I can make good coffee with my current setup: Hario mini, kettle, Aeropress or french press. However, this is becoming torture when I have guests over, so I'd like to buy some equipment.

I'm looking for that magic price-point right before diminishing returns. As an example, I ruled out Technivorm vs. the Bonavita, because *I* probably couldn't taste the difference - they both appear to make good coffee.

My research has gotten me to:

Drip Machine
- [*] Bonavita BV1800 - $129.99
- Brazen Plus - $199.99

Grinder
- Baratz Encore - $129.00
- Baratz Virtuoso - $229.00
- [*] Gaggia MDF - $210.99
- Rancilio Rocky Doserless - $352.97
- Baratza Vario 886 Ceramic - $479.99

Espresso Machine
- Gaggia Classic - $365.99

where [*] represents my current best guess at what I should do.

Thoughts...
1) I need the drip machine for daily use and for guests. I'll make 2 pots per day, more with guests.
2) I'll purchase the drip machine and grinder immediately, after some time I'll pick up an espresso machine
3) Can I get away with the MDF for this setup?


What would you do?

You said you're looking for the price point where the law of diminishing returns takes effect, which I think is super smart, but this magical spot is variable based on the users taste, experience and wallet size. Taste and experience are harder to define, but budget is pretty concrete. When all is said and done, what is your budget?

The reason I ask is because espresso preparation, as it relates to hardware, is much more expensive than drip methods, and it surprises me a bit that one would spend $120 - $200 on a dripper and ~$350 on an espresso machine. You can get into the drip game for a less money (I think) with a big Press Pot or Chemex and a Goose Neck Kettle.

You're also bound to get advice that says:
1) The star of the show is the grinder, spend the most here.
and
2) You may find it to be a pain to use the same grinder for Drip and Espresso.

For me, all of the grinders listed here would be a headache for espresso, and some overkill for drip/presspot. Depending on your commitment to home espresso, I would go to a less flashy grinder for your Drip, something like a Capresso Infinity (89.99) and move to AT LEAST The Rancilio Rocky for espresso (although many including myself will tell you that if you are committed to preparing good espresso, the Rocky just won't cut it.)

I don't want to be the guy telling you SPEND SPEND SPEND, but I don't know your budget and I have a fair idea (based on experience and anecdotal evidence) of what happens when you buy espresso equipment at the bottom of the totem pole.

TL;DR
Spend less on a drip grinder, much more on an espresso grinder. The rest of the equipment is just a hot water delivery system.

Do you have a budget you're shooting to stay under?

Focusing on the espresso side here:
Many people here, for an espresso grinder, would probably recommend not going much less than a Vario (ceramic burrs) or Pharos, if you can afford it.

If you're not tight-budgeted, know you like espresso, and think you'll drink espresso more than once or twice a week, I'd recommend something better than a Gaggia Classic. The Gaggia, though very good for its price range, has issues with temp stability, which can strongly affect shot quality. If you want good espresso, you'll end up temp surfing (time-consuming, and I found turned espresso making into a chore), PID-ing (~$200), or upgrading soon after.

This is from experience owning a Gaggia and now a Breville BES920. If you have the budget, I'd recommend considering a Crossland CC1 as a minimum (unless you're not sure you'll make espresso very often).

Assuming you are limited to a budget of ~1000$ this is what I would get:

For drip:

Encore + Bonavita 1800

For espresso:

Pharos + used La Pavoni.

The little Gaggia will struggle to brew and steam milk quickly for guests, the La Pavoni is a good steamer and a nice platform for learning.

Kfir.

I totally agree with you @JerDGold about the magical-price-point being a relative measure. I should have pretexted my statement with defining where that is for me. I'll put it this way, I generally don't mind a Starbucks espresso, but I definitely prefer my local artesian coffee house.

I'd like to go with an automatic machine for drip coffee because I'm tired of making coffee for everyone . And frankly, they're tired of watching me manually grind the beans . I love the idea of pressing a button, waiting a few minutes, and having a pot of coffee made - something my wife wouldn't mind doing as well.

Based on what y'all are saying, it looks like I need to spend more money to get into the espresso game (which is fine). I like the idea of decoupling the drip machinery from the espresso gear. So, I guess at this point, I'll hold off on buying the espresso equipment until I can wrap my head around spending more cash.

Focusing on the drip grinder/machine, do the following choices look good?

Drip Grinder
- [*] Capresso Infinity - $95.95 (all current Amazon prices)
- Baratza Encore $129.00

Drip Machine
- [*] Bonavita BV1800 - $129.99
- Brazen Plus - $199.99

Espresso Grinder/Machine
- On hold for now

One consideration: Since you will be switching back and forth between espresso and drip with the one grinder, it might be worth considering a Stepped model.

While this won't give the same level of adjustment accuracy, it is much more suitable if you're having to switch between the two styles.

I pulled the trigger on the Capresso Infinity and Bonavita BV1800. In the near future I'll purchase an espresso grinder and an espresso machine... just need to poke around on these forums a bit more

Thanks everyone for the help!

With the Infinity just be sure after you have ground your dose to pick it up tilt to the front turn it on and pat it on the back like you would burp a baby. Otherwise lots of coffee will stay in it.