Since coming to college I've begun a love affair with espresso. My dorm at Berkeley is located literally right across from Cafe Strada, where a double shot costs a buck twenty-five and, short of a group of sorority girls ordering fu-fu drinks, gets to you in thirty seconds flat. Despite all this I'm looking to get into brewing my own, hopefully before I have to move to a less desirable location this summer.

I do have a cheap little machine right now, a MrCoffee ECMP50 which has been fantastic for the price; however, I don't use it looking for a great shot, rather, I use it for a palatable Americano or the occasional Cappuccino.

So what I'm looking to do is start building a setup, preferably on a limited budget. Right now the thing I really need is a grinder, one that won't crap out on me in a year or two, which seems to be the case with most conical burr grinders under $200. Should I just save up for a Rancilio Rocky, or is there another option?

-------------------------------------------UPDATE-------------------------------------------
In related news, is this Gaggia Classic for $125 on http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/app/2152044243.html a good buy? It would be a big step up for me and the price seems right.

That is a good price for a Gaggia classic, if it works I would go for it.

A hand grinder is a low priced option, if you don't mind working a little for a shot, and a little longer prep time.

These days, I think the Rocky is considered over priced, and that there are better options.

The real problem with many lower priced conical grinders is that they are stepped, and the steps are not fine enough to dial in the grind for an espresso. The Vario and Preciso are the exceptions to this, but they also carry higher price tags.

Randy

As a recent veteran of dorm room espresso making, I'll offer these tips:

If you have a roommate, nothing beats taking a hand grinder out into the hall/common room/lounge/kitchen (depending on your dorm configuration) and pulling a silent shot (in your room while the roommate is asleep) on a lever machine.

If you don't have a roommate (or don't care about his/her sleep), that Gaggia is perfect (in terms of price and quality of espresso - just give it a good cleaning before you get started). I had a Gaggia Espresso (before I upgraded to a Ponte Vecchio Lusso) paired with a Le'Lit PL53 (super loud, but works perfectly for its size and price). It's ideal if you have a kitchen or bathroom nearby, because long walks with a full drip tray, PF filled with used coffee, and dirty espresso cup can get frustrating. Also, if your roommate (if such a person exists) dislikes the smell of coffee, call the whole thing off - your room will smell like this stuff all the time.

Oh... back to answering your original question: I got started with my Le'Lit PL53 in college and it has kept up with the equipment that's popping up around it. I personally prefer it to my Mazzer Super Jolly, and it has been working well with the Elektra that I'm currently restoring. Be sure to take the last two sentences with a grain of salt - that's just my personal experience that may differ from what others have to say. My preference for the PL53 is that it doesn't get in the way of producing good espresso, and it is easier to clean and has much less waste than the SJ.

Good luck and keep us posted on your decision! You're just a short hop from some of the best coffee in the country (and some of the most impressive setups, such as at Four Barrel) in SF, so be sure to take advantage of that. My experience has been that most baristas at cafes that care tend to enjoy "talking shop," so you should have a wealth of information available beyond this forum (though a limited amount of cafe espresso prep translates to the home environment, but at a bare minimum they'll tell you the parameters that they use to extract the beans you're buying from them).

Also check out Local 123, a cafe on San Pablo just off University. I've seen good things written about them. I believe they carry Flying Goat, Verve, and maybe 1 or 2 others. Here's a link to an article about them-

http://cafehound.com/2009/11/08/cafe-ho...rkeley-ca/

For limited budget, if you don't mind used machines, go to local used restaurant dealers. These dealers generally don't bother with listing on craigslist. With so many businesses failing, there are deals to be found. Last year I picked up a Bregant for only $110 from a place in Hayward, not too far from Berkeley. I have also seen a LM Swift for $500 (gasp!). These are truly commercial machines that would probably last a life time.

My roommate while I was living at Unit One never cared waking me up. ...

randytsuch wrote:That is a good price for a Gaggia classic, if it works I would go for it.

aindfan wrote:If you don't have a roommate (or don't care about his/her sleep), that Gaggia is perfect (in terms of price and quality of espresso - just give it a good cleaning before you get started). I had a Gaggia Espresso (before I upgraded to a Ponte Vecchio Lusso) paired with a Le'Lit PL53 (super loud, but works perfectly for its size and price). It's ideal if you have a kitchen or bathroom nearby, because long walks with a full drip tray, PF filled with used coffee, and dirty espresso cup can get frustrating.

Thanks for all the advice, It's nice to get such quick replies from everyone - I don't get that from the administration here at Berkeley . I'm going to pick up the Gaggia later today, once I give it a once over to make sure everythings in order. It's just better than anything I can afford in a long while.

weasel wrote:Also check out Local 123, a cafe on San Pablo just off University. I've seen good things written about them. I believe they carry Flying Goat, Verve, and maybe 1 or 2 others. Here's a link to an article about them-

http://cafehound.com/2009/11/08/cafe-ho...rkeley-ca/

I tried Local 1 2 3 this morning - very ristretto, 1.5 ounces and very liberal use the doser (4/5 pulls then removed the extra grounds by creating a conical/dome shape).

I'm going to check out the Four Barrel while killing some time in SF this afternoon. More on the condition of the Gaggia later. I'm considering taking aindfan's advice and getting a hand grinder while constantly checking in on used restaurant equipt. places for a good deal - that way I can take my time and wait for a great deal and machine while getting a decent grind in the interim.

ramatevish wrote:I'm going to check out the Four Barrel while killing some time in SF this afternoon.

If I recall correctly, you'll be right near Ritual Coffee in the Mission district as well.

A basic check of the machine turned out well - the pump works, the heat element works, the steam works. I love the feel of it - it's solid and simple. The head looks fine, but needs to be descaled with some other parts of it. I'm thinking about opening it up tomorrow to give everything in there a once over and give it general maintenance.


The setup - everything but the grinder and the little bean bag was included in the $125 price.


The head needs to be descaled, but not too bad.




I'm going to try steaming milk tomorrow with it (the steam pressure and temp seems to be fantastic) but I'm not sure about the "steam enhancer" nonsense on the end. Any ideas on how to remove it?


The grinder and the 4 ounces of beans from four barrel. I liked the Coffee alright, but two things really stood out. One, the two machines they had doing the heavy lifting (they had a smaller one with a PID for cupping at another counter) had three heads each and were shaped like Speedsters http://www.keesvanderwesten.com/earlier...dster.html.

Also, my god were there hipsters, just everywhere! I thought it was bad in Berkeley but SF is beyond compare.


Also an (slight) issue is the boiler size, which is small. I'm pretty sure I can solve that by preheating the water I put in the reservoir, which should allow for a stable temp through the pull.

Grouphead looks like it needs a major dose of urnex. I believe 4 barrel has a slayer machine, which uses adjustable pressure profiling. Love the insignia on your machine. Good Luck.

ramatevish wrote:I'm thinking about opening it up tomorrow to give everything in there a once over and give it general maintenance.

Definitely a good idea. You may want to soak the shower screen, dispersion block, baskets, and portafilter (just the metal part) in JoeGlo, Urinex Cafiza, or another espresso machine detergent.

ramatevish wrote:<image>
The setup - everything but the grinder and the little bean bag was included in the $125 price.

I don't think you could ask for a better start!

ramatevish wrote:I'm going to try steaming milk tomorrow with it (the steam pressure and temp seems to be fantastic) but I'm not sure about the "steam enhancer" nonsense on the end. Any ideas on how to remove it?

Yes - pull the longer plastic sleeve off of the top, shorter plastic piece. Then unscrew the top small plastic cap to separate it from the nozzle (which is hidden by the outer plastic sleeve). I replaced my Gaggia steam wand with a Rancilio Silvia (V2) wand, which gave a bit more steam power, but this should work well. When steaming, be sure that the machine is at shot temperature (ready light has been on), then press the steam switch, wait 30 seconds, and start steaming. You want to start before the steam ready light comes on so that the heating element remains on and plays catch up with you, giving you more steam power.

ramatevish wrote:(they had a smaller one with a PID for cupping at another counter)

When I was there, there was a La Marzocco GS3 and Versalab M3 grinder at their single origin bar, where they offered any of their coffees as drip or espresso.

ramatevish wrote:Also, my god were there hipsters, just everywhere! I thought it was bad in Berkeley but SF is beyond compare.

Surprised?

ramatevish wrote:Also an (slight) issue is the boiler size, which is small. I'm pretty sure I can solve that by preheating the water I put in the reservoir, which should allow for a stable temp through the pull.

Be careful with this - I've read that vibe pumps can be damaged at higher temperatures. I wouldn't recommend preheating unless you can add a preheater in the machine between the pump and the boiler. I got better temperature stability by starting with a hot (ready) machine, then flushing until the ready light went out, then waiting for the light to turn on, then pulling a shot. If you need the temperature higher, you can turn the steam switch on for 1-5 seconds after the ready light comes on, turn it off, and pull the shot.

Good luck!