How's it goin', eh?
Salut, fellow Canuk.
By automatic, do you mean superautomatic? The kind that does it all for you? If you're first priority is espresso quality superautomatics are said to fall short.
For quality the standard for home enthusiasts leans towards a semi automatic double boiler machine or single boiler heat exchanging e61 group machine. They're expensive in Canada since the market for most of the machines is down in the states and most of the states based vendors have the rights to sell in North America. Popular double boilers for home use are the Exobar Brewtus II and the newly modified La Spaziale SII. The Brewtus is Wholelattalove's offering and the SII is Chris' Coffee's offering. Both are in the states.
Less expensive, more numerous and certainly not less capable are the semi automatic single boiler, e61 group, heat exchanging machines. Quickmill makes some beautiful machines. I've got Chris' Coffee's Quickmill Vetrano. Excellent espresso. There's also the Andreja Premium, Izzo Alex, Giotto Premium, Fiorenzato Bricoletta, Viebiemme Domobar Super, La Valentina Levetta, to name a few. The e61 group makes for good temperature stability and easier extractions. Varying features between the machines include pump type-vibe or rotary, pour over or plumb in, internal parts design and type, gauges and ease of adjustability.
Ease of use is relative to the operator's skill. There's a move on to make super automatics that turn out espresso as good as what comes from the hand of a skilled barista but right now good espresso is really in the hands of the operator. You'll need a fresh roast, a good grinder to grind on demand and some barista skills to prepare good espresso. A good machine is a tool. Superautomatics that do the work for you don't do it as well as a good hand can and it's why semi automatics are considered the way to go for your best espresso but you need to make an investment in a very good grinder, good roast and research/practice into espresso preparation. It's not hard. Just takes some reading, a bit of understanding and practice. As far as I know and from my experience it's the best way to go if your priority is espresso quality.
