I've gotten approval to upgrade my current coffee setup and I'd like to get a seperatre grinder/machine combo - budget is $1000. Any recommendations? I was looking at https://alternativebrewing.com.au/products/gaggia-classic-ev… which is slightly over budget, but I'm not sure the amount of tinkering the Gaggia needs to get it in a good spot.
Hoping for some other recommendations from here :)
What have you got now?
Sunbeam barista max (has integrated grinder/espresso machine) - its fine, but grinder is the weak link really.
Not interested in dualboiler (unless theres an amazing deal!) as I don't make coffee for more than 2 people enough for it to be a problem for me.
might make more sense to buy a much nicer grinder now, keep the old machine for a bit and save up for something really nice
Might be a touch over your budget
Look into a Dual Boiler and something like the DF54
Sunbeam Cafe Series Duo twin thermoblock machine and pair it with a Breville Smart Grinder Pro. Should be close to $1k.
I've had this combo for the past 6 years and it hasn't let me down.
For a coffee machine + grinder, for $1000 the gaggia is the only one I've come across that'll make a truly outstanding coffee.
I can't recall if you have to do the opv/spring mod to the evo, however if you do its very cheap to do and irc gives great improvements.
The only other option I looked at was the dual boiler, but that's just not in budget (unless you really found an outstanding bargain on both the machine and the grinder).