I am new in the espresso world, but totally fall in love!!
I bought a used Gaggia classic for aprox 200$ have decent shot from it but milk frothing is horrible( milky drinks only for my gf and visitors)
I also have a pretty good deal (i think) for a slightly use rancilio rocky MD 40 commercial grinder with doser( i removed the doser)
I want to know from you guys if my setup seems ok, i would like to upgrade the espresso machine for a DB for nice frothing , but also for temp adjust , looks and feel of a big machine.
Read a lots of post here , and i am slowly but surely attract by de DBD even if it dosnt look as nice as a brewtus iv or a rocket etc.. In canada there is not a lot of used or refurb machine so you have to buy new , and the machine or more expensive than in the us for example a brewtus IV is 2500$.
I found a Brewtus III 6 years used for 1250$ CAD
My question does i go DBD , high end New DB or used brewtus III

Another question is : does my grinder is an equivalent of a super jolly? I dont find a lot of review of it? I think it is a 900$ US commercial grinder and i find that it works pretty well but i never try something else!?!
Thanks for your help! And sorry for my english ( i'm a french canadian

I've had a Brewtus for years and it's a perfectly serviceable E-61 dual boiler. Parts are east to come by, it's well documented and it make a fine espresso. I think $1250 might be more than you need to pay. Not really sure about that, but at 6 years you should assume it needs descaling and new gaskets everywhere. If it doesn't, be happy, but be prepared for that and pay as if it's necessary. Espresso machines are commonly not well cared for.

And don't take this as don't buy it, just try to pay a lot less. I have never regretted buying the Brewtus. It's not the sexiest, and it doesn't pull my heart strings like a Speedster, Slayer or GS-3, but it always does what I ask and it make me look much better than I am(to my non coffee obsessive friends).

Here is one recently purchased for $175. Needed work, but still a steal:

Post a pic of your home espresso setup...

Ira

Thank you for your help, I am very pleased with my Gaggia for now , I will wait to get a real deal on used machine, or go with the BDB
Nice setup by the way !

How much do you want to spend for the espresso machine? How about the grinder?

Randy

Hi Gabriel - You can replace the lousy stock steam wand on your Classic with a Silvia V2 wand for about $20 and maybe 15 minutes of work. That will give you good steaming for smaller amounts of milk. I do 5 oz for a latte in about 30 seconds on my machine and am very happy with the quality. There are instructional videos on youtube showing how to do that mod.
regards, Rich

I bought a 5 year old brewtus IV a year ago so I hope I can offer some advice. Like you I was interested in a double boiler with good temperature management. I did a search in my area and the brewtus 4 popped up. The owner was originally asking $1600. I went through this site's buy/sell forum and coffee geeks buy/sell forum and made a list of all the sales and prices from the last few years. Most (at my time of buying for a brewtus 4) went for $900-1200 if they were in good shape. I showed the seller my list and offered a thousand and he accepted. I think $1000 was a fair price since the machine was in pretty good shape. I've had it for a year now and have only replaced the group gasket. I would recommend one but make sure you do a search in the machine. They, like all other machines, have their problems, but they can be serviced pretty easily.

One last thing, the vibe pump version is LOUD! Good luck on your search!

Thx for your help

slipchuck wrote:How much do you want to spend for the espresso machine? How about the grinder?

Randy

I have the rocky MD 40 commercial version , I think I does a very good job, but I didn't try any other so I can't compare.

Do you think Rancilio rocky Vs rocky md 40 is a big difference?

Gabbio wrote:I have the rocky MD 40 commercial version , I think I does a very good job, but I didn't try any other so I can't compare.

Do you think Rancilio rocky Vs rocky md 40 is a big difference?

By what I read the MD is built much better then the Rocky but as far as taste in the cup I couldn't say

Randy