jm21
New member
So I drink a pretty good amount of espresso and often Americanos (tall, triple, room for cream but don''t put any cream or sugar in)....but I''ve only recently been looking into buying a good espresso machine for home and would like some advice.
My parents gave me a cheap machine of theirs because they never used it, but it didn''t produce very good espresso (actually, it barely tasted like espresso...after reading from these forums and elsewhere, I guess it uses a steam brewing method and has very few bars of pressure...). I had always heard that the good espresso machines, aside from being expensive, require a grind that''s hard to get without an expensive grinder, so I gave up on the idea for a while...but then visited an uncle over Christmas and their Saeco machine is apparently very forgiving on the grind needed, and I started looking into machines.
I''m just looking for something that''s relatively inexpensive and can either brew enough coffee for me (I''m single) quickly or can do everything automatically...I use a french press right now, and although I enjoy the coffee out of it, I enjoy espresso more and I also usually don''t want to take the time to boil water, put it in the press for 3-4 minutes, then let it cool off to drink (I have a bit of a cat''s tongue), in the morning. It takes too long and I don''t like setting the water to boil while I take a shower, which is what I sometimes do to save time (seems unsafe, and then it starts whistling when I''m shampooing my hair or something). Sometimes I get doing something else while it''s brewing too and it brews too long.
I want something that''s quick or automatic but still gives me a nice cup of coffee.
I got an automatic tea maker for Christmas (the Zarafina one.. http://www.amazon.com/Zarafina-Maker-Su ... 015&sr=1-2) and love the set and forget, while still producing a good cup of tea, so the super-autos are very tempting and I''ve seen the Saeco Italia for a bit under $300...but $300-400 is getting a bit pricey and I''ve heard they have big reliability issues.
The Keurigs (or something like them), although they don''t make espresso, have some setting for a very strong cup of coffee, and do automatic single serve, and have an adapter to use normal coffee grounds...so that''s kind of tempting too. It seems like that might taste like an Americano?
If I didn''t get some automatic machine, from what I understand, to make the best espresso for the money, with relative ease, I''d want a decent grinder (I saw several posts here recommending the....infinity grinder i think? for $90 or something?) and a pump espresso machine with 15+ bars of pressure (semi-automatic too? Don''t know exactly what semi-auto means in this context...).
There seem to be a lot of brands, and I know from a reliable source that the Saeco ones work and are easy to use, so they''re at the top of my list, but I''m sure the other brands are competitive...I just don''t know enough about them.
So...any advice on something that might suit my needs would be great! I''m just waiting, researching, and looking for good deals right now.
I saw that Illy had a deal where you get a Francis!Francis! X5 machine for only $150+S&H if you sign up to order coffee...which seemed like a good deal, but the machine didn''t seem to get good reviews, except that it had great styling...but I actually don''t like the Euro styling. I''ve never had Illy coffee either, although it''s supposedly a good brand. I usually get my coffee from a small roaster that I like. And I prefer tea sometimes so I''m not sure I''d drink that much coffee in a month.
My parents gave me a cheap machine of theirs because they never used it, but it didn''t produce very good espresso (actually, it barely tasted like espresso...after reading from these forums and elsewhere, I guess it uses a steam brewing method and has very few bars of pressure...). I had always heard that the good espresso machines, aside from being expensive, require a grind that''s hard to get without an expensive grinder, so I gave up on the idea for a while...but then visited an uncle over Christmas and their Saeco machine is apparently very forgiving on the grind needed, and I started looking into machines.
I''m just looking for something that''s relatively inexpensive and can either brew enough coffee for me (I''m single) quickly or can do everything automatically...I use a french press right now, and although I enjoy the coffee out of it, I enjoy espresso more and I also usually don''t want to take the time to boil water, put it in the press for 3-4 minutes, then let it cool off to drink (I have a bit of a cat''s tongue), in the morning. It takes too long and I don''t like setting the water to boil while I take a shower, which is what I sometimes do to save time (seems unsafe, and then it starts whistling when I''m shampooing my hair or something). Sometimes I get doing something else while it''s brewing too and it brews too long.
I want something that''s quick or automatic but still gives me a nice cup of coffee.
I got an automatic tea maker for Christmas (the Zarafina one.. http://www.amazon.com/Zarafina-Maker-Su ... 015&sr=1-2) and love the set and forget, while still producing a good cup of tea, so the super-autos are very tempting and I''ve seen the Saeco Italia for a bit under $300...but $300-400 is getting a bit pricey and I''ve heard they have big reliability issues.
The Keurigs (or something like them), although they don''t make espresso, have some setting for a very strong cup of coffee, and do automatic single serve, and have an adapter to use normal coffee grounds...so that''s kind of tempting too. It seems like that might taste like an Americano?
If I didn''t get some automatic machine, from what I understand, to make the best espresso for the money, with relative ease, I''d want a decent grinder (I saw several posts here recommending the....infinity grinder i think? for $90 or something?) and a pump espresso machine with 15+ bars of pressure (semi-automatic too? Don''t know exactly what semi-auto means in this context...).
There seem to be a lot of brands, and I know from a reliable source that the Saeco ones work and are easy to use, so they''re at the top of my list, but I''m sure the other brands are competitive...I just don''t know enough about them.
So...any advice on something that might suit my needs would be great! I''m just waiting, researching, and looking for good deals right now.
I saw that Illy had a deal where you get a Francis!Francis! X5 machine for only $150+S&H if you sign up to order coffee...which seemed like a good deal, but the machine didn''t seem to get good reviews, except that it had great styling...but I actually don''t like the Euro styling. I''ve never had Illy coffee either, although it''s supposedly a good brand. I usually get my coffee from a small roaster that I like. And I prefer tea sometimes so I''m not sure I''d drink that much coffee in a month.
