jonny wrote:Erik, I know it is not an exciting response to hear, but IMHO, I think you will see a greater improvement with a grinder upgrade. I have never used the rocky, but I have heard many positive testimonies from people who upgraded from the rocky. Or send them both back and you can get a used Mazzer and used heat exchanger for close to the same price. That's just what I would do.

I had a Rocky and it made me a little crazy that I could never get it dialed in. At the end of the day, I couldn't sell it fast enough. Right now, I'm using a PeDe mokka hand grinder until my Mazzer burrs come in and let me assure you, the Rocky can't even come up on the PeDe. My shots are all that and a bag o' chips.

OO

Dodger1 wrote:I was talking to someone in the service department of a well-known espresso store a couple of weeks ago and somehow we got talking about which entry level machine he's suggest.

#1 was the Silvano, followed very closely by the new Alexia, which echo's EricBNC's advice.

Couldn't be because they sell them?

Bill Crossland is an espresso machine heavyweight.
Get the CC1 and a good grinder.

For a used machine, you could try the buy/sell forum on coffeegeek.com. I got my used Vetrano that way, but the seller lives 3 miles from Chris' Coffee, the importer, and I immediately drove to Chris for parts to plumb in. It helps that I'm 1 1/2 hour drive from Chris and have occassional work nearby.
I also bought a used SJ on fleabay and I regret it. After 2 years it still isnt in working order.

Marvin

In reference to the recommendations from Chris Coffee you posted this:

cafeIKE wrote:Couldn't be because they sell them?

Could be just good advice - they sell the Silvano and the Crossland so they win either way - what benefit do you perceive them gaining by being less than forthright?

This site is dangerous, but probably indirectly saved me alot of money. Soooo.. A Rocket Cellini and a Vario grinder later...

I know myself too well, and that I would end up here either way. The real question was how many steps did I want to take, and how much money did I want to lose getting here, so I pulled the trigger. (I know I could go higher, but I felt after all my research here, this rig should carry me quite a ways, and largely remove gear as a problem variable when starting out).

Thanks for the tips! (i think)

IMHO, both of those are great choices that I'm certain that you'll enjoy a heck of lot more than your original kit.

I totally concur with your observation that this site is dangerous. I first started visiting here about 30 months ago and went from a starter kit to my present setup, which didn't save me a lot of money However, this site is chock full of information, from people who are very serious about this hobby and with their guidance your abilities can only improve.