Greetings,

I just want to skip the introduction (sorry, I know it is rude) and go straight to my dilemma.
I am a newbie and looking to buy my first espresso set. I was amazed by the wide range of equipment, and got really confused on what to get to serve my goals properly.

my golas or interest currently is to experience with wide range of beans and roasting at home, I really want to learn how to make a good espresso shot.

after an extensive search, I decided to go with the a lever espresso machine. I was between the ponte vecchio (lusso or Export) and the bezzera strega. I then decided that the Ponte Vecchio is better because it look simpler. But I cant decide between the Export and the Lusso, is it just size? I want to pull many shots per day for my experiments.

as for the grinder, I read that the grinder is really important, that you must invest in a very good one. But I noticed that there is a lot to consider. what I think I need currently is an espresso grinder only, to be small for home use but without any compromise in terms of quality of the grind. I am welling to spend 2000 USD for a good grinder.

I hope I can get good advice from you guys. thanks in advance!

The Lusso is better for pulling many shots - bigger boiler and more temperature-stable.

$2000 should be plenty of grinder for a Lusso - there is a lot of research you can do on HB about grinders in that price range.

Strega is much better choice than either Lusso or MCal. Its not much more complex than Lusso and its build quality is miles better. Additionally it uses standard 58mm baskets and you will have plenty of choices of which basket to use. On Lusso you have no choice and it uses small non standard baskets. Additionally Lusso shots are really small and the machine is best suited for very short ristrettos where it excels. With Strega you can make anything you want...

So my advice is get Strega or if you can stretch your budget Londinium I.

Salaam Ali,

The Ponte Vecchios are not better than the Strega because they look simpler, they're not even much simpler. And although I'm not a lever guy, I'd venture to say they're not better at all, just cheaper and considerably less versatile.

Nothing against levers, they're great and all... but they have their limitations and are not the easiest way to get started. I'm not trying to dissuade you, but would like to know about the rationale behind the choice.

With you budget for machine and grinder, which I gather can go over $3K USD, you should at least consider a Breville Double Boiler 920XL (aka "BDB", $1300) and a "big flat" grinder (e.g., Ceado E37s and Mahlkonig K30 Vario, each ~$1600). That setup is nearly ideal for a someone who doesn't know too much about the craft of espresso (yet) but wants to get the most from a lot of different beans; and it's also reasonably versatile with adequate steaming and good recovery speed.

On the other hand, if you know that you plan to make a lot of milk drinks, you might to choose a machine with more steam power than the BDB like a prosumer HX, or -- if your budget could stretch as far as $4K -- a prosumer DB.

Rich

drgary wrote:As Jack has noted, buy a Ponte Vecchio machine from a reputable dealer, because although the shot quality is quite good and they're easy to use, build quality is often a problem. If you're going to spend that much for a grinder and want something simple with a relatively small footprint and a somewhat larger shot, you might consider an Elektra Microcasa a Leva.

I consider build quality to be very important due to the fact that I will order the machines online, since we have no retailers for such machines.

ds wrote:Strega is much better choice than either Lusso or MCal. Its not much more complex than Lusso and its build quality is miles better. Additionally it uses standard 58mm baskets and you will have plenty of choices of which basket to use. On Lusso you have no choice and it uses small non standard baskets. Additionally Lusso shots are really small and the machine is best suited for very short ristrettos where it excels. With Strega you can make anything you want...

So my advice is get Strega or if you can stretch your budget Londinium I.

this is very interesting. so the Strega uses a standardized portafilter? I mean can I have a bottomless portafilter with it also?

boar_d_laze wrote:Salaam Ali,

The Ponte Vecchios are not better than the Strega because they look simpler, they're not even much simpler. And although I'm not a lever guy, I'd venture to say they're not better at all, just cheaper and considerably less versatile.

Nothing against levers, they're great and all... but they have their limitations and are not the easiest way to get started. I'm not trying to dissuade you, but would like to know about the rationale behind the choice.

With you budget for machine and grinder, which I gather can go over $3K USD, you should at least consider a Breville Double Boiler 920XL (aka "BDB", $1300) and a "big flat" grinder (e.g., Ceado E37s and Mahlkonig K30 Vario, each ~$1600). That setup is nearly ideal for a someone who doesn't know too much about the craft of espresso (yet) but wants to get the most from a lot of different beans; and it's also reasonably versatile with adequate steaming and good recovery speed.

On the other hand, if you know that you plan to make a lot of milk drinks, you might to choose a machine with more steam power than the BDB like a prosumer HX, or -- if your budget could stretch as far as $4K -- a prosumer DB.

Rich

Salaam Rich,

for the grinder, I was eying the K30 for some time now, I think I will go with it. But I always read about the Super Jolly, what about it? is it robust like the K30? or both are just in a different league?

as for the machine, I think I will go with the Strega if it is better in build quality, I really want to start with a lever machine, I find it more charming. Also, I have no interest in making milk drinks. my goal for now is to try to perfect my espresso skills.

The strega comes with two portafilters; you can have the bottom machined off one of them and still have a spare for splitting shots. It cost me $40 to have mine done at a local machine shop. Alternatively, it looks like they're being sold at idrinkcoffee.