Is DE1 Pro an overkill for home use - Page 2

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
mastermind6688 (original poster)
Posts: 33
Joined: 3 years ago

#11: Post by mastermind6688 (original poster) »

megamixman wrote:The DE1 Pro is not overkill for home use. It's overkill for any beginner. The BDB provides you with the critical features you need to easily dial-in new beans, make consistent shots without having to hyper-stress the puck prep, and gives you access to milk drinks with very dry steam. You don't even need to mod it.

Just because the DE1 Pro can repeat profiles doesn't mean your coffee will. There are a whole host of variables that are entirely driven by your human interactions, including bean choice and age, grind consistency, water quality, and what I'd argue is the biggest variable: puck prep. Learning to balance these to get good consistent shots with a BDB then sets you up to use DE1 profiles to repeat shots or even play with flavors. But in the grand scheme of things, these will be minor in comparison to the bigger choices you have and a lot people skip straight over this variability and jump straight into "profiling shots".
Thank you, this is helpful. My question is, I was using BBE and started to play around with variables (the coffee tastes much better especially after I get Niche grinder) such as time and grind size, would it be a big enough upgrade if I choose BDB?

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Jeff
Team HB
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#12: Post by Jeff »


ira
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#13: Post by ira »

Jeff wrote:The DE1 can overwhelm a beginner with options. I consider 90% of the supplied profiles as either variants of the same thing, or just marketing fluff.
This is likely very true, but I don't think one should use that as a reason to not buy a Decent. If all you do is make Lattes, it's a silly choice, but if you love espresso and relish going to different shops and tasting all the different variations of espresso, then starting with a Decent might be the best decision you can make. Because if you fall in love with making espresso and experimenting, the Decent is the current be-all end-all machine for that path.

Ira

megamixman
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Joined: 4 years ago

#14: Post by megamixman »

The heated group head and simple pre-infusion make a huge difference. My recommendation for any and all beginners is a used BDB. Take advantage of that to learn and when you feel confident enough to make an informed decision based on what you want and don't want in your espresso + workflow. That's when you may decide on a DE. You may also decide on something else. While amazing, it's not the only end-all machine and in fact, there are several users on here who have a DE and another high-end machine such as an LR. I personally love my Flair and my DE1XL and use them for different reasons. The DE1XL is how I evaluate a roast and the Flair is how I enjoy my coffee.

mmntip
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Joined: 4 years ago

#15: Post by mmntip »

I suspect those are the measurements of the suitcase the decent ships in, otherwise I have no idea. Those are not the right dimensions. The ones I posted are correct, it's really small.

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decent_espresso
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#16: Post by decent_espresso replying to mmntip »

Yes, shipping dimensions. Use the drawings.

Here is a very old video showing various machines to scale. Note that this was before we actually shipped the de1 many years ago, so the side water tank should be removed in your mind, as we didn't do that.

mastermind6688 (original poster)
Posts: 33
Joined: 3 years ago

#17: Post by mastermind6688 (original poster) »

Thank you all. Although I really like Decent, I think it makes sense for me to buy a BDB first to learn more about espresso before I jump into the whole coffee profiling world. Maybe I'll get Decent when decent has the second generation of cases. I Hope Decent can revive the homeuse tier like DE1+, otherwise, it's so hard to justify the cost.

ScottinTexas
Posts: 37
Joined: 6 years ago

#18: Post by ScottinTexas »

The BDB is simply the best machine in that price range. This said, I'm really into good espresso and I'd never own one, but it does a decent job. The Decent is at another level with their machines priced at ~$3500-4000 now. You get what you pay for and the Decent is amazing, still it's not for everyone. If you're not into the science/data of coffee making, it's probably not the machine for you (although it is small, clean, and can be simple to use too).

For my money, the best has been the Italian made La Spaziale Vivialdo/Dream. It's a beast, very reliable, lots of features, programmable, and consistent. I've upgraded to each new machine they've released, and would buy each one again. Plus, new they're just >$2000, and used from 10-20% less depending upon conditions and accessories. Again, they are built solid, so most espresso aficionados have maintained their machine (I am fastidious). I'll be listing my current La Spaz Dream shortly. Good luck!

Ad-85
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#19: Post by Ad-85 »

Yes it is.
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