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Permalink Reply by jason robert paglia on March 7, 2008 at 4:33pm

Instead of listing off machines i would suggest you concentrate on first finding the roaster you plan on doing business with. do some research, find out what options you have locally. once you have found the best match in that area a good roaster should be able to walk you through a lot of those daunting decisions and even help you to acquire the items you need. For what it's worth i would suggest only looking at semi-automatic machines. The La Marzocco Linea is a nice place to start and you should be able to get a nice used one at that price.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Dominy on March 7, 2008 at 6:31pm

I just don't know what "expresso" is. Now, "espresso" I know. It's coffee essence and the love nectar that's forced through small holes using a fine grind packed well, giving me about an ounce and a half in 20-30 seconds. ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Jason Dominy on March 8, 2008 at 3:56am

Forgive my previous smart-alecky reply. It's just a pet peeve of mine.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on March 11, 2008 at 7:32pm

Like Jason said, find a roaster that has a great presence in your area. They can help you figure out which machines are well-supported in your area, and maybe even hook you up with a machine. A good machine with no local service techs is a bad idea. Even if you are a great mechanic and are willing to gamble on maintaining it yourself, the online parts suppliers can't be at your shop in two hours with the part that just blew and took your machine down.

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Permalink Reply by Mickael on March 21, 2008 at 11:35pm

For 5k you can get many different 2 group machines. I don't recommend E-bay you might get stuck with a machine that needs a lot of work. Work with your roaster and make sure that a service provider in your area has parts and training to work on your machine.

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Permalink Reply by Alyssa on March 26, 2008 at 3:14pm

All good advice! Here are some questions that might help your decision along. Is this a new business and are you venturing into the world of espresso for the first time? Espresso machines vary in price, quality, cost of maintenance, and performance features. A good starting point is to gauge how much business you expect to do (aka how much will this machine be used on a daily basis?). If this is for your kitchen counter at home, then $5k will be spent in a very different manner than if it is a machine intended for a espresso drive-thru. Use your roaster as a resource and secondly,keep asking questions! I'd suggest throwing out some more facts about your business and asking those with similar set-ups what they recommend. Keep reading reviews. There are some great machines out there. Make sure you inquire about installation, training, and service before making a purchase from anyone. Even the best machine will not perform unless it's installed, operated, and maintained properly :)

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Permalink Reply by Joe (Mojo) on April 1, 2008 at 7:24am

Nuova Simonelli...Aurelia. Should be able to get a two group semi automatic for just a tad more. I have bought on ebay also, 2 machines. One transaction went great, the other went sour when the seller decided to pack it in a tv box with no support just paper strips and peanuts! BY UPS non the less. Not even tagged fragile or which end up.

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