the wrong grinder (according to coffee forum snobs), it makes coffee (that tastes like coffee), I descale it when it asks me to, everyone get's on just fine.
I have a 2001 Gaggia Classic Coffee. Live in a hard-ish water area, descale maybe 3 times a year. I have replaced a few things in that time, but parts are easily available and it's a pretty simple machine. Many of my upgrades are standard on the current model. Oh, and it makes fine coffee.
A lever machine (Flair, Cafelat) is definitely worth considering if you're not making milky drinks. They're a slightly different workflow to pump machines but no more or less faff day to day. After a few years I can pretty much tell how a shot will taste from how it feels to make - this makes dialling in new beans really easy. The biggest drawback is they're a bit trickier to do back-to-bak drinks as the brew chamber is hot to handle.
I have a 2001 Gaggia Classic Coffee. Live in a hard-ish water area, descale maybe 3 times a year.
Mine is a 2008 model, I also descale very infrequently and that's with Bristol tap water. It's needed a new seal and that's it. I replaced the steam wand with a rancilio model but I think the newer ones are better in that regard.
A Gaggia Classic or Rancilio Silvia sound like what you are after, they are solidly built and endlessly repairable. Brand new they are a bit over your budget but you can get second hand which should still last indefinitely if well cared for. My Classic Pro is about 5 years old and has only just needed a new steam valve and needed a group gasket about a year ago. There are also upgrade options available if you want to modify either of those options. Worth noting the latest e24 Classic now comes with a proper steam wand and a brass boiler which old models didn't have as stock, add a PID controller and you've got a very nice machine
Gaggia Classic here too. Bought secondhand in 2005(?). Its looking a little tatty now (somehow the stainless chassis is rusting!), but still keeps churning out good coffee. We now live in a soft water area, but it previously spent time on the shite that comes out of london taps - regular (somewhat fizzy) descaling kept on top of it. Now it just gets a backflushing every couple of weeks.
I think I had to replace the switch module once and the steam valve is always dripping, even when just replaced. Otherwise I think its Just Worked.
(There are some interesting looking upgraded variants available now with PIDs, pressure gauge, brass boiler etc)
the steam valve is always dripping, even when just replaced
I got through several valves over the years - but now I have one of these https://www.shadesofcoffee.co.uk/classic-steam-valve---new-design-shades-of-coffee-version - well worth it!
After falling into a bit of a reddit rabbit hole on espresso machines I ended up getting the Lelit Anna.
It's a pretty basic machine with manual switches for turning the water on and off but it does have a pressure gauge and temp display which helps make sure the machine is going to give a good shot.
I've been really happy with it.
Gaggia Classic and Rancillio Silvia are sensible choices, as it the Lelit. I upgraded from a Classic to a La Pavoni Europiccola last year and that can make a properly lovely coffee, but is far less 'point and shoot' than the pump-driven machines.
Horses for courses really. For pure espresso, and if you're happy with the 'feel' aspect then I find the La Pav enormously rewarding. That being said, if you just want your caffiene hit before work then I'd be going for a new Classic I think.
Thanks folks - really interesting reading. Veering towards Gaggia or silvia as recommended. Often out early doors so quick caffeine hit on the way out at 4am is essential 😉
I had a Gaggia that I repaired until eventually I couldn't. The Bambino Plus I replaced it with is much better and MUCH quicker to use. I had to use a smart plug on my Gaggia to turn it on 20 mins before I got up so that it was all warm enough to make a decent cup.
I have a 2006 Gaggia classic with a 9 bar spring, illuminated water container and a timer triggered from the solenoid.
living in Lancashire I have no water issues and simply backflush once a fortnight.
A set of scales under the ports filter to get 18 grams in and 36 to 42 grams out in 25/30 seconds depending what drink I’m making.
The classic is a minter and will outlast the end of the universe
I have two machines. A Sage Duo Temp and Flair Classic. The Flair produces far better espresso than the Sage, but is a bit more faff. The Sage does best with dark roast espresso blends.
Do you drink Espresso or Americano? Because if it's Americano then what about a filter coffee machine, e.g. Sage Precision or Fellow Aiden?
When it comes to replacing my Sage, I might not replace it with an espresso machine and instead might go for a filter coffee machine. But also high on the list is a Sage Bambino Plus
Boiler machines like the Gaggia require preheating, so you'd need a timer or smart switch to ensure it's ready when you get up.