Please be gentle as this is my first post. I am very new to the whole espresso making arena. Know nearly nothing about it other than I love the drink. I go to Italy nearly every year and the most frustrating thing on earth to me is being able to drink the most awesome espresso in just about any bar several times per day only to come back to the US and drink the crap I can find locally.

I am finally breaking down and setting up my own machine to do it at home as close to the barista there as I can get (in time I presume). I have set a budget of about $1000, which I thought was an extravagant and over the top budget until I started to look around at the prices for some of the machines I see pictured here. Now I know it is nothing LOL... In any case, that should include the grinder, espresso maker, and any associated accessory needed.

I have been reading and will do some more, but it is not only overwhelming but also frustrating to see how many choices are there. Also, how everyone things theirs is the best choice as we all put some emotional investment on things like these.

Any suggestions that would fall under the budget would be greatly appreciated. I expect to make 4-8 espresso/day. Also, have some questions:

1. What is PID?? I keep reading it in tons of threads but have not found a definition of it. I am a physician, so every time I see it all I can think of is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease LOL......

2. The manual espresso makers with the levers. They look awesome, but what is the advantage or disadvantage of those compared to the other units without the lever? I realize that they are so you can be the one providing the pressure, but what good or downside is that?

3. Suggestion of mid grade coffee beans to start with? I am sure there are dozens of these, but middle of the grade suggestion would be nice.

4. Water source? My tap water tastes like crap, so should I be using bottled water for it?

5. I once read that really good espresso is so darn good it needs no sugar. However, I typically use a teaspoon of brown sugar (sugar int he raw). Is this sacrilege or commonly done?

Thanks in advance.

First off, thanks for the reply.

Find a good local roaster, or mail order from the list. Freshness is key - about 3-14 days or so from roasting.

Seriously doubt there is a local roaster in this black hole of a town I live in, so like everything else for me, it will have to be mail order. I am more than fine with it though. What list do you speak of? I am sure it is a blinking list right in front of the main screen, but I don't see it. Can you post a "link" to the list?

dgasmd wrote:2. The manual espresso makers with the levers. They look awesome, but what is the advantage or disadvantage of those compared to the other units without the lever? I realize that they are so you can be the one providing the pressure, but what good or downside is that?

Welcome.

To address number 2, I just made an espresso without waking my wife. I'm sure the family in the neighboring apartment appreciates it as well. I also use a hand grinder (a Porlex, which is a great bang-for-the-buck and is on sale at Orphan Espresso right now). However, I wouldn't want to make 4-8 shots a day with a lever machine and hand grinder; I usually make 1-3 a day.

Good luck.

My guidance is that you are wasting your money. $1000 is not enough for a grinder and machine that you will still want to still use next year.

I think the minimum budget is $1600 for a Ceado or Vario grinder, paired with an entry level HX machine like the BZ07 or Expobar. If you can't afford that now, get the Vario grinder and do press pot until you can.

On the other hand, I'm a bit of a grump, so don't let me spoil your enjoyment if you go with something less pricey. Here I'd recommend the same grinders at around $450, and a basic Gaggia you an dump in a year or two for around $250. By understanding you can't get anything permanent at $1000, you can buy a grinder that can keep over the long haul and save some money on the machine which can't.

I spent about $800 on my first set up.. eleven years ago, and it was just that- a beginner's outfit. At $1000 for a machine and grinder you are either spending too much or not enough, or should be looking at purchasing at least part of the outfit used. Here's why: after purchasing the grinder, most espresso machine which will fit that budget all work about the same- at least close enough that shopping at the lower-end will not lose you much if anything in terms of espresso quality. The basic Baratza grinder, which is generally considered the best $/grind-quality machine will set you back about $325 for the Preciso. That would leave you about $600 for the machine (leaving the remainder for sups, a tamper, cleaning supplies, etc.). At that point, the best spent money would go for a Gaggia Baby or Coffee, and save the rest for when you will want to upgrade later.

Exceptions: If you go with a hand grinder at about $100 you will have enough that if you tweak the budget a bit you can find a nice machine in the entry-level HX range.

This advice comes from 6½ years with a Silvia and Rocky, then moving up to a VBM DS, and finally to a VBM DD. The "true" Single boiler machines are marginal so you might as well shop the low end since they all operate about the same and are about equally capable.

You might want to look at the Crossland CC-1. Paired with the Preciso it is about the best bang for the $$ in terms of an upper-end entry level setup.

I'd agree with Jim that any machine+grinder combo for $1,000 probably won't last you more than a couple years. But of course that's the way that many of us got started, actually by looking for deals/open box specials I got started with a little Gaggia and a PL53 grinder (just about the cheapest acceptable grinder available then) for less than $600 (would be more now). The one big advantage I found from not buying a "good" machine or grinder to start off with is that I got to spend a couple years trying out different coffees, playing with my equipment and reading on here to figure out what was really important to me for when I finally made a "long-term" investment in nice equipment.

I think it will really come down to how susceptible to "upgrade-itis" you are. If you're the kind of person that always wants to get the latest and greatest, might as well start out cheap now since you're going to be upgrading in a year or two no matter what. If on the other hand you prefer to "just buy once" spend a little bit more now for a good machine.

My only other bit of advice is don't worry about "mid-level" beans. Even if you buy beans $30/lb (which is about twice what you could spend for really good beans from any artisanal roaster) each double shot of espresso is still only going to cost $1, or about 1/2 what you'll pay at any cafe. Basically don't worry about the price of the coffee, compared to the machine it's almost nothing. And there's no easier way to screw up espresso then to end up with a bad bag of beans. I'd rather pay an extra $3 or $5 for a bag of coffee than worry that I'd missed out on something great.

Dan's already quoted my rant (above). But as you can see, a number of opinions have been expressed on this thread that a $1000 is insufficient to make good espresso - my $2000 comment was not that far off. I personally think that good espresso can be done for less, but I'm a bit of a grump when it comes to spending a lot of money.

The OP stated that he gets great espresso in Italy, which led him to want to brew espresso at home. I have not been to Italy since I was 10, but my $500 outfit certainly makes espresso as good as most I have had at good American, Swedish, Danish, Spanish, and UK cafes. If someone sent me a GS3 for free I'd give it a try, but I've been satisfied for 10 years with cheapo equipment. I suppose I just have bad taste buds.

PC