I have the Dedica ec685.M
And Picopresso.
They both need a few adjustments to make them extract a better shot. But when I adjust Picopresso properly, it makes crazy extractions.
My hand grinder is Kingrinder K6, the best grinder for its price.
I have definitely tried several. The Picopresso made great espresso but I found it messy to use and too fussy for travel, plus I did not at all enjoy what was required to generate pressure. The Staresso made adequately drinkable shots, but again I did not enjoy the experience of doing what was necessary to create pressure. Most recently I bought the Trekbrew from Turin and it seems to me to be the most promising of all. It’s is electric, and it can be used with either pre-boiled water or room temperature water. I have been very pleased with the quality of the shots it produces.
Idk, I kinda feel his pain. I have eureka mignon specialita which seems like a great grinder and my portable pico makes FAR better tasting espresso than bambino with same grind settings/same coffee beans.
Bambino shots are always bitter to me, and I've tried so many things - the puck prep is great, no channeling no nothing, the shot is extracted in 20/25/30/35/40 seconds (tried all combinations), yet, it never tastes great. It's good for milk based drinks and I truly love my cappuccinos which are far better than anything I can get from a coffee shop. But my espressos are just very mediocre...
If you want a low tech alternative to a machine, picopresso is the answer.
It's cheap, easy to use, doesn't take long to use. The 9Barista is something to get if you like what it is. Dialing in in a 9 barista is going to be time consuming, you'll get several shots out of a picopresso in the same time.
Hooo, no not at all my only coffee brewer, and neither is it my main one. I have different manual espresso machines (Picopresso, Cafelat Robot -- which is excellent and cost under 500€), a pump espresso machine Sage Bambino, a portable electric one too from IKAPE. Those are my main daily brewers. I use quite often the OXO Rapid Brewer as well, especially at the office. I do quite sometimes V60 with a Hario Switch. And very very very rarely I use my French press. I brew sometimes during the week with my 3-cups mokapot though but it's mainly at night with Decaf coffee -- which I sometimes replace by a cup of good tea. 3 different grinders help me with all of that (1 electric DF64, 1 hand grinder K6, and a portable A2). Why the moka pot at night? Because It's relatively silent on the stove, I don't risk to wake up my baby sleeping, I can grind coarse so I can use the hand grinder -- again not much noise--, and I can have a large cup of coffee in the end to enjoy, and lastly I already had fun during the day with another brewing method ☺️.
If time alone is your most important factor, then the Picopresso (or any manual espresso machine at that) or even semi-automatic espressos in general aren’t the best.
I have used the Picopresso a fair bit (mostly on travels, not every day at home) and it’s great esp when paired with a half capable grinder like a J Ultra. I think I’m done with my shot, from a cold start, in 10 mins max, including frothing milk. I can’t really see it easily taking much less than that though.
Personally I don’t think machines are faster or easier (and certainly not better) for my use case.. but I am not optimizing for time and I do pressure profile (the lack of control I have with most low to mid priced machines isn’t for me). I also almost never do back to back shots when traveling (though I now have a second basket, so it’s actually quite easy, because people around me keep asking for a taste lmao). I think your use case might be the opposite of mine. I have never used such machines at this price point, so not sure how acceptable they are. But I prefer my Picopresso to my Bambino lmao, mainly because of better ability to dial in. Only you can decide if the taste is acceptable based on your preferences… ideally you can try one before you buy. I’m always surprised with how crap the espresso tastes from most basic machines (esp when compared to dirt simple manual levers) but for a reasonably dark roast I don’t think it makes much difference & whatever is more convenient is likely the best.
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Breville
Bambino Plus
77% positive of 1,081 users
Fast heat-up, easy for beginners; inconsistent shots, annoying cleaning.
azooz215
