Hello!

I need your advice on choosing a second home kit.

For now I have a set of Delonghi EC 685 + bottomless portafilter with basket from aliexpress and 1zpresso JE (not a plus) as a grinder (and of course scale, tamper, etc). I own this about 7 month for now.

Usually, I drink about 2 to 4 cups a day (two for me, two for wife), and don't drink milk based coffees.

I'm really tired of unstable temperature of brew, pressure of 15 bar, cold portafilter and group head, constantly wet pack and so on. And also hand grinding

My requirements for a coffee maker are:

• 58 mm group head
• PID control
• Pre-configured OPV and 9 bar pressure
• Three-way solenoid valve for dry pack

I want to move to a qualitatively new level by buying equipment, level that would be enough for me for a long time, with which I could improve my skills and from which I would not grow out instantly (like it was with ec685).

At the moment I am thinking about buying:

• Lelit Victoria (PL91T) app. $1100 in my region
• Eureka Mignon Manuale (Notte in some regions) app. $280 in my region

So, my total budget about app. $1300-$1400

Is this the optimal set for my requirements and goals? Maybe there are better options I just don't see?

P.S. I'm not an English native speaker, my apologise for any inaccuracies and mistakes.

It looks like you know what you want, and this looks like a good setup.

IMO, ya gots it backwards.

Requirements for grinder trump brewer which is essentially a fancy kettle.

IF you are serious about making great espresso, a grinder in the Niche or Kafetek or other precision single dose unit is the baseline.

It really depends on what you are after.

The espresso machine is the flashiest part of the setup, and we have a natural tendency to spend the most time and money on that.

However, if you are after a setup that will get you the best cup, realize that the grinder truly makes the biggest difference. You need a good grinder that not only gives you a consistent grind, but you also want a grinder that is easy to adjust, dial-in, and clean.

I move from a Mignon to an Atom, as I found the Atom easier to dial in

OK, first off all thank you for your answers and opinions!

I had a thought that the grinder is rather weak point in this setup, but the thing is that in my region there are almost no models between home and commercial (witch is way large then home appliance models).

Niche Zero with shipping and transportation companies will be app. $800-$850, it's too expensive for me. Kafetek only delivery from US to me will be app. $100.

So - any other option? I do not mind increasing the budget for $50-$100. I could reduce the share of the coffee maker in the total amount, but the fact is that all coffee makers are cheaper than Victoria (from among those that I have easy access to here), do not have some of the points of my requirements or a model of older/lower class (Silvia, Gaggia Classic, etc)

There is Eureka Atom with 65 mm burrs, maybe other options?

Any used grinders about? All the big manufacturers make 65mm-ish grinders. A Mini-Hopper works a treat. The white part is a PVC weight to simulate a partial hopper of beans. The negative of non-specialized espresso grinders are retention and NOISE. Dosers are loud!



Hopper sits atop a Macap MXK, a very good grinder compromised by retention and noise issues.

This looks like a good set up. I have been impressed with Lelit machines thus far. They seem to really pay attention to the details that matter.

I've had the Mignon Notte for about 3 weeks and am happy with it. I have not found dialing in to be difficult but I only do espresso. I imagine switching between espresso and something coarser would be a pain with the dial design.

If single dosing is a priority for you, I will say that even using a single dose hopper w/bellows, it has more retention (range of +/- 0.5g between consecutive doses) than I was expecting.

The grind quality and consistency has been great and I'm loving the product in the cup. I have gone through 2 bags of medium roasts and 1 bag of light-medium but have not yet tried a true light roast.

There's always something better for some more amount of money but I would say if this is the grinder you have access to and it fits your budget I don't think you're going to be disappointed.

How about Lelit Glenda which would save you 200 or more to add to your grinder budget!!?

So I decided to upgrade grinder a little to Eureka Mignon Specialita (paired with Victoria) and go with this set