Need advice for the best Espresso Machine

[janvriend]

Hello everybody, i am Jan from Holland and by coincidence i came on this site. I am curious which espresso machine you find the best. I like your opinion to make the choice easier. Thank very much! greetings from Amsterdam

 

[PinkRose]

Hello everybody, i am Jan from Holland and by coincidence i came on this site. I am curious which espresso machine you find the best. I like your opinion to make the choice easier. Thank very much! greetings from Amsterdam

Hello Janvriend.

Welcome to the Coffee Forums website. You will find a lot of useful information here.

There have been many (many) discussions regarding espresso machines over the years. Some of the factors to consider are price, reliability, quality of the espresso, type of coffee you're using, what kind of grinder you have, etc.

As you are exploring the Coffee Forums, please feel free to use the handy search feature that is at the top right corner of your screen.

I did a search for "best espresso machine" and a variety of topic discussions came up.

http://www.coffeeforums.com/forum/search.php?searchid=1854344


~ Rose

 

[mawil1013]

Another factor could be convenience: personally, I'd like to use my phone to specify what I want and when I want it, then walk into the kitchen at the time to find it there.

That's called, a loving spouse.

 

[mawil1013]

DeLonghi have been around a long time.

 

[shadow745]

Well, loving spouse will bring it to bed too...
There are several brands/models on the market that can do it now. They should name their machines as you suggested.

Just when I thought people couldn't get any lazier/less involved... to each his/her own I guess, but that super auto doesn't have a clue as to how good/bad things are going and make adjustments otherwise. Guess one man's sludge in a cup is liquid gold to another.

 

[shadow745]

Not knowing your level of experience; I'll start with this, the most important issue is the bean it self and how that bean tastes to you.

The Best machine in the world, maybe described as a machine with consistent and measurable water temperature and with consistent and measurable pressure will produced the worst coffee if you don't like the bean.

For some reason nobody talks about that coffee doesn't all taste the same, in fact the taste of coffee can go all over the spectrum of taste and that it is so much more than simply fresh bean and freshly roasted.

If you think you can by a highly precise machine and dump any coffee into it and you will love it you will be sorely disappointed. Also you can not know what the coffee will taste like by it's aroma of the bean.
Here, smell has nothing to do with final taste.

After finding a bean flavor that you like, which can taste great in a low end machine! You have to consider a grinder that will make a grind with equally sized grind. A grinder designed for fine grind such as for espresso too.

PS: To find a bean you like, seek out local coffee cafes and see if they will sell you Cupping samples to take home or maybe they do Cupping in store. The right bean taste for you is most important above all else.

If your drinking straight espresso then you'll be tasting more flavors than if you are making a latte. Tiny flavors and hints of flavors are useless in a latte, especially a flavored latte and therefore no need to by those bean with subtle flavors!

PS: most commercial coffee you get that have that, Coffee flavor, are a blend of different beans in order to have a consistent general public coffee taste. Which might be the way you'll want to go. Those who buy single origin bean and exploring the many subtle flavors of a single bean from a single farm with out any other bean mixed in.

You do make some great points and I definitely agree that the coffee used is by far the most overlooked part of the equation. On various forums the coffee nerds go on and on about the grinder, grinder, grinder... NO you must have good/fresh coffee followed by skill then the grinder, espresso machine, etc. If lousy coffee and serious lack of skill is involved no equipment will make much difference.

I can't agree with the aroma making no real difference relating to taste. To me aroma is KEY as I rely heavily on it when home roasting. I roast specifically by appearance and aroma, followed by other factors. Aroma is very indicative of coffee origin, roast level, age since being roasted, etc. Getting espresso dialed in to taste as good as the coffee being used smells is the Holy Grail so to speak.

 

[shadow745]

The reason for the saying: lazy people created this world. Otherwise, humans are still in pre stone age because even in stone age, they already know how to use stone tools to be lazy from their bare hands...

Don't agree as this world was built primarily hands-on. The lazy asses can do all the button pushing they want, but without serious labor nothing will ever get accomplished.

 

[mawil1013]

DeLonghi have manual and automatic models.

 

[shadow745]

After each batch I roast I crack a few open to look at/smell what took place during the roast process. Underdeveloped (usually roasted too fast or too hot initially) can look/smell great until it's ground then you end up with highly acidic grass/citrus notes that overpower all else. I'm not a fan of cupping for three reasons... one, it's a waste of coffee which to me is a precious commodity. Two, most cupping (on a commercial level that is) is done when the coffee is rather fresh and usually too fresh for espresso so that initial taste/aroma can be misleading. Of course some roasters can taste something super fresh and somewhat predict how it will age and go from there. Three, cupping may be a good indication of how coffees will end up for most brew methods, but with the pressure involved with espresso I don't see much relation as that pressure will squeeze out/magnify every bit of flavor (good or bad) and something as simple as cupping isn't extracting very much.

 

[shadow745]

There goes the whole idea of Industrialization (to reduce labor work and cost)...

Opinions surely vary... do me a favor and go push a button on that overpriced mediocre contraption some buffoons would call an espresso machine and drink the pathetic sludge from it... and be happy. I've got actual hands-on work ahead of me.

 

[PinkRose]

Wow!

This thread went off in a whole different direction.

I wouldn't be surprised if the original poster becomes reluctant to jump back into it.

He (or she) was just asking for recommendations for a good espresso machine.

Here are some possibilities:
https://www.cnet.com/news/the-best-espresso-machines-for-2019/

 

[AmandaM]

I'm not sure if you have Amazon there but I try to look on Amazon for the ones with the best reviews.

 

[shadow745]

I'm not sure if you have Amazon there but I try to look on Amazon for the ones with the best reviews.

Opinions vary, but the last people I'd trust for those asking for advice is those leaving Amazon reviews. Most of those doing so receive free or discounted products and will surely say pretty much anything for that reason. For the specialty items it's best to visit forums where actual users participate.

 

[Grind]

I've had 2 Delonghi machines at home over the past 6 years and both have served me well. It was definitely better than the machine we had in the office that was supposed to be a fancy and upscale brand.

 

[AdamCornwall]

I've had 2 Delonghi machines at home over the past 6 years and both have served me well. It was definitely better than the machine we had in the office that was supposed to be a fancy and upscale brand.

Offices often have bad coffee machines.