@DavecUK thank you very much indeed for all your answers, and indeed everyone else who’s commented and lent me their time and expertise.

It does make it very difficult to decide I must say. At the moment I just can’t choose between the Elizabeth and the Minima, they both do exactly what I want, the Elizabeth with some extra bells and whistles that might make a quick morning coffee easier, but perhaps not much, the pre-infusion is attractive but the power of the Minima for steaming might well mean I could do one jug of milk for our 2 morning coffees which would save some time.

I see no clear ‘winner’ and unless someone replies to suggest that one is better than the other for the following reasons it might well come down to which Mrs Java_avaJ says she prefers the look of ;-)

You can add flow control to the minima should you want to control flow

The pump in the liz is quieter than the minima though

Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

Elizabeth is a ring-type group rather than the E61 type. Seriously considered one when I was shopping. It would make for very rapid warm-ups and they’re pretty and clever.

Alas, couldn’t get CFO past name (ex-wife, lol)

My bianca is warm in under 20 mins tbf.

Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

Agreed. The Bianca is an unbelievably good machine - regardless of price, but perhaps a little out of reach for op (and me too, lol!)….my Mara X is also pretty good at warm up, even if not in the same class.
Not wanting to sound like a Lelit fanboy, but they’re sure as hell creating waves with some nifty innovative ideas in espresso machinery these days. In Australia, there’s about a $600 gap iirc between the ACS Maxima and the Elizabeth - About $8-900 more than the Mara X…for some, not a problem but the rest of us, well…..

5 days later

Just to thank everyone again, I’ve decided to get the Minima, I can’t find any uk stockists with stock so I’m getting it through Paolo at ACS, he’s been really helpful. I had thought of a custom colour but have decided to go with classic steel. The only problem now is my grinder doesn’t arrive until March and it’s taking me 7 minutes to do 30gms with my hand grinder 😀

    Java_avaJ Handheld drill?

    That was my solution when I was using an aergrind with my espresso machine, while waiting for the niche to arrive.

      Congratulations, great choice, couldn’t get the looks past my CEO, lol..
      Omg, thats so long… it’s no Aergrind, probably a wretched Porlex, lol

        CafeNoir it’s a Cafe de Tiamo 😒

        £30 perhaps not so well spent. I guess “any recommendations for a hand grinder” will be another thread 😃

            Java_avaJ I guess “any recommendations for a hand grinder” will be another thread 😃

            One you should start soon…..yeah 30 quid can buy you a lot of pain in the handgrinder world..

            Giphy - organ grinder monkey GIF

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              Well, the Toamo is ok for pour over type brew grinding, it’s intended purpose
              …No shortage of halfway decent through to amazing in the hand grinder world, common factor is steel burrs. You may soon be swamped with other suggestions, but these are my experiences.
              I first got a Zassenhaus Quito and for espresso, it’s rubbish.
              Also an Aergrind and it does ok, but it’s optimised for portability. The Feld 2 is better for espresso even with same 38mm burrs. Just got a 1Zpresso J-Max and it’s brilliant to use and even faster…IMHO 48 rotations for 15 gm espresso grind is pretty impressive.

                CafeNoir 1Zpresso J-Max and it’s brilliant to use and even faster…IMHO 48 rotations for 15 gm espresso grind is pretty impressive.

                They do make a nice hand grinder….I have a JX Pro and I like it.

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                    DavecUK but they’re £160 plus delivery and when the Niche arrives in March it’ll be redundant, it’d be cheaper to drink coffee out for a month 😀

                        Java_avaJ but they’re £160 plus delivery and when the Niche arrives in March it’ll be redundant, it’d be cheaper to drink coffee out for a month 😀

                        Oh sure, it only makes sense if you already have one….or simply fancy one as a back up/when travelling etc..

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                            6 days later

                            DavecUK I fear I’m following you down some dark, dark rabbit hole ☺ I’ve just got a 1zpress jx-pro, at the moment using it for Moka since I’m still awaiting the Minima, but it makes the coffee so much tastier and cleaner. But says it should hold 30 to 35g but I can only get 25g of my double roast santos beans in it. Grinds super-fast though, instead of 7 minutes of pain it’s less than a minute of ease. A win. Actually this rabbit hole is quite spacious isn’t it ;-)

                                Java_avaJ Actually this rabbit hole is quite spacious isn’t it ;-)

                                Not only large, but deep, for some people almost never ending. 🤣

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                                  How was your time with the Barista Express? Becoming increasingly interested in getting into espresso and was looking into this, seems to be some good deals online second hand. How’s the experience overall?