Purchasing my first espresso machine, max budget $2000 - Page 3

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
uscmatt99
Posts: 32
Joined: 8 years ago

#21: Post by uscmatt99 »

I've been in a similar position as you, and have no real experience in the espresso realm. But I like to buy once, buy right.

Just for an alternative perspective, from a practical standpoint I'd only go with an HX machine if I could fully plumb the machine, not an option for me. I got the sense there would be a fair amount of water turnover from flushing and such, and was drawn then to the DB machines. These are mostly above $2K for an E61, and from what I looked at, the Quickmill Vetrano 2B was on my short list. Chris Coffee dropped the price temporarily from $2400 to either $2000 or $2100 earlier in the year for what it's worth. As a vendor, he seems to provide excellent support as well.

But in the end, I went an entirely different route and ordered a Londinium L1. Commercial spring lever group on a kitchen counter friendly machine, pretty easy to use, great steaming power (lots of milk drinks at home). It's been through enough iterations that it seems reliable now, and the owner, while far away from the US, has a good history of supporting his customers. The final straw for me was the favorable exchange rate. Today it would cost you $2015 (USD) plus around $120 shipping and $70-80 import duties.

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