CM5418

Don’t let anyone tell you you have to spend more than $200. Casabrews 5418 or 5418 pro is your answer. Been using that for about 4 months twice daily with my DF54 and it’s been great.

Update in case anyone else is considering this grinder. I did get it and like it. Well made as far as I can tell. I have the CasaBrews 5418 machine. First 2 attempts were no go at grind settings of 10 and 15. Nothing came out of portafiler (which is the standard one that came with the machine.). May

Budget machines are questioned all the time, so decided to make a list of (US-focused) options with commentary. Pricing fluctuates pretty widely depending on the season, sales, and availability of refurbished. GRINDER 1Zpresso Q Air Manual hand grinder ($70) (various no-name grinders online) ($80) [

I burned through a whole bag of beans trying to get good results from a bottomless portafilter. I tried everything. My biggest problem was it sprayed everywhere. The pressurized basket/portafilter didn't spray and make a mess. The coffee tasted decent. Decent fake crema. Much better than the Nespres

The automatic milk frother on the Bella Pro may be an ease-of-use improvement (at least until you have to clean it), but your 5418 is a better quality espresso machine with much greater availability of aftermarket parts. You might want to consider returning the Bella Pro and getting more stuff to us

I have the most basic gear that you can get and I haven't had a reason to upgrade yet. Casabrews Tornado and Casabrews CM 5418. One day I'm sure I'll upgrade to a nice 58mm machine but this combo has worked great for me so far. My savings allowed me to buy upgrades and a nice knock box. All upgrades