Yeah, exactly my questions. I think only the professional stuff can claim a recognisable difference in terms of thickness and flavour (I might be wrong, so I’m open for debate). And I have looked around: 6k-10k for a coffee machine is just insane for my humble cup of coffee.
Sure, 6k is a lot but let’s say you’re investing in something that will last at least 10 years. (they don’t make anything as they used to, the “boomer” in me says)
Our Jura outlasted 3 of a friend’s DeLonghis. I also thought the coffee turned out better/more consistent with a nicer crema. However - the friend lived in an area with exceptionally hard water and didn’t use a filter - so it could be the water, not the machine.
@Castro just go for it and let us know how much you love it. 
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I’m a heathen. I only drink coffee with milk, preferably the frothed kind, so our Delonghi Dinamica is perfect for me.
The men of the house who drink espresso are pretty happy with it too. We’ve had it a good few years now with no issues at all.
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I wonder how many coffees you can get delivered to you for 6k.
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Right?? At least these expensive coffee machines look really nice. Jura is just one brand, but I’ve been browsing randomly and was amazed by the upper end of the price scale.
No need for built-in filters, just get a Brita jug, generic filter replacements can be had for around 3 euro a piece on amazon. Ours have lasted years doing this and just running the decale program once every two or three months.
I can recommend De’Longhi Bean to Cup ECAM22.110.B. It’s a great machine and we’ve been using it for years.
[quote=“Ace, post:27, topic:138897”]
Ours have lasted years doing this and just running the decale program once every two or three months.
[/quote] Don’t have to descale or really use filters…we have snowmelt.
Difficult topic. We now have a manual espresso machine. Coffee is OK to good, but it is annoying to operate. We previously had Nespresso which again produced good coffee but I hated the capsules from a cost and waste perspective.
I am intrigued by the bean to cup concept, the EVA8 could be something for us - but 1100 is lot of money if I cannot be sure it will really work to my full satisfaction. Can one properly test those somewhere?
Yes
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The Jura ENA 8 looks to be an excellent machine, and there are lots of examples of professionally refurbished or almost new machines (with warranty) on ricardo or ebay.de for almost half the price. As gaburko suggested, you can spend a few hours at Jura World and test the different models to your satisfaction before pulling the trigger.
I am very happy with my Delonghi Magnifica Evo ECAM 290.61B with milk container. I bought it when the price on Galaxus suddenly dropped from 400+ to 305 CHF (it happens on Galaxus sometimes). Even though it is less advanced than my old 10+ yo Nespresso Delonghi Latissima Pro - the milk container has no regulator for the amount of froth, no LCD screen, no separate button for milk only - but it is a very good deal for the money I paid. Of course you can pay more for a more advanced version.
We have two Delonghi’s in the office and in the extremely rare days I have to go in one is always bust and the other serves up a cup of brown slop that tastes like it was introduced to a coffe bean but they had a falling out.
It does an acceptable chocolate drink though.
We have a Jura Vollautomat and it’s… fine.
Coffee is decent, certainly drinkable, but not exceptional.
Worth the price? Well, it was the best of what was immediately available when our previous machine broke down and I needed my morning cuppa or else the world would come to an end. And it served that purpose.
Still searching for the holy grail, though.
YMMV.
I finally replaced my Delonghi because it was falling apart after almost 10 years. Still made a good espresso but the power button kept jamming so I had to remove the side cover to keep popping it back out.
It was at that point that I considered a Jura but then I happened to be in a Tchibo shop and I tried a brew from one of their machines. I was so taken aback by how good it was (paired with their own beans) that I bought it there and then.
When I compare with Jura its the law of diminishing returns, I don’t think its worth paying 3x as much for a 5-10% improvement in taste?
P.S I wanted a machine that only does coffee, no milk options.
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I also had a similar experience. I was at a supplier and had a coffee from an automated machine. I was expecting the usual decent-but-nothing-special taste from the corporate machine and was blown away by the amazing taste.
This was probably 10 years ago and I still remember that cup of coffee!
Assuming you like Italian coffee - Espresso and Cappuccinos etc then the Holy Grail will never be an automatic machine.
People buy them for convenience and repeatability.
If you want the best coffee then you need a stand-alone espresso machine and a separate high-quality burr grinder. You then need to find the best grind setting, the correct amount of pressure when you tamp the coffee and the correct time length of pour.
And that’s without even thinking about the beans, amount of roast and so on.
If you just want a big cup of coffee then a French press will do the job for a few francs but you’ll still need to grind your beans.
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On a scale of your proposed “best” at 10 to a French press at 1 I’d rate full automatic machine at around 8 or 9. They do (at least, all the ones I’ve seen) have a high-quality burr grinder, with adjustable grind settings, Yes, pressure is not controllable, but then I think that’s probably up at the difference between 9.5 or 10 out of ten level, IYSWIM.
As for beans - well I’ve tried varying several times over the 15 or so years we’ve used such machines, but have always come back to Chicco D’Oro. As have most other users of my acquaintance. Perhaps it’s something to do with a British/American preference for a slightly larger mug rather than an espresso size, I’m not sure.
If a French Press (with water at the correct temperature) is a one, then filter coffee is a -5 at most.
Seriously? I’m not trying to be rude but if you rate a full automatic machine with Chicco D’Oro beans at an 8 or 9 then I don’t really value your opinion on what decent coffee is.
I guess we all like different tastes and giving advice to other people is only possible if you know what they like.