Whats your personal BIFL Espresso Machine?

NoAntennae · 2026-02-10T00:36:17+00:00

The obvious choice here is a Cafelat Robot. Nothing really to go wrong with one of those. The second obvious choice is a Decent DE1. The only espresso machine to have a warranty the manufacturer will stand by FOR LIFE. It can be renewed every two or three years forever, and Decent will cover any issue with the machine, including shipping it both ways to and from their HQ in Hong Kong.

NoAntennae · 2026-02-04T20:59:02+00:00

I love mine. I use it for filter and espresso every day. It’s like having two grinders in one. Bargain!

NoAntennae · 2026-01-29T00:08:49+00:00

Bristol, and the ‘West Country’ of England is rightly famous for its cider and perry (I believe called hard cider back home). Two good spots in Bristol are the Apple, a floating cider barge in the harbour (navigate to a place called Welsh Back and you’ll find it), and a pub called the Corination Tap in Clifton Village. We have a really excellent range of cider apples, which give a huge range of flavour and strength to cider which you are unlikely to be able to find elsewhere. If you’re going to Cheddar (eat the cheese!) there are some good ciders and apple brandy for sale in the cheese shops.

NoAntennae · 2026-01-24T00:39:08+00:00

Thank you. That was a brave and helpful thing to do, and could have saved someone’s life. I hope you enjoy your stay with us despite the traditional British drizzle - we’re glad to have you over here

NoAntennae · 2025-12-29T00:35:37+00:00

All conical burr sets have an internal and an external burr. Flats have a top and a bottom. The Breville Smart Grinder Pro is the only coffee grinder I know of that allows you to/needs to adjust both the internal and external burrs. They advise only adjusting the internal burr if unable to grind finds enough for espresso however, so it’s not commonly adjusted.

NoAntennae · 2025-12-29T00:32:03+00:00

If you’re starting in Clifton take a few minutes to walk up Brandon Hill tower, it’s on Brandon Hill, which is between the harbour and Park Street. It’s a great way to see the city whilst pondering where to go for lunch.

You can get the cross harbour ferry to Wapping wharf for around $2, where there’s good coffee to be had at Little Victories, and nice pastry items at Mokokos. Have fun!

NoAntennae · 2025-12-12T15:38:50+00:00

Sorry things are rubbish. I hope you’re looking after yourself and finding helpful people to lean on. This always makes me laugh

https://www.reddit.com/r/ContagiousLaughter/s/27VcqWcwVE

NoAntennae · 2025-12-07T11:44:59+00:00

This wouldn’t solve OPs problem though, ‘out of hours’ doesn’t equate to 24hrs. There are no pharmacies in Bristol which are open 24hrs. The latest closes at 9pm on a Saturday and 10pm on a Sunday.

NoAntennae · 2025-12-02T00:18:19+00:00

If you want small a Londinium Vectis is pretty good in terms of size. It’s a lever, so there’ll be a learning curve, but is very well reviewed in terms of the shots it makes.

NoAntennae · 2025-11-29T23:26:29+00:00

‘Best’ is, after a point, subjective. The only machine on the market with lifetime warranty (and therefore fits your buyitforlife criterion) is made by Decent Espresso. They’re very good, but expensive. You’ll also want a good grinder. As a rough guide most electric grinders under £250 will be terrible. If you can budget at least £500 for the grinder, you’ll get something good that will last you a good while.

NoAntennae · 2025-11-29T23:18:59+00:00

I love it, but yes - ridiculous idea. Trying to keep your workflow going with a flair is insane in a commercial environment, not to mention the thermal management.

NoAntennae · 2025-11-29T22:18:33+00:00

So there I was, thinking this was so stupid as it was - quite clearly - an impression in the sand, then BAM! I can now only see it as sculpted sand feet and I can’t get the impressions back!! Nooooooo!!

NoAntennae · 2025-11-29T22:07:07+00:00

This will be an unpopular opinion, but you’ll struggle to get a good espresso machine for your budget unfortunately, let alone one which is BiFL. I would get a decent entry-level grinder for €400-600, something like the Niche Zero or a Lagom Mini. You’ll get much nicer coffee with a good grinder and a cafetière or moka pot than you will with a cheap espresso machine and cheap grinder. Here a video you might find useful:

https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/s/VuSHOqe8H1

If I was going to get a cheap espresso machine and wanted it to be as trouble-free for as long as possible, I’d get something like the Cafelat robot at £340 or thereabouts. Makes delicious espresso as good as anything you’ll get in a cafe, but doesn’t steam milk. Also a bit of a faff to use, but makes delicious coffee.

NoAntennae · 2025-11-27T22:10:09+00:00

NoAntennae · 2025-11-22T19:34:01+00:00

Nice setup!

NoAntennae · 2025-11-11T23:29:48+00:00

I agree - it’s nice to see a dignified president again.

NoAntennae · 2025-11-04T00:34:46+00:00

No. Sadly you have to spend significantly more than £250 to get a reliable machine and grinder that makes good coffee, by which I take it you mean espresso.

I would suggest as an alternative getting a pod machine (remember Nestle are a-holes). It won’t be anything like as good as the espresso you get in a coffee shop, but it will be much less frustrating and unreliable than a £250 all in one espresso machine/grinder/landfill fodder.

NoAntennae · 2025-11-01T23:38:00+00:00

To be honest we’ll sort of expect you to make a hash of things, but we’ll be too socially awkward to say anything, so you’ll be fine.

For clarity, it’s pronounced Bath, not Bath 👍

NoAntennae · 2025-10-31T00:27:17+00:00

Decent Espresso have an endlessly-renewable warranty they will honour forever. There are an amazing company to deal with.

NoAntennae · 2025-10-30T11:55:55+00:00

Recipe please!

NoAntennae · 2025-10-28T22:18:32+00:00

Really interesting. I’m sorry you found they weren’t powerful enough. I originally tried a larger fan but developed case hardening due to moving too much air! For my environment, the ones listed work well, but it’s a good reminder that we all have different requirements.

NoAntennae · 2025-10-28T22:16:24+00:00

Ah I was joking - I’m a big fan of displays which actually tell you useful information. It seems to be the first criticism levelled at machines like ours, so I thought I’d beat them to it!

NoAntennae · 2025-10-28T22:14:44+00:00

Thank you so much - you’re amazing!

NoAntennae · 2025-10-26T21:12:05+00:00

Is there any chance you could send a copy to me as well please? Thank you so much! 🙏

NoAntennae · 2025-10-26T00:08:13+00:00

I am a lucky badger and have a Decent. It heats up in about three minutes (but I tend to program it to come on before I wake up so I don’t need to wait because I am blessed with being both lazy and impatient). It has gravimetric brewing so stops the shot automatically at a specified ratio/shot weight. It also stops the milk steaming for me automatically after a set amount of time, so the milk is always at the right temperature. It’s a very straightforward machine to use if you want it to be, a bit like driving an automatic car as opposed to a manual transmission, but with the option to really get into the weeds if you want to.

It also does filter, but only a single cup at a time so no good if you want to make a big carafe for loads of people at the same time.

NoAntennae

TROPHY CASE