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Comment by tokamak-teapot | Hacker News Reader

A really, really good coffee machine for home. Price: about $1k. You can spend more but the coffee doesn’t get better - you just get more automation.

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> You can spend more but the coffee doesn’t get better - you just get more automation.

Not always. I was going to restore a Faema E61 and discovered that the basic model is almost identical to the original. Parts are interchangeable. It’s manual, it’s beautiful and it’s expensive.

https://www.faema.com/int-en/product/E61

> You can spend more but the coffee doesn’t get better

I went down the espresso rabbit hole during covid, as did a good buddy of mine. We both upgraded from setups in the ~$1k range and are experiencing much better results in the cup. Obviously you'll see diminishing returns at some price point, but most of my friends/family agree that a latte from my new setup is noticeably better than one from my old setup.

can you elaborate on your current setup?

for sure!

My grinder is a Weber EG-1. It has really large (80mm) flat burrs. Very forgiving; like I don't have to be dialed in perfectly for the espresso to be very good. It's essentially a cafe quality grinder, but optimized for a single-dose flow.

My machine is an Olympia Cremina, which is a manual lever machine. I've modified it with a pressure profiler to control and track the pressure of the shot I'm pulling. All that manual control is really nice for the kind of coffees I like which are usually naturally-processed light roasts. However, manual levers are not for everyone and have a definite learning curve.

If you're curious about either of those, James Hoffmann has good reviews of them both on YT.

I really enjoy the nerdiness and tactile feedback of the manual lever, but if I didn't want go manual, I'd look at a Decent DE-1.

If I had to shave a bit off that budget, I think I'd go with a Rancilio Silvia Pro X, which is half the cost.

Thank you! I appreciate your writeup, and that's an extremely sweet home setup.

Out of curiosity, what machine was it and what justifies the price tag?

Not the parent, but I bought a Gaggia Classic espresso machine as well as a great coffee grinder. The difference is night and day between grinding your own beans and making your own espresso (or even pour overs) to prepackaged stuff, not to mention cafes. I honestly haven't tasted a better espresso drink at cafes than at home, since they usually are working with multiple patrons and have to make the drink fast, and they often have burnt beans or burnt milk.

I'm not sure if OP bought an all-in-one, but I wouldn't recommend those, they don't do any of their tasks particularly well, when you could spend the same amount and get much better coffee.

You sound like you’ve hit the sweet spot where you pass on coffee out as it better at home.

Well, I do like the convenience of cafes so it's more that I'm now spending double the money, lol

I’m looking to upgrade my espresso setup (basic delonghi dedica machine right now). My grinder is really inadequate for espresso grinds and so I mostly just buy small quantities of pre-ground lavazza qualita oro. I’m thinking that in this situation, I’d be better off investing in a good grinder first, and waiting to buy a nicer espresso machine until I feel I can justify a ~$1k outlay. Ideally I’d just splurge and buy both but I can’t quite stomach that.

> I’d be better off investing in a good grinder first

You'd be correct. Check out some recommendations on /r/coffee for a grinder, and also James Hoffman's on YouTube.

the Niche zero is a good place to start

In 2021, I went with the Breville Barista Touch. I paid the extra over the Express version for it to froth the milk without me having to do it. For me, the price tag was justified because my wife used to drink ALOT of starbucks. This thing has already paid for itself.

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