Hi everyone,
I have no experience with making espresso at home and have been wanting to purchase a machine + grinder. Currently, I have a (shudder) blade grinder that I use with my french press and am not really happy with it. However, after my research, I believe this unhappiness is because of my grinder. However, I still would like to start making espresso at home. Originally, I was thinking about purchasing a nespress machine, but during my research for it, I decided I would prefer a true espresso machine with grinder for quality and I would say price, but it would take many shots before I would even start to see an equivalency in comparison (and that is assuming I dont upgrade either unit-grinder or brewer- before hitting this threshold where the savings begins)
Back to topic. I am looking for a grinder + espresso machine for less than $500 if possible (refurb units are welcomed). I understand that they will not be the best, but I figure that after a few years of use, I will become better, see the inefficiences and understand my reasoning for upgrading to a better unit, if needed. I have learned from my research that it is best to have a good grinder in play and I was wanting to put most of my budget toward the grinder and purchase a cheaper espresso machine that will still pull adequate shots until I am more experienced. I will give you a few options I was thinking about below and then have a few more questions. If needed, I dont mind waiting a bit to extend my budget by a few hundred if it will be for a product that is noticeably better (construction, shot flavor, etc...)
Options:
1) Le'Lit combo; true it is actually 700, but would it be something that the average consumer would enjoy for many years, or do most people purchase it and within a year or two decide that it not good enough? I am a little worried about this setup though because it appears the number of places to purchase these units (in the United States at least) is limited.
2) Rancilio Rocky + refurb Saeco aroma or via venetia (with intention of keeping the rocky and upgrading the brewer in a few years)
3) any other suggestions
Questions that I havent really found a good answer to during my research (possibly because the answers are more subjective)
1) As a newbie, would I need to purchase a unit with a pressurized PF or is it best to just go with the original style PF's and skip the pressurized ones? I do understand that the cheaper units pretty much always have the pressurized PF's, but thought that there may be one in my budget that I am unaware of?
2) During my research, it seems that on almost every forum or blog, it is almost always noted that even the slightly more expensive machines (referring to $500-1000) just dont pull off good shots. Is this because most of these bloggers are extreme fanatics or can you really taste that much of a difference?
3) I am worried about purchasing an expensive grinder like the Rocky and then finding out that it will just not cut it in the future when I purchase an $800-1000 espresso machine. Therefore, would it be better if I purchased a cheaper grinder to go with an entry level espresso machine and upgrade both in the future. This doesnt seem like a good idea to me, but if the Rocky will eventually get upgraded, it may be best to go ahead and bypass it as soon as possible (and use a cheaper alternative in the mean time).
4) Manual/lever machines. I was interested in one of these, but after reading some how to articles, the do seem a little daunting with their steep learning curve, but I was wondering if it is really as hard as it sounds to pull off a good shot. It is also kind of odd that the cheapest units I could find are still much more than the entry to mid level semi-auto brewers. Am I just looking in all the wrong places, or are these manual machines really 800+. If there is a cheaper one, would it be recommended to a newb or are these something that people generally grow in to?
Sorry for such a long post and thank you for your time
I have no experience with making espresso at home and have been wanting to purchase a machine + grinder. Currently, I have a (shudder) blade grinder that I use with my french press and am not really happy with it. However, after my research, I believe this unhappiness is because of my grinder. However, I still would like to start making espresso at home. Originally, I was thinking about purchasing a nespress machine, but during my research for it, I decided I would prefer a true espresso machine with grinder for quality and I would say price, but it would take many shots before I would even start to see an equivalency in comparison (and that is assuming I dont upgrade either unit-grinder or brewer- before hitting this threshold where the savings begins)
Back to topic. I am looking for a grinder + espresso machine for less than $500 if possible (refurb units are welcomed). I understand that they will not be the best, but I figure that after a few years of use, I will become better, see the inefficiences and understand my reasoning for upgrading to a better unit, if needed. I have learned from my research that it is best to have a good grinder in play and I was wanting to put most of my budget toward the grinder and purchase a cheaper espresso machine that will still pull adequate shots until I am more experienced. I will give you a few options I was thinking about below and then have a few more questions. If needed, I dont mind waiting a bit to extend my budget by a few hundred if it will be for a product that is noticeably better (construction, shot flavor, etc...)
Options:
1) Le'Lit combo; true it is actually 700, but would it be something that the average consumer would enjoy for many years, or do most people purchase it and within a year or two decide that it not good enough? I am a little worried about this setup though because it appears the number of places to purchase these units (in the United States at least) is limited.
2) Rancilio Rocky + refurb Saeco aroma or via venetia (with intention of keeping the rocky and upgrading the brewer in a few years)
3) any other suggestions
Questions that I havent really found a good answer to during my research (possibly because the answers are more subjective)
1) As a newbie, would I need to purchase a unit with a pressurized PF or is it best to just go with the original style PF's and skip the pressurized ones? I do understand that the cheaper units pretty much always have the pressurized PF's, but thought that there may be one in my budget that I am unaware of?
2) During my research, it seems that on almost every forum or blog, it is almost always noted that even the slightly more expensive machines (referring to $500-1000) just dont pull off good shots. Is this because most of these bloggers are extreme fanatics or can you really taste that much of a difference?
3) I am worried about purchasing an expensive grinder like the Rocky and then finding out that it will just not cut it in the future when I purchase an $800-1000 espresso machine. Therefore, would it be better if I purchased a cheaper grinder to go with an entry level espresso machine and upgrade both in the future. This doesnt seem like a good idea to me, but if the Rocky will eventually get upgraded, it may be best to go ahead and bypass it as soon as possible (and use a cheaper alternative in the mean time).
4) Manual/lever machines. I was interested in one of these, but after reading some how to articles, the do seem a little daunting with their steep learning curve, but I was wondering if it is really as hard as it sounds to pull off a good shot. It is also kind of odd that the cheapest units I could find are still much more than the entry to mid level semi-auto brewers. Am I just looking in all the wrong places, or are these manual machines really 800+. If there is a cheaper one, would it be recommended to a newb or are these something that people generally grow in to?
Sorry for such a long post and thank you for your time

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