Now I know this is a question some may shake your heads at, but the reason I am asking this, is because I was once exactly in the same boat and maybe so were a few of you in the long distant past, so here goes… A friend of mine's son came to visit, and of course I offered him a 'real' coffee from my humble set-up. He was blown away by the difference and has since gone away and, due to that experience, wants to start his own real coffee journey and has asked for my advice (the fool) and recommendations as to what to get. BUT!… And as you can see it is a very big but, he lives away from home does not earn much, has very little disposable income and therefore, not a lot to spend on equipment. When I say 'not a lot', I am talking £200 max. So, in my inexperienced head, I am guessing the obvious answer for that sort of money, will be a machine with a grinder included like a Sage Barista Express or the like, going for a song off somewhere like Ebay. But what do I know? Which is why I am turning to you, lovely knowledgeable, friendly real coffee's equivalent of the Good Samaritans… and yes grovelling is not beneath me. So, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to suggest anything (combo or separates) electric or hand made or both, that would give someone with very little capital, a start on their real coffee journey. This message will not self-destruct in 30 seconds, but you might see a grown man cry if I do not get a response. Thank you.

I seem to have made a boo boo and somehow in trying to edit the thread title to spell Mission correctly it did not do that and posted it twice, plus has this hidden thingy too. Can you sort it out for me Dave please? Thanks

Aeropress + hand grinder (there was a USB one reviewed by Dave and rated in this forum). I would not even comtemplate going into espresso with that sort of budget. It's a slippery slope.

I will second a hand grinder and aeropress combo, also a cheap scale is a good addition. Then spend the rest of that budget to buy good beans

@"Pompeyexile"#p75564 Flair + KinGrinder for espresso. ZP6/1zpresso/KinGrinder + Aeropress/filter kit otherwise.

Can you clarify what kind of coffee he likes because an aeropress would be useless if he likes a latte. A hand grinder and a second hand espresso machine could just squeeze into budget. You can get some reasonable grinders for ~£50 and £150 could get you an old Gaggia Classic if you're patient or perhaps a Sage Bambino

@"MediumRoastSteam"#p75595 I think espresso is possible. Even at new prices you could buy Flair Neo Flex and K6 grinder. I started with similar.

@"JimmyP"#p75603 true true… problem is… the slippery slope…. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

@"MediumRoastSteam"#p75605 You say that, but I’m not sure I’ve done £5k yet? 🤔😂😂👍

Second hand gaggia classic and an espresso hand grinder 🤔

Missin Impossible...?

dfk41

I bet you could get this for less than asking……(I know absolutely nothing about it). Forget the grinder. I started out with tins of Illy until I could afford a grinder

https://tinyurl.com/233ws8p9

Cuprajake

dfk41 cracking little machine, got one right after my classic, first shot 100% improvement

Elcarajillo

My cautionary note would be, if buying S/H , what water has it seen, are spare / replacement parts available.

Would he be able to repair it himself if needed, parts cost £££.

It would be very disappointing to buy a M/ch and suddenly find not working and too expensive to repair.

As already said, it would be as well for him to try brewed coffee to see if he likes / prefers it.

Another option for stronger coffee at affordable price would be a Moka pot another to try before buying ?

—

Pompeyexile

LMSC

Unfortunately, he lives over 100 miles away, and I don’t get to actually see him in person that often. But, he is giving me a call on Monday (my thumbs can’t take the length of WhatsApp message it would need to go through everything mentioned) and you can be sure I will put everyone’s recommendations forward, get more information on what he wants and go from there.

I will admit though, I also started out with Clever Dripper, added an Aeropress before going for my first ever proper espresso machine, the faithful Gaggia Classic and electric grinder. So, pour over might be the safest introduction.

Again, my thanks to all of you. I will let you know what path he takes.

LMSC

Pompeyexile Filter combined with a hand grinder, IMO, is a great start to drinking some nice coffee. It’s cost effective and repeatable with some good SO beans, like we brew here.

I had started with Aero Press and JX pro, before quickly adding V60 and Clever in 2019/20 and buying the Evo in 2021.

I had earlier given up coffee for more than 10-12 years after becoming sick of drinking coffee from sub-£100 machines, store beans and instant.

If you have a spare brew kit, you might want to loan him that he can try them out before spending his cash. 😊

dfk41

FAcebook Marketplace

https://tinyurl.com/24zeoug2

Pompeyexile

Well, I have just finished a good 45-minute WhatsApp video call with him and considering he has such little funds at the moment, convinced him the best start would be to go down the V60 pour over route. That way he can at least get an idea firstly of what type of coffee he likes light, medium or dark roasts. The equipment is cheap and to start with, buying his beans from a decent roaster such as Rave or one local to him, who will also grind it for no extra cost.

I think then, if he is happy with that, it gives him time to save a bit more, and he can look at getting his own decent grinder (hand probably but maybe electric) and move on from there.

I have seen there is a Fellow Stagg kettle on sale here on the forum, so I have asked if that is still available and if it is, I will buy it for him to help him start his real coffee journey.

Once again, thanks so much to everyone for your insightful, invaluable and honest advice. As his coffee journey moves on I will be re-visiting this thread and who knows, on his behalf the ‘for sale’ thread too.

Best coffee forum on the web?…. Goes without saying, and who knows, we might see him on here one day too.

MediumRoastSteam

Pompeyexile - Aeropress is even cheaper if funds are a problem here.

Pompeyexile

MediumRoastSteam

Well he got a V60 No 2 for less than a tenner on Amazon and I have not seen an Aeropress for anywhere near that price. Having said that, I think whilst he said ‘espresso’ he admits he got that from having coffee from his girlfriend’s Moka Pot. Of course, I put him right and said that was not technically espresso.

I may be wrong, but to get a decent espresso there are so many variables, and you really do need decent equipment, whereas a drinkable pour over is easier to come by (for us real coffee virgins anyway). As I said to him, start with that and grow from there. I would be surprised if many (but I am happy to be proven wrong) started their coffee journey by diving straight into making espresso. Especially on a very limited budget.

I know Aeropress coffee is also not ‘espresso’ but I wanted to make it as easy for him as possible to start with, and using a method that was a bit more forgiving. No doubt, like me and others, once he sees just how far superior to instant that is, his interest will be peaked, and he will want to delve deeper.

profesor_historia

HarveyMushman I think it is perfectly possible, you can buy for less than 1K a second hand Super Jolly and a second hand Rancilio Silvia or Gaggia Classic and still have some budget left for a tamper, a scale, pitcher and good coffee. My first set up back in 2010 was exactly this, Rancilio Silvia and Mazzer Super Jolly, I think it’s the perfect combo to start the espresso journey, even is Silvia has it’s (her?) own personality ;).

dfk41

profesor_historia I think his budget being a student was £200!

profesor_historia

dfk41 I know but I was replying to @HarveyMushman :)

dfk41

profesor_historia I will never get the hang of this interweb thing!

HarveyMushman

profesor_historia

Oh it’s certainly possible. I said so in my post.

I just said, having owned a number of machines costing well under £1000, I wouldn’t really want to.

I don’t favour espresso enough over brewed coffee to jump through the necessary hoops at that price point.

Cuprajake

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393244557000?_skw=espresso+machine&epid=6053327905&itmmeta=01JHQF3E730M5FTWABNWJMGSEY&hash=item5b8f33bec8:g:bLkAAOSwlNBnG2B6&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKnS5vacsgwCf8mWAKO2ZZ60Q4UN10w6zHIbrxPP%2BpgQsHzVDLdaVu0KQ82fmEX%2BuF2O1PHKO0AkaDbYnJCs%2FfEDIaKZNomMxyRnDHvyInkxB4aUhLtRUR4uaSHmfc0e7b5%2FZP1ZDcJ0u1pBClfQLRGSinTbCWEHAuzeWyewtwyphh8DP7oH8Gs3CULnyQvqHBnkyIHMNryVpwFV5bpMqMvxbgFSFXvyWtFei8Zd2FBPW9tXo7pt5WqNi%2F333k4zQVQ%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-zjje-NZQ

discount code too

chlorox

My vote is Aeropress or a pourover rig of some sort. At that budget, it’s difficult to get good espresso…

Pompeyexile

He went for a V60 and some filter papers as I said, and a bag of Rave’s signature blend (pre-ground) just to set him on his way. I suggested to start with the standard 6% ratio 15g grinds to 250ml water and depending on how it tasted to him, he could adjust from there. Two days ago, he phoned me to say how chuffed he was with the result. Couldn’t believe the difference in flavour.

Baby steps, try different coffees, and time to save up a bit before going any further down the rabbit hole.

Oh, and I know it won’t be long before he asks… Which hand grinder (not may to choose from… ahem!). So, come on, don’t hold back people, you know you want to.

dfk41

I just watched this

dutchy101

I was literally just about to post the same. £60!!! Wow

DavecUK

dutchy101 I was literally just about to post the same. £60!!! Wow

Just remember, he didn’t bother to open it, or test the temperature….so he has not really told you much that’s useful.

Pompeyexile Lance Hedrik has the same thing on his website with the Delonghi Stilosa which has a steel boiler for $99 or even lower. His grinder was far cheaper, and he couldn’t praise it enough.

Well it’s amazing what people will do for the money. If these things are not properly tested and people buy into them, we will have a lot of landfill, as most will be unrepairable. I can’t bring myself to watch the video, but I sure someone can precis it for us.

HarveyMushman

Ah yes the classic Aldi / Zerno starter setup.

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