Hello I've lurking for a bit trying to learn as much as I can and I'd like to start participating

I'll make a short introduction since this is my first post then get into my question...

My name's Tera and I'm an undergraduate student. I'm more of a tea drinker than a coffee drinker...and in the past year my teaware collection has grown a lot and so has my brewing technique. I've been practicing gongfucha, I dont know if anyone here knows what that is but it involves using a very small brewing vessel (less than 150ml) and a lot of tea leaf....sometimes 10g or more and making very concentrated infusions of tea. It takes a lot of skill and practice to control all the variables and get the best result. Anyway, since I've been getting deeper into the world of tea I've also started taking another look at how I approach other luxuries in my life...like the coffee I drink. I admit at one time in my life, not so long ago, I drank instant coffee and teabags...both of which today I'd rather not touch with a 10ft pole

As far as coffee goes....I started with the beans. I found a few roasters I like with single origin coffees....afterall if I'm buying direct trade single origin teas, why not coffee too?

Then I realized they would stay fresher if I didn't have them do the grinding...so I did some research and found that good grinders were....uhm...expensive But then I saw several recommendations here and elsewhere to go for a hand grinder if a good electric is too much. So I bought a Hario Mini Mill....it's fun to use and I dont mind doing a bit of work to get a fresher cup of coffee

It crossed my mind immediately that now I can control the coarseness or fineness of the grind I don't really have to use my percolator machine to brew....I took one of my older teapots that I dont use much for tea anymore, It's a pretty big glass pot....around 400ml. I ground my coffee coarse enough it would get filtered out by a steel tea strainer. Preheated the pot and brewed with 200°F water. The result was amazing...lots of subtle flavours came through I couldn't detect before.

But now I want to go to another level....or at least try another method of coffee brewing. I've come to really enjoy good espresso shots and americanos when I can get them and I'd like to learn how to make them myself at home. With my hand grinder and good beans I think I'm ready for an espresso machine. I've done a lot of reading trying to figure out which one...but

Being an undergrad student I can't afford a nice machine like a Silvia

And....I really want to practice the art of espresso making, but most of the low end machines come with pressurized portafilters that are messy, clog and worst of all make fake crema.

I would like to buy a machine under $200, I could possibly stretch it to $300 if I have a good reason to.

I'm lactose intolerant and don't really like milk substitutes so I don't really care if the machine can steam milk at all...I just want to drink espressos and americanos at home and learn more about coffee.

My question is....are there any machines in this price range which come with non-pressurized portafilters?

If not which ones can I easily replace the portafilter with a non-pressurized one?

Ultimately I'd like to have a hand lever espresso machine...but I haven't seen any less than $600, which is too far out of my price range....and I get the idea it would be good to practice with a semi-auto first. So this is something I'm definitely thinking in upgrading at some point...

I'm also a student!
I've had my Espresso machine for about 6 months now.. absolutely loving it!
So far I can make a decent microfoam.. but unfortunately for me.. I got a pressurised Portafilter... silly me :L

So i'll be upgrading to a non pressurised one soon after may

Good luck with your coffee dream!

Thank you for the links Dan

I've been reading through them....actually quite a bit even before I registered but I'm still having a hard time figuring out what would be a good machine for me.

I see the low end Gaggias recommended quite a bit...and at least some of them seem to have non-pressurized portafilters as standard....but I see Gaggia Colors going for close to $400, which is out of my budget
Is there a less expensive model with non-pressurized portafilters that I'm missing?

The real issue for me is the portafilter....otherwise I'd pick up a Delonghi EC155 at Sears for $100. Except I know I'd get quickly frustrated with a pressurized portafilters limitations.

entropyembrace wrote:Ultimately I'd like to have a hand lever espresso machine...but I haven't seen any less than $600, which is too far out of my price range....and I get the idea it would be good to practice with a semi-auto first. So this is something I'm definitely thinking in upgrading at some point...

You can find used lever machines in your price range. Watch ebay and the CoffeeGeek BST forum. I see good condition Peppinas around $300 often. The Caravel is also an option that can be found around that price point, although the US ebay ones have been getting listed for more lately.

My first machine was a Gaggia. They are very good starter machines and I recommended them often. But, IMO, you can get better espresso for the $ from the small vintage levers. The caveat to recommending a vintage lever is if the shopper can live without steaming, and/or if they have the special 'lever gene' (I think some people would rather not consider small levers for whatever reason). Since you are open to all these things and seem to be the hands on type, I have no reservations recommending a Peppina/Caravel/etc for you.

Buying will require more patience and research since they are used machines, but all the info is on this site to help you figure out which ones will be good.

thank you for the recommendation compliance....I will check out those lower cost lever machines! I didnt know they existed.

The huge Caravel thread.
A Peppina thread.

I bought a Caravel a month ago to play around with and I love the little thing. If I were starting over with espresso tomorrow I would start with a Caravel. It can make shots as good as my Brewtus, and I can't say that about my old Gaggia, even though the Gaggia worked quite well for me.

Another thing about eBay machines. Make sure all the parts are there and shown in the pictures including portafilters, baskets, and the drip tray. They can be expensive to source separately.

I was recently kind of in the same boat. My older machine died about a year ago and my job...uh...well, it's still there, I'm just no longer in it. So the replacement budget, needless to say, become a little different than what it otherwise would have been.

I went with a Gaggia New Baby, bought for $300. I've been VERY impressed, excellent performance and ease of use. Admittedly, it is - like all single boiler machines of this type - pretty much a single or two person unit, unless you want to be there a while. But it's just fine for my needs.

I paired it with a $35 Hario Mini Mill grinder, which does a fabulous job for espresso, fine and even. Sure it takes a little effort, but it's not hard at all. Kinda neat how the freshly ground coffee aroma envelops you as you grind away.

You could get the Gaggia Evolution for even less, maybe even around $200. It's pretty much the same machine except no 3-way solenoid valve. That way, the whole setup, grinder and all, would be well under $300.

Hmmmm....I've found a Gaggia Color for about $300 with free shipping inside Canada at Espressotec that places it just barely within my budget and it does come with a non-pressurized portafilter as standard. Does anyone know if Espressotec is a reputable vendor?

Even that I'm intrigued by the little antique lever machines like the Caravel now....though it's hard find any that are actually still available. I notice the Caravels are all designed to run at 220v...how big of an issue is that for someone in North America really? I suppose I'd just need a step-up transformer right?