Yeah, I like the kick of the dark roasted smell then the kick in of the sweetness.... but i still puzzle on the white cocaine powder that they used in the mixture.... anyone had any idea ?
you can try this link below
Each roaster has it own profile of roasting the dark roast coffee which to other might like it or might no like it.... all comes down to preference but mostly over here we choose local bean roaster and not commercial ones if you can see from the link....

Nescafe Dolce Gusto Piccolo Coffee Machine, is this good?

@keng

Nespresso better?? Which model ya...i just afraid the capsule pod hard to find only...coz i live in alor setar...never see any shop selling pods before

Nothing wrong with a good coffee brewer. Can set it up overnight on timer, waking up next day to freshly ground hot brewed coffee also

Espresso machine isn't for everyone

Me too but im more like that kinda lazy guy who hooked onto individually sealed gourmet coffee bag, because it's fresh and convenient. Im not getting used to buy a whole pack of ground coffee or beans then let it sit in the canister having to force myself to finish it very soon otherwise goes stale.

But then having a coffee maker is a good idea nevertheless. Nothing beats a fresh cup of joe. Black coffee has so much flavors to offer.

guy watch out of this roaster :
Perk Coffee Asia.
I just try their FREE coffee with RM 5 as shipping cost, after payment done, i realize their site NOT ALLOW we to remove my Credit Card Detail.
I going to report MCMC tomorrow.

2 in 1 seems good....more cost friendly and convenient ....
But I just afraid if one of it fail to do the job...i have the change the whole machine

Good is a relative word.. with is machine, just don't put a high expectations on the outcome.. it's definitely better than processed coffee, that's for sure. I've made a recommendation about a specific Gemilai way back before(maybe it's no longer available now?).. There is probably a worthy competitor to this CRM3605; a WPM KD-130.. go look it up if you wish, quite a sturdy build as compared to Gemilai's.
That indicator is for a double shot coffee.. fill up and tamp to that level.. after extraction, the used coffee puck will expand and take up the additional space.
Don't ever touch it... It's a steam-powered machine.. hence it's cheap. Steam extraction coffee are mostly bitter..
You're in a tight spot there.. a reasonable entry level machine alone will come to about RM1K.. and this is a learning machine..
And couple with an electric burr grinder will add probably another RM500 to it..
The combo above will not considered as "good"... But just starter.

Max RM1K?... In M'sia, unless a used machine(doubtful of such pricing), it's preferably that you forgo trying to get one.. just not worth the spending and getting a sub-par machine..

Even if you go the import route, it's going to be more than your max budget for espresso machine alone(not adding a grinder yet)..

How do I know it's a steam machine?
Notice the small build doesn't come with a water receptacle/container? That's your 1st hint...
2nd hint, notice the big black knob on the top of the unit? That knob, once open(unscrew) is where you pour a small amount of water into the unit..

On second thought.. coffee is also a sort of a journey, the process of discovering and learning can be very valuable.. for RM1K, here are examples you may want to consider:

Gemilai.. since a few forumers here use this brand.
This model is cheaper than the 3605..


Electric burr grinder.. a good pair to the Gemilai as it's not too sensitive for fine grinding.


Total price is below RM1K.
Good add-ons to consider.. a milk pitcher and a thermometer(bare minimum)



Caveat: I don't own, sell or use any of the above-mentioned equipments. Shopee is just my casual reference here, feel free to source elsewhere.

I’m using naked portafilter with Gemilai CRM 3605. U can’t lock it to 90 degree straight but still work. I got it for rm 100 and use IMS basket.

Hi, got it from Shopee seller around RM 999. Taobao is cheaper but I don't want to deal with custom just in case. Taobao free grinder also seems to be a proper coffee grinder compare to local seller.  If you don't want to do the warm water reservoir hack, you can look for CRM 3007D model. It's using 500ml stainless steel boiler so technically had more stable brew temp and more powerful steam.

https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a230r...s=1&abbucket=12

From the look of it... Most likely is your grinder isn't doing well enough for espresso..
Without changing anything, you can try this experiment to see if the grinder is the issue:
Double or triple grind your coffee.. at the finest setting after the 1st grind, pour all at once the coffee back into the grinder and grind again.. pour it "all at once".. then put the second grind results into the portafilter and extract..

If it improves, then your grinder needs modification..

Going the pressurized portafilter way is like taking many steps backwards instead of forward.. As you don't need to spend such money on the 3605 just to do pressurized.. a way cheaper machine can achieve it.
Note:
you may refer to james hoffman for the explanation.. since you may not have a spare good grinder as a benchmark, and you don't have the means to mod the grinder at the moment and assuming your tamping skill is acceptable.. this is a good experiment to validate the grinder.. you may think is it very fine, you'd be surprized it may not be fine enough.

What grinder did you get?

This one is ok for filter. Not sure for espresso is ok or otherwise.

Glad it worked out for you in the end.. for trying out new machine/grinder, maybe you may want to get a small bag of inexpensive coffee beans e.g Ikea or some supermarket beans to practice the grind, tamp and extraction..

Taste wise... Jangan harap la.. lol