Costco.com - Calphalon Temp iQ Espresso Machine with Grinder and Steam Wand $319.99 after $80 discount and free shipping

MoisesA7010

Mar 22, 2021

3,569 Posts

Joined May 2013

Mar 22, 2021

MoisesA7010

Mar 22, 2021

3,569 Posts

looks like a brevelle clone

8

cb56789

Mar 22, 2021

839 Posts

Joined Dec 2014

Mar 22, 2021

cb56789

Mar 22, 2021

839 Posts

Does anyone have experience with this machine? I have been eyeing Breville Barista Express (BBE) but the price just keeps going up due to pandemic. Is this machine somewhat on par with the BBE? The price is similar with the pre-pandemic price of BBE.

Nuocmamstyle

Mar 23, 2021

1,750 Posts

Joined Oct 2015

Mar 23, 2021

Nuocmamstyle

Mar 23, 2021

1,750 Posts

Quote from cb56789

:

Does anyone have experience with this machine? I have been eyeing Breville Barista Express (BBE) but the price just keeps going up due to pandemic. Is this machine somewhat on par with the BBE? The price is similar with the pre-pandemic price of BBE.

This isyet another expensive "pressurized" portafilter machine, while all "real" ones use non-pressurised" porta-filters! Som gud features but will NEVER beat the Gaggia @ $450!

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1

PhilIndeblanc

Mar 23, 2021

1,454 Posts

Joined Jun 2016

Mar 23, 2021

PhilIndeblanc

Mar 23, 2021

1,454 Posts

Quote from Nuocmamstyle

:

This isyet another expensive "pressurized" portafilter machine, while all "real" ones use non-pressurised" porta-filters! Som gud features but will NEVER beat the Gaggia @ $450!

Likely not, but it has a PID. Also Gaggia nor this has a double boiler. You know what thow, with some fine tuning of tech, certain things have improved, so I wouldnt knock it til I try it. At for a PID with grinder $320 sounds about right...IF it can pull 21grams of fine powder into golden rattails.

1

ZeroRiverDeals

Mar 23, 2021

197 Posts

Joined Jul 2018

Mar 23, 2021

ZeroRiverDeals

Mar 23, 2021

197 Posts

Quote from cb56789

:

Does anyone have experience with this machine? I have been eyeing Breville Barista Express (BBE) but the price just keeps going up due to pandemic. Is this machine somewhat on par with the BBE? The price is similar with the pre-pandemic price of BBE.

wondering the same

EricE7455

Mar 23, 2021

3 Posts

Joined Apr 2013

Mar 23, 2021

EricE7455

Mar 23, 2021

3 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank EricE7455

Quote from ZeroRiverDeals

:

wondering the same

I just got this last week and so far I've made a few drinks already. My biggest gripe about this machine is when it grinds coffee, it gets messy. Easy fix with a funnel which catches most of the over spray from the grinder. I'm a beginner to intermediate ~ish espresso maker and feel like this is a nice upgrade from my De'Longhi ECP3420. I've owned the Delonghi for about 2 years before upgrading to this. Once you get the machine dialed in to your coffee roast (light,medium,dark) it's not too bad. For the money, $319 + tax ~ $349 (CA) it's not too bad for a beginner. Machine heats up water in less than 5mins, but I always prime a dummy shot prior to pulling a shot. The steam wand is nice and worked a lot better than my Delonghi mentioned above. This is my second week using this machine so I haven't gathered enough info to say its bad or good. At the moment, I think this machine does what it needs to do for an average Joe. Worst case scenario, you can alwasy return it back to Costco.

11

1

reebzz

Mar 23, 2021

300 Posts

Joined Aug 2011

Mar 23, 2021

reebzz

Mar 23, 2021

300 Posts

Quote from Nuocmamstyle

:

This isyet another expensive "pressurized" portafilter machine, while all "real" ones use non-pressurised" porta-filters! Som gud features but will NEVER beat the Gaggia @ $450!

Which Gaggia model? I have the Gaggia Brera and it's been wasting a lot of coffee grind (semi-automatic). I own the side door and there's 200g of unused coffee grinds.

shaner41

Mar 23, 2021

754 Posts

Joined Jan 2008

Mar 23, 2021

shaner41

Mar 23, 2021

754 Posts

Quote from cb56789

:

Does anyone have experience with this machine? I have been eyeing Breville Barista Express (BBE) but the price just keeps going up due to pandemic. Is this machine somewhat on par with the BBE? The price is similar with the pre-pandemic price of BBE.

FYI right before Christmas (2020) I got a Breville Barista Express for around $425 (I forget the exact amount). Having used the Express now for a few months, I wouldn't want to try a cheaper knockoff. The Express is awesome for beginner/intermediate users. (Note: I have used a different Breville knockoff - waste of time, energy, and coffee beans!!) If you're serious about getting a good machine, it's for sure worth spending a little more to get a Breville or something like that.

1

DiMAn0684

Mar 23, 2021

2,989 Posts

Joined Jul 2004

Mar 23, 2021

DiMAn0684

Mar 23, 2021

2,989 Posts

Quote from Nuocmamstyle

:

This isyet another expensive "pressurized" portafilter machine, while all "real" ones use non-pressurised" porta-filters! Som gud features but will NEVER beat the Gaggia @ $450!

GCP is a solid machine, but you're comparing apples to oranges. $450 does not include the grinder, and you're looking at 200-300 for a entry-level espresso one. At that point you're already 2x this machine...

3

LivelyBike9500

Mar 23, 2021

10 Posts

Joined Jan 2021

Mar 23, 2021

LivelyBike9500

Mar 23, 2021

10 Posts

Quote from Nuocmamstyle

:

This isyet another expensive "pressurized" portafilter machine, while all "real" ones use non-pressurised" porta-filters! Som gud features but will NEVER beat the Gaggia @ $450!

Don't they usually come with both pressurized and regular filter baskets? I would expect one at $300+, even my old $100 Starbucks Barista (Saeco Via Venezia clone) I got 15 or so years ago came with one.

Matt9038

Mar 23, 2021

361 Posts

Joined Nov 2018

Mar 23, 2021

Matt9038

Mar 23, 2021

361 Posts

Quote from ZeroRiverDeals

:

wondering the same

They look the same. I wouldn't be surprised if they were made in the same factory. Definitely worth looking into to confirm this

1

Komputiker

Mar 23, 2021

48 Posts

Joined Jun 2018

Mar 23, 2021

Komputiker

Mar 23, 2021

48 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank Komputiker

Quote from LivelyBike9500

:

Don't they usually come with both pressurized and regular filter baskets? I would expect one at $300+, even my old $100 Starbucks Barista (Saeco Via Venezia clone) I got 15 or so years ago came with one.

No, plenty of espresso machines that cost $300+ still only come with pressurized portafilters..
But a non-pressurized basket could be purchased and would fit into the same portafilter you get.

Breville Barista Express comes with both. Retails $600-700
Breville Bambino Plus comes with ONLY pressurized basket. Retials $400-500

Quote from DiMAn0684

:

GCP is a solid machine, but you're comparing apples to oranges. $450 does not include the grinder, and you're looking at 200-300 for a entry-level espresso one. At that point you're already 2x this machine...

If you have grip strength, a high-end manual espresso grinder can be had for $130-150.
I recommend 1zpresso brand

Quote from reebzz

:

Which Gaggia model? I have the Gaggia Brera and it's been wasting a lot of coffee grind (semi-automatic). I own the side door and there's 200g of unused coffee grinds.

That is because the gaggia bera sucks. Like all "superautomatic" machines mostly suck.
He is referring to the Gaggia Classic. A normal espresso machine.

Quote from cb56789

:

Does anyone have experience with this machine? I have been eyeing Breville Barista Express (BBE) but the price just keeps going up due to pandemic. Is this machine somewhat on par with the BBE? The price is similar with the pre-pandemic price of BBE.

Make a slickdeals price alert for the BBE, You can get it for $480 from Bed bath beyond when it goes on sale + 20% coupon override instore or on-phone.

2

1

Komputiker

Mar 23, 2021

48 Posts

Joined Jun 2018

Mar 23, 2021

Komputiker

Mar 23, 2021

48 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank Komputiker

Quote from EricE7455

:

I just got this last week and so far I've made a few drinks already. My biggest gripe about this machine is when it grinds coffee, it gets messy. Easy fix with a funnel which catches most of the over spray from the grinder. I'm a beginner to intermediate ~ish espresso maker and feel like this is a nice upgrade from my De'Longhi ECP3420. I've owned the Delonghi for about 2 years before upgrading to this. Once you get the machine dialed in to your coffee roast (light,medium,dark) it's not too bad. For the money, $319 + tax ~ $349 (CA) it's not too bad for a beginner. Machine heats up water in less than 5mins, but I always prime a dummy shot prior to pulling a shot. The steam wand is nice and worked a lot better than my Delonghi mentioned above. This is my second week using this machine so I haven't gathered enough info to say its bad or good. At the moment, I think this machine does what it needs to do for an average Joe. Worst case scenario, you can alwasy return it back to Costco.

Grounds fly everywhere partially due to bad design, but it's also simply static.
There are multiple ways to reduce static. Single dose your beans and spray with water, microwave the beans, etc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8zqp3CgcbA

1

2

DiMAn0684

Mar 23, 2021

2,989 Posts

Joined Jul 2004

Mar 23, 2021

DiMAn0684

Mar 23, 2021

2,989 Posts

Quote from Komputiker

:

If you have grip strength, a high-end manual espresso grinder can be had for $130-150.
I recommend 1zpresso brand.

Sure, you can get Flair too, and have a fully manual setup. Still not the same experience as semi-auto and or super-auto.

Will also cast a vote for BBE. Relatively easy to score one for ~$400, even during COVID.

Last edited by DiMAn0684 March 23, 2021 at 09:20 AM.

mrbigrobot

Mar 23, 2021

21 Posts

Joined Jul 2010

Mar 23, 2021

mrbigrobot

Mar 23, 2021

21 Posts

Quote from ZeroRiverDeals

:

wondering the same

We bought 2 because we liked it so much. For the price, it's unbeatable! We use to own a Espresso cafe 10 years ago but had to shut down thanks for Starbucks :-(. Anyways, it pulls great cream shots (where the sugar is) and makes nice lattes. The right beans, temperature, grind settings, tamp pressure are all key to making good shots - there are some Youtube videos that will teach you but we had to waste many beans to tine it to our 13 level grind setting. Ideally, we would have gotten a separate grinder but for now, this is perfect. We were originally looking at the Breville but the sale ran out and found this - easy decisions because Costco would take it back if we didn't like it. On the contrary, we love it and make shots for our friends too. If you want sweet lattes without adding sugar, I'd suggest you use whole milk Smilie

For the price, especially @$320, I would buy another. If we had the budget for the $2000 machines, we would but for this price, it can't be beat. We also tried Starbucks, San Francisco Bay, etc.. but the bean were larger than the Lavazza, which made the grinds spread all over the place and is quite annoying. We had to use a "catch tray" when using the beans - we also had to dial it to finer grind, I think at level 15 but remember, YMMV. The shots should come out gold and rich of cream - if it is all black, please throw it away - it's considered a bad shot. The single boiler is not as good as a double -but we don't mind waiting 1 minute to switch from 'pulling shots' and steaming milk - it does feel like forever because that minute is long!

Hope this gives you some guidance. For the price, you have the ability to make great shots and comparable to the $2500 machines.
-MC

6

Costco.com - Calphalon Temp iQ Espresso Machine with Grinder and Steam Wand $319.99 after $80 discount and free shipping

$320

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