This isn’t really a BIFL post so I’ll bring it around.

ECM & Profitec are BIFL machines made in Germany. Metal internals with easy user service.

This is an awesome breakdown; I totally agree that temperature stability and grinder quality are key.

I got a Gaggia Classic Evo a while back, and learning the ins and outs of dialling in espresso with a proper grinder made a huge difference.

Also, second, the importance of cleaning/milk systems. If it’s a hassle to maintain, it just doesn’t get used as often.

I appreciate the mention of machines that strike a balance between usability and performance, too. Great roundup.

Where's the buyitforlife angle?

Eg. Breville's can be great but the internals time out, too much plastic inside.

So internals are easily the most important feature but this is hard in the consumer market without getting too spendy.

Longevity was absolutely a big concern when I upgraded my dead breville to a synchronica. It's rock solid and I expect decades of service, not 5 years.

This is the Forbes article, is it?

Nice AI slop, clanker

Do you not have the ability to create a ticket for it in my daily? Thats how most service calls are made.

If not your DRB should have a list of numbers in the first few pages with numbers for different facilities that can assist you

What I usually do is just call the starbucks number 1 (888) SBUX and explain the issue and they usually send out a tech within 24 hours if they don’t call them again and have them escalate the ticket to highest priority

You make a ticket, unless you’re licensed I don’t know what y’all’s procedure is

Please share details about the machine! Price, brand and experience!!

i’ve the same lineup with me, baristas express impress for more than a year now, and i am absolutely with you, it’s THE BEST investment ever! What grind setting do you use (internal and external)?

The best thing I ever bought is good coffee beans!!!

I am very sceptical of the built-in grinder in the machines.

Black baza wanderoo is awesome

Take a look at my article:

https://alvinbunk.wordpress.com/2022/12/06/which-nespresso-machine-should-i-buy/

then figure out whether you prefer espresso or coffee sized cups of coffee. I do not recommend either the Vertuo Next or Pop.

Pop+ is fine. Vertuo Plus is the most stable and consistent.

The Costco Vertuo Next kit was great for meet. Fair price , nice design with metal where others have plastic , comes with variety pods and two sleeves of popular ones, milk frother, and a gift card to Nespresso online store. 

It's not an opinion, fact: Mini bundle with Aerccino.

The Pop+ has been good for me. I'm about 7 months in. I think many of the issues have been attributed to the Next model (although that might have been corrected in recent releases).

Make sure you check capsule prices on the Nespresso website before getting a machine. Some new users have gotten sticker shock that way. There aren't any third party capsules available for the Vertuo machines, although you can catch sales on Woot periodically. Good luck!

Baratza Encore ESP and a Breville Bambino. This is a solid, user friendly setup with some ways to upgrade (improved brew basket) and Baratza has long been the industry standard for your use case (you're ready to move into specialty coffee, but not ready to commit to spending your life savings). I would advise against going down the comparison rabbit hole with your budget.

Personal experience: I had a Bambino, am a professional barista, spent a shit ton of money to upgrade to a "pro" setup and probably didn't need to in order to get good coffee. YMMV.

It depends how refined your tastes are. I did what you did a long time ago, stopped spending tons of money at Starbucks and bought an espresso machine. Best decision ever.

But I bought an inexpensive one which, for my tastes, is good enough. People in this group will probably disagree with the idea, but I like the machine I got, which is a DeLoghi, for about $100.

Again, there are much better machines out there, and they probably produce better espresso. But I've been happy with the quality of the drink that this machine produces. So, FYI.

Don’t even think about buying one for the next 2-3 months, IMO. Start with the “best espresso machine for under X amount” videos on YouTube. James Hoffmann, Lance Hedrick, and several others have fantastic videos on this, including both manual/mechanical and electric machines. Note not only the winners, but the level of involvement and learning curve required to pull good shots. There are cheap machines that can pull great shots if you’re a wizard and want to learn how to dial in everything, but could be very frustrating for a beginner.

Also, do you have a nice burr grinder? Many here will argue that step one is to get as good a grinder as your budget allows, then use the rest for the best espresso machine you can get. A bad grinder will stall you in making good espresso, no matter your setup.

What does that mean?

It's the most popular entry level combination for a reason. It's been making great coffee for me

Watch James Hoffmann and Lance Hedrick on YouTube. They both have great machine review / comparisons for that budget price range. You'll need a grinder too and they review those as well.

When you're ready to try latte art, watch Emilee Bryant.

Edit: Fixed the James Hoffman link.

I love the one I got off amazon, it was cheap. Thx for recomendations!

I highly recommend the Casabrews Neutron pro.. I use it every day and probably pull 6-8 shots a day out of it, and they come out perfect every time. I think for most people, this is the best option.

People here poo poo it but my breville express I got for $500 has been going strong for 6 years zero issues use it 2-3x/week. 

I'd get the gaggia classic and the eureka silentzio. And the PID upgrade for the gaggia.

(Currently running gc+pid and baratza encore which is decent but should use a grinder upgrade.)

This guy is a world barista champion and has several videos talking about the best setups at various price points https://youtube.com/@jameshoffmann?si=LY-KvQMgqq9x-T1H

You want the best espresso you can get for $1,000? Spend $600 on a grinder and $400 on an espresso machine

Head on over to r/espresso and let those jerkoffs dress you down. $1k is beginner shit.

Well, it is, but uniformity plays a HUGE role in taste. Good grinders are precision engineered machines with burrs that cut the beans into that uniform shape.

Espresso adds another layer as well, as the brewing method is finicky and requires a grinder that can make very fine adjustments. A lot of grinders have too big adjustment steps or such that makes them frustratingly bad to use

You will want a good grinder more than a good machine.

You could find a nice used Rancilio Silvia, V5 or V6, for way under $800

Get a good grinder. That's first and foremost. Second, think about how you are planning on using the espresso machine. If you primarily going to pull espresso shots, then going with a second hand lever machine like the La Pavoni will give you great results. Having a 49.5 mm portafilter in a 58 mm world is something of a pain, but Lance Hedrick is doing his damndest to remedy the situation.

You sound like an espresso newbie and that's ok! What I would recommend is spending the majority of your budget on a quality grinder that puts out consistent results. If you're in the US, the Breville Bambino is currently on sale at Target for $270. I would highly recommend this be your first espresso machine to get familiar with. It has a quick start up and very user intuitive. Now you have a bout $530 or so left...you'll want to use the majority of this on the grinder. I would suggest a single dose grinder like the Baratza Encore ESP, DF54 or DF64 for flat burr options. If you don't mind hand grinding, a 1-Zpresso J-Ultra will give you equivalent if not better results than those mentioned electric grinders. Depending on what you go with, you may have some extra cash to spend. I would look into a good scale (to 0.1g), an RDT (water atomizing spray to spray your beans prior to grinding to minimize retention from static) and maybe a decent tamper. Down the line, you'll eventually want to switch over to a bottomless portafilter to better dial in your shots....but you also don't have to! Hopefully, these things will get you along your way.

Pull shots, as opposed to making milk drinks. A Europiccola can make milk drinks, but it's not as good as other machines out there.

I had this setup for a decade. Both machines will get the job done and are bulletproof. 

We destroyed the Silvia beyond repair last winter (user problem) and ended up replacing with a Cremina and a zerno. Love those too, but obviously in a different price range. And my experience with the rancilio machines really pushed my to simplicity and durability. I strongly suspect the proliferation of feature heavy mid range e61 machines will result in a lot of heavy paper weights in 10 years. Both my machines will probably outlast me. 

The plus doesn't have a built-in grinder, so you can buy a better one separately.

I don’t like my rocky burr grinder much, how has your experience with it been? I feel like I get inconsistent grinds, and it has a lot of retention.

I got it for like $120 though so I can’t complain too much

Just a note, the Bambino + takes some serious trial and error to dial in. I’ve finally figured out that i need to pull an empty shot, then grind beans and load up my portafilter, then pull a blank shot with a double wall pressurized basket (separate portafilter), and THEN pull my actual shot. Sounds absurd but it’s what I have to do to get a good, balanced espresso. It’s not that bad now that I’m in the rhythm, but just calling out that stable out-of-the-box temp control isn’t what you’re getting with this machine.

Honestly speaking there's no good semi automatic in that budget. You could get a flair neo flex or picopresso for approx 10k but none of those are electric or have a steam wand.

Assuming you've a grinder already, could you stretch your budget a little bit and consider hibrew h10a

Stating my own setup (has been fine for me can't say for anyone else):

I have an Agaro Regency Espresso Maker along with an Agaro Supreme Coffee Grinder. Costs about 15-16k together. The grinder is new but I have been using the machine since 1.5 years now and it's been going great!

Not the best but there are quite a lot of machine in 10k that will last until you can get a better one. Because to get the best out of any machine, you need to pair it with a good grinder too.

If 20k is the complete budget, then I suggest looking at some of these options and pairing it with a grinder like agaro if fine for you or a manual grinder like timemore c3 that is pretty well accountable.

If you have a separate budget for a grinder, then most definitely look at other options, there is budan, and if a little more then hibrew.

In the same boat as yours. I was also planning to buy an espresso machine and had similar budget but based on all the threads and reviews on this sub, decided to go for Hibrew h10a

Planning to buy soon.

Also planning to get Hibrew G5 grinder as I'm seeing these as 1 time purchase for my home coffee station.

I started with this set up two years ago. Agaro imperial espresso maker and agaro grinder. Its not the best but for a beginner its good. The grinder is as important as an espresso machine so try to get both. You can also try the de’longhi machine which is like 16-17k on amazon. Its a better machine than Agaro given the budget.

https://preview.redd.it/d3wev7qm0jte1.jpeg?width=3213&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2c733ce3c960f662ff7e60d6ef6febfdb85bffaf

hey everyone, even i am also looking for an espresso machine. similar budget 30k. Want to gift myself on my bday :D So plz help me out, i was also checking Budan and DeLonghi, but not sure where to spend.