We see a whole load of woffle, both on this forum and many others regarding coffee machines. AT the end of the day, you do your research then buy a machine because it is either within budget or it ticks your individual boxes. But what is the differentials? All coffee machines have boilers of some sort to produce hot water and steam, both needed in the coffee making process. Some will heat up faster than others, but so what? A lot of machines have timers and if they do not you can use a wifi plug. Some have saturated groups…..so what? Most home users do not leave their machines on all day and if they do, they are usually not cafes, serving 2 to 4 drinks a day. Does a saturated group make any difference to the taste of a shot. Some folks buy badges and therefore will only buy a badge, regardless. So, what are the things that are important to making a shot. Presuming that your shot preparation is good and that you have a grinder that can do your machine justice, what else really matters. The ability to control group and water temperature is nice and can affect the taste. The ability to adjust bar pressure is nice. But, what is the single most important thing…….the coffee. How many folks have equipment costing thousands of £'s, then spend £20 a kilo on commodity beans (yes, I certainly do but I have wasted hundreds on fancy sounding beans and had decent grinders and just accept my tastebuds are inferior). There is nothing wrong with buying what you fancy. If you could do a blind tasting of a coffee made on several top end prosumer machines it would take a very clever man to be able to identify the machines. So the thought that one machine makes a better cup than another…..does it? The exception to this though, is the 58mm puck versus the 53/4 mm puck. The latter produces a much narrower, deeper puck and no, I am not a scientist but depth means the water travels further through the coffee. The original Italian machines were all this size, until someone invented the E61……….

I’m aware people probably gloss over my posts because I’ve got a machine a lot of people assume are purchased solely for the name… one thing to note on this is firstly, I purchased my first coffee machine 20 years ago, a Gaggia Classic and have had maybe 5 or more machines since. The badge isn’t important to me. Also, 99% of people in my family and friends have no idea who LM is, and really the only people who even know I have one are people on this forum! I’ve no desire to impress people. On the saturated group…(or whatever the actual tech is called because it’s not officially saturated on the Mini/Micra) I personally think it’s a better group that’s more forgiving. I say this having had it side by side with my previous E61 machine. On a perfect day, with perfect prep and perfect beans, you would get an equally good cup. But what makes say a Lelit Bianca better than a Rancilio Silvia? The temperature stability… in turn, for me, what makes a Linea Mini ‘better’ than an E61? The temperature stability. I’ve lived with and owned both, side by side. If I didn’t think the LM was great, I’d have sold it. I’m fortunate enough that if I thought a £10k machine would be better for me, I’d buy one. It’s not money stopping me from upgrading, it’s that the machine is perfect for me. And I’ve learned that from 20 years of experimenting and various machines. But the key is that’s my take. Other people might love their Streitman lever, their profiling E61, their bells and whistles auto-profiler… it’s whatever works best for you. I think the issue with the LM is the price. If it was £2k, a lot more people would have them and love them. But because of their price, and the connotations of buying expensive things, people write them off as overpriced snake oil. I don’t know why people are surprised… practically m every decent coffee shop on the planet has a LM machine. There’s a premium for the name, certainly, but it doesn’t make it any less of a great machine.

> @"HarveyMushman"#p73427 But what makes say a Lelit Bianca better than a Rancilio Silvia? It does not, other than beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For the record, I was not having a pop at you. I simply mentioned LM (having owned a GS3) since to many, they are held in high esteem. It is the same in every sector you care to mention. Cars…..one person buys an electric, the next a diesel…..choice is a good thing

> @"dfk41"#p73428 For the record, I was not having a pop at you Sorry yes I didn't think that but see how it looked likeI thought so! I just wish more people could try a Linea Mini for a while in the home and I do wish it was cheaper and more accessible as I really do think it's a great all-round machine for people who don't want profiling. It's hard to explain but I'm seemingly able to throw any badly prepared puck in it and get a decent result out which I haven't been able to do before. I'm not one of these people who meticulously prep the puck and I'm often in a rush between meetings to make a couple of coffees. I'd love the AV functionality from the GS3 though.

> @"HarveyMushman"#p73427 I’m aware people probably gloss over my posts because I’ve got a machine a lot of people assume are purchased solely for the name 100% totally vain ;)

@"Cuprajake"#p73430 Actually me [URL=https://i.imgur.com/QzQsp6H.jpeg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/QzQsp6H.jpeg[/IMG][/URL]

I'd love a LM but I could never justify the cost (also the WiFi connectivity puts me off as I like the idea of a dumb machine). But the build quality and relative simplicity are a real draw for me. A lot of people like tech and the ability to fiddle so would inevitably go for something different. I also like the idea of a Decent but I can't imagine them still going strong in 20 years time. If we were all able to properly test all the options available to us then we'd probably buy very differently but it's not possible. We have to purchase based on specifications, reviews and inevitably our own personal bias will come in to play(whether logical or not…).

@"Dusk"#p73432 Indeed. Another reason I think the ‘original’ version is preferable. I’ve never used the wifi functionality and the boilers on mine are controlled with physical controls. Bella Barista have showroom but I think as with everything you need to live with something for a while before you can decide it’s right for you. Trying to make a ££££ purchase based on internet browsing or a 10 minute trial isn’t ideal.

@"Dusk"#244 thats a great idea for a poll - how long have you owned your machine, i doubt many would have long term with out upgraditus

I went to bella barista a few tears ago . They were showing how good the lmlm was. I just kept thinking how cramped it looked and how id manage ti use it with my Denby mugs under that group . They said the rockets were particularly pretty and people who turn up in full biking gear usually prefer them.🫣 At that time i purchased the Synchronika anniversary edition. Loved it for a while prior to moving on to the ACS's I can't see me changing again (this year), but id have a nurri or Decent if ACS were no longer available. LMLM would be way down my particular list. I do like the enthusiasm of LMLM owners on here and Reddit but cant quite see the excitement . Luckily theres a lot of choice as we are not all the same 🤪☕

@"Cuprajake"#p73435 ive had mine 33 hours longer than yove had yours; Approximately 🥰

Coffee machine differentials

chlorox

HarveyMushman

I have never had to do anything special to accommodate my levers except drilling a hole in the counter top fir the water filter below but that’s necessayr for any sort of machine to be connected to the water supply. Even when i has a smaller kitchen, I managed to put my massive izzo on the kitchen counter let alone the considerably smaller nurri. The vertical height of the lever handle isn’t a problem because if u need to open the cabinet doors above the machine, u just pull the lever downwards to make way for the doors opening. Or if there is a seam beteeen the 2 doors above the machine, u position the machine so that the leve handle sits exactly in that seam so both doors can open to the right and left of the lever handle without being impeded.

Jason1wood

chlorox just watched a video on the Nurri, what a beautiful machine.

Haven’t really understood the lever thing and wasn’t a fan of removing your cup during the extraction, from watching ‘how to’ vids this morning.

Love the levers on the Nurri

Just glad it’s twice the price of my budget, otherwise it’d be a contender. 😍

chlorox

Jason1wood

That’s the nice thing about the nurri’s grouphead venting feature - I always hated the ‘move the cup and watch it leak all over the plastic container ’ routine too.

On levers in general, I have to say that for me anyway the moment I started using a spring lever, pump machines lost all their allure for me. Been a lever head for more than 12 years now and that feeling has never changed…so if u r like me, then don’t try using one LOL

Raja123

I nearly went with the Nurri, but the fact the Vostok has been given the once over by Jeremy Clarkson swayed me:

It’s a major differential.

chlorox

Raja123

Thought he was too busy keeping hiscattle from jumping over hedges and the like LOL

Jason1wood

I’m going to pop to @dfk41 for a chat but sure his machine is a bit heavy to sneak out with 🤣🤣🤣

dfk41

Jason1wood for the right money I will help you carry it!

Adrianmsmith

chlorox LOL now now if I can say acs without breaking out in hives, you can say NURRI L TYPE SA Leva too 😄

I will keep trying to say that sentance, cant quite get all the words out just yet 🤪🤭

I have to admit the Nurri video with that German guy and the review by Tom is what ultimately made me buy the Evo 😎🤐

If Bella Barista, the so called uk distributors, had been actually interested in selling one i may have purchased one.

Luckily BB couldn’t be bothered and Antonio wasnt interested in a direct sale so i didnt. the rest is history 🥰

I had the V1 and now the v2

All joking aside the V2 gives the best of all worlds and caters for how you want to use it from fully auto dump / shot end to fully traditional / manual shot end, with a couple of hybrid semi auto modes in between.

If the v2 evo had not been released the nurri could have had some appeal but nurri needs a v2 now to give it some attraction or advantage….

chlorox

Adrianmsmith

It’s different strokesfor different folks I guess but that’s the beauty of the market - there is a machine for everyone’s tastes. For me the nurri is almost perfect as it is - no change to the concept needed!

Adrianmsmith

dfk41

@Jason1wood

Ive seen David sell some bargains on here so you may have an offer you can’t refuse 🤪

I bet he has his eve on the v2 🤐😎

Jason1wood

Being in Surrey maybe an issue as I’m all the way up in Godly Newcastle

Adrianmsmith

Jason1wood

@dfk41

Ah, ok, sorry. thought you were both near Newcastle 😭

im only half way to surrey if you want to call in on the way past!! 🤪

Jason1wood

Adrianmsmith I got confused there. We are both in Newcastle yes. Thought you were referring to DaveC who’s in Surrey 🤣

Doesn’t matter. It’s far too early and haven’t had a coffee yet 🤣🤣🤣

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