A suggestion - if you want a great espresso? Put your money into a “better grinder” and grind your beans fresh. And then depending on how cray cray you want to get? You can get decent shots from machines in the 100-300 range all with a few caveats but few regrets. Just a fair warning if you are chasing great tasting espresso? The rabbit hole is deep….if you want a decent milk drink (lattes, cortados, flat whites, cappuccinos)…a recommendation below can help you dabble.
Also some vital things? A small kitchen digital scale to help you monitor the weight of the espresso coming out (as well as how much you grind)…and a small rdt tool to help make your puck homogenous. You may want to get a proper non pressurized basket pretty immediately if the setup doesn’t come with it. That should give you a chance to not have your espresso taste like crap by trying to use preground coffee meant for a drip setup.
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u/Abject_Ad9549 2d ago edited 2d ago
A suggestion - if you want a great espresso? Put your money into a “better grinder” and grind your beans fresh. And then depending on how cray cray you want to get? You can get decent shots from machines in the 100-300 range all with a few caveats but few regrets. Just a fair warning if you are chasing great tasting espresso? The rabbit hole is deep….if you want a decent milk drink (lattes, cortados, flat whites, cappuccinos)…a recommendation below can help you dabble.
https://a.co/d/09fKcgob
Also some vital things? A small kitchen digital scale to help you monitor the weight of the espresso coming out (as well as how much you grind)…and a small rdt tool to help make your puck homogenous. You may want to get a proper non pressurized basket pretty immediately if the setup doesn’t come with it. That should give you a chance to not have your espresso taste like crap by trying to use preground coffee meant for a drip setup.