For a grinder, try finding a used Mazzer Super Jolly. I found one at a cafe for a very reasonable price and all it required was a little cleaning. It was a fantastic buy and was way cheaper than buying one new.

cmin wrote:Plenty of grinders can grind fine enough, even a $50 crap grinder could choke a commercial machine b/c of the amount of dust/fines it produces. Think that's where a lot starting out get confused as they think a grinder that grinds fine should work. Espresso grinders have burr sets that not only grind fine, but have the correct grind quality, consistency, and fines control/reduction. And step-less adjustment or in case of the Baratza Preciso/Vario/Forte so many steps they act step-less.

I had a Gaggia New Baby for a couple of years and it did fine as long as I pulled all the shots before frothing milk.

+1- not all burr grinders do a decent job. Some of the low end ones aren't worth "beans"

The main challenge is getting a consistent fine grind with enough grind adjustment. For that you are talking a bit more extraction from the wallet. Baratza's are definitely up to the task (I went with a Mazzer myself though a friend of mine is quite happy with his Baratza Vario).

gavinpapit wrote: Here's my question, should I go the Gaggia New Baby route or the Breville Infuser?
I know the Gaggia is the more traditional espresso route and Breville is more of a home kitchen appliance company, but pre-infusion is a great thing. Breville also packs a bunch of features for a cheap price. The Gaggia though sounds interesting because of the 3-way solenoid and the brass boiler and a thermoblock for steaming.

I had a Gaggia Baby, and the most frustrating part for me was the temperature fluctuations of the brew water. Yes, there are ways that you can predict the heater cycles to pull a good shot, but for me it was a lot of work to get a marginally better result. I've had a Breville Oracle for the past 3 months, and I've been very happy with it. Granted, I have yet to use the Infuser, but I would go with the Infuser for the PID'd brew alone. Pre-infusion is interesting to play with, but stable brew temperature is a must IMO to produce good espresso.

gavinpapit wrote: Also, any grinder options for $200 or under that are worth looking at? Is the Breville smart grind any good?

Breville has a new espresso-only grinder called the Dose Control Pro and runs for $180. If you're using your grinder solely for espresso, this is probably your best budget option. Mark Prince (@coffeegeek) tested it out and found that it worked great for the price. Considering that you might be able to use a Bed Bath & Beyond 20% off coupon for the Infuser, you could get the Infuser and Dose Control Pro for around $700.

What do you think of the Ascaso I-2? I hear it has a small amount of adjustment. Are 38 mm conical burrs good?