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Permalink Reply by Jen Hurd on January 13, 2017 at 9:11am

Hey, Jeremy, and welcome! My advice would be to use caution when buying used. Just like a used car, unless you have equipment checked out, you don't know how it's been handled and maintained. Some espresso tech companies will sell refurbished machines, but it would really depend on the price and the warranty.
My advice with equipment is to buy new when possible. What machines are you looking at?

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy on January 13, 2017 at 11:33am

Hi Jen, thanks for the reply. I have been looking at a couple different brands, but I keep coming across many positive reviews on the Gaggia 14101 Classic. I would really like to be around $200. A Breville or something with a quality grinder is attractive, I just can't warrant spending $500+ at this time.

Any ideas?!

Thanks again!  

Jen Hurd said:

Hey, Jeremy, and welcome! My advice would be to use caution when buying used. Just like a used car, unless you have equipment checked out, you don't know how it's been handled and maintained. Some espresso tech companies will sell refurbished machines, but it would really depend on the price and the warranty.
My advice with equipment is to buy new when possible. What machines are you looking at?

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Permalink Reply by Mason Salisbury on January 14, 2017 at 7:37am

I would just save your money because you will get that machine and then a month later after realizing you are starting to learn things you will want a Double boiler machine. Save money and wait till you have enough to get a gs3 or one group slayer or even a linea classic one group or Linea mini. I know a lot of people in your situation and they get the machine and then say I should have just waited. But if you are to get breville you have to get there double boiler version it's the only semi decent one.

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Permalink Reply by Jen Hurd on January 16, 2017 at 11:51am

Once again, I totally agree with Mason. :) A GS3, one group Slayer, or one group Linea is going to serve you well in the future and be a better investment. It's going to be difficult to find a great home machine for under $1k.

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Permalink Reply by John P on January 16, 2017 at 4:12pm

Agreed.

And as we fancy coffee folk often say, "Grinder first." So whatever you are thinking about in terms of total budget, know that the grinder is the more important (and often overlooked) purchase.

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy on January 18, 2017 at 5:33am

I've been doing some research between double boiler and heat exchange machines. Out of curiosity, why do you prefer double boiler for a home espresso machine? I'm assuming majority of the commercial machines will be dual boiler for drink turnaround?

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Permalink Reply by Jen Hurd on January 18, 2017 at 9:46am

Nailed it, John!!!

John P said:

Agreed.

And as we fancy coffee folk often say, "Grinder first." So whatever you are thinking about in terms of total budget, know that the grinder is the more important (and often overlooked) purchase.

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Ahuja on December 1, 2018 at 8:25pm

I would suggest to spend on a grinder like Baratza Encore along with the Espresso machine Gaggia Classic. Use them for a year and then sell them to another newbie. You are just starting out so spending a fortune in something you don't know might take you in a wrong direction.

Know the things first, thereafter you will know the requirements for your next machine.

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Permalink Reply by Diana Hills on January 21, 2019 at 9:16pm

It's been a long time since your last post, but let me add my two cents. 
I'd recommend you to look for separate machines for coffee brewing and grinder, since in-built grinders are usually cheap. And cheap grinder will not provide as much satisfaction as going the whole 9 yards. It could be tricky, yes, but you can find both grinder and coffee machine for this budget. Gaggia Classic would be perfect for the beginning. And take a Breville (they have a really good one, Smart Pro) or Baratza (Encore for instance, or Virtuozo - if you have a extra money) for the grinder. 
Though, my grandparents use all in one machine from De'Longhi (it's ESAM 3300, I believe), but, personally, I'm not a big fan of super automatic machines. 

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