Hello everyone!

This is my first post in here, so let's hope that the first impressions you get are good

I've been drinking espressos for about five years now. Good coffee is very important to me, it's more than a hobby. I can tell the difference between good and bad espresso shot, and I think I can make somewhat good, drinkable espressos myself, if I have the opportunity to use a machine somewhere - but I have this one big problem.

I'm still stuck with a moka pot.

Okay, don't freak out. I have already a good grinder (about 60-70 euros) and I buy coffee as roasted beans. (Fresh coffee, big difference) Today I started thinking: why do I still drink this horrible moka-pot-thingy-that-is-pretending-to-be-espresso, even though I love drinking double espressos with nice crema and quite sweet flavour at local cafe?

What espresso machine do you recommend? I have a budget of about ~500 euros, but as I said, I have a grinder already. I don't want to start with a cheap/bad one, as I'm not an absolute beginner.

Lever espresso machines seem to be lovely - I want espresso to be as "hand-made" as possible. (I personally hate automatic machines - those take the whole idea and fun out of this!) Are those easy to keep clean, and is it easy to break it down accidentally? If a lever espresso machine is not a good choice, what then? Silvia seems to be quite popular?

Does anyone here have a spare machine to sell?

And then of course I'd like to ask something about the coffee part: I've been searching for a _really_ strong flavoured coffee, that is still smooth and sweet, not bitter nor harsh. Can you recommend me some good coffees?

Many thanks in advance,

--
Walther

Walther wrote:Okay, don't freak out. I have already a good grinder (about 60-70 euros) and I buy coffee as roasted beans. (Fresh coffee, big difference) Today I started thinking: why do I still drink this horrible moka-pot-thingy-that-is-pretending-to-be-espresso, even though I love drinking double espressos with nice crema and quite sweet flavour at local cafe?

Your problem is not the mocha pot, which will make good tasting demitasse coffee, but your "good grinder." If you are on a budget, you can buy a Kyocera or other Japanese ceramic hand grinder. For motorized, your minimum in Europe is the Demoka grinder. You will need to do this before you can get coffee of any sort at home, never mind espresso.

All things are so very relative, and no more so than your grinder. Sure, for most coffee drinkers that grinder would be a extravagant expenditure, but not around here on Home-barista.com. What you paid for that grinder... I don't think that would buy replacement burrs for my grinder.

So, for the least amount of money to get the best possible coffee drink right now, get an Aerobie Aeropress. It will work fine with your current grinder. While the advertising states it makes espresso, IMO, it really does not. But it does make a GREAT cup of coffee that will be better than what your moka pot creates. It is also very easy to use and very affordable.

old lever from ebay.it + Compak k3 should fit your budget.
I don't understand the mokapot hate.

I'm really surprised how fast you replied! I'm quite used to wait for weeks to get a single reply on other forums...

This morning I made two doubles, really tasting carefully and critically. First one tasted just terribly bad, too fine grinding - I adjusted the grinder a little bit. The second one was a bit mild, bitterish and had just tiny crema on top - too coarse grinding. And there's no setting between those two. I realized with creeping horror that yes, my grinder is actually quite crappy. I just never questioned that, because I got that as a present...

I started thinking of Silvia + Rocky combination - one local online store has an offer of 699€ - is that a good combination? I've read lots of discussion in here, mainly with two opinions a) it's a good combination, works fine b) only for ultimate beginners. My budget is flexible, max 1000€ I think. But the point is that, I don't think I will be buying those 2000€ machine and 1000€ grinder (yet ) but I don't want to start with any ultimate beginner model either. I'm really thinking of buying an used lever machine (la Pavoni?) if I find a one (does anyone have a spare one? ) and putting the rest of the money to a good grinder. If I can't find a lever machine, is the Silvia + Rocky a good (enough) choice?

The silvia is a good machine and will deliver good results. There is a large temperature band when brewing so you'll want to search the term "Temperature Surfing" for silvia to get the best out of her. Down the road you may also want to put a PID controller on it which will allow you to set the temperature electronically.

With that said, many people will tell you that the Silvia is over-priced for what it is. The cost of the silvia has gone up, and there are other machines that provide more value for the money. Perhaps a Lelit machine if available to you or a Gaggia Classic.

The Rocky I would think is the bare minimum for espresso grinding, however for a marginal price difference you could pick up a Baratza Vario. The vario is producing grinds to other machines that are 2-3 times more expensive. It's a fantastic, versatile grinder that is perfect for the home environment IMO.

Walther wrote:I'm really surprised how fast you replied! I'm quite used to wait for weeks to get a single reply on other forums...

Walther, we're so jumped-up on caffeine that home-barista.com and coffeegeek.com can be like IM / MSN sometimes. Pretty rare not to get a response the same day, often the same hour. No extra charge.

+1 on Troll's recommendation of the Baratza Vario, known as the Mahlkonig Vario in Europe.

Hello again,

After a lot of googling and forum reading, I think I'm going to stand for a La Pavoni lever machine - are the used ones usually okay? If I can find a good used one (anyone here?), I could have more money to use on the grinder.

Could a lever machine be a good choice for me? I mainly drink doubles but I know I'll be making some cappuccinos and lattes for my friends occasionally. I read somewhere that with Pavoni lever machines you don't need to be that accurate on temperature. Is that correct? And also, is it easy to break a lever machine accidentally?

I think that the lever Pavoni's are very easy to use once you learn how and very durable. They are not great for pulling shots for a lot of people at once, but for one or two people the quality is outstanding. Really you'd be looking at 3-4 doubles at a time max if you are steaming.

Okay, this "first impression" thing went totally wrong. I was stupid, thought that i knew something. Well, I've learned many things since the first post I think.

Now I'm considering a La Pavoni Jolly with doser and a La Pavoni Professional. Are these good selections? I have read quite much positive feedback on both, and these lever machines are also too damn beautiful

I can get these quite cheap from Ebay.de (though the shipping gets quite expensive...), and I'm ready to do some repairing/fixing/modding stuff.

So, what do you think - would this be a good combination? I drink mainly doppios, maybe two to four a day, and like everyone else here in HB seem to, I'll be making some lattes and mochas for friends occasionally

And, thanks for your replys and being so patient with me and answering to my stupid questions