Espresso nerds in the house?

[OkayMode]

this probably need a questionnaire more complicated than knife questionnaire

This is probably one of the reasons I haven’t bothered before

In terms of budget, footprint, warm up time etc I suppose I’m more fishing for what setup the needs would go for in ‘my friend’s’ position in order to get good results without spending a fortune.

 

[nhb22]

This is probably one of the reasons I haven’t bothered before

In terms of budget, footprint, warm up time etc I suppose I’m more fishing for what setup the needs would go for in ‘my friend’s’ position in order to get good results without spending a fortune.

agree with @PeterL

at least like a Cafelat Robot/Flair 58

these are good options.

A lot of people's gateway machine is Breville dual boiler - pretty much the only thing that's cheaper in Australia...you have to check the UK price

If I were you, I would do Breville. you might get lazy with manual levers. There are a lot more things you can play with on a Breville.

 

[Naftoor]

I’ve been a big fan of the 9barista. Started with that and the 1zpresso k ultra (I’d probably start with the j ultra next time). Can go from deciding I want a shot to drinking it in 4-7 minutes, foot print is about the size of a small moka pot. It’s a heat powered spring lever, so pretty fool proof. You can get fancy with removing it from the heat for things like descending profiles otherwise it gives roughly a straight 9bar with a brief preinfusion.

Only downsides is that it doesn’t do milk, and while doing 2 shots is fine you won’t be doing 7-8, but the nice thing is I don’t have to worry about preheating gear like with the manual levers.

As mentioned the brevilles are probably a good option to try. Available very cheaply used, just don’t be tempted to use the pressurized portafilters

 

[ehhh]

I personally find those portable lever machines like the Flair 58 really fiddly to use, having used my friend's for a few days while visiting. They can crank out good espresso, but it's a process that I wouldn't find enjoyable on a daily basis. Even with the electric heater, ideally you need to preheat the water chamber with boiling water a couple times. You'd need a stovetop steamer or a frothing wand to do your milk, and wands just can't compare to actual steamed milk.

I would recommend against a Gaggia Classic unless you want to tinker and mod it. A PID is almost a necessity, and even then the tiny boiler is a limiting factor for lighter roasts and longer shots. Breville/Sage are good options, I used one for a few years, though I'm not a huge fan of the 54mm machines. Not as much aftermarket support for 54mm. The thermoblock steam on them is also pretty underwhelming, takes a long time and hard to get good results with.

I don't know what UK prices are like, but you'd probably looking at a $1500+ machine here in the US for something that can grow with you, and $300-500 for a "good enough" grinder or quite a bit more for something closer to end game. At that level of machine, the limiting factor is really going to be the grinder.