Espresso makers

March 4, 2005 9:06 PM

After years of unsatisfactory espressi at home via a Moka, I'm in the market for a good espresso machine. Not a milk frother - I can make my own decent caps if I have a good base. I'd welcome any unreserved recommendations from Mefi.
posted by Neiltupper to food & drink (17 comments total)

Though it ties you to their capsules (which run 45 cents a pop across the twelve different blends), any of the Nespresso-based machines make remarkably, consistently good espresso (with some of the best crema I've seen) very quickly and with zero mess.

For me, at least, the savings in time (both for preparation and cleanup) and much better results than I'd gotten from any other machine (aside from something like the prohibitively expensive Oscar) are definitely worth the small per-cup increase in cost. I switched to a Nespresso C190 about six months ago, and haven't looked back.
posted by thomascrown at 10:11 PM on March 4, 2005

Budget?
posted by Jairus at 10:43 PM on March 4, 2005

CoffeeGeek has more information than you could ever possibly digest on this subject.

Unless you already have a decent grinder (a Solis Maestro Plus is one of the least expensive grinders that gets a lot of positive user reviews), plan on spending nearly half your budget on the grinder.

I had good results with a Francis Francis X3 for a while. It's not terribly expensive and I think there's an Illy pod deal that brings the price way down.

Another least-expensive choice that I've heard a lot of positives about is the Solis SL-70 (if you replace the pressurized portafilter with a standard one).

On the sky's the limit side, get a Brewtus or an Andreja and Mazzer Mini.

I have an Expobar Office and while it's not the prettiest machine ever made, it does great work and is a good bit less expensive than its fancier cousins.
posted by turbodog at 11:59 PM on March 4, 2005

Jairus: Sorry I missed that detail - prolly up to $600
posted by Neiltupper at 12:21 AM on March 5, 2005

Another vote for the Francis Francis X3. Ours is two years old, and with heavy daily use is still going strong. It is a good quality boiler machine. Temperature is good, pressure fine. I'm not a big fan of pods. Freshly roasted and freshly ground is the way to go IMHO. Instead of pods at 45 cents each, we got a knock box. Properly ground, tamped and brewed espresso should leave grounds that are pretty darn dry. Knock them out and wipe the portafilter with a paper towel and you are ready for the nest shot.
posted by fixedgear at 1:29 AM on March 5, 2005

I'll recommend the Gaggia Evolution because the portafilter is the same full-size 58mm chrome plated brass as their commercial setup, the brewhead is also brass, so it heats up fast, and the boiler heats up faster than most. I bought one over a year ago, and I'm buying another one this week for a gift. They have a good deal now at the linked retailer with a burr grinder (a necessity if you are going to make espresso) and a stand with a drawer for storing your portafilter baskets, measuring spoon.
posted by planetkyoto at 2:16 AM on March 5, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

The first rule of espresso is: get a decent grinder, as any real coffee nut will tell you. The Mazzer Mini mentioned earlier is everything you'll ever need, but it's also expensive. You might want to get a Rocky first.

Then start looking for an espresso machine - the Rancilio Silvia is considered the entry level machine of choice. For more info on what to look for in a machine: check the already mentioned coffeegeek, alt.coffee (newsgroup) and toomuchcoffee.com (selflink).

Please don't get a pod machine. Nespresso is disgustingly expensive, and you'll only regret it later: they offer ten coffees, twenty at most, while there are thousands of great, interesting single origin coffees, that you can roast and blend just the way you like them.
posted by NekulturnY at 8:28 AM on March 5, 2005

I believe the Starbucks Barista espresso machine and grinder are the best bang-for-the-buck.

The espresso machine is a rebadged Italian-made Solis; the grinder is a rebadged something else.

Starbucks warranty and customer service simply can not be beat. They're almost insane with the level of customer care they'll give you.

You can get godshots from the Barista, but they'll be rare. Most of the time you'll just get a very good shot. Keep in mind, though, that godshots are pretty rare even on a high-end machine.

The Barista combination will run about half the price of the Rancilio alone. Barista always comes on sale, and you'll probably find that even if it's not, you can get the manager to put it on sale.

If you've got the wad to blow, do go for the Rancilio. That said, I'm very dedicated to my cuppa, and I have no regrets not paying a premium for it. A Rancilio would be complete and utter overkill for my one-cup-a-day use.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:21 AM on March 5, 2005

For about $600 you could probably get an X3, a doserless Rancilio Rockey grinder ($285, I have one and it's awesome) plus nice accessories (a real tamper and a knock box).

Here's a link to the Illy a Casa deal that would get you a FF X5 (internally very similar, if not identical, to the X3) for $250 plus however much coffee you have to buy.
posted by turbodog at 10:31 AM on March 5, 2005

Oops, here's the Illy link
posted by turbodog at 10:31 AM on March 5, 2005

I love my X3. It's a dual-mode machine, so if you're in the mood for the convenience of pods, you can get those; if you want fresh-ground loose coffee, you just have to switch portafilters.
posted by lackutrol at 11:19 AM on March 5, 2005

this is the Ferrari

this is a good, nice, tasty compromise
posted by matteo at 2:34 PM on March 5, 2005

Go Gaggia. I have a 15 year old base model that still puts out amazingly rich espresso with wonderful crema. I disagree with the grinder people - I would sink all my money into the machine and upgrade the grinder later.
posted by vronsky at 2:38 PM on March 5, 2005

on preview - the model matteo posted is basically the same one I have. for the money, it can't be beat.
posted by vronsky at 2:40 PM on March 5, 2005

At 8300 $ for a single group machine, I think this is the Ferrari...
posted by NekulturnY at 1:20 AM on March 6, 2005

For a decent price and a good espresso I use this Krups machine. It's very good.
posted by gsb at 6:44 AM on March 6, 2005

Having worn out a couple of overpriced, noisy expresso machines I now swear by the classic Richard Sapper 9090 (stove top) It loooks great, takes up less space and will last a lifetime. Spend the cash saved on a good grinder.
posted by Lanark at 9:50 AM on March 6, 2005