Will I be disappointed by older super autos?

#1: Post by **Dano83** » May 25th, 2019, 5:59 am

Hello,

I have been using a breville barista express now for about 6 months. I'm fairly happy with it for how much it costs but i don't really have any luck getting consistent pulls from it. Anyway, we just had our second kid so extra time in the morning is hard to come by. Because of this, I've been thinking about switching to a super automatic.
I've seen a couple Delonghi Magnifica 3400 machines pop up locally for around $150.

My question is, am I going to be disappointment in the flavor from one of these older super autos? I just drink straight shots and dont really care about steaming milk. Just be blunt...I would rather know before I go buy one.

Any input is much appreciated!

#2: Post by **ojt** » May 25th, 2019, 6:22 am

From my experience, yes, you will be disappointed. Sorry

I've too small-ish kids and know all the hoopla that goes with that, and quite frankly during the week I am just fine with a nice big Bialetti Moka (big in italian terms == 2 cup moka). Use my Pavoni only on the weekends.

Point being, IMHO, better invest for good equipment and concentrate the effort for when you CAN take the time, rather than dilute the whole experience. Less is more as they say.

Just my 2 cents

#3: Post by **sweaner** » May 25th, 2019, 9:44 am

Do you have a grinder?
What coffees are you using?

I would bet that those cheap machines are not going to work well.

#4: Post by HB » May 25th, 2019, 9:49 am

Dano83 wrote:My question is, am I going to be disappointment in the flavor from one of these older super autos?

Williams-Sonoma and the like have demo super-automatics to sample. In my limited experience, they're barely passable. If time is limited and you really want espresso, Nespresso or Keurig capsule brewers are unbeatable on convenience.

Dano83 wrote:Anyway, we just had our second kid so extra time in the morning is hard to come by... I just drink straight shots and dont really care about steaming milk.

Switching to pourover or French Press ticks the "no time, good coffee" requirement. If you really, really want espresso, manual levers like the Cafelat Robot or Flair Espresso are about as quick as it gets since they require no warmup time. You'd have to budget 5-10 minutes start to finish, including cleanup.

#5: Post by **bluesman** » May 25th, 2019, 2:18 pm

We had a small Nespresso on our counter for many years. It's a great way to make good, consistent shots quickly. It won't equal the best from a good DB or HX machine, but it's far better than many SBDU units in the hands of hurried, harried parents with too much to do and too little time to do it. It even beats better machines if your technique isn't excellent.

I kept it alongside our "real" machine until it died. We didn't replace it because we're both now retired and our kids are adults with their own homes, so we have the luxury of time. But if the need arose (eg pied-à-terre), we wouldn't hesitate to get another.

#6: Post by **ojt** » May 25th, 2019, 5:17 pm

bluesman wrote:... Nespresso on our counter for many years. It's a great way to make good, consistent shots quickly. ...

And this is where it goes down to taste. I far prefer a quick moka brew to Nespresso myself. They even cost almost the same. But yeah, out of the super automatics, I'd rather give 50€ for Nespresso than anything above that price point. In fact, any old drip machine is better. Strictly imho of course.

#7: Post by **ojt** » May 25th, 2019, 5:24 pm

HB wrote:If time is limited and you really want espresso, Nespresso or Keurig capsule brewers are unbeatable on convenience.

Being HB, should we now start a debate if Nespresso qualifies as espresso?

I would've liked to say "In italy they'd never qualify that for espresso!" but sadly they're quite popular..

May 26th, 2019, 3:42 pm

Nespresso comes closer to the certification standards of the Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano than most traditional shots. The "official" recipe is:

7 gm of ground coffee

9 bar brew pressure

88 degrees C brew temp

20 - 30 sec brew time

22.5 - 27.5 ml shot volume

A Nespresso pod has 5 (standard) or 6 (lungo) gm of coffee in it and puts out about 40 ml of espresso in about 25 seconds. I've never found a clear statement of Nespresso brew pressure.

Nespresso machines turn out a consistently tastier shot than many, many so-called espressos out of "better" machines in some very fancy places. It's never great but it's also never bad. They offer many different coffees, so most of us can find at least one we actually like - for me, it's the black pod Ristretto or the purple pod Arpeggio.

So all kidding aside, I strongly believe that Nespresso does make espresso.

#9: Post by **voozy** » May 26th, 2019, 3:50 pm

I've always found nespresso to be drinkable even though I don't like the pod concept, the tiny dose, the marketing, or the parent company. There are other companies now making compatible pods now, which is a slight mitigation. There's also a new model (Vertuo) with bigger pods, but I think no compatible pods for it yet, maybe because patents.

#10: Post by **BaristaBoy E61** » May 26th, 2019, 4:02 pm

Dano83 wrote: My question is, am I going to be disappointment in the flavor from one of these older super autos? I just drink straight shots and dont really care about steaming milk. Just be blunt...I would rather know before I go buy one.

Any input is much appreciated!

Because I know I'd be disappointed, in you situation I'd opt for a Moka Pot and call it a day (or morning).