Any suggestions on what espresso machine to buy for home use?

I would like a manual espresso where I can use my own beans (I do roast on hot top home roaster), that makes great espresso and will last a long long time. I do not want fully automatic machine that will do everything for me.

The budget is about $750. Should I go with cheaper machine first, learn the ropes and then upgrade at this point? In either case, what is your recommended machine?

Eventually, I plan to use this machine for events as I am actually just starting out in the world of roasting and plan to expand. Who knows maybe cafe down the road (but that will require new search for a real pro machine) but need to understand all there is about espresso machines and how to pull good shots, make lattes and cappuccinos.

Not because I just got one but because of the refillable tank, transportation ease, and ability to automate, set your vol. Or just by time to pull shots. You can also manually do so. Also using the universal 58mm portafilter size, it allows easy to find accessories. Pulling a shot and steaming at the same time as well, I am speaking of the breville bes920xl ofcourse. I can't think of another great machine for this price point. I just got mine (recent production date) for under your budget!

They have a 2 year factory warranty and great customer service. There is one on Ebay right now for 700.

I won't please a certain crowd by saying this but I would stay away from Breville. It may be the best cup pricewise, have a double boiler and PID plus the ability to mod it for pressure profiling... BUT a quick search will inform you about repetitive solenoid failures, cheap plastic parts, continuous issues after the 2 year warranty, etc.

I would also stay away from smaller single boilers machine since they require a waiting time for the boiler to get up to steaming temperature and are far from workhorses when it comes to doing multiple drinks in a row.

I would look for a heat exchanger with or without a E61 group to start with. They are simple machines that require some time to learn how to manage the extraction temperature but they are often very reliable and easy to repare.

1st one that comes in mind is the old Pasquini Livia (Bezzera bz99). Built like a commercial machine but tank fed and in smaller footprint. There are a few within your budget on the bay right now. If you're lucky, you might also find some older HX with E61 groups within your budget.

You haven't mentioned any grinder... Do you already own a capable grinder or must it be included in the $750 budget?

IMHO, your budget is insufficient. Machines that can produce the volume with convenience, consistency and reliability for events cost far more than this. You need a machine that can be plumbed into supply water and drain (probably not an end consumer machine). You may need several groups (definitely a commercial machine). You would at least need something that can steam and pull simultaneously (HX or DB with larger boiler(s), not SB or thermoblock). But, perhaps I misunderstand; what do you mean by events? What sort of volume would you need to produce at these events to keep up with the demand?

Codyjphoto wrote:Not because I just got one but because of the refillable tank, transportation ease, and ability to automate, set your vol. Or just by time to pull shots. You can also manually do so. Also using the universal 58mm portafilter size, it allows easy to find accessories. Pulling a shot and steaming at the same time as well, I am speaking of the breville bes920xl ofcourse. I can't think of another great machine for this price point. I just got mine (recent production date) for under your budget!

They have a 2 year factory warranty and great customer service. There is one on Ebay right now for 700.

Thanks for the input, Codyjphoto! I was close to buying Breville at Bed Bath with 20% off then started doing some research and found they break often as mentioned in below post. But then again... maybe its worth buying one off craigslist (found some for about $100/200) learning to make cappuccinos and learning ropes and then upgrade? I don't know. How long do you need to wait between the shots and how long does it take to warm up?

I think it is humorous that many point to the BDB as failure-prone when there are numerous threads about many machines with issues.

The BDB is still the best bang-for-buck machine out there.

My 870xl was ready to pull a shot in like a minute. The BDB or 920xl takes 10 minutes to warm up but has an auto on so you can schedule it to your alarm every morning. I've read the breville thread on this forum thoroughly and am not at all dissatisfied with my purchase. It's a beautiful machine to learn on but you'll need to buy a grinder to pair with it.

Between my two espresso machines and commercial cafe grinder, I have I have about 1500 usd. Very cheap by many members standards.

As far as I can tell, the industry standard for a small volume, portable, commercial machine is the La Marzocco Linea Mini. The price is no where near your target budget though, coming in at $4-5k. Most cafes that I visit have one in the back room for hauling around to catering events.

The BDB is pretty close to your price range and suitable for the home, but it isn't going to hold up to the demands of commercial shot pulling. The boiler is too small to keep up with peak demand of something like a small wedding. That said, if the $100 offer is real then you have an absolute bargain and should jump on it, even if only for the home use.

$750 is low for a machine that will do events.

I haven't used the Breville line, but they are cheaper than most. Some of the newer HX designs with PID have slow rebound times and so you can't make, say, 5 espressos in less than 20 minutes. At least not on my Profitec Pro 500 PID. That is about an $1800 USD machine. The latest HX designs have more aggressive thermosyphon designs that reduce the need to learn flushing techniques, but the trade-off seems to be slow rebound time. The older HX designs are much faster, but you'd need to develop a flushing routine that give proper brew water temp.

I really feel that if you are going to really learn about espresso with a wide range of roasts, you need to know what the brew water temp is doing. Most machines have no mechanism for telling you that. A serious limitation. Thus many buy external thermometers for their E61 group. ($100). If you can borrow a SCACE, that is even better.

I'd use the $750 is get a used machine that you think will give you the best learning experience. No matter what, that first machine will teach you many of the things to look for in the next machine (when the budget is more )

LObin wrote:I won't please a certain crowd by saying this but I would stay away from Breville. It may be the best cup pricewise, have a double boiler and PID plus the ability to mod it for pressure profiling... BUT a quick search will inform you about repetitive solenoid failures, cheap plastic parts, continuous issues after the 2 year warranty, etc.

I would also stay away from smaller single boilers machine since they require a waiting time for the boiler to get up to steaming temperature and are far from workhorses when it comes to doing multiple drinks in a row.

I would look for a heat exchanger with or without a E61 group to start with. They are simple machines that require some time to learn how to manage the extraction temperature but they are often very reliable and easy to repare.

1st one that comes in mind is the old Pasquini Livia (Bezzera bz99). Built like a commercial machine but tank fed and in smaller footprint. There are a few within your budget on the bay right now. If you're lucky, you might also find some older HX with E61 groups within your budget.

You haven't mentioned any grinder... Do you already own a capable grinder or must it be included in the $750 budget?

Thanks, LObin! I like this post. Very helpful to further narrow down my search. HX (heat exchanger) helps to pull a shot and steam milk simultaneously? I see that the Pasquini Livia you mentioned is discontinued but i don't think this is a big deal...as you mentioned parts are easily accessible and replaceable which meets my requirement to have something that can last a long time. I found one on eBay for $215+ shipping and seems like a steal...however that cheap makes me worry if something big is wrong with it.

I currently have Baratza Encore grinder. It grinds for espresso. However, I think I would need a new grinder specific for espresso - something that can count how many grams it grinds before automatically stops to grind?