Advice for a espresso machine. Budget ~1500 euros

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
phmcd
Posts: 2
Joined: 4 years ago

#1: Post by phmcd »

Hello,
I'm a complete newbie and never owned an espresso machine before. This month I bought the Sette 270 wi and next month I'm planning to buy an espresso machine. My budget for the machine alone is around 1500 euros.

My priorities are:
[*] I don't plan to entertain often
[*] the majority of my drinks are with milk
[*] as a mathematician I would like to really dive in and profile the variables to make a good shot (or avoid previous mistakes)
[*] aesthetics is not my biggest concern
[*] reliability. I want something that lasts and let me practice and advance without changing the machine.
[*] a machine that I only need run routine maintenance, I don't feel comfortable to open the machine and fix it myself.

I hope I'm not searching for a unicorn. Thanks in advance for the help.

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TomC
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Joined: 13 years ago

#2: Post by TomC »

Hi Paulo, welcome to HB!

Your budget and your wish list leaves you many many options. Do you want only new or are you considering well built vintage gear? For a hard working, reliable and well built machine that heats up quickly, I often suggest simple home levers like a La Pavoni Europiccola. They steam well enough and the shots can be tweaked quite a bit because it's manually driven.
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phmcd (original poster)
Posts: 2
Joined: 4 years ago

#3: Post by phmcd (original poster) »

Hi Tom, thanks for your suggestion. I would prefer buying something new

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TomC
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Joined: 13 years ago

#4: Post by TomC replying to phmcd »

For folks wanting new, on a slight budget I'm quick to recommend the Crossland CC1. Covers your bases. No frills, but reliable. But there are others that are likely better choices that get closer to your stated budget. Back when I jumped into espresso, I took the lazy route in terms of researching machines, (there weren't nearly as many options though) and worked some overtime and bought a Izzo Duetto. I'd probably still own it today if i wasn't worried about future maintenance in such a tightly packed space. There's so many more affordable E61 econo-boxes nowadays, I have problems keeping up with them.

https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/cross ... so-machine
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skansen
Posts: 160
Joined: 5 years ago

#5: Post by skansen »

phmcd wrote:Hello,
My priorities are:
[*] I don't plan to entertain often
[*] the majority of my drinks are with milk
[*] as a mathematician I would like to really dive in and profile the variables to make a good shot (or avoid previous mistakes)
[*] aesthetics is not my biggest concern
[*] reliability. I want something that lasts and let me practice and advance without changing the machine.
[*] a machine that I only need run routine maintenance, I don't feel comfortable to open the machine and fix it myself.
I suggest new Lelit Mara-X. Well built, Italian made machine...