Best (and cheapest) Espresso Machine?

[Tyson]

I drink coffee, my wife does not, so I'm thinking of picking up a small, but good, espresso machine. Preferably one that is close to 'fully automated' so I don't have to mess with a bunch of attachments everytime I want an espresso. Any good models you guys (and gals) can recommend, and also where to get the best prices?

 

[tyrion]

Here is a link to the head-fi of coffee makers: CoffeeGeek . Check out the reviews on the Delonghi Bar 140. I may pick this one up for myself.

 

[diogenes]

Do have a good espresso grinder, or if not are you willing to pay for a decent if one?
If yes, the likely the cheapest one would be a Saeco Magic model (which is the company that Charbucks rebrands as the Barista iirc). Check e-bay, coffeegeek, or perhaps alt.coffee for a "deal."
If not, then buy a grinder and a French-press assuming that the espresso machine would bring the cost to too high a level.
In sum, buy a good grinder first!

Edit:
As for attachments, I am not sure what you would mean w.r.t. to making espresso (surely not a tamper)?

 

[cpw]

I have a Saeco semi-commercial and it makes awesome coffee. Check out one of their basic models. Also the units that use prepackaged "bullets" are intruiguing.
Good luck.
CPW

 

[Spektrograf]

A couple of years ago, I was in your shoes... getting into home-brew espresso. I researched high-and-low and all over the net and ended up with the Briel Lido and an aftermarket portafilter basket (non-pressurized). I also went through 3 local roasters before settling on the 4th one here in the SF Bay (he's the only one out of the 4 that doesn't try to go for a version of Peet's school-of-roasting dark-roast -- I prefer what's often referred to as Northern Italian Roast, or just a medium/med-dark roast). I go to this roaster once every two weeks for 1/2 lb. of beans that's ground for me at the time of purchase.

Now, before all you espresso connaisseurs jump on me for this, I had a reasonably decent grinder that worked fine for me until it died. So, until I could find a replacement, I was stuck with having my roaster grind my coffee for me. You know what, by keeping the grind tightly packed in a dark, airtight container stored in a cool place, my espresso shots continued to have complexity in flavor and plenty of nice crema until I run out... every two weeks. Granted, the day I purchase the roast is the day the roaster roasts the espresso blend.

The Briel Lido is an inexpensive entry-level into home-brew espresso machines and it goes for a bit over $110 at Amazon.com (where I purchased mine). It's a no-frills machine that does reasonably well in serving up enough espresso and steam for 4-5 lattes (never tried to make more than that at one time). Over the last couple of years, it looks a bit more worn (silkscreen coming off), and the steam knob has rotated around off the markings, but the thing still functions just as well as the first day I bought it. I DO clean it thoroughly about once a month and run CleanCaf through it. It's not fancy, nor will it wow your guests, but it does the job well and keeps tickin'.

The aftermarket portafilter I think was $10-15 if I remember correctly (I THINK I purchased it at WholeLatteLove.com). Well worth it to make consistent espressos. It's the only way to tell if the crema you're making is genuinely coming from a good extraction vs. created mechanically by jetting espresso out into a chamber to make false, albeit still reasonably okay crema.

Once I got technique and equipment down, the biggest impact to the quality of espresso was the coffee roast and blend I tried. I must have gone through almost 10-15 different roasts and blends (almost to the point of roasting green beans myself in an air-popcorn machine!).

Okay... just so you know Tyson, making espresso properly is messy. It's not clean and without mess. If you're looking for a clean solution, try one of the espresso machines that are fully-automated, or are pod-based. The fully-automated ones are expensive, while I know almost nothing about the pod-based ones, other than initial reviews weren't that promising about quality. Newer models could be better.

Hope that wasn't too much info, you've touched on one of my passions -- a good espresso, capuccino, and latte!!

BTW, it becomes 2nd nature once you've done a few...

EDIT: here's a link with some detailed reviews if you're looking for more info... CoffeeGeek.com

 

[bhd812]

STARBUCKS BARISTA, after having it for 3-4 years and used every day she is still going.

 

[kevin gilmore]

I have a 6 year old Saeco Magic Deluxe. Massive amount of use.
In that time the only thing that broke was a crack in the plastic
for the steamer. Easily replaced for about $5. The thing loves to
make a mess of itself, so the bottom tray and the area inside the
used grounds container need to be cleaned frequently. If you
use it as much as i do you have to de-scale it twice a year.

Makes the best espresso i have ever had short of the professional
and completely manual systems. Many times it is better than the
stuff i get in high end resteraunts.

I should mention that the crema is all important, and the saeco is
one of the very few home machines that gets this right.

 

[Bunnyears]

Tyson,

Depending upon the amount of counterspace you have in your kitchen and how deeply you want to get into the whole espresso process (do you want to grind the beans, tamp them, learn just how to draw the expresso etc.) or whether you want a quick, simple fool-proof shot will determine just which machine will fill your needs best. I'm the only espresso drinker in my house, I live in a Manhattan apartment with limited counterspace, so I opted for a pod machine. This means that whenever I want a shot, I open the pod (packed in foil packets) slip it into the filter group, press the button and voilá, a perfect shot of espresso with minimal cleanup. My machine also has an automatic cappucinatore where you put a plastic tube into the milk container, push a button and then instant foam and micro foam (which takes a bit of practice on a regular machine). If I had unlimited space, I would get a super automatic which grinds, tamps, brews and then dumps used grinds at the touch of a button. Unfortunately they are big machines. What ever you do, try to get a commercial or semi commercial machine that has at least 1400 watts of power, has two heating tanks (one for the espresso and the milk frothing) so that you can brew more than one cup without a lot of downtime between shots.

You can find a reviews of many espresso machines at the site wholelattelove.com along with espresso coffee at good savings. In the end, I opted for the Grimac Terry Pod Machine now called the Terry Nuvola when it has 1400 watts of power (which doesn't take anything but the e.s.e. pods) because it was most convenient for me. Here is a link to the machine.

I bought it here, years ago because they were located in NY, but you can find the machine nationwide now at competitive prices. What I like best about the machine is that it was developed for vending, so it can brew 20 shots easily without diminishing quality with no down time between shots, and I have done that after dinner parties when I have guests. The only downside is that it doesn't take the double shot pods, so that I have to draw two shots most of the time which can be cumbersome (a shot of espresso is the same size as a shot of whiskey). It is also very compact and was probably the smallest machine of that quality available when I bought it. Now, I'll bet there are smaller automatics, superautomatics or semiautomatics available, so happy shopping.

Please let us know what you find, I might decide to upgrade!

 

[lini]

Tyson: Unless you really want such a machine thingy, I'd suggest this type of maker: http://www.1-800-espresso.com/lapav-...maker-126.html

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[cpw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears Tyson, Depending upon the amount of counterspace you have in your kitchen and how deeply you want to get into the whole espresso process (do you want to grind the beans, tamp them, learn just how to draw the expresso etc.) or whether you want a quick, simple fool-proof shot will determine just which machine will fill your needs best. I'm the only espresso drinker in my house, I live in a Manhattan apartment with limited counterspace, so I opted for a pod machine. This means that whenever I want a shot, I open the pod (packed in foil packets) slip it into the filter group, press the button and voilá, a perfect shot of espresso with minimal cleanup. My machine also has an automatic cappucinatore where you put a plastic tube into the milk container, push a button and then instant foam and micro foam (which takes a bit of practice on a regular machine). If I had unlimited space, I would get a super automatic which grinds, tamps, brews and then dumps used grinds at the touch of a button. Unfortunately they are big machines. What ever you do, try to get a commercial or semi commercial machine that has at least 1400 watts of power, has two heating tanks (one for the espresso and the milk frothing) so that you can brew more than one cup without a lot of downtime between shots. You can find a reviews of many espresso machines at the site wholelattelove.com along with espresso coffee at good savings. In the end, I opted for the Grimac Terry Pod Machine now called the Terry Nuvola when it has 1400 watts of power (which doesn't take anything but the e.s.e. pods) because it was most convenient for me. Here is a link to the machine. I bought it here, years ago because they were located in NY, but you can find the machine nationwide now at competitive prices. What I like best about the machine is that it was developed for vending, so it can brew 20 shots easily without diminishing quality with no down time between shots, and I have done that after dinner parties when I have guests. The only downside is that it doesn't take the double shot pods, so that I have to draw two shots most of the time which can be cumbersome (a shot of espresso is the same size as a shot of whiskey). It is also very compact and was probably the smallest machine of that quality available when I bought it. Now, I'll bet there are smaller automatics, superautomatics or semiautomatics available, so happy shopping. Please let us know what you find, I might decide to upgrade!

Hope you're getting all of this. Great post.
As I said earlier, I have a Saeco Superautomatic and if you have the space and dought it's a great way to go.
CPW

 

[Tyson]

Holy cow, lots of info here, thanks all. I've got to do some reading up!

 

[Quad]

I have a Baby Gaggia but I would recommend a Rancilio Silvia. My brother has a super automatic Saeco. I think possibly the Saeco Vienna Superautomatica, he really loves it.

The one I love is the la Pavoni Professional in brass. You get a work of industrial art in the bargain.

 

[Tyson]

After all this great advice, and a bit of research elsewhere, I've decided to go with the Saeco Vienna machine. It's fully automated, and should give a very good espresso (perhaps not the VERY best, but still excellent, and very convenient, which is important to me). Thanks again all, your help was VERY much appreciated!!!!!!

 

[cpw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyson After all this great advice, and a bit of research elsewhere, I've decided to go with the Saeco Vienna machine. It's fully automated, and should give a very good espresso (perhaps not the VERY best, but still excellent, and very convenient, which is important to me). Thanks again all, your help was VERY much appreciated!!!!!!

Excellent choice!!!
I have a light commercial Saeco machine (Royal Exclusive) and the coffe is fantastic. Don't think that the coffee from yours will be in any way inferior; when you pay more, you get features and durability, not better coffee.
Let me tell you why I think you made a great choice even though I expect your research has already borne all of this out:
1)Saeco machines allow you to remove the brew unit for cleaning. This is critical because grinding coffee makes dust and it gets everywhere. By being able to remove and clean the brew group your machine will require slightly more maintenance by you but alot less from a technician. Trust me on this-I've had to send other machines in for repeated repairs. It's a pain, it's expensive and you drink lousy or expensive coffee while you're waiting for the return of your machine.
2) The "crema" produced by Saeco machines is as good as it gets. This is the "foam" type layer floating on top of the cup of coffee.
3) If you're into capuccino, the milk steamers on Saecos work great.

I lived in Switzerland for awhile and had the pleasure of doing business w/ the GM of Saeco Switzerland. He has convinced me that these machines are really about as good as you can get in a SuperAutomatic machine.
Enjoy.
CPW

 

[MichaelFranks]

here is mine

Francis X1