Apologies for redundancy, but I am looking for a "budget" espresso machine. I don't care about foaming milk and I don't need to make several in a row. I used to use a Gaggia Coffee and a Gaggia Baby Class with a Baratza Virtuoso grinder and would get great sweet, syrupy doppios using Counter Culture "Big Trouble" espresso blend.

My problem became that as mornings got busier with prepping children to go to school I didn't have the time for my full espresso ritual. I gave up on espresso and have been drinking auto-drip that I grind the night before. Lately I am really craving that syrupy, sweet black gold that I used to go to bed dreaming of having in the morning.

So my question is, are there any recommendations for "budget" machines, (yes, possibly even with pressurized portafilters) that can make a consistently good tasting espresso? I have been looking at the De'longhi Dedica, Breville Duo Temp Pro, and the like and the reviews are impossible to dissect since many of the reviewers start with "I picked up some vanilla syrup and beans from Charbucks..." I still have my tamper and grinder but I'm looking for something that can be consistent without quite the same level of attention that the Gaggia's required.

If you are thinking "if you don't have the time to put into it then maybe you should just drink Folgers" then please disregard this message.

Thanks for any suggestions.

No experience at all with it, and probably out of the price range you're considering, but I've seen people recommend the Breville Oracle as making okay espresso without much "fiddling."

You're pretty much always going to sacrifice quality at the expense of speed/ease of use (especially at a similar price point).

JavaBuzz wrote:No experience at all with it, and probably out of the price range you're considering, but I've seen people recommend the Breville Oracle as making okay espresso without much "fiddling."

You're pretty much always going to sacrifice quality at the expense of speed/ease of use.

The Oracle serves its purpose well. It doesn't save much time, but it is very clean and easy to use. Mine did what I needed it too when I had it, but I found myself wanting something more simple. Towards the end of my time with it I had the hopper loaded with decaf for evening drinks and I was using the Q9 as my morning grinder. The Oracle is basically a 920 with auto grind/tamp and auto milk frother, and I don't think he would ever get the value out of the auto milk frother. His money might be better used on a 920 and good grinder or some other combo. The Profitec 300 comes to mind.

I guess the current big questions then are the price point you're looking for and how important speed/ease of use is in the equation (important enough to sacrifice significant quality, slight quality, etc.).

Thanks for the quick responses! I am willing to sacrifice a little quality for speed/cleanliness but I would also like to stay in the sub $500 market.

15 bar of pump pressure one double per day without cheap aluminum and plastic? How hard can it be?

15 bar of pump pressure is meaningless. It's advertising fluff. You don't want more than 9 or 10 bar, so these machines are set up to actually deliver less pressure at the brew group anyway. And a pressurized portafilter won't deliver what you were able to achieve with the Gaggia and a decent grinder.

This may help put things in perspective.

How to choose an espresso machine and grinder at the "right" price

Pod machines from Illy and Nespresso are about as easy as it comes, and produce drinkable shots that you would expect to get at any non-specialty coffee place. The machines are decently cheap, but then you are locked into whatever pod system they use.

Good to exceptional espresso unfortunately takes time and the right (read expensive for the most part) equipment.

Just my .02

+1 on the nespresso pods

my father-in-law has a Nespresso and I have been pretty underwhelmed with the "espresso" that I have gotten from it, although I haven't actually seen how he does it - the Gaggia Baby Class took ESE pods and they weren't too bad in a pinch, I may go that route

I've been surprised by nespresso. I've used when staying with friends and family. A little work and careful pod selection and you can get a decent shot. Better than many cafe's actually.

Here's what I found:
- Use good water. Filtered water at a minimum (same as an espresso machine)
- Keep the machine clean. I do a blank shot after ever real one. Dirty machines will always taste bad.
- Do a short shot! Long shots will always be over extracted. These are all in lungo range. Short shots only.
- If you want an Americano, once again short shot! Eject the pod and use the machine for on demand hot water if you want something longer.
- If you want more coffee, brew another capsule. No more good will come of the capsule by running more water through it.
- Doing the above, start trying different pods. Some/many are burnt coffee, but some actually taste okay. Not great, but very reasonable and surprising.

Nespresso is quick, easy and passable. Clean up is a snap. Just a water flush. Maybe good for this dad.
Their milk frother doesn't create microfoam for latte art (I've tried) but it does heat and sweeten the milk.

As James Hoffman wrote in his blog article, we should take more notice. Doing the above, while using one of the better pod options and I bet everyone here would be surprised. Nespresso as a system is very intelligently designed, and works great. If they start finding and roasting better coffee's and bring the price down some, it will be a fully disruptive technology.