The Best Espresso Machine Under £500

I'm a big fan of WMF. Now I know that they are not necessarily the experts on coffee, but they came out with an espresso machine which supposedly is built with DeLonghi parts. I would be very interested in your/readers' opinion on the machine (WMF Lumero espresso machine).

Hi James, thanks for your review & recommendation. I'm considering to buy either Delonghi Dedica Arte EC 885 or Breville Barista Express. Any thoughts?

having a delonghi dedica, your videos got me into experimenting a bit with it. i'm still abit confused, the espresso i'm getting is still borderline disgusting, but maybe sooner or later i'll get something enjoyable out of it.

The reason for the extra space under the Sage isnt for a scale. Its for a mug. Because the lower classes drink bigger coffees!

10 years ago I bought a 2nd hand Sylvia then added a PID myself and have yet to find a compelling reason to upgrade

I would like to see James put a modded (PID) Silvia against a much pricer machine, possibly with a blind taste test

The virgin Rancilio modder vs the chad Sage hacker

Ew don't store water in plastic it'll leech chemicals. Glass is the only acceptable tank material

I have the Gaggia Classic Pro and it was consistent and really good for a long time, but then the performance of the machine changed. I've been wrangling with it for awhile now, descaling, disassembling and cleaning, replacing seals and the portafilter. Honestly not that happy right now as the pour gets super foamy through the new bottomless portafiter, after just 3-4 seconds of pulling the shot. I don't think it's entirely the machine's fault, however I'm at a point of either going all-in to make it better or sell it and get something different.

Interesting video James, thanks...would have loved to see what the shots looked like in the cup but maybe that's irrelevant for you. I have had a FrancisFrancis (now Illy) X1 for about as long as you've been in the business...a machine many afficionados seem to have scorned by comparison with hobbyist/prosumer machines like some of those in this review. I haven't actually tried these specific "better" home machines, which is why I watch their reviews on YT, but I have of course tasted lots of espresso shots from various cafes and restaurants with far more expensive commercial machines and have not generally found them that much better than what I can make at home. Quite often the coffee in bars is in fact worse, because a lot of places seem to have their brew temp set too high...(in the 100 C° range). The X1 has no pressure indicator, no OPV, requires temp surfing but with the right coffee, extraction time, and above all the right grind (and without the silly plastic basket insert), it cranks out some decent double shots for me pretty reliably with under 5 minutes of warm-up. A mystery to me why this machine got a worse reputation than others in geek circles, particularly given the drawbacks of the machines you describe in this video, or even those in your 1500 quid price range comparison. I always try to keep an eye out for a potential replacement in these sort of price ranges, but have yet to find a compelling reason to give my old friend the X1 the boot. 🤔

Hi James, I would be curious to see a compararison between the gaggia classic pro and the Hibrew H10a

Solis Barista Perfetta, 200 bucks brand new. Thank me later.

Hi James, did you manage to find a good precision basket for the Lelit available in the UK? I've just bought the Anita and looking to upgrade the basket and portafilter 😁. Thanks

In reference to budget, the DeLonghi is the best machine on your table. You’re right saying that the Dedica got high pressure, but it does not have too low water temp. You can choose between three settings: low, medium and high. I think high temp is up to 96-98 degrees Celsius. That’s super hot. I’d use the medium one for most espressos.
Thanks for your videos!

dont think its a fair comparsion. an EC885 cost around 170GBP while other models are easily double triple or quadruple the price.

silvia costs almost $900 now...

No one should be buying a £300+ machine that only comes with a pressurized basket.

Hi James ! Love your content!
What are your thoughts on the quick mill pippa??
Have you ever had hands on experience with one?

Idk where you’re buying a rancilio for 500? All the ones I see are like 1k usd

A world of nerds

All the nerds; where’s the friggin alpha in this game

So I have a Bambino Plus which has been making superb espresso. As good as or better than what I often had living in Milan and Rome. Yea I use specialty beans. However I bought the competition grade filter basket and screen he mentions here and they all produced crap. Seriously the pressurized original filter basket way outperformed. Sometimes I think these experts get way too wrapped around their own Mishegas (look it up).

I have DEDICA ec 685 five years now, and appart from its elegance and attractive appearance, is an EXCELLENT machine, that makes espresso and cappuccino, like a barista! If I would change it, I would by only the BREVILLE BARISTA EXPRESS, nothing else!!!

Gosh how much I want this but in the ultimate/no budget limit bracket. James please :)

I can’t find any of these under 500

Just FYI in USA the Bambino plus is all stainless steel and comes with 4 baskets - 2 pressurized and 2 regular. Single and dual. I have found the espresso to be excellent and far better than most commercial shops and using the pressurized baskets. No advantage noticeable with standard baskets after extensive dial in changes.

Everything is on point with the Rancilio Silvia..

I'm in need of expresso machine

You should do an update video on this. Or do it yearly, best of 2023,2024
Can come out pre Christmas time 😊

If I had to use these machines to make my espresso I'd rather just drink water. it's really sad how some people are so poor that a Rancilio Silvia is all they can afford :(

updated video please!

I actually own the Dedica. I changed the portafilter as well as the basket and I think I am able to pull fairly good espresso shots. One thing I have noted though is that once you have steamed milk, the machine gets far too hot and all espresso that comes out is burnt. Therefore, I have now a separate device to steam the milk and I think for the money invested, it's a good setup.

I give a tip from Personal experience: Sage the Bambino costs 100€ less that the bambino Plus, it’s the same espresso system, but with manual milk frothing. So you can use the extra 100€ in a descent grinder

Hi James, i realize this is a bit dated now but i was curious if you have any thoughts on the new 2023 Gaggia Evo ? Thank you

how dare you insult baby. i love my de'longhi so much

The gaggia looks like a Cuisinart espresso machine.

What would a James designed machine look like for at home use?

There is a PID version of LELIT ANNA. Just for 100 more euro.

Does the Rancilio brew at 9 bar out of the box?

I'm looking to get into espresso brewing after my Melita bean-to-cup machine died for the 4th time in a row - pretty much only drink espresso anyway so no need for all the other bells and whistles. The Sage Bambino Plus seems like it would fit my requirements - decent reliable espresso without having to fiddle/customise too much (for now at any rate!). What grinder would you pair this with (at a comparable price point) ? Cheers !

Please review the Solis Barista Perfetta Plus if you get the chance! 😊

James is certainly a fancy man.

Great information! I wonder if there's an upgraded version somewhere or something, as I assume that in 3 years things should've changed quite a bit?

Thanks!

This guy rants to much

He just downed 5 shots in like an hour. Eeek

I have the lelit anna
Its a solid made you will feel the metal
It does make a great shot if you practice and make perfect grinds

It is now September of 2023. The pandemic is over, and I work in an office 2x a week. I sit here drinking awful office coffee while I slowly convince myself to buy a 1Zpresso Q2 S hand grinder and an Aeropress so that I can have actual good coffee while at work.

I use the DeLonghi Dedica in red and I am very satisfied so far. Gaggia Classic Pro looks like a nice step up machine for me .

Sage = Bork? 🤔

I’m in the USA and are our machines really so much more pricey?? I couldn’t find the Silvia for anything close to even $600 USD