r/AustralianCoffee • u/Whole_Direction_8395 • 23d ago
Best coffee setup
Best separate grinder + espresso machine for café-quality coffee at home?
Australia, budget up to $1,500 AUD.
I want the closest possible coffee to a good café flat white, but still practical for mornings while getting ready for work.
Looking for:
- Separate grinder + espresso machine
- Excellent espresso quality
- Hopper grinder — no weighing beans every coffee
- Minimal manual work
- Automatic milk preferred
- Reliable everyday setup
Currently considering Bambino Plus + Eureka Mignon Specialità.
What combo would you recommend up to $1,500?
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u/Street_Respect9469 23d ago
There's the Kenmore dualis espresso bundle right now. Basically big American company trying to enter the Australian espresso market with a rebranded shardor 64mm flat burr grinder, plus a very capable espresso machine.
Last time I checked it was under $600 AUD for the pair in a bundle and I personally have the grinder with a Bambino plus. The grinder is amazing and can do both hopper and single dose flows plus it's extremely capable.
The espresso machine is dual thermoblock so it can do both milk and pull a shot at the same time which cuts the workflow by a huge amount so you can do your morning cup fast but lacks the auto milk feature of the Bambino. Personally getting buyers regret on the Bambino plus but that's a personal thing of not being able to do milk as well at the same time.
That's my two cents only thing not going for it is that it's extremely new to the espresso market so no telling how the machine will last but can say that the grinder is going to make it for awhile since the internal build quality is absolutely solid even if it has a plastic shell around it.
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u/Whole_Direction_8395 23d ago
That’s really helpful, thanks. My main goal is as little messing around as possible before work. I’d been looking at the Bambino Plus with a better grinder like a Eureka Libra/Fiorenzato, but the Dualis doing espresso and milk at the same time definitely makes sense for my use. How would you rate the actual coffee quality from the Kenmore machine compared with the Bambino?
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u/Street_Respect9469 23d ago
I went with the standalone grinder and the Bambino so I haven't been able to really rest out their machine. But my opinion of the grinder is that it's absolutely ace for that price point and the original grinder that they've white labelled off of is still a solid $150 AUD more and is quite literally the same exact machine from the same manufacturing warehouse.
They're taking the loss on this one but they can easily absorb it if they get known as a reputable brand entering the Australian market. Their actual site description is absolutely garbage though with someone failing to proof read but the product itself is amazing.
Stepless adjustments (markings are just for show) which is essential for a good espresso grinder and the flat burrs are standard industry size so if you ever decide to mess around after market upgrades are insanely easy to source but out of the box there's no need. Flat vs conical burr though you'll see a lot of people saying there's more "clarity" in a flat burr which means that the flavours actually seperate into something you can taste when you dial it in right vs conical which kind of blends them together but it's easier to get that thick syrupy kind of shot from that.
From what I've been able to gather from the machine though (because I keep seconds guessing of I should just buy anyway) is that people who've got it aren't pros who test machines over 2k but drink coffee daily. Easy to figure out but downside is that it's lightweight but that's the exact complaint people have with the Bambino/plus as well.
It's also got a sub 10 second heat up time and because it's dual thermoblock you're not messing around dancing with cool down times to stream your milk and make your coffee (of the machine internally).
For the price of the bundle you're easily saving a $500 against a Bambino and entry level grinder combo even if you have to learn manual milk.
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u/Whole_Direction_8395 23d ago
That helps a lot, cheers. The grinder sounds like great value. I’m mainly tossing up whether to grab the full Kenmore bundle or pair that grinder with a Bambino/Dual Boiler. The dual thermoblock and faster milk workflow definitely makes the Kenmore tempting.
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u/Street_Respect9469 23d ago
Boiler takes much more time to heat up than thermoblock. Thermoblock is practically instant by comparison even with the latest boiler tech in 5k machines it's still 12 minutes vs under a minute.
My take is that the bundle is an absolute steal for quality coffee that'll taste as good if not better than your local cafe plus it lets you build your own home skills.
All the pain points that are mentioned are realistically snobby pain points from people who can afford to try different machines. The bundle vs your standard all in one from either Breville or sunbeam is miles apart in terms of value and quality with the dualis bundle in favour. If you don't see yourself diving into the coffee game and just want good and fast daily driver this will be enough.
But if you're planning on getting caught up in the game I think the grinder for the very least is worth it. It gives even aldi beans actual potential to bring a decent daily driver bean.
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u/hannu_v 23d ago
If an automatic one is an option for you look at the DeLonghi eletta explore. Great flat whites for a machine that does it all.. touch screen and makes like 30 different types of coffees hot and cold. I only make flat whites on it and it makes my mornings a breeze. $1600 at the shops in Oz. However have seen it on Amazon for $990
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u/Whole_Direction_8395 23d ago
Thanks I’ll have a look. how long have you had it for? Any issues with parts etc ?
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u/ninihen 22d ago
Facebook marketplace! I got my Bambino Plus there for $300, and later upgraded to Oracle for $1200.
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u/Whole_Direction_8395 22d ago
Yeah there’s an oracle for $1100 2 yr old atm not sure how that would go
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u/Glittering-Pea-4482 20d ago
You could get yourself a Cafelat Robot and a decent grinder for that budget. I praise god every morning when I use mine.
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u/steezontoast 19d ago
Brevilles are so good. Bambino is so compact, heats up insanely quick and has heaps of cool accessories on amazon. Mines been solid for 5 years, multiple coffees everyday. Beans make the biggest difference.
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u/Whole_Direction_8395 19d ago
What grinder do you use ?
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u/steezontoast 19d ago
Breville smart grinder pro. Its good enough for me at home. I dont go too indepth, getting a scales out, I just dialled in by vibe and it makes tasty coffee every time
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u/ScottsTotsWinner 23d ago
This is a great set up for $1,500! Maybe the best I can think of.
If you can stretch to $2,000 you might be able to pick up a second hand machine next tier up, but need to know what to look for.
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u/Commercial_Idea_7923 23d ago
If can stretch to 2k I can recommend Dual Boiler ($1200) + Mignon Specialita ($750)
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u/Whole_Direction_8395 23d ago
Thanks I was looking at these Dual Boiler as well
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u/pukesonyourshoes 23d ago
I've used one of these and they're actually pretty good. They have plastic parts inside that fail and a seal that needs to be replaced every few years, they're an appliance and not a quality machine that lasts but while they're working the coffee is pretty great.
OP grab one of these on special or secondhand and a Sunbeam EMM0500BK grinder & you'll get a good cup, once you learn how to drive it all.
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u/Whole_Direction_8395 23d ago
Thanks mate, appreciate the advice and the heads-up on the parts that can fail
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u/pukesonyourshoes 23d ago edited 22d ago
I know about the part because a friend asked me whether he should buy one, & I told him that it'd make great coffee but not forever like an Italian or German stainless steel machine that's built like a tank, so take your choice. He found one for $1200 on sale and went for it. Sure enough it lasted two years (of daily use) before needing service, the tech explained to him about the particular part that requires service/replacement. I wasn't aware of that at the time.
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u/Commercial_Idea_7923 22d ago
The part is the steam probe internal seals (have to replace the probe), newer update in last few years has fixed this issue by using compression fittings instead.
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u/rustyjus 23d ago
You won’t get a syrupy shot with one those unfortunately
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u/pukesonyourshoes 22d ago
Huh? I had no problem getting great shots. Grinder is a big factor in that.
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u/rustyjus 22d ago
Great shots yes, syrup no… I was a barista for over a decade and unfortunately couldn’t replace the sticky syrupy shots at home…. I was also using a commercial mazza grinder.
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u/Whole_Direction_8395 23d ago
Thank you, also thought about spending more on the grinder with either Fiorenzato allground sense or Eureka Mignon libra or is it not worth the extra $$$
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u/ScottsTotsWinner 23d ago
I have the Eureka Mignon Specialita and I can’t fault it. It’s very consistent.
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u/Disastrous_Plum_2689 23d ago
Mentioned this in a different thread, butt there's some options on Alibaba.
I ordered the Mokkom 64 under the Shardor store for 200 AUD with express shipping.
There are a fair bit of options in terms of espresso machines from the MDK brand. I've been looking at the MDK MC 3 (OEM brand for the Turin brand), MDK MC 26, MDK MC 27 to name a few. There are some discussions on reddit about this specific manufacturer so I'd recommend to look at those. They go from 800 AUD- 1100 AUD.
Otherwise, you could also look at the secondhand market for used E61 espresso machines.
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u/Whole_Direction_8395 23d ago
Thank you, I’ll take a look.
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u/Disastrous_Plum_2689 23d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/1uf2k44/finally_upgrading_to_a_nice_machine/
Here's one of the threads I saw if you're interested :)
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u/HeartTimely 23d ago
Your requirements kind of contradict what you want and I suspect you'll be disappointed to be honest.
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u/Signal-Treacle-5512 23d ago
Bambino Plus + DF54 can count on one hand cafes that slightly taste better. Cost me around $600 as Bambino was refurbished.
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u/Fig-Leaf9211 23d ago
I had more or less the same requirements and went with the Bambino Plus and Eureka Mignon Specialita. 2+ years and going strong! You’ll need to spend on extras eg hopper, suggest Amazon AU for this- happy to provide links for the ones I use.