In a similar boat here and have been for a while. Price is not a determining factor here.

With a line pressure pre-infusion (plumbed LMLM), you can mitigate light roasts a bit - if you care about these. What I cannot understand is why higher end machines do not have volumetric dosing, even if it is not ideal? Parts are standard and not that expensive. I have been making 3-4 drinks, twice a day for years and greatly appreciate the ability to press the button and do other stuff.

Are aesthetics important? Are you someone who really likes playing with technology? The Decent was a nonstarter for me. I don't want a tablet to be responsible for my espresso, and the goddess-awful sound of the Decent pump was a huge turnoff. I got a Mini with the Specht EMP mods. It turns the Linea Mini into a Strada. You have full control of pressure with the pump. I love my machine. It's plumbed in and is a joy to look at and use. The espresso is incredible. I can't imagine wanting a different machine at this point.

Thank you all for the responses! Based thereon, some comments from my side as well. It is true that I researched this quite intensively, as it is quite expensive. I guess I'm especially hoping for feedback from owners of a Decent or Linea Mini that stepped away from the machine and/or people who really used (for days/weeks) both machines. What was not good enough, what made you decide to move on?

What I'm really looking for is an increase of the ratio of extraordinary over good shots. I enjoy making espresso, but the end goal is always to try to extract the best espresso possible from the beans.

As for experimentation, it is not a requirement, but it would be a benefit. If I go for the Decent (likely), I will probably use one or two profiles for 98% of the time. However, there will be moments wherein I'm triggered by something and will want to improve/play/... . It will be nice to have that option.

As for esthetics, I consider this important. The LMLu is certainly better looking, but I'm very fine with the Decent design as well. What I cannot live with is the shiny chrome boxes, hence my list

As for user interface, I tend to like old-school/manual interfaces, but I always seem to prefer feature strength over user interface. I'm using touchscreens on my current espresso machine, watch, car,... . While I would perhaps prefer some physical buttons, I do appreciate the flexibility that a touchscreen provides. I also do not believe that pushing a button on a touchscreen or moving a paddle that clicks another switch will provide a different 'experience'. Most of my coffee ritual time resides in the prep phase, looking at the extraction and steaming/pouring milk.

My experience with the decent is that I've played around with a wide variety of profiles, and some i use for protracted periods. I've played around with turbo, allonge, blooming, adaptive and flow profiles with a variety of success. Most of my shots are pulled with spring lever profiles, and I've used pretty much all of the ones on the machine at some point. I tend to use something for a few weeks, getting used to dialing it in with a variety of coffees, and learning its quirks, then try something new. So mostly with 1 or 2 profiles, but the have changed over time. Currently LRV2 modified to 8 bar peak pressure.

StijnL wrote:I guess I'm especially hoping for feedback from owners of a Decent or Linea Mini that stepped away from the machine and/or people who really used (for days/weeks) both machines. What was not good enough, what made you decide to move on?

I owned a DE1. Fine machine and taught me a lot about the craft of making espresso. It can be drop-dead simple to use, or as techy as you want to be. But, for me the DE1 was ultimately overkill as I drink 1-2 straight espresso's daily using coffees I roast myself. I don't make milk drinks except on occasion. So I found a good home for the DE1 and went 'backwards' to a much simpler manual lever. I will never say I can be as precise as the DE1's computer, but I can emulate a couple of my favorite DE1 profiles and get similar quality consistently.

Not expecting this to impact your criteria at all, but it just highlights that the machine we each choose is very much a personal decision based on our intended use.

I have used both a DE1 and LMLM. I ended up keeping the DE1. There were many reasons for this, the biggest one for me is that the DE1 is a more versatile machine. I use it to make espresso from medium and light-roasted beans, and it allows me to alter profiles to get the most out of each roast level. I also use it to make amazing filter coffee, tea, and also hop tea for home brewing beer. It has allowed me to get rid of my kettle as I use the DE1 instead, and can vary the temperature of the water I need based on what I am brewing.

Another big selling point for me is the DE1 is so portable. I travel a fair bit, and take my DE1 with me in its flight case. It's very light and easy to travel with, and ensures I have great coffee wherever I end up. Lastly, the DE1 is the only machine I can think of that will get better as time goes by. Every update improves the capability of the machine, and any hardware improvements are able to be retrofitted. I've had my DE1 for almost two years and I'm just as excited about making espresso with it now as when it first arrived.

I have a DE1XL which replaced an E61 DB. I use it mostly for filter coffee. It's really excellent at that. Certainly not what I first expected when it arrived. I only drink coffee with milk, but the occasional espresso I make for visitors is always complimented, though I've no idea what that means in the scope of how it would be received by this boards more capable members. Be prepared for all the trials and tribulations of using beta software and putting up with the minor annoyances of occasional bugs and anomalies. I love the very short warm up time, I have the steam off and the machine is ready to brew in under 3 minutes if you're willing to work with a just warm portafilter. Another 2 or 3 minutes if you want steam too.

If all I wanted was to make espresso knowing who I am, I'd pick the LMMu without thinking, but the ability to make filter coffee and really good tea means I'm probably not willing to give up the DE1.

I've been here for 14 years, but never developed a tasted for espresso or black coffee. I still drink both with milk and so the abilities of the Decent are far beyond my needs and abilities to use, but the flexibility is endlessly entertaining.

I think about both of these all the time, and I am in the market for a Micra.. I dislike nearly everything about the Decent, but the fact so many people say it's the best has still prevented me from truly ruling it out. I think not, though.

Decent owner. The advantage of the Decent is the ability to see and measure what you are doing. The graphs let you see how consistent you are in you shots. You can vary a parameter to understand what the impact is on taste and have the metrics to know what you changed and how much it changed. The Decent community is also great. Shots are uploaded to the cloud and you can share results, ask for feedback, get advice and download profiles others have created. Some of the available profiles are designed to improve shots that would not turn out well, adjusting parameters during the shot depending on how the shot is progressing.

Very interesting thread. I currently have a (Rocket R58 V3/2019) modded with IMS shower and a ECM/Profitec Flow Control which I almost never use though. I was wondering what would be the next big step-up from having the best (E61 DB) as I definitely don't want to switch 4x25¢ for 1$ if you see what I mean.

As for (La Marzocco) I find that everything they do looks bulky and ugly in my own personal opinion, and also is way too expensive for the features they have. The super huge "Mini" is overkill in size, and while the brand new "Micra" looks already better and is of the perfect size without any exaggerated huge boiler for someone living alone that's not drinking 5 coffees at once, it was a deal breaker to notice still at about 5500$CAD it doesn't even include any pre-infusion or pressure-profiling feature so then the only better thing than my R58 would be a faster heat-up time and an infusion group that would be a bit more thermally stable?! Definitely not worth almost 2000$ more over what I have.

Then the roaster where I buy my coffee, the best machine he sells is the (Eagle One) at 8500$CAD on sale for 8000$. It is A LOT of money even for most enthusiasts and when I thought everything would be better than my current machine... when I saw the smaller tank capacity, a bit smaller steam boiler, yes pre-infusion feature but NO pressure profiling at such price, and then be entirely dependent on a cellphone application that requires my cellphone at all time and that's not so well rated on Google, it ruined my trust in the machine. I highly doubt that "Victoria Arduino" will support, improve and keep updating the Eagle One's software for a long time while the "Decent" can only improve over time with I updates which I hope are free though.

The Elektra Verve seemed interesting at first glance being the less expensive saturated group and god knows why these groups are so damn expensive... but then a store getting ride of their last stocks said he had recently 2 out of 3 customers who had issues and he wouldn't recommend that machine. Other people on forums here too complained about Wifi issues and a software that wasn't the best and definitely wouldn't improve over time. I wouldn't want to end up with a 75lbs paper weight one day. No way neither I'm spending 11K on a Rocket R9, that brand is really overpriced since covid.

It feels like the only realistic and "affordable" choice to upgrade my machine would be the Decent XL even though it's not as good looking and will lose the manual feedback which I understand why some people say it's more fun to use, but it will be so much more versatile. I still feel it looks like a cheap plastic machine that should have a much better looking design at such price, then I'm a bit afraid of a machine that is totally dependent on the life of 1 guy only. If he stops the project or dies, good luck after to get any kind of support, and good luck also trying to get it repaired by any local shop versus a E61 machine. It seems really risky but it does seem better at the same time so I'm hesitating. Is it me though that didn't understand or they charge like 1000$ of SHIPPING only just to send the small and super light machine to Canada?!? Now that would be a major deal breaker...