peacecup wrote:I always disagree with the outcome of these threads. If I had bought an aeropress instead of a $200 Saeco ten years ago, I may never had become an espresso lover. What's most interesting is that all of the "gurus" on HB, who have instigated and perpetuated the "buy an aeropress if you can't afford to spend $2000+ on an espresso machine and a 64-mm conical burr grinder" mantra, all started with cheap Saecos or Gaggias because that's all there was. They all graduated to Silvias (heaven forbid) as well.

Not to say that the aeropress won't make great coffee - it should be useful for years to come. But it ain't espresso, and espresso does not need to cost 2k. My 2 cents.

PC

There are plenty of threads describing value-priced choices. My recommendation to buy a good grinder and a French press isn't just about saving money, it's about learning to recognize exceptional coffee.

It's indisputable that preparing exceptional coffee via brewing techniques like French press, Aeropress, or syphon requires less of an expenditure of time and money than espresso. Learning to appreciate fine coffee via low-cost brewing techniques isn't wasteful since the taste development skills and grinder can be carried forward should your interests later include espresso. Why insist on starting with espresso given the inherently higher cost of equipment, higher learning curve, and increased coffee usage?

In other words, if I were again on a student's budget, I'd rather have exceptional coffee with negligible effort than average espresso with non-negligible effort.

On a related note, the article I wrote about espresso machines for WIRED magazine included the value-priced Gaggia New Baby ($399 but frequently discounted) and Baratza Preciso ($275). That's a far cry from the $2000+ espresso machine you claim "gurus" on this site recommend to those on a small budget. My recommendation for the WIRED article isn't new; the same basic outline is stated in the How to choose an espresso machine and grinder at the "right" price that heads the Buying Advice forum and excerpted below:

HB wrote:Q. Yikes! Is there no choice for espresso machine less than $200 worth considering?

A. One of the most frequently asked questions is "What should I get with a $500 budget?" for both espresso machine and grinder. Sadly, while entry level espresso equipment may be less expensive, what the buyer saves in dollars they pay instead in time/frustration.

<snip>

For those on very tight budgets, I recommend getting a good grinder, a French press, and excellent coffee instead of cobbling together an espresso equipment ensemble in name only. Exceptional coffee is not difficult to brew with a very modest investment, especially if you choose a manual grinder. Simply stated, exceptional espresso demands more hands-on attention and more expensive equipment than the nearly foolproof combination of good grinder + French press + excellent coffee.

When I refer to espresso equipment ensemble in name only, I mean the $35 fake burr grinders and wildly inconsistent $70 "cappuccino makers" found at your local Walmart. Plainly stated, they're a cheap way to destroy good coffee.

I have a very nice french press (espro) that I received as a gift after purchasing my espresso machine. I really enjoy it and it's a great way to brew coffee, but it's not espresso or a suitable substitute for espresso and I'm glad I bought an espresso machine...even though the cost before shipping was below $200.

When I refer to espresso equipment ensemble in name only, I mean the $35 fake burr grinders and wildly inconsistent $70 "cappuccino makers" found at your local Walmart. Plainly stated, they're a cheap way to destroy good coffee.

but I definitely agree with this.

Hi Jack,

You've got a good point, and to argue the other side (but not to disagree with you, just to highlight some merits), with an AeroPress one doesn't learn about espresso but can learn a lot about many coffees and how changes in temperature, steep time (extraction), dose and grind affect flavor for different coffees. Also I was surprised to find after getting a Pavoni that the pressure I used with the AeroPress was about equivalent to what was needed on a hand lever.

Like vacuum brew, Aeropress-made coffee tends to emphasize the mellow and is on the other side of the good-coffee universe from espresso. French Press coffee is not so much like espresso but it does reveal similar aspects; neighboring galaxies, you might say. I like both, but neither are espresso.

With the exception of Aeropress concentrate for "iced blendeds," neither makes a good base for espresso milk-drinks.

Dan's analysis of the espresso equipment market is phenomenal. But what did you expect?

My advice: If you want espresso and can at all afford it, start with espresso. If you can't afford it, but want good, strong coffee, go with an FP. Aeropress has its virtues but is something else. Buy the best grinder you can barely afford.

BDL

Dan's and Gary's points well taken. I don't doubt that one can learn a lot about making exceptional coffee going the press route. And, of course Dan has done more for helping people learn about espresso, at every budget, than most of the rest of the HB community combined.

But Dan, I wonder - if you had gone the exceptional-coffee route when you were on your student budget, would we now have the internationally-known espresso community we know as HB?

Regardless, the OP's question was

Is good espresso possible on a student's budget?

. The answer is an unequivocal yes.

peacecup wrote:But Dan, I wonder - if you had gone the exceptional-coffee route when you were on your student budget, would we now have the internationally-known espresso community we know as HB?

Hard to say, but probably not. I assume some other espresso aficionado with web development skills would have stepped in to fill the same niche HB occupies today.

I do know that my early emphasis on equipment and technique crowded out the efforts I would otherwise have put towards appreciating exceptional coffee (The problem is on the handle side of the portafilter elaborates on this point). In retrospect, I should have focused more on tasting espresso for my own enjoyment rather than treating the preparation of espresso as a type of technical challenge. That's why today I frequently recommend the taste-exceptional-coffee route, especially for those on a tight budget.

There are really at least two levels of home baristas here on HB, the very skilled, with proper tasting skills, and the rest of us.

Many of us have never had shots pulled by world-class competition baristas on the very best equipment, nor tasted the very best coffees. So when someone asks if they can make good espresso on a budget, to me it's yes. But to those with lots of experience and developed cupping skills, maybe it's no.

Perhaps Dan's advice to develop a taste for exceptional coffee is the best route to great espresso in the long term. For me it would never have worked because I can't tolerate brewed coffee.

Even with my lower-end equipment and limited experience, however, most espresso I make tastes better than almost all of the espresso I get at cafes. Even on a recent trip to Seattle, including Zokas and Stumptown, I did not taste anything better (to me) than what I make at home.

I think we all tend to forget just how rewarding those early cappuccinos were - even if the milk was poorly foamed and we needed to add a little sugar. In fact, my entrance into espresso was hot chocolate espresso (mokas). I've been thinking about having one of those again sometime.

peacecup wrote:In fact, my entrance into espresso was hot chocolate espresso (mokas). I've been thinking about having one of those again sometime.

If you ever find your way to San Francisco, they make the most wonderful mochas at Blue Bottle, where they transform rich, dark chocolate into a dense, creamy foam and combine it with a triple ristretto of third-wave coffee. Jack, I wonder what you would come up with at home if you experiment with that kind of rich slurry of deliciousness?

I really enjoyed the way this thread worked out. Now that I've become a bit more acquainted with workable equipment, my fascination is turning toward discovering coffee. Earlier this afternoon I was experimenting with brewing Counter Culture's Idido SO espresso in an espresso machine and with an AeroPress. The AeroPress was different and brought out more of the blueberry flavor (2 scoops of beans, 1/2 cup of water at 175 degrees). The espresso had more subtle florals and that rich, wonderful mouthfeel. Both were so good and so different and each was a worthwhile "take" on that coffee.

peacecup wrote:I always disagree with the outcome of these threads.

The OP has clearly written:

vincanis wrote:Recently I've become interested in making drinks with an espresso-like substance at home to save me some money.
...
I realize that you need a good burr grinder more than anything else (like a Mazzer, Macap, Krups, etc.) along with a decent machine. But I'm more looking for creating a "fake" ... espresso to mix into things.

Given these criteria, it's hard to argue with the OP's choice (an AP).

I've seen serviceable, 110-V, commercial, single-group machines around for not much more than a Baby Gaggia would run.

Details, what machines and where? How are you finding them? Going commercial would be great if I could afford it. My retail machine broke

Thankya:)