Sunbeam EM7000

ericshum

Tunie wrote:

Hello I'm new to the forum and hoping you very wise, knowledgeable types can please offer me some advice. First, confessions. All I know about coffee is I don't like instant nor do I like the coffee from the automatic machines. I am a past owner of a Breville Bar Vista who used supermarket pre ground coffee (oh the shame) and loved my one cup a day until my machine died. I did no maintenance what so ever. Sigh. I want to buy a new machine and am prepared to step up a little and spend some more, do a bit more work, maintenance etc. Haves been reading this thread with much interest because the 2 machines I like are the Sunbeam EM 7000 and the Breville BES 860. Any help greatly appreciated. When you say " a decent grinder" can you be any more specific. Eg how much would I need to spend, what brand, model etc would you suggest. And with the beans, where would I need to purchase from? I live in Adelaide. Many thanks, Kate

Hi Kate, welcome to Crema. Apologies for such a late response. I actually own a BES860. Happy to answer any questions you might have to the best of my ability. I have owned ths machine for slightly over a year.

admin

Hi Kate, one of the best sources of information is our grinder review from a couple of years ago... some of the models have now changed, but the principles are what count - check out: http://www.bestcafes.com.au/domestic-grinder-review A 🙂

Hatchy

I'm a bit slow to getting around to things. Great review AM Perhaps I should lend you my BES900 so you can do a side by side? Hatchy

Brett_H

Hatchy wrote:

I'm a bit slow to getting around to things. Great review AM Perhaps I should lend you my BES900 so you can do a side by side? Hatchy

Steady... I am only recovering from my latest hospital stay and your suggestion just sent my blood pressure through the roof with excitement! YES Yes YES!!!!!!!!

Kelsey

Hi Kate, I supply beans to a friend with an 860 and have used it once or twice. I also used to use an equivalent Sunbeam model before upgrading to my current machine. At this stage no-one can say for certain wether the EM7000 will be a great machine or not. AM's review makes it look like a great option and if it was me, I'd be taking it over the Breville 860 any day of the week. But the grinder is arguably at least as important as the machine - if you get the EM7000 and you want to make great coffee then you'll need a decent burr grinder. A blade grinder won't cut it. And if you want good espresso you'll need a burr grinder than can grind finely and smoothly enough to do the job credibly. The Breville Smart Grinder is I believe the minimum required standard (it's what I use also). You can usually pick these up for under $200. The Sunbeam grinders are apparently not up to the task - I can't attest to this however. It's important to note something AM tried to make clear in the EM7000 review - this is NOT a machine designed to take stale supermarket beans. The single-floor basket that comes with it is a clear indicator that you need fresh beans from a reputable roaster. We have a number of them here who are sponsors of this forum and whose quality is well vouched for! I hope this helps!

JRedford

My fiance purchased the EM7000 for me on the weekend and I love it. It is a huge upgrade from my previous machine, the EM3600 (the cheapest espresso machine). I am having a hard time getting a decent coffe out of it. But that is my fault as I am using supermarket beans and the <a href="http://www.sunbeam.com.au/products/kitchen/em0360/"> EM0360</a>. I have just purchase a dual floor basket filter (after reading about them on here) off eBay and am expecting that to arrive within the next week so hopefully that will up the quality of my shots. I will post my results. I do want to upgrade to a half decent grinder like the EM0480 or 490 but due to getting married in two months, it's not that high on the priority list 🙁 It IS on the gift registry though! 😃

Kelsey

Hi JRedford and welcome... The dual-floor basket will and won't improve your shots. It'll improve the look of them, insofar as the pressurised baskets create a false crema that you wouldn't get otherwise. It'll also improve the shot duration a little, so they won't be quite as much of a gusher as they are now - but they'll still be from stale beans that lack the vital oils to make good coffee. You'd be better off upgrading the quality of your beans instead! Here on the Sunshine Coast you have a number of great options: 1) Pioneer roastery in Yandina 2) Order online from one of the sponsors (always a great option!) 3) Tim Adams is also here on the coast, but his site isn't fully operational yet - you can email him tho. You'll get far great enjoyment and quality coffee out of fresh beans (it needs to be roasted within the last month - a use-by date just means that it's already stale!) than you will out of a dual-floor basket alone. When considering the grinder upgrade, check out the Breville Smart Grinder also - it's what I use and considered by many to be the absolute bare minimum for good espresso. We've got a few members here on the coast now, so look out for the next social - those are always a blast! Where are you located?

Koffee_Kosmo

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the upcoming marriage :thumb: As noted you need fresh beans if using a standard porta filter Having said that ? Are the porta filters the same and possibly fit/interchange on both machines ? Once you master the machine as a standard (without the dual floor baskets) you will never look back and the coffee will be more true to form RE -- Grinder They say the Breville grinder pips the Sumbeam model at the post KK

Lacehim

JRedford wrote:

I do want to upgrade to a half decent grinder like the EM0480 or 490 but due to getting married in two months, it's not that high on the priority list 🙁 It IS on the gift registry though! 😃

Welcome. If I had to buy a budget grinder I would also buy a breville smart grinder over a Sunbeam EM0480. Function, and ease of use would be much better. I've used Kelsey's and it's nice to use. Not sure where you are on the Sunshine Coast, but there are a few of us spread about, and if you need a hand I'm sure we could help out. Pioneer Roastery in Yandina are the best on the coast in my opinion. Their roasts are very consistent and I've never had an issue in any of my machines. Have a chat with Kate the roaster there, she's lovely and can point you in the right direction with your bean choices. Others sometimes roast too light for my liking. There is also home roasting, which is great fun and is a lot cheaper than buying, but with a small outlay of $$$ to get set up.

JRedford

Hello and thank you very much Kelsey, Koffee Kosmo & Lacehim! I will definitely be getting fresh beans...the ones I have now embarrassingly beyond the use-by-date. Have you guys heard of <a href="http://kaicoffee.com"> Kai Coffee </a>? My friend owns this company and they supply to a few cafes around the coast. I enjoy their beans so I will pick up some of those ASAP. I haven't tried Pioneers roast but have heard only good things about them so I will get some of theirs too. I am located in Buderim but my (future) wife and I will be moving to Brisbane next year so I'll only be on the coast for another 2 months, but I like the sound of social meets! Thanks for the advice RE grinder - the Breville smart grinder sounds perfect for my needs... ^-^ Lacehim - I have thought about home roasting...do you do it yourself? Definitely something I'll look into in the future!

JRedford

Kelsey wrote:

The Breville Smart Grinder is I believe the minimum required standard (it's what I use also). You can usually pick these up for under $200.

I can't see any for under $200? Where abouts have you seen this grinder for such a sweet price? 🙂

Kelsey

JRedford wrote:

Hello and thank you very much Kelsey, Koffee Kosmo & Lacehim! I will definitely be getting fresh beans...the ones I have now embarrassingly beyond the use-by-date. Have you guys heard of <a href="http://kaicoffee.com"> Kai Coffee </a>? My friend owns this company and they supply to a few cafes around the coast. I enjoy their beans so I will pick up some of those ASAP. I haven't tried Pioneers roast but have heard only good things about them so I will get some of theirs too. I am located in Buderim but my (future) wife and I will be moving to Brisbane next year so I'll only be on the coast for another 2 months, but I like the sound of social meets! Thanks for the advice RE grinder - the Breville smart grinder sounds perfect for my needs... ^-^ Lacehim - I have thought about home roasting...do you do it yourself? Definitely something I'll look into in the future!

Koffee Kosmo invented an entirely new method of roasting, which Lacehim and I both use. You can read more about it here: http://koffeekosmo.com.au and also on a wiki in my signature. It's a fun way of getting much more in tune with your coffee and exploring it to its fullest. I haven't come across Kai before, but I'll definitely look out for them next time I'm in Buderim. We also have a number of Brisbane members. KK, Derrilex and AM are all Brisbane based and usually make it to most socials. The BSG can be had for as little as $169 during sales, but there don't appear to be any on at the moment. Keep your eyes peeled and be ready to jump on it when it happens. I'd look out for it on the Click Frenzy sales tonight. Alternatively our sponsors also have higher quality grinders available!

JRedford

Kelsey wrote:

Koffee Kosmo invented an entirely new method of roasting, which Lacehim and I both use. You can read more about it here: http://koffeekosmo.com.au and also on a wiki in my signature. It's a fun way of getting much more in tune with your coffee and exploring it to its fullest. I haven't come across Kai before, but I'll definitely look out for them next time I'm in Buderim. We also have a number of Brisbane members. KK, Derrilex and AM are all Brisbane based and usually make it to most socials. The BSG can be had for as little as $169 during sales, but there don't appear to be any on at the moment. Keep your eyes peeled and be ready to jump on it when it happens. I'd look out for it on the Click Frenzy sales tonight. Alternatively our sponsors also have higher quality grinders available!

That's awesome! Looks like that would be a cool experience to roast your own beans - definitely up for trying it! Thanks for the heads up on Click Frenzy. I'll let you know if I snap up a good price on the Smart Grinder!

Kelsey

No worries. Lacehim and I built our own with some parts purchased from KK, but you can also get started with just a popcorn popper - the results aren't comparable, but it's an easy way to get started.

Lacehim

askthecoffeeguy got one for $169 from a factory seconds shop. http://www.bestcafes.com.au/forum/grinders/breville-smart-grinder/msg34541/#msg34541 If you haggle I recon you could get the goodguys down to $199. They had that pricing last year on ozbargains. 🙂

Brett_H

Welcome EM7000 owner and new member JRedford. I'm coming to the conversation late it concur with everything above. The Sunbeam EM0450 is the cheapest suitable grinder but as with all things, you get what you pay for. The Breville is hands-down the best value for money on paper but I'm more likely to match a machine like the Breville with a Eureka Mignon, Vario or even the good old Rocky. This way when you upgrade the machine, the grinder will last for many years more. As an alternative, I have a Nemox Lux that is almost 15 years old, cost $300 and still grinds well enough for my Pavoni Lever. Sometimes paying skittle more now can be a saving later. Food for thought and welcome!

Kelsey

I really need to have someone(s) come around with their grinder(s) (Lacehim's Vario would be a nice start 😉 ) to do some taste-testing. My own situation is unusual in that I've done some backroom deals to get a machine far better than I could otherwise afford. Consequently it's paired with what ~~many~~ everyone considers to be a sub-standard grinder for the machine. I'm in no position to disagree, except insofar as I feel my shots are for the most part godly, tiger-mottled and regularly induce raptures of pleasure. At least for me. 😉 It'd be great to be able to do a/b tests with the BSG against a couple of better grinders at some point.

Brett_H

I don't think you'll taste a huge difference between the grinders to be honest. The Breville may even beat the Rocky in a taste test (subjectivity aside). I kinda think the grinder is the boring part of the equation, like the footings of the house. You want to know you did the best you could at the time and then forget them and enjoy the good stuff. My Addison's drugs must be messing with my head! I can't think straight.

derrilex

Brett H wrote:

My Addison's drugs must be messing with my head! I can't think straight.

Addisons ? really ? wow Brett.

Kelsey

Brett H wrote:

I don't think you'll taste a huge difference between the grinders to be honest. The Breville may even beat the Rocky in a taste test (subjectivity aside). I kinda think the grinder is the boring part of the equation, like the footings of the house. You want to know you did the best you could at the time and then forget them and enjoy the good stuff. My Addison's drugs must be messing with my head! I can't think straight.

No kidding - that certainly goes against conventional wisdom! I agree that grinders are pretty boring in general, with the possible exception of the Pharos. Don't ask me why, it just intrigues me. Certainly I didn't expect to have as good a machine as I did when I bought the Breville.

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