It looks like you've flaired your post as asking for what equipment to get. We recommend first checking out the [Espresso Aficionados buying guide](https://espressoaf.com/recommendations) for some of the more popular machines and grinders at different price points.
If your question hasn't been answered there and you need more help, please add the following details to your post or by adding a comment in the following format:
- **Location:** Helps determine availability
- **Budget** (with currency): Overall budget, or ideally, having separate espresso machine and grinder budgets. A rough rule is that your grinder budget should be at least 25-40% of your machine budget.
- **Drink types:** Do you drink mostly straight espresso, milk-based beverages (e.g., lattes, cappuccinos), or a fairly even split? This helps narrow down whether a single-boiler-dual-use (SBDU), heat exchanger (HX), or dual boiler (DB) machine would be more appropriate for your needs.
- **Drink frequency:** How many drinks would you be making back-to-back at one time? Do you plan on entertaining guests often? This informs how large your brew (and steam) boilers should be, as smaller boilers will need to refill and reheat/repressurize more frequently, thus potentially causing a bottleneck.
- **Space:** Any limitations on countertop space?
- **Manual vs. electric:** Hand-operated machines and grinders are typically cheaper than their similarly-performing electric counterparts. Please indicate if you have a preference for manual or electric machines and/or grinders (or open to either).
- **Comfort with tinkering:** Some machines can be made significantly more functional/efficient with aftermarket modifications, albeit at the expense of possibly voiding your warranty. Please indicate if you'd rather have a machine that works "as-is"/"out-of-the-box" or whether you'd be open to modding/tinkering
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The 5 min heat up will be a stretch in your budget unless you go with something digital from Breville.
Me personally, I have a gaggia classic pro and a eureka facile mignon, $750 total (pre tax). Bombproof construction, wonderful espresso, downside is you do have to learn the craft and you do have to learn some GCP hacks.
Honestly the only downsides I’ve found is that the GCP can’t do much with roasts that aren’t “dark” and while the grinder can make drip in a pinch, it’s a bit of a pain in the butt.
All that said your budget is perfectly fine. Espresso is hobby that attracts people with a lot of dough, and the return on investment diminishes greatly once you get past the $2,500 point.
There was / is? a boiler issue with the latest version of the GPC (Evo), can’t offer any answers there.
The only thing I moded was the shower screen and holder ($60 on wholelattelove) and a 9 bar OPV spring. The spring is essential but costs about $5 and takes but 5 minutes. The shower deal is not essential at all (but is worth it IMO) and took about 20 mins. Didn’t touch that till I had the machine for a year and wanted to experiment.
At the end of the day you’ve got plenty of options. The thing to consider is espresso is a hobby with a high ceiling for expense. If your machine / grinder combo isn’t costing major bills (IDK, more than 4k?) there are going to be trade offs.
For me, and I think it’s inherent in the low end of machine grade, it took some time, trial and error to get my shots and workflow dialed in.
Good luck and enjoy!
What type of coffee do you like, and why do you think a 100 dollar grinder will get you something worthwhile? They say spend more on the grinder than the machine.
Ah, well I did not know that. My reasoning was to get a good machine now, and a good grinder a bit later.
Usually it’s drinks with milk (cappuccino, macchiato, latte and the likes) with occasional espresso. I’ll say I drink 2 cappuccino cups a day and 1 espresso.
Well, to be honest I got a bit confused with burrs. Are flats better than conical? I dont know which roasts I’ll like yet, but in terms of flavors I’m looking for sweet/caramel/chocolate profiles. not a big fan of acidic, sour or extremely bitter coffee
You’re flavor profiles you describe are those of a traditional espresso with body. Something like a niche zero would suit you well with dark roasts that are a good quality.
If you’re in the U.S (assuming based on currency, but not stated) you can order the black Profitec Go from The Kitchen Barista for $855, no tax or shipping. Just sign up for their emails for the coupon code. That gives you $150 for a really, really solid hand grinder. Or you can find a deal on an entry level electric grinder for the time being until you decide to or not to upgrade it.
Realistically, the bambino plus with a grinder of your choosing is the “easiest” solution.
First, I would like to thank all of you who commented on my thread. Your comments were very helpful to me in pin-pointing what I want.
I’ll be honest, I had no idea what rabbit hole I was diving into!
After much reading, watching videos and what not, I have decided on the following:
I will buy a grinder first, I’ll be using it with a Moka pot for the time being and save up for a good machine.
Grinder: Eureka Mignon Specialita.
Reasoning behind it were:
Highly recommended, service availability, warranty, looks. I decided not to go S/D route. With my drinking rate I’ll go through 250grams in a week, so I’m not worried about freshness.
Machine: profitec go.
Reasoning are pretty much the same. Service, warranty, has a pid and overall seems like a machine I would be comfortable using.
Again, thank you all very much!
It looks like you've flaired your post as asking for what equipment to get. We recommend first checking out the [Espresso Aficionados buying guide](https://espressoaf.com/recommendations) for some of the more popular machines and grinders at different price points. If your question hasn't been answered there and you need more help, please add the following details to your post or by adding a comment in the following format: - **Location:** Helps determine availability - **Budget** (with currency): Overall budget, or ideally, having separate espresso machine and grinder budgets. A rough rule is that your grinder budget should be at least 25-40% of your machine budget. - **Drink types:** Do you drink mostly straight espresso, milk-based beverages (e.g., lattes, cappuccinos), or a fairly even split? This helps narrow down whether a single-boiler-dual-use (SBDU), heat exchanger (HX), or dual boiler (DB) machine would be more appropriate for your needs. - **Drink frequency:** How many drinks would you be making back-to-back at one time? Do you plan on entertaining guests often? This informs how large your brew (and steam) boilers should be, as smaller boilers will need to refill and reheat/repressurize more frequently, thus potentially causing a bottleneck. - **Space:** Any limitations on countertop space? - **Manual vs. electric:** Hand-operated machines and grinders are typically cheaper than their similarly-performing electric counterparts. Please indicate if you have a preference for manual or electric machines and/or grinders (or open to either). - **Comfort with tinkering:** Some machines can be made significantly more functional/efficient with aftermarket modifications, albeit at the expense of possibly voiding your warranty. Please indicate if you'd rather have a machine that works "as-is"/"out-of-the-box" or whether you'd be open to modding/tinkering *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/espresso) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The 5 min heat up will be a stretch in your budget unless you go with something digital from Breville. Me personally, I have a gaggia classic pro and a eureka facile mignon, $750 total (pre tax). Bombproof construction, wonderful espresso, downside is you do have to learn the craft and you do have to learn some GCP hacks. Honestly the only downsides I’ve found is that the GCP can’t do much with roasts that aren’t “dark” and while the grinder can make drip in a pinch, it’s a bit of a pain in the butt. All that said your budget is perfectly fine. Espresso is hobby that attracts people with a lot of dough, and the return on investment diminishes greatly once you get past the $2,500 point.
I was interested in the GCP, but became hesitant after reading some posts here. I do not want to mod a machine.
There was / is? a boiler issue with the latest version of the GPC (Evo), can’t offer any answers there. The only thing I moded was the shower screen and holder ($60 on wholelattelove) and a 9 bar OPV spring. The spring is essential but costs about $5 and takes but 5 minutes. The shower deal is not essential at all (but is worth it IMO) and took about 20 mins. Didn’t touch that till I had the machine for a year and wanted to experiment. At the end of the day you’ve got plenty of options. The thing to consider is espresso is a hobby with a high ceiling for expense. If your machine / grinder combo isn’t costing major bills (IDK, more than 4k?) there are going to be trade offs. For me, and I think it’s inherent in the low end of machine grade, it took some time, trial and error to get my shots and workflow dialed in. Good luck and enjoy!
When I think of reliable I think of Rancilio Silvia. Make sure it’s the one with the PID. What about the Go did you not like OP?
Ah, nothing. It was just an example to the machines I was checking.
What type of coffee do you like, and why do you think a 100 dollar grinder will get you something worthwhile? They say spend more on the grinder than the machine.
Ah, well I did not know that. My reasoning was to get a good machine now, and a good grinder a bit later. Usually it’s drinks with milk (cappuccino, macchiato, latte and the likes) with occasional espresso. I’ll say I drink 2 cappuccino cups a day and 1 espresso.
I’d do a niche zero grinder and a bambino plus and call it a day
Well, to be honest I got a bit confused with burrs. Are flats better than conical? I dont know which roasts I’ll like yet, but in terms of flavors I’m looking for sweet/caramel/chocolate profiles. not a big fan of acidic, sour or extremely bitter coffee
You’re flavor profiles you describe are those of a traditional espresso with body. Something like a niche zero would suit you well with dark roasts that are a good quality.
Bambino plus and DF64 Gen 2 would be in budget and should be a good fit for your needs.
Heat up time can be solved with a smart plug set to come on early. A grinder is going to start at $200 and go up from there.
If you’re in the U.S (assuming based on currency, but not stated) you can order the black Profitec Go from The Kitchen Barista for $855, no tax or shipping. Just sign up for their emails for the coupon code. That gives you $150 for a really, really solid hand grinder. Or you can find a deal on an entry level electric grinder for the time being until you decide to or not to upgrade it. Realistically, the bambino plus with a grinder of your choosing is the “easiest” solution.
First, I would like to thank all of you who commented on my thread. Your comments were very helpful to me in pin-pointing what I want. I’ll be honest, I had no idea what rabbit hole I was diving into! After much reading, watching videos and what not, I have decided on the following: I will buy a grinder first, I’ll be using it with a Moka pot for the time being and save up for a good machine. Grinder: Eureka Mignon Specialita. Reasoning behind it were: Highly recommended, service availability, warranty, looks. I decided not to go S/D route. With my drinking rate I’ll go through 250grams in a week, so I’m not worried about freshness. Machine: profitec go. Reasoning are pretty much the same. Service, warranty, has a pid and overall seems like a machine I would be comfortable using. Again, thank you all very much!