I have been doing more and more French press and pour overs between big pots of coffee and my wife got me a Breville Smart Grinder Pro. I am looking into buying a double boiler to step up into the espresso world (this is what I always order when I am out at dinner or cafe). It is obviously at a price point below most of the products that people recommend. Will that grinder perform decent enough for espresso or am I just going to be disappointed?

Another question about prosumer level machines (I am looking around the 2000 price point), are there not any that offer built in automatic on/shutoff without having to apply a smart switch or some other workaround? Not going to be a complete deal breaker, but I usually can't wait around for a half hour for my machine to wake up and would be nice if such a simple feature were just built in.

I used a smart grinder for 3 years with my Silvia. It was a reliable and enjoyable grinder to use. It made pretty good espresso. I'd say it's a good starting point.

JohnGalt1 wrote: about prosumer level machines (I am looking around the 2000 price point), are there not any that offer built in automatic on/shutoff without having to apply a smart switch or some other workaround?

While most E61 machines require 30 minutes or more to heat up, other machines heat up much faster. In your price range, you should look at Breville Dual Boiler, Lelit Elizabeth, Rancilio Silvia Pro-X, and Profitec Pro 300 to name a few. All of these heat up in around 10 minutes. The Breville includes a programmable start timer.

Thanks. Am still looking/researching but have been leaning toward the profitec 6/700 or lelit Bianca. Maybe I need to circle back around. I do think that would have an impact on usability for me.

There is no machine with more value and capability out of the box under $2000.00 than the Breville Dual Boiler. While this is one guy's opinion, I challenge you to look at the facts. The single valid argument against Breville is aesthetics.

The SGP is "good enough" for medium/dark roasts. Not great, but good. It's going to struggle and under perform if you delve into lighter roasts. Again, in the $200 price there aren't many electric grinders that are worth the money. There are quite a few manual offerings that will do the job quite nicely.

JohnGalt1 wrote:I have been doing more and more French press and pour overs between big pots of coffee and my wife got me a Breville Smart Grinder Pro. I am looking into buying a double boiler to step up into the espresso world (this is what I always order when I am out at dinner or cafe). It is obviously at a price point below most of the products that people recommend. Will that grinder perform decent enough for espresso or am I just going to be disappointed?.

My espresso journey started with a Breville Smart Grinder Pro. Everything got a lot easier, and better, when I moved to my next grinder--a Mazzer Mini. I've owned a whole lot of equipment, and this "step up" was probably the most significant.