[jermmd]

Anyone have any experience with an expensive home espresso macine. I'm considering this one from Costco. My wife and I drink a lot of coffee and we appreciate quality. An occasional espresso/latte/cappucino is nice on special occasions as well. Is the basic cup of coffee better than french press? Are these machines worth the cost?

[S Clark]

Expensive is a very relative term.  In home machines, quality starts around $250 and goes up from there.  I have a Gaggia "Baby" model that makes consistant excellent expresso.  The Rancilio "Miss Silvia" is often considered the standard by which many home units are measured against. The price range of the is $350-450.
Of course, if it makes you happy, you can spend a whole lot more aa.

[jermmd]

I looked up Gaggai on Amazon and there are plenty of models. I'm really looking for a low maintenance regular coffee maker with all the automatic options like grinder/gram measurements/temp settings/cup warmer/etc. The milk/cream steamer is important as well.

Or maybe a seperate espresso machine and coffee press is better? I certainly don't want to piss away $850 on something that I will use mostly in the way I'm now using my free Gevalia drip coffee maker. There has to be a significant quality gain for me to spend that kind of money. Remember, although I want espresso and latte's, regular coffee is most important.

Thanks,

[GregC]

Anyone have any experience with an expensive home espresso macine. I'm considering this one from Costco. My wife and I drink a lot of coffee and we appreciate quality. An occasional espresso/latte/cappucino is nice on special occasions as well. Is the basic cup of coffee better than french press? Are these machines worth the cost?

For what it is worth, I owned a Saeco Magik (it cost me $600 new and retailed for $1000) and it worked great for about one year.  It stopped working before I moved to CO from CA, so when I finally got it out of storage, I brought it into a repair place in Colorado Springs, CO.  Two boards and the pump had gone out so it cost me $60 in diagnostics to find out the repairs would cost me more than $400.  I will NEVER own a Saeco product again.   I am about to throw mine out because it will cost the same to repair as buying a comparable new machine.   If you get a Saeco I hope you have better luck than I did.  Here is an interesting review link if you are interested.

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/kitchen/espresso-machines/index.html

[jermmd]

Well, Unless I hear otherwise, I'm not buying Saeco. Even though Costco will take it back without hassle, I can't stand quality problems. The Rancilio Miss Silvia is highest rated so maybe I'll give that a shot and buy a seperate cofee maker. French Press seems pretty popular. Any specific recommendations for a quality coffee maker. I already have a decent burr grinder.

[GregC]

Joe,

Although I had issues with the quality of Saeco, in all fairness it made a great cup of espresso.  At least with Costco you have a no questions asked return policy.  I bought mine from a retailer on eBay, and I was SOL when it died on me just after the warranty period expired.

Greg

[GregC]

S Clark,

Where can you find a Miss Silvia for $350-$450.  I have not seen one for less than $500 for an open box special.

Greg

[lonewolfny42]

Joe....
A past thread.... http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=36874.0

And AC member beat might have an answer for your question....Link...

[Levi]

Nice link there Chris

[lonewolfny42]

Few more coffee links...

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=35768.0

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=14171.0

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=33392.0

[Rasta]

Lots of good info, product and prices here:

http://www.aabreecoffee.com/

If you get a good machine, make sure you get a good grinder.

Enjoy!

[S Clark]

I already have a decent burr grinder.

Then budget for a good grinder instead of decent.  Without consistent grind, you won't make consistent espresso. My Gaggia is excellent, but very loud.  My next one will be a Rancilio Rocky.

[S Clark]

S Clark,

Where can you find a Miss Silvia for $350-$450.  I have not seen one for less than $500 for an open box special.

Greg

Whole Latte Love often has returned units with guarrantees that are reasonable. The Miss Silvias are at the upper $ end.

[jermmd]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to read through these threads and pick out what I need.

[Philistine]

My wife is from Milan, so I'm trained as the in house Barista  .  The most important item is the grinder, if you have a good burr grinder then you're well on your way - the Rancilio Rocky is considered the entry level grinder.  We used to have the Baby Gaggia, its a very robust, reliable and an easy to use machine.  After 11 years it died in the Summer and we 'upgraded' to the Ranicilio Miss Silvia, which is significantly more difficult to master and looks very industrial.  I would recommend starting with the Baby Gaggia, it makes great coffee and easy to master. 
Italians find Americans and Brits easy to identify -they drink cappuccino as an after dinner drink    A big no no - cappuccino is a breakfast drink.  The first date with my wife was in a Milan restaurant for dinner, all the locals were laughing at a table full of Brits drinking cappuccino - I became a quick learner and ordered an espresso         

   

[samplesj]

I already have a decent burr grinder.

Then budget for a good grinder instead of decent.  Without consistent grind, you won't make consistent espresso. My Gaggia is excellent, but very loud.  My next one will be a Rancilio Rocky.

Even a Rocky isn't the end of the line.  When I "upgraded" from my Rocky to a Macap MKXR (low speed conical) it was a huge step up.

You could go for years being happy with Rocky/Silvia, but if you get "upgraditis" easily it may end up costing you more.  A Rocky/Silvia combo is a great starter set, but think about where you may end up first so you don't end up moving through a dozen pieces of gear and losing a bit on each.

Once you learn temp surfing you can make just as good a shot on a Rocky/Silvia combo as you can on anything else.  Upgrading doesn't buy "better" shots, it buys your great shots more often.  I don't remember the last sink shot I've had and I get awesome shots so much more often now.

general progression of espresso machines
steam toy - single boiler - hx machines - double boiler


Now for something completely different.....

I noticed you mentioned that normal coffee was what you really drank most.  While an americano is a bit more like coffee than a normal shot, its still not the same experience.  If you really want good coffee then maybe a Technivorm or vac brewer is worth investigating.  I like a good cup of french press, but my wife finally got fed up and told me the sludge/fines were killing it for her.  Regardless of grind level some amount of sludge with FP is just the nature of the beast so we looked at the other options.  We went with a TV and she loves it.  It is MUCH easily to brew and clean up compared to a french press and I think it does a better job pulling out roast/variety nuances.