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Permalink Reply by Brady on January 9, 2009 at 1:10pm

Brandon Gott said lots of stuff, including this:

Any thoughts on the Starbucks Barista?

I personally don't think much of your average model - too much attitude, poor customer service, not enough skill. :)

Sorry... couldn't resist.

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Permalink Reply by Troy on January 9, 2009 at 1:43pm

My first semi decent machine was a used Brasilia Club, it had a everything needed to produce a good espresso.
Commercial portafilter, 3-way valve, good size boiler. Cost a couple of hundred dollars used, not sure how common they are in your parts but they also go under the name Brasilia Lady(basically same with different body) and in Europe are sold as a Reneka Duo. Never used a Silvia, but this may be a cheaper option on par with the Silvia, if you can find one.

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Permalink Reply by Adam M on January 9, 2009 at 4:34pm

Nespresso machines are very good

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Permalink Reply by Michele Smarty on August 2, 2016 at 11:23pm

You can also try some Nespresso Machine Reviews if you want to buy the best product. 

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Permalink Reply by Pellonpekko on August 5, 2016 at 1:45pm

I agree with the others on the grinder being important.

I'm doing my own research on this and also getting thorough pointers from a friend a lot further along the way of coffee, so I'll share what I am finding as it also helps me organize my own thoughts on home espresso makers.

As far as an espresso machine, it depends on the budget and what you actually want to accomplish.

If you want to experiment with pressure and temperature control and have a pressure range of between 9 and 12 bars (9 is minimum for true espresso) along with the industry standard E61 brewer group head, the very lowest prices would be about $1,200 for a semi-automatic home espresso machine with PID temperature gauge and pressure control. 

Some that meet these qualifications are the Bezzera Unica PID starting at under $1,200 or the Isomac Tea Commercial Espresso Maker with PID Display starting at under $1,600. A better one than these two would be the Rocket Espresso Giotto Premium Plus with PID starting at just under $2,000.

A cheaper alternative but which requires a lot more coffee nerdery are the fully manual hand operated espresso makers, such as the La Pavoni EPBB-8 Europiccola 8-Cup Lever Style Espresso Machine starting at under $800. If you want a PID display, you would have to install it yourself.

My friend also suggests installing a Digital Thermometer & Adapter for Exposed E61 Groupheads in addition to using a PID display in order to monitor both the boiler and group head temperature.

If you just want true espresso but do not want to experiment and modify factors depending on bean geography and roast, there are a lot of cheap espresso machines that have a one-size-fits-all approach.

This type of espresso machine may make a true espresso and usually has an attached milk frother wand. If all you want is a true espresso, a step up from a moka pot, and no adjustment or experimentation, these are for you. They often advertise a 15 bars of pressure but judging from one star reviews this may not always happen. The cheapest is a Mr. Coffee ECMP50 Espresso/Cappu​ccino Maker under $80 and these can go up to the thousands of dollars. Here, like anywhere else, you get what you pay for in quality and longevity.

Mr. Coffee and Imusa make some super cheap ones that might be better described as a modified moka pot. Their format, with a group head, portafilter, drip tray, and steam wand follows an espresso machine format, so it looks like an espresso machine but does not reach the minimum standards for true espresso.

Moka pots use 1 or 2 bars of pressure derived from steam boiling the water. The $40 one from Mr. Coffee "espresso" uses 3 bars of steam pressure and Imusa makes one that uses 5 bars. These do not even claim to make it past the 9 bars of pressure needed for a true espresso. But they are in between a true moka pot and a true espresso, along with a lack of temperature and pressure control.

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Permalink Reply by Joanna Lewis on August 16, 2016 at 8:14pm

After researching allot, I bought De Longhi EC155 and i am happy with this decision, as with brewing good Espresso at standard temperature, you can brew cappuccino with effective frothier and best part is with ground coffee, you can use ESE pods with this. So it will work as kcup type machine too for quick coffee. Its also best seller at Amazon, so that much peoples cant be wrong.

But personally, i feel we will get best taste when we ground beans just before brewing but first grinding with grinder then using it in machine, take too much time and  manual work. So i am thinking to buy a Coffee maker with grinder, i am thinking for Cuisinart 550BK, as its listed on best models. do anyone use bean to cup machines?

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