Just like I learned from BLF that decent flashlights like Sofirn, Wurkkos, or Convoy exist, perhaps someone would know what to look for in the home espresso machines world. I would prefer some adjustability like temp or pressure.
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Used Gaggia Classic seemed to be the ābudgetā reccomendation when I was shopping for espresso machines 5 or so years ago.
The grinder is one of the most important parts of espresso.
Donāt get a āall in oneā thing, there will undoubtedly be compromises either with the grinder or espresso.
Also decide if you need a steam wand for foaming milk.
I donāt drink much espresso nowadays, quality filter with light roast beans is my go-to.
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Iām kind of looking for something a little bit more budget :ā -ā )
Not sure youāll get much cheaper if youāre looking for āgoodā espresso. Whatās your budget? Do you have any models you have you eye on?
Have you tried a stovetop mokka pot? They are quite tolerant of a variation of grind size. Iāve had good results from my small (2cup?) one but struggle to get the large to perform as well, I think the larger interior tube is the problem.
Iām doing Moka pot now, which is great, but requires quite an effort to make a drinkable cup. Then there is the pressure issue - Iām leaning towards espresso. Is there a budget brand that is decent?
What sort of effort do you describe?
For the Moka, donāt grind too fine, Iāve made that mistake in the past. I also shut off the heat as soon as water appears, so as to not burn the coffee.
Iāve a La Pavoni Professional manual lever machine, for context.
In my experience, Iād describe the Moka pot as 70% of the effort of an espresso machine, some Moka pot positives:
*Tolerant of a range of grind sizes, so you donāt have to ādial inā your grinder.
*Requires minimal cleaning or descaling
*Faster- espresso machines take a while to come up to temperature.
Negatives:
*No steam wand for milk.
Itās just not easy to be consistent with the Moka pot. Coffee is notoriously difficult to brew well. Small variations in grind size, water flow rates, temperature, pressure, and cut off timing make quite a bit of a difference. I want to mechanise it a bit more.
Unorthodox, but perhaps a pressure cooker? And mix in some powderized eggshells.
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What? Iām not sure if this is a joke or a genuine suggestion?
There exist perfectly functional espresso machines, without having to resort to some strange workaround.
Coffee is very much like lightsā¦ you chase lumens and candela etc (home espresso setup) then realise that all along you just want a pocketable light with nice LED and good UI (quality pourover filter coffee).
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I dunno, i would try to āpull a mild vacuumā so I wouldnāt āleech the tannins.ā
Iāve had a Casabrews machine for a bit over a year, and had decent luck with it. Ordered an offbrand hand grinder (still around $50 though) as well as an unpressurized portafilter.
Regardless of the machine you get, experiment with grind sizes! If you have a kitchen scale, you can dial in some ratios of coffee/water that will make nice, relatively consistent espresso.
My casabrews has a decent steam wand as well, but I donāt at all claim to be an expert in the details. I enjoy the coffee I can make with it!
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In all seriousness though, you want to keep from burning or scalding the coffee, more like steeping it to make coffee stock or coffee broth, essentially. That bitterness is no good, even if I do enjoy it at times.
**the eggshells help with the acidity and overall smoothing the taste out.
I guess, if youāre drinking dark roasts? You can still get a decent (for dark roast) coffee with pourover, just use a lower temperature. Aeropress is also a good option for less premium beans - I find it trends towards āaveragely goodā coffee, improving your result with mahogany roast supermarket beans but also losing some clarity and fruit if youāre using premium light roast.
Ease of use means itās my āat workā coffee maker of choice.
Just to try and keep this post on topic: I started my coffee journey same as OP, looking for a home espresso machine for a reasonable price.
I was very tempted by the very basic āportableā machines like the Flair or the Rok, but in hindsight, Iām very glad I didnāt, as I now realise that juggling preheat, coffee and brew water, while also only having a guestimate for the pressure and temperature is not a recipe I want to follow.
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