walr00s wrote:It's based on this statement from OP.

Keywords being "eventually" and "affordable home machine".

Regardless of whether or not you think 3k is doable, that's the high end of the market, but hey you do you.

What do you think of an Arrarex Caravel. Will let you enjoy it all, and they're quite cheap. This saves money for a good grinder, which you can use as a decaf/backup grinder if you eventually start.
Mind, you'll only learn how to make espresso.
In a cafe you're mostly managing time, and you won't learn that on any home machine.

Thanks for all the replies! Really helpful info.

And yeah we are looking to spend less than $5000 (especially for something to train on but maybe eventually use???)

Eventually we are hoping to get 2 units and be able to also take one on the go for catering and such.

I looked into the Decent, and it was great, but the lack of being able to steam and pull at the same time is an issue.




PS - I tried to respond earlier but kept getting a message that because of too much spamming I couldn't.