Let's talk Espresso Machines

[Tonray's Ghost]

I love coffee but don't drink it often as it causes my heart to flutter at times where caffeine from tea doesn't seem to have the same effect.

But..my GF in looking down the road to eventually convincing her mom to close up her streetside restaurant, is starting to investigate perhaps turning it into a coffee shop which would presumably be a little less intense of a workload for her Mom but still allow her to keep a business going and not be bored to death.

She has casually mentioned she wants to learn about coffee machines and coffee making and with a birthday coming up, I thought I might get her a nice robust home machine that had some pro features to allow that to happen (and to boot..I'd get a nice in home machine for my own use while she's at work..an afternoon Espresso or cappuccino certainly would be nice).

So anyone have one if these types of machines and could offer any reviews /advice ?

[ID10t]

I have my Rancilio Silvia torn apart in the garage. About the third time and I just got frustrated. I always used Brita water and got enough buildup in the boiler to stop production. I might try again and use RO water now that it is what we're using. And the footprint, I don't know if I can convince the boss to allow that thing back into the house.
But when it works it is glorious. If I were serious about espresso this is what I would buy.
I know what I'll be doing this week.

[Tonray's Ghost]

I have my Rancilio Silvia torn apart in the garage. About the third time and I just got frustrated. I always used Brita water and got enough buildup in the boiler to stop production. I might try again and use RO water now that it is what we're using. And the footprint, I don't know if I can convince the boss to allow that thing back into the house.
But when it works it is glorious. If I were serious about espresso this is what I would buy.
I know what I'll be doing this week.

Yeah, counter space is at a premium here too. I was thinking about a larger machine but since she would only be using this to learn about the process (neither of us are big coffee drinkers), I might opt for this small Delonghi machine which has decent reviews. Then if she proceeds with her plan for her mom's coffee shop restaurant, they can get a pro machine in, but basically the same process would apply as to making a good cup.

[uwmcscott]

I love coffee but will fully admit that I'll drink pretty much anything brand as long as it's hot and dark.

The best "Machine" that I have had coffee prepared for me from is actually not even a machine. We have a few local importer/roasters of beans and one of them sells their products at a local farmers market. They make it once cup at a time with a little wire cone contraption where they just put in a filter, fill it up with freshly ground beans, and then pour boiling water over it from a teapot. The end product just drips right into your cup/mug.

At home, my coffeemaking equipment is probably SX level as it might fit into the guitar spectrum- gets the job done but nothing overly fancy. I have a cheap auto-drip maker for quantity in the AM, and then I have an old single serving Keuring from probalby 10 years ago and some of those reusable filter cup things. I grind up beans and make one cup at a time with the K-machine and it works for me.

[Tonray's Ghost]

I love coffee but will fully admit that I'll drink pretty much anything brand as long as it's hot and dark.

The best "Machine" that I have had coffee prepared for me from is actually not even a machine. We have a few local importer/roasters of beans and one of them sells their products at a local farmers market. They make it once cup at a time with a little wire cone contraption where they just put in a filter, fill it up with freshly ground beans, and then pour boiling water over it from a teapot. The end product just drips right into your cup/mug.

At home, my coffeemaking equipment is probably SX level as it might fit into the guitar spectrum- gets the job done but nothing overly fancy. I have a cheap auto-drip maker for quantity in the AM, and then I have an old single serving Keuring from probalby 10 years ago and some of those reusable filter cup things. I grind up beans and make one cup at a time with the K-machine and it works for me.

Yeah for me any old water boiler contraption would do but I guess it's more of a learning experience for GF and future plans for Mom's coffeeshop. For me it's more about the machine matching the countertop...I couldn't tell a bad cup of espresso from a good one to be honest.

[tlarson58]

Folgers + limping old percolator = just fine.

I've never used an espresso machine or been served something home brewed. I'll be following this post for sure.

[ID10t]

Well I'll go a little sideways, since the $700 machine went TU I basically French press Folgers and then.... You wanna know the BEST milk frother? Vita-mix! (At this point I could go into infomercial mode.) So French press Folgers, almond milk and almond syrup (my flavor of choice) into Vita-Mix, about 90 seconds on hi-turbo. If I drank cow milk I would use whole, undiluted milk.
If I have to replace the Vita-Mix container again I'll get a blendtec, but it stays on the counter, used everyday.
Thanks for listening.

[t100d]

Espresso machines really aren't that hard to fix mechanically, more so if it's an electronics problem, such as you might find in a Super Automatic—usually the motherboard, then you have to balance part replacement cost against getting a new machine. NB: don't forget to keep the old one for parts!
There are hundreds of good videos on YouTube to help you.

We have had a number of machines over the years, Gaggia, Krupps (peeyew!) and Delonghi. A year ago a friend gave us two (!) older Delonghi Magnifica EAM3400's, which I cannibalized to make one good machine. Delonghi and Breville are both good, The super automatics grind and brew for you, some even do the milk.
Keep it clean and descale regularly and you should be fine.

I can offer some limited advice on repairing and where to get parts if needed …

[Tonray's Ghost]

I'm sitting in IKEA right now having a perfectly good Cappuccino... About $1.70.

$500 machine divided by $1.70 = how many cappuccinos I need to make to justify my purchase ...I hate the accountant in me

Now into Hot Mocha..including 2 gingersnaps.. $1.70..IKEA making this very difficult

[ID10t]

I'm sitting in IKEA right now having a perfectly good Cappuccino... About $1.70.

$500 machine divided by $1.70 = how many cappuccinos I need to make to justify my purchase ...I hate the accountant in me

Now into Hot Mocha..including 2 gingersnaps.. $1.70..IKEA making this very difficult

IMG_20210118_144552.jpg

I don't know the situation and I am woefully unqualified to pontificate econimics; but I would look into GF's mom applying for a job at Ikea and getting paid to learn batista instead of spending her money on R&D.

[Tonray's Ghost]

I'm sitting in IKEA right now having a perfectly good Cappuccino... About $1.70.

$500 machine divided by $1.70 = how many cappuccinos I need to make to justify my purchase ...I hate the accountant in me

Now into Hot Mocha..including 2 gingersnaps.. $1.70..IKEA making this very difficult

IMG_20210118_144552.jpg

I don't know the situation and I am woefully unqualified to pontificate econimics; but I would look into GF's mom applying for a job at Ikea and getting paid to learn batista instead of spending her money on R&D.

Yeah.. That's never gonna happen. As far as the business side, I'm absolutely never getting involved and I mean never. The GF wants to learn basic coffee machine operation as an adjunct to someday maybe helping set her mom up and I'm willing to get a machine for home that I can also use to make coffee. Post retirement I could see futzing around with a nice machine at home creating coffee drinks to kill some time. That's the extent my involvement. Her mom is 63 yrs old and owns and operates her own sit down restaurant, the GF just wants to ease her out of that business and into something a bit less taxing as she already owns the site (shophouse) in a decent location. I'm dubious about it's prospects but as I said, I NEVER get involved in family business affairs. Brother also runs a restaurant so the family had plenty of expertise going on there. I just want something looks good on my kitchen counter and hey if you gotta buy a birthday gift anyway, might as well get something I can use too.. Next year I'm hoping the GF wants to learn about circular saws. Ha ha ha ha

[ronnx]

Tap water in a cup, 90 seconds in the microwave, two teaspoons of Cafe Vienna and done. Simple but effective.

[brentona]

Timely subject! We always used a percolator for poor man’s espresso.
Here in the near future we are going to have a Quick Mill Anita Evo headed our way. A big thing to consider on your machine is a single boiler vs dual heat. If you are making many milk drinks, the dual will be your friend. Temperature between milk frothing and shot pulling are very different with the shot being much cooler. There are so many solid videos floating around. Essentially what I’ve taken away, the Quick Mill is very simple mechanically and can be serviced by the end user pretty easily. Just old school efficiency with some modern components to keep it running.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tonray's Ghost]

Timely subject! We always used a percolator for poor man’s espresso.
Here in the near future we are going to have a Quick Mill Anita Evo headed our way. A big thing to consider on your machine is a single boiler vs dual heat. If you are making many milk drinks, the dual will be your friend. Temperature between milk frothing and shot pulling are very different with the shot being much cooler. There are so many solid videos floating around. Essentially what I’ve taken away, the Quick Mill is very simple mechanically and can be serviced by the end user pretty easily. Just old school efficiency with some modern components to keep it running.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've done loads of research, watched hours of YouTube vids, subscribed to James Hoffman's channel (this giy knows coffee !), and the more I learn, the less I want a machine...or certainly not an expensive one. I am an occasional coffee drinker and I hate cleaning up machinary after using too. The objective would be to aid GF in learning the ins and outs of coffe making...only to aid her in aiding her mom down the line...more than likely will she if she wants to take a short course (she manages a supermarket and likely can't find the time to do it anyway) or just buy a cheapo machine so she can play around. The quality of the coffee of produces is almost irrelevant as neither of us are coffee drinkers..she can play to her heart's content until it breaks .