I frequent a local coffee shop and pay about 1.5 grand a year on my morning/afternoon espresso. This shop no longer hires caring baristas so I'm wondering if I ought to venture into buying my own setup. This morning the barista didn't even bother to tamp the coffee down lol.

*My standard is an iced double espresso into which I pour a little bit of milk and sugar.*

I've been looking at taking the standard path that most newbies take by getting the silvia and rocky grinder but I'm wondering what you guys/girls think about this decision based on my ** requirements. Does putting ice ruin the taste of the espresso? Does the milk and sugar ruin the taste also?

Basically am I wasting my money based on how I like to drink my coffee or should I think about putting some money down on a setup?

Thanks a million for any help.
Jeff

eeeyyyeee wrote:This morning the barista didn't even bother to tamp the coffee down lol.

I know there are a few machines out there built for speed with what some would call a soft infusion system which relieves water pressure allowing for better extraction. Ive seen this also when waiting for a drink but the espresso turned out pretty good. I also used to spend at least $1,500/yr on hot drinks. I've saved over $1,000/yr switching to home brew beverages.

I've been looking at taking the standard path that most newbies take by getting the Silvia and rocky grinder but I'm wondering what you guys/girls think about this decision based on my ** requirements.

I only have hands on with the Silvia. I can tell you it's a great machine but it's honestly not worth the money new. It's got a few quirks that most newbies don't want to deal with.
I'd say the Crossland CC1 would be a better buy over the Silvia new or for only approx $300 more you can get an HX machine like the OS Oscar or Expobar. Regardless of the machine you choose the grinder is the important bit. It's been my experience that a stepped espressso grinder (with a lot of steps) is good but stepless is better. I've read the Rocky is alright but upgrade soon after.
I personally use a modded Macap grinder. I love it. You can get a stepless Macap M4 for around $500-$600 CAD.

Does putting ice ruin the taste of the espresso? Does the milk and sugar ruin the taste also?

I myself don't think any of the above ruins the espresso. I prefer my Americano with a bit of cream and sugar. I also pull my espresso directly over ice for an iced latte. It always tastes great unless I get lazy with my prep and ruin the pull. That's user error..

eeeyyyeee wrote:I frequent a local coffee shop and pay about 1.5 grand a year on my morning/afternoon espresso.

I started my espresso journey based on the idea that I could do it cheaper and better. I'd done it before with making pizza so I thought I'd try to do it for espresso.

That was twelve years ago. I am now using my third-generation espresso setup. I started with a krups pump machine then moved to a Starbucks Barista and now have the VBM. I started using pods then switched to a Baratza Virtuoso then moved to the Fiorenzato Doge I have now. As I gained experience my espresso improved. I have definitely saved money even after all the upgrades. I've been drinking better espresso than I can buy locally for many years, now.

I almost forgot to mention that I almost always drink my espresso cold/iced and have some amount of sugar and milk/cream. The proportions I use have changed over the years a lot as my tastes have changed.

The big lessons I've learned have been posted and discussed here many times but I'll repeat them in my words:

• The grinder is the most important. If you really want to do this then you can spend $600-1000 on a grinder and the cost will be covered in a few years.
• Temperature control really does impact the taste of the espresso you make. A good HX with the right skills can bring the control and consistency you need. A PID-controlled brew boiler can bring the control and consistency you need. In my opinion, the thermostat-controlled brew boilers (mostly found on single boiler, dual use machines) can't bring the consistency you need to regularly beat a good coffee shop's espresso.
• Once you get the consistency then changes of a few degrees can be tasted in the espresso especially when you drop out of the sweet spot into sourness or bitterness.
• Distribution and puck preparation skills bring repeatable success. In my opinion, this means weighing the dose, good distribution, and decent tamping.
• The espresso blends you like are based on your preferences and the amount of milk/cream and sugar you use impacts the flavors/notes you'll experience. You'll need to experiment with blends to find what suits your palate when it's prepared the way you like it.
• If you're making espresso every day you'll notice things about a machine's usability that you'll like, tolerate, or hate. It's hard to figure that out without some experience.

I think it's hard to make specific machine or grinder recommendations without knowing a person's idiosyncrasies. For example, I like to customize things to suit my exact preferences. I also hate waste and am willing to take steps in my preparation process to achieve consistency. Others want a minimum of muss and fuss and don't mind wasting a few grams of coffee each day. If you know these characteristics about yourself then you can get better results from others' recommendations. If not, you might plan to try some lower-cost components with the expectation that you'll upgrade once you know your preferences.