I've owned a Nespresso machine since 2015 (CitiZ original pod machine) - and I guess I've been happy with it. My primary drink is a cappuccino and I suspect milk make these pretty forgiving.

YouTube videos make me think I'm missing out - especially James Hoffmann's really excellent ones. In the short term, I'm thinking I'll buy a decent hand grinder (the 1Zpresso J MAX looks pretty good) and the WACACO Picopresso. I'll definitely use this for travel anyway.

In the long run I'm wondering about the idea of getting the Rancilio Silvia Pro X for a machine. Mainly I'm thinking the dual boiler and relatively small tank sizes will make it a bit faster to make a good cappuccino and I've seen some really good reviews. The other dual boiler machine in this price range is the Profitec Pro 300, but the reviews weren't quite as good.

The part I could use some advice on is a decent espresso grinder. In the short term I would probably use my hand grinder, but that's going to get old quickly. Is there a good one for under $300? The ones I've been look at are the Baratza Sette 30 (around $300) and the Baratza Sette 270 ($400), but it looks like their may be other options at $400. Any insight anyone can offer would be great!

If you're not going into this to deeply go into a new hobby, I'd get the Sette 30. It has 31 stepped adjustments, which you can use for both espresso and brewed drinks. It's considered an all-purpose grinder. If you're fussy, you may not like the fact that the steps are a bit coarse. Thus, going between two adjacent clicks can change the pull time by a couple of seconds or so. The 270 has a few more features, most notably a second vernier grind adjustment; this allows one to fine-tune the grind to any extent one wishes. That said, while I at first used the vernier on my 270 quite a bit, eventually, I did at least 90% of my dialing in with only the stepped adjustment. If at some point you would like to have the vernier, the Sette 30 can be upgraded by installing the grind adjustment assembly from a 270. The Sette grinders punch way above their weight when it comes to cost, and produce very nice, fluffy grinds. Also, they are fast. But, quite noisy, especially if you buy an older, used one. Another benefit is that you can buy any part for it from Baratza at a reasonable price.

Very much appreciate the advice, thank you!!

It's tempting to me to start a new "Best machine under $2000" thread, but there is already a lot of advice on this forum for that category. I'll read up and post once I think I have a question that hasn't been answered.

Check out this tip from How to choose an espresso machine and grinder at the "right" price:

For other recommendations, search on title-only "budget espresso machine" or "budget espresso" or "budget grinder" to find discussions at various pricepoints.

Thank you - a lot of great advice there that I need to start absorbing.

I think I'm a ways out from committing to a machine (and grinder). But I can't help but day dream about this.

I'm a gear head and an engineer, so while the smart choice is almost certainly the Breville Dual Boiler, there are a few things I can't get around: it's too big for my available space and it's really not the type of machine I want to use and maintain. So I've been looking at the Rancilio Silvia Pro X and a few others in that price range while also seeing if I can increase my budget into the next tier of machines and grinders.