andersonle09 Senior Member Joined: 27 Mar 2012 Posts: 4 Location: california Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Mar 27, 2012, 5:12pm Subject: Espresso for under $300
This is my first post on this forum! My recent fiance and I both love espresso drinks, and we also love to make them. My fiance is a barista at a coffee shop and we want to invest in our own espresso machine. We have a limited budget, but we want a solid machine that will last a while (and most importantly will make good shots with that all that tasty crema :) ). Our budget is 300 dollars. Secondly, I was wondering if the porlex, will cut it for espresso grinding.
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,098 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Thu Mar 29, 2012, 7:12am Subject: Re: Espresso for under $300
Great espresso does not have to cost thousands of dollars, but it does have to cost something! With a budget so low, the ONLY thing I can suggest is to buy used or refurbished. NOTHING is out there (IMHO) in the under $300 range . . .
New, the lowest priced machine I feel comfortable recommending is the Gaggia New Baby, which is on sale for $339. Your present budget is blown right there, and you haven't even begun with a grinder! You need a grinder if you hope to have any chance at making good espresso.
sn_85 Senior Member Joined: 1 Dec 2011 Posts: 131 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Quick Mill Andreja Premium Grinder: Baratza Vario
Posted Thu Mar 29, 2012, 8:10am Subject: Re: Espresso for under $300
This is probably not what you are looking for but in that price range you're talking about handheld. You can get the Mypressi twist for $150 and an Orphan Espresso LIDO grinder for $165. If you like lattes you can get one of those hand pump milk frothers for like $20. It's not the most attractive route but with your budget it's your best ticket to cheap but very good espresso.
If you are set on having a machine, I would suggest Craigslist. People routinely put up Starbuck Barista machines anywhere from $100 - $150. You can pair that with the LIDO above or try your the new Baratza Encore for $129. The Encore might be passable for grinding espresso and for the Barista's pressurized baskets I think it should work fine. Yiplong also gave a pretty good recommendation as well.
andersonle09 Senior Member Joined: 27 Mar 2012 Posts: 4 Location: california Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Mar 29, 2012, 12:05pm Subject: Re: Espresso for under $300
Thank you yiplong and sn_85 for working with my budget a little bit. I am not expecting to get a serious set up with this budget, but I still want to be able to make some decent espresso at home. I will probably end up going the craigslist or refurbished route, it seems the most promising. I am still wondering about the porlex/hario/kyocera grinders. Does anyone know if it works reasonably well for espresso grinding?
I've used the Hario slim for espresso and it can definitely grind fine enough to choke most machines. It creates nice consistent grinds but I find the adjustment steps too widely spaced. It is quite a bit of work too, might not seem like it at first but cranking that handle everytime you want a shot grows old fast. The orphan seems like a much better start. I've never used one but it has much, much larger burrs and should be able to grind much faster.
Our lowest priced grinder that we advise getting, new is http://www.wholelattelove.com/Baratza/baratza_preciso.cfm which eats up your entire budget. The Baratza Encore is a VERY new grinder and at that price point for a powered grinder, I really would NOT expect it to do a reasonable job for espresso, regardless of the advertising copy says until several people try it out.
I must agree with Jason, it does not need to cost a fortune but you DO need to spend some money. The grinder is KING and the espresso machine only processes what the grinder feeds it. If the grinder is sub par, so will be the espresso.
To stay in your price range, skip an espresso "machine". Buy a GOOD hand grinder and the My Pressi Twist. Froth your milk with a hand whip and warm it in the microwave. That will achieve the best bang for your starting budget buck. Any "machine" that is priced low enough to fall into your budget WITH a grinder included, really isn't worth having. Sorry to be the bearer of the truth.
You said but I still want to be able to make some decent espresso at home Sadly your budget will not allow you to buy any "machine" new. The twist and a hand grinder YES and it will meet all your requirements.
Used, for a machine and a hand grinder, you still MIGHT get away with $300 but it would be rough.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
CoffeeRuss Senior Member Joined: 1 Jan 2012 Posts: 6 Location: Sheffield Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Mar 31, 2012, 7:36am Subject: Re: Espresso for under $300
Hi, I'm fairly new to this espresso business myself but I found with my gaggia cubika plus and a hand grinder whilst it may not be the 'bee's knees' in espresso taste it still produces a good tasting espresso that can be drunk solo and that I personally feel tastes better than the chain stores.
The cubika plus is around £100 in the UK and the Zassenhaus grinder I used was around £70. I then invested in a good tamper too at around £20. I also recently picked up a used cunill tauro grinder on eBay for £59 which was a speedy upgrade and works nicely.
Like I say I'm no espresso expert and I'm still learning a lot but if you have a budget and just want decent, drinkable espresso I found this works nicely for me and keeps me happy every morning.
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