Good morning from Chicago, and my favorite place to get espresso (The Mothership).
I’m trying to make better espresso from home, so I’m curious as to what methods you all use to make espresso at home that you love.
I use a Gaggia New Baby espresso machine that I bought for £60 here in the UK of Facebook marketplace. A £100 manual handgrinder (Kingrinder K4) and speciality beans from a local roastery. The espresso I can make at home tastes better than all but the best speciality shops where I live. Honestly, it’s sort of spoiled me now, and it’s rather disappointing when I go somehow I don’t know and end up with a mediocre coffee!
Will look into the machine. Thanks!
Howdy fellow Chicagoan. My first foray into home espresso was a Gaggia Classic and a Baratza Encore. That was more than enough to replace my forays into the coffee shops.
A friend of mine uses a cheap breville and preground coffee and is satisfied, so I think it all depends on how picky you are.
Always nice to meet another Chicagoan! Thanks for the recommendations. Will take a look!
Let me know if you have more specific questions as well. I’ve been making espresso at home for about 7 years now, so I’ve been through most of the growing pains.
I started home espresso with a Breville Barista Express. That served me well for about 4 years before I got tired of its limitations, especially in regards to grind uniformity and making adjustments for different roasts (ie temp, pressure, etc.). I stopped using the built in grinder in favor of an Atom 60, which led to a massive improvement and held me over until upgrading to a Profitec Pro 600.
Until I want something plumbed in, or really want to geek out over data from a Decent, I don’t see much reason to upgrade any time soon.
Will take a look at the machine. Thanks
I have a Decent DE1PRO at home but you don’t need to do that, you can get great espresso with something like a Bambino Plus, a good hand grinder, and some accessories to improve consistency (like 0.1g accurate scales)
For a lot of people I think they’d be perfectly happy making espresso-like drinks with a Mokapot or an aeropress at home.
I have both a Mokapot and Aeropress. I agree for most people those would work fine. I’ve gotten close with a Mokapot but not quiet there ……
Uniterra Nomad. Workflow is a little fussy but it works great. I’ve found that especially on lighter roasts, using lower pressures helps a lot.
Will check it out, thanks.
I use a Europiccola lever machine. I can get shots on par or better than all but the best coffee shops in my area (though the frother leaves something to be desired). I’m using a manual grinder, which is a good way to keep the budget down and keep quality high.
Will take a look at the machine. Thanks!
I use a moka pot. While it may not be “true” espresso, it’s brewed via pressure and has a lovely strength.
I do love my Mokapot but I can’t quiet get it to espresso level….
If you want a budget machine than can make great espresso, and your willing to learn a lever machine workflow, I’d highly recommend looking at the Flair lineup. They have amazing options at a few price points.
Beans, grinder, technique. Then machine.
I’ve had a number of machines (decent now) and it isn’t required to make something really good. Learn the basic techniques to get the flow and pressure right with your unit of choice. Dual boiler or switched boiler (either steam or brew via a switch) is my suggestion there, as the heat exchangers are great, but you have to play with them to know how it works.
Learn Wdt.
Thanks! I use beans from our local shop and a hand (manual) grinder. Even measuring water and coffee I can’t quiet make something good with my aeropress or Mokapot. I don’t need any fancy machines or anything as long as I can make something I like.
Doesn’t really answer your question, but I’ve been really happy making "faux latte"s and such with my Moka pot. A little inconvenient to clean, but definitely takes up less space than a mini espresso machine.
I do love my Mokapot and I can make an okay cappuccino using it but really looking for that strong espresso taste. I can’t seem to get that or the acidity with mine.