At Home Espresso Machine

[deacphan]

Stayed at a house while I was on vacation that had one, and I loved making my own espressos. Since I work from home, I thought it'd be a good way to keep me from going to the coffee shop to get espressos which would be good for the old pocket book. Anybody ventured in to the market for one? Any suggestions?

 

[JamesSokolove]

 

[TheTwinAndreBen]

I am on my second one. I would strongly suggest manual over automatic. Gives you more control.

I have had two Brevilles

Started with this one

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/breville-bes840xl-smooth-infuser-espresso/?

Now have this one.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/breville-barista-express-espresso-maker/

It takes a while to get good at it, and its not super convenient, but its pretty rewarding to be able to make a espresso or latte on the weekend that is waaay better than your corner starbucks.

 

[Biff Tannen]

At $600 it pays for itself in approximately 200 Venti lattes.

 

[El Chupacabra]

Phan, how about if I move to the Bay Area, you just give me some room in your house (all I would need is a corner and maybe some pillows or suitcases to lay my head on) and I will pull espresso shots for you in return.

 

[ImTheCaptain]

I have a Nespresso and it mostly sucks

 

[deacphan]

Phan, how about if I move to the Bay Area, you just give me some room in your house (all I would need is a corner and maybe some pillows or suitcases to lay my head on) and I will pull espresso shots for you in return.

sounds like a plan. just don't seduce my wife, you handsome so and so. she's always had a thing for pacey.

 

[deacphan]

I am on my second one. I would strongly suggest manual over automatic. Gives you more control.

I have had two Brevilles

Started with this one

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/breville-bes840xl-smooth-infuser-espresso/?

Now have this one.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/breville-barista-express-espresso-maker/

It takes a while to get good at it, and its not super convenient, but its pretty rewarding to be able to make a espresso or latte on the weekend that is waaay better than your corner starbucks.

defs thinking manual or semi-manual. i did some initial googling that led me to the below:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004S9G8/

i think it's looking like it'll be $400-600 to get something that's worth it. maybe it'll be a xmas present from my wife. the issue with that is i have to tell her how much it costs unlike if i just buy it myself.

 

[deacphan]

At $600 it pays for itself in approximately 200 Venti lattes.

espressos/americanos are $2.50 at my coffee shop. capps are $4. i usually get one of those, so i guess that is like 200 coffees. considering my options are make coffee from home or go to the coffee shop every day that's about a year's worth of shop visits.

 

[TheTwinAndreBen]

Wo that one is expensive. For that much you can get the one I have now, which has a built in grinder with different grid consistency settings. The grind size matters a lot in what kind of crema you end up with. And different beans react differently to different grind sizes. Grinding whole beans yourself though produces much better results than buying already ground product like Illy cans. Like I said, its pretty effing fussy.

I would bet you can find that entry level Breville on sale before xmas at like Macy's or something for like $350.

 

[buckets]

I have a Nespresso and it mostly sucks

You don't like it? We've got one and I like it

 

[deacphan]

Wo that one is expensive. For that much you can get the one I have now, which has a built in grinder with different grid consistency settings. The grind size matters a lot in what kind of crema you end up with. And different beans react differently to different grind sizes. Grinding whole beans yourself though produces much better results than buying already ground product like Illy cans. Like I said, its pretty effing fussy.

I would bet you can find that entry level Breville on sale before xmas at like Macy's or something for like $350.

i was assuming a burr grinder would be a necessity as well and didn't realize the one you have comes with a grinder. that's a steal if that's the case.

 

[ImTheCaptain]

You don't like it? We've got one and I like it

let me rephrase:

i have a Nespresso and it's a fair equivalent to a Keurig

it is convenient and easy. just only 80% satisfying

 

[wfudkn]

I have one of the Illy Francis Francis X7.1 machines that uses single serve pods and I really like it.

 

[El Chupacabra]

sounds like a plan. just don't seduce my wife, you handsome so and so. she's always had a thing for pacey.

Just tell her I came with the machine. I wouldn't do anything to threaten the roof over my head, my man!

 

[ImTheCaptain]

Just tell her I came with the machine.

that's what she said

 

[DeaconCav06]

Does anybody ever just use the stove top ones?

 

[wfudkn]

Does anybody ever just use the stove top ones?

I have one and use it on occasion. Makes a really good espresso, but the problem for me is that it makes too much for one person (and you can't really adjust to make smaller sizes).

 

[buckets]

There's a goldbox deal today on Amazon for the Breville 800esxl model

 

[dot com]

espressos/americanos are $2.50 at my coffee shop. capps are $4. i usually get one of those, so i guess that is like 200 coffees. considering my options are make coffee from home or go to the coffee shop every day that's about a year's worth of shop visits.

$2.50 gets me enough beans to make like 20 cups of strong coffee in my Mr. Coffee.