espresso machines

[ilovethiswebsite]

Hey All,

My hubby and I are in the market for a new espresso machine. We had a Breville but it broke down... This time we are willing to spend a bit more money for a better quality machine. Our budget is below 2000$. I have no idea which companies are reputable.... Any suggestions?

 

[KatyWI]

I''m not sure if you are crazy coffee geeks like my husband and I, but we''re in the market for a used commercial grade machine, and plan on spending no more than $750. I wish I had a $2000 budget... I''d use part of it to plumb the machine into my water supply!!

That said, if you''re not a crazy coffee geek, it is absolute insanity (in my humble opinion) to spend anywhere near $2000 on an espresso machine! We are so crazy in coffee-geek-land that we roast our own coffee at home, and have been enjoying spectacular espresso on our Saeco Barista espresso machine that was purchased for $250 (post discount) at Starbucks something close to 6 or 7 years ago. Filtering your water will make much more of a difference than the quality of your machine, as will purchasing a good quality burr grinder, such as the Mazzer Mini.

Your best bet is to just do some research and find something that is within your budget that''s getting great reviews. I have a friend who loves her Jura, but Saeco is still out there, and of the home-grade espresso machines out there, I think they make some of the best.

Happy hunting!!

 

[KatyWI]

Ooh, also, Coffee Geek (I have no affiliation) has a host of consumer reviews, and also some forums where people talk about this stuff all the time!

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

Date: 6/18/2010 6:30:46 PM
Author: KatyWI
I'm not sure if you are crazy coffee geeks like my husband and I, but we're in the market for a used commercial grade machine, and plan on spending no more than $750. I wish I had a $2000 budget... I'd use part of it to plumb the machine into my water supply!!


That said, if you're not a crazy coffee geek, it is absolute insanity (in my humble opinion) to spend anywhere near $2000 on an espresso machine! We are so crazy in coffee-geek-land that we roast our own coffee at home, and have been enjoying spectacular espresso on our Saeco Barista espresso machine that was purchased for $250 (post discount) at Starbucks something close to 6 or 7 years ago. Filtering your water will make much more of a difference than the quality of your machine, as will purchasing a good quality burr grinder, such as the Mazzer Mini.


Your best bet is to just do some research and find something that is within your budget that's getting great reviews. I have a friend who loves her Jura, but Saeco is still out there, and of the home-grade espresso machines out there, I think they make some of the best.


Happy hunting!!

Thanks for the tips. We are crazy coffee geeks, unfortunately (as in, we are addicted to coffee and very picky about our espresso). I agree 2 g is a but much, I much rather spend less. Unfortunately, in Canada, discount deals like that (250$ for Saeco) is practically impossible to find. I have heard of Jura... I think they start at about 1 g though don't they?

 

[Lula]

My husband and I have owned a LaPavoni machine for about 10 years. Before that, we tried several other brands and they always had problems, broke, couldn't be fixed. LaPavoni machines are solid and their customer service is great. The machines also make great espresso! We use it every day, so it's not a pampered machine by any means.

We paid about $500 for ours (10 years ago) and I think they are $800-1,000 now, but well worth it if it does what you want and doesn't break.

link

ETA: I agree with KatyWI that filtering your water and investing in a burr grinder make a big difference in the quality of the coffee.

ETA: We have the Europiccola model.

 

[CDNinNYC]

I bought the Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine for DH as a getting-into-an-MBA-program gift (for all that late night studying) in 2005 and it's still producing really great espresso. I bought it in Toronto at the Green Beanery for about $700, I believe.

 

[marcy]

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/nespresso-citiz-espresso-machine-and-automatic-milk-frother/?cm_src=hero

My husband has this one and loves it. It is about $400.

 

[October2008bride]

Originally my hubby wanted a pretty high end machine and after all of his research, he landed on a Jura. They sell them at Williams Sonoma.

However for us we ended up saving a boatload of money and got a Nespresso. We are in LOVE with it!! THe quality of the espresso is outstanding. You can go to the boutique at the Bay down at the Eaton Centre to give it a try.

If you do want a more ''proper'' machine - I''d check out the Jura for sure.

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

We have a Nespresso machine and I absolutely love it!!!!

I didn''t drink coffee before we were given it as a wedding present but now i do.

I love it because there is no mess involved, no spilt coffee grind, no dirty filter thing to clean, it''s very easy to use.

There are so many varieties of coffee ranging in strength from 1 -10. I use the 1 -4 types and my husband uses the 5 - 10 types, all the pods come in their own colour.

It froths its own milk which i find handy.

I always thought that it was an expensive way to drink coffee, but the pods range from 63 - 73 cents which i think is great value for how clean and easy to use the machine is.

 

[CDNinNYC]

My cousin used to work for Nespresso and got most of my family (extended) hooked on their machines. It really does make wonderful coffee. DH isn''t keen on the idea, though, as they force you to buy the pods/their brand of coffee. He likes to experiment and try different brands, hence why the Silvia works for us.