Are cheap espresso machines a bad idea?

[TOK]

Yup you're right C. When I read the original question I took it to mean cheap NEW machines. Never thought about the things people will spend their hard earned on, in strange "auction" sites. I wouldnt buy a USED / CHEAP machine unless it could be demonstrated to be fully functional at time of pick up and seeming to be absolutely fine. Dont know how anyone could do that when purchasing off a website.

As an aside I know directly of an instance where someone bought a cheap crappy old thing off unsaid site. The purchasor afterwards jacked up at my employers and wanted a water pump fitted "under guarantee". This is because the vendor had done exactly what you wrote and put on his add words to the effect of : "...recently serviced by ...". What they omitted to say in the add was they had been told (amongst other things) the water pump needed replacement but they had elected NOT to go ahead, as they were going to sell it shortly and didnt want to spend the money. The machine was running but not fully functional, our advice had not been taken, and as far as we were concerned it was for the dump (condition and age etc).

And all of a sudden, we were having demands placed to supply a new water pump to an unrelated third party, at our cost under our service guarantee......!

Yeah, right on that one !

So our client purchased a water pump from us to give to his auction site client......resulting in that person having bought a machine that was still for the dump, but sporting a nice shiny new water pump

If you dont know what you are looking at in any of those sites, dont buy that stuff.

[TC]

Yes- We pick up the pieces and reassemble them for the owners of bargain buys- often at significant expense each week. Bothe sites can be great places to procure a dead machine "recently serviced and in perfect condition".

If you don't know what to look for find somebody who does. They're only bargains if you don't blow your dough.

PS- suggest you have a read over http://coffeesnobs.com.au/coffee-har...icy-rules.html to save you breaking them.

[ThankDog]

I bought a used Gaggia Classic from eBay a while ago. At eighty bucks it definitely qualified as a cheap espresso machine.

And I'd say it was definitely not a bad idea, though coupled with home-roasting and a hand grinder the morning coffee is a fairly involved affair but it is well worth it and is value for money too.

It seems there are some good deals to be had for coffee machines on ebay. Generally I avoid ebay and Gumtree as I've rarely had good experiences with them but I figure if it's something I'm going to be picking up, I can at least check it out properly before I hand over any cash.

Here's one I seem to have just missed out on: eBay link removed per site posting policy

[goodbyesoberday]

I bought a used Gaggia Classic from eBay a while ago. At eighty bucks it definitely qualified as a cheap espresso machine.

And I'd say it was definitely not a bad idea, though coupled with home-roasting and a hand grinder the morning coffee is a fairly involved affair but it is well worth it and is value for money too.

[Darkfalz]

A moka is more forgiving for stale/supermarket stale pre-ground beans. It will actually taste better than trying to make espresso with them. I remember the first time I tried fresh roasted beans and it was night and day to the supermarket beans, which themselves are greatly improved over pre-ground supermarket.

If you don't like milk, I'd recommend a grinder and an Aeropress...

[Vinitasse]

The OP's question reminds me of when I starting playing guitar many years ago. My father went out and bought me a cheap guitar that set him back all of $20. I did manage to learn the basics but it was a shit-fight the whole way(excuse my French). The damned thing wouldn't stay in tune for more than 20 minutes at a time and even when it was, it sounded flat and dead. A couple of years later I had saved up my pennies and bought myself my first serious guitar... an Ovation Balladeer. The change in sound and the change in my playing was instantaneous and somewhat amazing. With a fine instrument in my hands, it was suddenly doing what I wanted it to, rather than requiring me to fight with it in order to get something semi-reasonable to happen. The quality of this guitar motivated me to push all previous boundaries and before I knew it, I was a "guitarist" rather than a mere student.

What I'm trying to say is that a "cheap" coffee machine will teach you the basics and you will be able to produce the occassional semi-worthy coffee... BUT... it won't be easy or a whole lot of fun and a fine machine will bring out the barista in you far sooner and be far more of a joy to play with along the way.

[TOK]

Question:
Are cheap espresso machines a bad idea?

Answer (1 of thousands of possible answers, but the first one that comes to mind) :
No. They sort out who you are and what you want. If you are after convenience, are anal about cleanliness, and want great coffee straight up, and are not prepared to carry on with this then....you're out of the ball game. If you are prepared to carry on and find something better, you're off and running, upgradeitis has set in.

In a way, el cheapo machines are good for business because sooner or later, the owners of want something better.

For the owner, it does mean however that he has to keep spending money.

[ThankDog]

You didn't say which model you saw.

I wasn't sure about posting links or about products here as there seems to be site sponsors and whatnot. It's a Hario Skerton (full size). Ceramic burrs. Looks pretty and I've been able to track one down for $50 so when I have the spare cash I thought I'd pick one up if they're good enough for the job.

You can have my old machine for free, still does the espresso part fine, the steam function has just lost power.

!

Umm, I'm not sure what to say. I don't like frothy milk anyway?

Think its better than a percolator as in my experience they burn the coffee.

I'm not sure if it burns it but I definitely smell a burnt smell at the end of it. As soon as mine starts making a noise I take it off the heat and let it sit for a minute. I once made the mistake of packing a larger percolator tightly and waiting for it to stop making bubbling sounds. I'm just lucky that it popped rather than exploded

Hand grinder is a bit of work though. You may not want to make coffee for a dinner party.

Guests? Getting my good coffee? Pfft, instant is good enough for them

[richard_m_h]

My travel kit is an Aeropress and Hario Skerton. Works well. Makes good strong coffee. Not espresso. Think its better than a percolator as in my experience they burn the coffee. Hand grinder is a bit of work though. You may not want to make coffee for a dinner party.

[Darkfalz]

There's a huge range of machines between "cheap" and $4000. I would recommend the $500 to $1200 range for most people who'd make 2-5 coffees a day. If you want a more sort of home user/beginner experiences the upper range Breville and Sunbeams are all great machines. If you want a more cafe like experience with levels and so on, Silvia, Expobar and so on can be had for a little more. The advantage with these ones is that after market parts (portafilters etc.) are more standardised and interchangable.

With your kind of budget, $150 for a machine and grinder, even used... not sure if it can be done. You can have my old machine for free, still does the espresso part fine, the steam function has just lost power.

[Thundergod]

A hand grinder with ceramic burrs can grind fine enough.
You didn't say which model you saw.

You can make an Aeropress brew stronger with longer steeping time and less water.
It's still not espresso though but more than a fancy french press.

[okitoki]

I have started with a good coffee machine but with a bad grinder that was a bit of a disaster start;
But i have also played with a cheaper coffee machine with a good grinder and it came out pretty good for my taste
I was like you in the begining when I didnt know if I will keep on going with a hobby after the initial OMG phase, so I did not want to spend big money on getting a machine which I may loose interest in...
I was fortunate enough to be able to pick up stuff cheap (from Gumtree and CSers here) that got me going on my coffee experience so far... but the end of the day, you make the best of what you have... (like the old saying about workman and his tools..)

Good luck with your search

[ThankDog]

Blackhole.

Well, in that case I won't go through and quote everyone I wanted to reply to again and instead generalise.

It seems that a grinder is the most important start. I probably should've just made a general thread about starting gear on the cheap but I thought the machine would be the primary focus. My intention is to get a popcorn machine and try roasting my own beans. That's 90% of the reason why I came here as I was led here from OCAU by nefarious powers that be. I had thought that roasting at home was way beyond my means but it actually seems to be a reasonably accessible hobby. Plus I exist off of coffee. I have a fairly severe sleep disorder and have had it ever since I can remember so I've grown up with coffee as a staple just to remain remotely cognizant throughout the day.

I rather like the idea of hand grinding and have seen a nice ceramic hand grinder for $60. Is that a realistic option or is a machine really required to get it fine enough?

AeroPress is something I considered but after looking into it, it would seem that it's basically just a fancy French press which doesn't excite me. I was wanting the espresso partly for crema and partly for a stronger, more concentrated espresso than I'm currently getting in a percolator. So an AeroPress would seem like a move down not up.

Umm... I think that was all from the post I lost. Hope the Doctor has fixed that black hole. Can't have them roaming about willy-nilly.

[TampIt]

I posted something to this thread before and it's disappeared? Was there a mod edit or did it get eaten by an internet blackhole?

Blackhole.

[ThankDog]

I posted something to this thread before and it's disappeared? Was there a mod edit or did it get eaten by an internet blackhole?