Are you getting good use out of your espresso machine?

I’m currently brewing in an Aeropress, and considering one of the lower end espresso machines.

But based on a few comments from James Hoffmann about him drinking filter coffee at home, I’m wondering if an espresso machine is something that people end up using every day, or if people are brewing with simpler methods and just making espressos when they’ve got time on the weekend or people over?

What’s your experience, did you buy a machine and it mostly just takes up counter space, or is it a daily source of joy?

psud, (edited )

I use a flair lever machine and use it every day. It’s quick, easy to clean, fine for several shots in a row, has no capacity for doing anything with milk

The longest part of it is boiling the kettle to fill it, three double shots is pretty quick if the grinder can grind quick enough, though I deputize one of the people I’m making coffee for to feed the grinder for the next shot

The best part of a lever machine is with a little practice you can pull any pressure or rate profile

Clean up is so much easier - tap out the portafilter, wipe it out, wipe off the bench occasionally for spilt drops and grounds, compared to the effort for cleaning an immersion machine

indomara,

We started with an Aeropress, then got a mid range Delonghi all in one machine and never looked back. After 3.5 years or so we decided to upgrade to their newer all in one that does cold brew as well.

We make at least 6 cappuccinos every morning, and often a cold brew latte or two in the afternoons.

Before we decommissioned the old one we checked the system settings and it said it had brewed over 2800 coffees. We stopped buying coffee out in most places because often we would decide the machine at home made better coffee.

If you like coffee with milk, both cold and hot, we can definitely recommend the Delonghi Eletta Explore. The coffee is good, the new milk carafes are way easier to clean, and the machine works well with all types of coffee.

Even the wanky app that “adjusts the grind to the variety and roast of your beans” surprisingly seems to work - though the rest of the app is trash.

WASTECH,
@WASTECH@lemmy.world avatar

I got my machine about 2 years ago and I use it almost exclusively. I don’t think I’ve made coffee any other way in at least 6 months. I make espresso for myself and my wife about 3 times a week. I use a smart plug with my machine to turn it on and let it start heating up without having to go to the kitchen, and that has helped me use it more since I can start preheating it from anywhere.

nharter42,

So about ten years ago I had been using the aero press many times a day for my new wife and I. We got a grinder for it and it was great. I found a used gaggia classic that was being sold as is but looked brand new. It was like 100 USD or so. I grabbed it and found a wire had loosened up.

That was the start of my espresso journey. I have bought 4 or 5 of those, they never die bad enough that you can fix it, these were for friends and gifts all used and repaired by me so I could get good at it.

My wife and I were hooked…

Then back in 2016 I bought a dead 2 group commercial one. I had plans to build one but gave up. I suck at welding and small boilers are hard to find.

Then we wanted something nicer then the gaggia, for steaming milk so we found another 2 group commercial machine very very very used but working for about 700 USD got it in our kitchen and wow amazing. Plus being old you could replace anything on there with cheap bulk components you found online.

Sadly most people should not get 2 group machine. They are big. Like really big. 2ft by 3ft or larger and throw a lot of heat. Great in winter but not in summer. Because of these issues we sold that and found a nice single group one in that prosumer level.

For most of the past ten years I have made my wife 2 or more mochas and myself at a min 2 espresso drinks from mochas to Americanos.

If you like coffee go for it. Go inexpensive but do NOT get a steam powered machine make sure it has a pump to push the water. Some steam ones Im Sure work, but the pump means less chance of getting too hot water going through the beans.

Gaggia classics are great and resell value is good. They are hard to find that cheap anymore but they are all fixable and even the old gaggia coffee are great and upgradeable to match the more modern features. Just did one for our friend.

OceanEyes,
@OceanEyes@lemmyf.uk avatar

That’s a great way to get a quality machine. I would love to know where you find used commercial machines!

Pacmanlives,

I started with an Areopress about 15 years ago. Still have it and sometimes pull it out but it goes on every camping trip with us.

I drank a lot of pressed coffees for about 10 years till last year when I decided I wanted to go all in on a good Espresso machine so I pulled the trigger on a Lelit Bianca that we use daily and love it.

I am due to upgrade my grinder here soon. My Brevell is starting to not grind as good as it once did. Even after cleaning it and putting a new felt washer in it. It’s taken a lot of abuse over the last 7 years. I definitely got my moneys worth out of it

adam,

I’ve had a BBE for almost 4 years, I use it daily. I can create nicer tasting espresso based drinks than Starbucks and Costa and basically any other local coffee shop.

The only people I’ve found locally that can do a better job are the ones who roast the beans I use - and I’d be surprised if they couldn’t.

OneCardboardBox,

Got a secondhand Delonghi Dedica because I had similar concerns over how much I’d use it. Previous owner installed an aftermarket steam wand, which has been a joy.

Overall, it comes and goes in waves for me. Some weeks I pull shots every afternoon, sometimes it sits unused for a month. I enjoy taking some time to step away from the home office and prep coffee, so espresso is nice for that. I’d probably use it even more if we were more of a milk drinking household. I like my steamed milk drinks, but we don’t reliably keep milk in our fridge.

I’m also very lazy about dialing in shots. We like to buy a variety of beans for our morning French press, so the coffee available for espresso might vary week-to-week. I’m not willing to waste coffee dialing in on a 16oz bag of beans that’ll be gone in a few days, so the quality of my espresso suffers. Do most people generally keep one kind of bean around specifically for their espresso?

bizzle,
@bizzle@lemmy.world avatar

I have a DeLonghi Dedica that replaced a $40 Mr Coffee espresso machine and it’s amazing in every way- except the hecking wand. Might you have any information on this aftermarket wand you have?

OneCardboardBox,

Yeah, apparently it’s the wand from a Rancilio Silvia: m.youtube.com/watch?v=5AOTa3bEpYM

bizzle,
@bizzle@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you 🙏

Ilflish,

I think it matters more on which you prefer. If you prefer espressos, your likely to use the espresso maker more. James Hoffman specifically notes he prefers coffee over espresso so that not weird for him to drink coffee more

AA5B,

I’ll take the counter-argument, since I’m clearly not as “focused” on coffee as some here, but it really is an individual thing.

For me, no, it wasn’t worth it. The time, money, attention it would take me to get as good as a nice Cafe, is just not worth it to me. So I gave it up pretty quickly

I’ll even risk being burnt at the stake as a heretic here, but I do prioritize convenience

  • every day, I spend money on exactly the coffee i want but it’s a pod in a machine where I just press a button. It’s better than fast food coffee, drip coffee, and even some coffeehouses.
  • normal weekend, I have beans from my favorite roaster so I’ll probably use a French press or make cold brew. It’s better than most restaurants, especially chains
  • event, I love a good espresso or cappuccino and will seek out a place that does a good job. The city I live near has a traditionally Italian section that has several places with truly amazing coffees

In my case as an individual, good coffee is worth spending more money on, but I highly value my time and convenience

ccunning,

For me it was a daily source of coffee, but I wouldn’t say it was a daily source of joy. I used mine for a couple few years before deciding it wasn’t for me.

It takes more effort than I realized to pull good shots. Dialing in grind settings requires multiple pulls and you end up either over caffeinated (me) or tossing out a lot of mediocre shots. And you have to do it whenever you try new beans. And even sometimes with a new batch of “the same” beans.

My advice would be to just understand that you’re taking on a hobby; not just a different brewing method.

wfh,

Short answer: yes

Long answer: I own multiple brewing methods. Aeropress, French press, Turkish… and a Lelit Bianca. Nothing gets me as happy as a double espresso. Nothing beats the taste, the syrupy texture, the pure jolt of flavor in each sip. I bought an Aeropress for travel, and I ended up buying a Flair because I want the same espresso joy when not at home.

My Bianca is an absolute joy to use. I have completely internalized my workflow, making an espresso at home is so natural to me that it’s by far the easiest method. But brewing with the Flair is painful. It’s the least practical method of making coffee I know. And yet, I’m ready to go to such a length just to have delicious espresso when away.

As you can see, I kinda like coffee, but I love, live and breathe espresso.

eodur,

Short answer: multiple times every day.

Look at it as a hobby. You will sink as much money into as you want. I started with a cheap mister coffee espresso machine but now have a pretty nice E61 group head machine and jazzed up grinder and all the various coffee toys. It all brings me joy. The morning coffee ritual is what gets me out of bed.

From a cost perspective, if you are the kind of person who drinks 3 lattes from a cafe everyday, then even with the cost of a relatively nice machine and grinder will be paid for with the difference pretty quickly. If memory serves, you save about $4 per cup which adds up pretty quickly.

Imgonnatrythis,

Fully automatic espresso machine. Pull a ristretto and a single shot every morning, takes a few seconds and I’m out the door. Pour over futzing and bigger cup of coffee is for the weekend when I have time. Kind of sounds like the opposite of what you were thinking, but this is my go to to make sure I always have a good espresso or coffee with a busy schedule. Oh, I completely love my Jura btw. Total joy. Also occasionally make a cappuccino, but just use a little separate milk foamer for that.

FellowEnt,

I’ve owned two second hand Rancilio Silvias and they are very well built, I’ve seen them used commercially and while this wouldn’t be recommended they can take some abuse. I use it every day and it’s perfect, the Aeropress lives in the van now.

DreadPotato,
@DreadPotato@sopuli.xyz avatar

I use a flair classic lever brewer, and it’s the only thing i brew coffee with on a daily basis. I use a French press or pour over when I have guests.

viking,
@viking@infosec.pub avatar

How long did it take to get consistent output from the flair? I love the idea, but the learning curve seems steep. Or rather the error potential.

DreadPotato,
@DreadPotato@sopuli.xyz avatar

Almost immediately I would say. It only took a handful of pulls to get a good feel for it. I did buy the pressure gauge with it from the get go, I would definitely recommend that. Getting the whole process of preheating the brew chamber and getting everything ready in a streamlined manner takes a little practice though.

I use a TimeMore C3 manual grinder, and it does an OK job, especially for the price. I’m probably going to upgrade it (at some point) since it lacks some resolution in the grind settings.

I’m getting better and more consistent shots with this than my old semiautomatic brewer (a delonghi something, can’t remember the model)

psud,

I also have a flair (flair 58, for me) and it took 3 30g shots to get the grind dialled in, I watched a few videos on good pressure profiles to follow and it’s easy to use any specific pressure

Mine has preheat and came with a pressure gauge. It would be much harder without a gauge

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