I'm more than happy with my La Pavoni Europiccola, except for its inability to do more than 3-4 shots at a time/how long it takes to built a shot.

So, while I will continue to use my LP for my own 2-3 espressos a day, it would be great to get a machine just for use when friends/guests are over and when I'm feeling particularly lazy.

It needs to be cheap (like really cheap, sub $200). My question then: is it worth it to get a <$200 machine now for the above purpose, or should I just wait the 4 more years until I have a (steady) income and get a good machine as a graduation gift (graduate/law school)?

What about a Nespresso? The idea of capsules irks me on many levels (cost, waste and staleness) but it's in the price range and nothing would be easier for entertaining. Or should I just serve guests aeropress coffee...at least then it would be fresh, though not nearly as exciting.

Thanks!

Nick,

You might consider a MyPressi Twist as a backup. It's espresso only, no milk frother, and it uses gas canisters, but the price is right and it makes good espresso with 18 grams of coffee. You could use your La Pav for texturing milk. I outfitted a travel case for mine, though it spends most of it's time at work for the afternoon double. You could use it at work or when traveling and bring it home when entertaining.

There's rumors that they're working on a hybrid gas / rechargeable electric version for times when you don't want to use the cartridge or when it's inconvenient (since there's travel restrictions on flying with the cartridges), but I don't see that up on the site yet.

Do you use a whole cartridge for one espresso? Because those are a dollar a piece. Here is my two cents: I don't think you will be any happier with a sub $200 machine. It will take you just as long, if not longer to make a drink waiting for the boiler to go from brew to steam and back. Personally, I would wait and in the meantime just practice at drink building speed and efficiency. The other thing is if you have someone to help (makes a huge difference to have someone to deliver drinks to guests), teach them how to steam while you are making shots. If need be, a steam toy "espresso" maker costs less than $10 and goodwill and makes a decent standalone steamer.

jonny wrote:Do you use a whole cartridge for one espresso? Because those are a dollar a piece. Here is my two cents: I don't think you will be any happier with a sub $200 machine. It will take you just as long, if not longer to make a drink waiting for the boiler to go from brew to steam and back. Personally, I would wait and in the meantime just practice at drink building speed and efficiency. The other thing is if you have someone to help (makes a huge difference to have someone to deliver drinks to guests), teach them how to steam while you are making shots. If need be, a steam toy "espresso" maker costs less than $10 and goodwill and makes a decent standalone steamer.

You can get 4-5 shots per cartridge, and you can get the cartridges for 50 cents each at a Costco Business Center, or online.

OTOH, it is kind of a pain to do a bunch of shots with a mypressi, but I only have one basket for it. Maybe with 2 or 3 baskets it wouldn't be so bad.

Randy

Hmmm, I have been intrigued by the mypressi since it first came out - it looks like a good rig. Only question is whether it would be fast enough to make much of a difference from my Pavoni. The steam-powered machine as a steamer isn't a bad idea. That way I wouldn't have to wait for it to come back up to espresso pressure/temp.

The mypressi is a neat bit of kit though

Yeah, I don't think the mypressi is really an option for what I want. I'm not sure there really is an option for what I want - it looks like real speed comes from a $2000 double grouphead machine or an E61.

I don't know much about the Bacchi, but isn't it a steam-powered machine? Does it actually brew real espresso (in taste and extraction)?

One of the big disadvantages to any cheap machine is how poorly they do when pulling a bunch of shots in a row - any temp stability is out the window plus they're messy. And they're terrible for steaming lots of milk too. When I was using a little Gaggia to make espressos for a bunch of guests I would either focus on pulling shots for a couple people at a time (instead of everyone all at once) and making them good shots - try to get people to appreciate the coffee without all the extra milk/sugar/syrup they're used to. Or I would just knock out a bunch of singles (split doubles) and let them all sit while I steamed some milk to cover up my many mistakes This worked especially well at xmas time when I was making eggnog machiattos.

You could sell the Pavoni and buy a Ponte Vecchio Lusso, or maybe trade for one? The Lusso can pull several shots consecutively without overheating or needing to be refilled. And you can steam the milk for each cappa while the shot is being pulled. They don't call that design "club" or "family" for nothing...

PC

I bought a Nespresso for the camper and I love it. I have a commercial LaPavoni at home but when I'm at the lake on the weekend, the Nespresso works swimmingly. I also have the separate milk frother, so there's no delaying between shots, and I've been quite pleased with the variety and quality of their pods.