Espresso Machine Recommendation

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Any coffee aficionado in the house?

Looking to pick up another expensive hobby. Any of you guys have a recommendation regarding a espresso machine?

More interested in espresso but I need to be able to do cappuccino as that’s what the wife likes (perhaps a dual boiler?)

Super interested to hear your experiences regarding reliability and maintenance too as I believe I will have to do some of the maintenance myself as I move countries every 5 to 6 years because of work.

Thanks in advance for any input.
 
I would say $3.5k range is the top. Although those La Marzocco look really nice but I don’t know how much $$$ is just branding

I am into light/medium roasted catuai, caturra, typica.
 
Some of La Marzocco is buying into the brand, but I’ve got a friend with one and I got to say it’s just a pleasure to work with. Also would be serviceable pretty much anywhere. But, they’re real expensive…

A Decent is hard to argue with for someone who drinks a wide variety of coffee and especially lighter roast single origins. It’s a little techier than I prefer personally, but still a solid machine. Great global support and they also really enable diy repairs.

Of course, the nice e61 machines are also very solid choices and I suspect more similar than different to each other. But I don’t have enough user experience there to chime in with any authority.
 
I would say $3.5k range is the top. Although those La Marzocco look really nice but I don’t know how much $$$ is just branding

I am into light/medium roasted catuai, caturra, typica.
Similar to the point @Barmoley made regarding knives, I’d say you probably want to start with a sub $2,000 machine and work your way up. $3,500 is kinda awkward. Not enough for the high end machines, but too much for an entry level. If you don’t and won’t mess with all sort of light roasts, get a la Marzocco linea micra is probably all you need. Once you figure out what’s lacking (if anything), you can then go for a $10k or more machine. Micra won’t be hard to sell. You can also go with a decent, but decent is for someone who wants to mess around with a lot of settings. The overall user experience is not that great imo. Decent vs la marzocco is similar to Android vs iPhone. I’m personally more into luxury user experience than adjustability.

Aside from the machine, you need a good grinder. You should spend at least as much on the grinder since the grinder is far more important than the machine especially if you want to brew light roasts.

Post in thread 'Unpopular opinions'
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/unpopular-opinions.48161/post-1174437
 
Breville dual boiler for best performance per dollar imo, I am biased though. Can do everything you want it to do, and more than most machines at its price point. If you have any specific questions let me know.

Long vid:
 
Thanks everyone for the input. Fantastic advice all around.

Based on everything that I am reading and worldwide serviceability La Marzocco is looking like the winner.

I do a lot of pour overs today but always stayed away a from espressos. My original budget was only for the machine. I already have a grinder on sight but would probably need to do more research (Lagom p64).

I guess now I need define if I want a micra or mini and for how much I want to sell my Jiro.
 
You should tap into the coffee market too. I wouldn’t mind to have Taz blackwood side panels, knobs and tamper handles!
or roasting? I recently got a roaster, I could sell coffee too. Might need to make a Maisy's mochas side business

roast1.jpg
 
This might be hard…you can certainly roast for yourself or your local farmer’s market. Beyond that, you need serious skills…
We'll see, I do have dedication, been spending many hours every day on it so far. I mean no plans to actually make a business out of it. But who knows, life is weird. Of course the machine isn't perfect, and especially with lower end equipment it is definitely a challenge.

Extremely satisfied with my latest yirgacheffe

ethiopian.jpg
 
I mean hey.... if you want the Ferrari of coffee machines then the La Marzocco is it. All I can say is that my breville duel boiler is absolutely the best bang for buck option. I've had mine for 4 years without any issues and still producing great espresso 👌 I'd be lying if I didn't wish I had a La Marzocco mini tho 😭
 
Money no object I would be getting a synchronica II with wood panels or ACS vostok, nurri leva etc.... but honestly I don't think I will be able to get anything better taste wise than the BDB. I got the slayer mod, I got preinfusion, flow control, heated group, 2 boilers, triple PID, not sure what else I can ask for, I don't really need a rotary pump.
 
Money no object I would be getting a synchronica II with wood panels or ACS vostok.... but honestly I don't think I will be able to get anything better taste wise than the BDB. I got the slayer mod, I got preinfusion, flow control, heated group, 2 boilers, triple PID, not sure what else I can ask for, I don't really need a rotary pump.
+1 on the slayer mod
 
I mean hey.... if you want the Ferrari of coffee machines then the La Marzocco is it. All I can say is that my breville duel boiler is absolutely the best bang for buck option. I've had mine for 4 years without any issues and still producing great espresso 👌 I'd be lying if I didn't wish I had a La Marzocco mini tho 😭
Breville is a lot cheaper in Australia
 
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