Howdy!

First post here, new to home brew. I currently enjoy French press but I want to make my own espresso. Currently using pre ground beans with it - I know I know, it's a disgusting habit. I've had many late nights reading these forums and many many others, it's a lot of info to digest lol. My main drinks at a coffee shop are espressos or Americanos. No sugar no milk.

I want a grinder that can do French press as well as espresso, so I've been looking at the Baratza Vario. Any reason to go with something else close in price? Likely will switch between grind settings for French press and espresso often, I'm open to anything that will make my life easier in that regard.

So for the machine, I'm having a tough time landing on something. I'll be making two coffees a day, I don't care about milk because I don't use it but it'd be nice to have the option for friends etc. So far I'm between the Lelit Anna with PID, and the Crossland CC1 V2. The price is the same. The Crossland has a PID as well as pre-infusion which appears to be desirable from what I read - but it's not recommended as often as the Anna. Is the build quality vastly different between them? Are they both repairable when something breaks? (I'm very mechanically inclined). Should I step up to a Lelit Glenda for any reason?

I firmly have no interest in anything manual, I'll never use it (I know me). I also don't want to have to fiddle with it each use. I know there will be a lot of trial and error to find my stride and I have no problem with that - actually I'm excited for it! I love having a lot of options to dial something in. But my goal is to be able to dial it in to what I like and just make my coffee each morning.

I didn't really start with a budget in mind, but a Vario and a CC1 is about $1200ish. I'd go up to $1500ish if it makes sense to get something higher quality or better in some way.

Thanks in advance and I'm excited to start this journey!

New user here and pondering some similar questions. My thinking is that Glenda's 58 mm group head makes life easier from accessories viewpoint. Especially if one is to own the equipment for several years. It seems that Glenda lacks the pressure gauge, however. As for Crossland, I really like its features for the price-point but the build seems too unattractive (and rather lackadaisical) to place it next to my Niche, which is a rather beautiful piece of equipment.

I'd be curious to know if you have any advice or updates to share since your original post.