Drop the money by buying a Mahlkoenig K30 and you won't regret ever. I've now had 6 friends buy the K30 after getting used to mine. The companies I've worked for have now bought a total 5 and haven't regretted it at all. Just make sure to replace the burrs well before you hit the 1500

@clc12rock - looks like I completely chopped/hacked/mis-edited my posting. Baratza's are barely an entry level grinder. As such, you waste loads of coffee that dwarf the cost of the Baratza. For me, I had a $400 Baratza Vario and wasted pounds of expensive coffee. For making espresso, I suggest goin...

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Temple Coffee is Sacramento is phenomenal. Temple has the highest quality and best consistency from shop-to-shop and barista-to-barista than any other shop that I've been to. I've been served a number of horrendous shots from Sour Barrel (aka Four Barrel) that I gave up going to them long ago. One p...

Upgrade the grinder first. It's by far much more important as the Super Jolly is bullet proof and very good but it is really an entry level espresso grinder (I consider the others like the Mini and all Baratza as insufficient for espresso). At work we also have a Vivaldi and a Super Jolly in another...

Get the Mahlkoenig K30. You'll never look back. You'll never regret it. You'll save loads of money from the consistency of the grind. Just remember to change the burrs when they wear out in the year 2037

Spend the money on the bike. Learn how to maintain it. It really doesn't take much effort to keep it very clean....clean enough that you wouldn't hesitate to lick the top tube. People think both of my bikes are new. My now-old "rain bike" has 50,000+ miles on it and my "new" bike close to 30,000

You can mess around with a cheap grinder, throw away pounds and pounds of coffee at $18/pound and buying multiple cheaper grinders after they die, or you can buy a real grinder once, never have an issue for life while pulling tasteful shots shot after shot after shot. Get a Mazzer Major, K30 or simi...

I got a "used" Mahlkonig K30 for $1050. It had only 175 shots on it and goes without saying it's condition was "virtually new." I wouldn't be surprised the factory was responsible for 100 of those shots. It's not bad of a grinder for home use

Don't worry about setting up too early. Usually the CAT 5's go off first and they are just not worth it. In fact, even the CAT 4's, are just not worth it. Start serving with the CAT 3's but make sure to double check their bib numbers to make sure they aren't lying.