Ok so for those of you who remember I bought a Nespresso espresso machine a few years back (you can read about it here: http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/cooki...o-machine.html) and have been pretty happy with it for the most part. The problem with this machine (and with all Nespresso machines) is that you are locked into their coffee and over the years it has gone up in price. Want to move to the next stage of my home espresso brewing education I have been considering a new machine. Let me tell you if you start doing any kind of research you will be blown away by the thousands of espresso machines available and the amount of money you can spend.
For the last year I have been considering the Capresso brand machines, doing taste tests at Williams and Sonoma and price shopping. Although I like the idea of a "Super Automatic" the price with the Capresso brand machines can really put a damper on your pocket book (anywhere from 800 - 3,000 dollars American).
Felling a bit frustrated I did more research on the internet (if you have not been to CoffeeGeek - News, Reviews, Opinion and Community for Coffee and Espresso then get on over there for some great coffee info) and started reading about two very popular models: the Gaggia Classic and the Rancillio Sylvia both in the 600-800 dollar range. These are considered Semi-Automatics which you have to grind, tamp and control the water temp and flow. What this means is that they have a much higher learning curve to get the espresso right.
For the purists the Ranicilio Sylvia is the way to go but the more I read it just seemed like an incredibly temperamental machine. To be honest I was not really interested in spending hundreds of dollars to have to spend hours and hours getting the grind just right, the tamping just right etc etc. While I really like how well built the Rancilio Sylvia is (Brass boiler, heavier gauge metal etc) I was leaning towards the Gaggia classic simply because it seemed easier to use. But the gaggia had it's drawbacks mainly with a boiler made out of aluminum and it was not as I said just didn't seem as well built as the Sylvia.
I have decided against both of the machines and my most recent research has lead me to the Ascaso brand machine. This is a semi-auto that accepts ESE (Easy Serve Espresso) pods and is in the 600.00 range. Pods are important simply because I prefer a simpler espresso especially in the morning. The thought of banging out yesterday's grounds then grinding fresh, tamping then running a machine at 5:30 AM and waking up my wife sounds like a nightmare.
Now here is were it really gets just crazy. You have found the machine of your dreams only to find out that home brewed espresso is highly dependant on the coffee (of course right?), and the grind, and the tamping. This means that not only do you need to spend hundreds of dollars on a machine but you have to also spend around 200.00 or so dollars on a good grinds such as the Rancilio Rocky. And you need to get a good tamper which can run you between 30-100 or more dollars.
Are you getting the picture here? We are no longer talking about 600 dollars we are talking about close to a thousand to get the right set up at home. And if you want you can ever go to a higher level and get a machine like the Livia D90 which is around $1,700.00 (really). A Franke super automatic from Switzerland can run you around $4,000 and the prices can really get out of hand.
Let me tell you friends you can go crazy researching the perfect espresso machine there are literally thousands Saeco, Jura Capresso, Nespresso, Franke, Ascaso and many many more. It looks like we are going to go with the Ascaso Steel Uno "Special Edition Versatile" Espresso Machine. Has a brass boiler, heating element is outside of the boiler to prevent damage from a dry boiler, and it is ese pod friendly.
My question is what espresso machine are you using? Is anyone using the Rancilio Sylvia, Gaggia classic or Ascaso Uno? I would really love to hear from others about the machine your using.
One last point. If you are thinking about a machine go to Youtube.com. I was blown away by how many coffee making videos there are of people using all of the machines that I was considering. It is a great way to see the machine in action (if you can stand the cheesy music people play). Also CoffeeGeek - News, Reviews, Opinion and Community for Coffee and Espresso is a great review site for coffee makers.
For the last year I have been considering the Capresso brand machines, doing taste tests at Williams and Sonoma and price shopping. Although I like the idea of a "Super Automatic" the price with the Capresso brand machines can really put a damper on your pocket book (anywhere from 800 - 3,000 dollars American).
Felling a bit frustrated I did more research on the internet (if you have not been to CoffeeGeek - News, Reviews, Opinion and Community for Coffee and Espresso then get on over there for some great coffee info) and started reading about two very popular models: the Gaggia Classic and the Rancillio Sylvia both in the 600-800 dollar range. These are considered Semi-Automatics which you have to grind, tamp and control the water temp and flow. What this means is that they have a much higher learning curve to get the espresso right.
For the purists the Ranicilio Sylvia is the way to go but the more I read it just seemed like an incredibly temperamental machine. To be honest I was not really interested in spending hundreds of dollars to have to spend hours and hours getting the grind just right, the tamping just right etc etc. While I really like how well built the Rancilio Sylvia is (Brass boiler, heavier gauge metal etc) I was leaning towards the Gaggia classic simply because it seemed easier to use. But the gaggia had it's drawbacks mainly with a boiler made out of aluminum and it was not as I said just didn't seem as well built as the Sylvia.
I have decided against both of the machines and my most recent research has lead me to the Ascaso brand machine. This is a semi-auto that accepts ESE (Easy Serve Espresso) pods and is in the 600.00 range. Pods are important simply because I prefer a simpler espresso especially in the morning. The thought of banging out yesterday's grounds then grinding fresh, tamping then running a machine at 5:30 AM and waking up my wife sounds like a nightmare.
Now here is were it really gets just crazy. You have found the machine of your dreams only to find out that home brewed espresso is highly dependant on the coffee (of course right?), and the grind, and the tamping. This means that not only do you need to spend hundreds of dollars on a machine but you have to also spend around 200.00 or so dollars on a good grinds such as the Rancilio Rocky. And you need to get a good tamper which can run you between 30-100 or more dollars.
Are you getting the picture here? We are no longer talking about 600 dollars we are talking about close to a thousand to get the right set up at home. And if you want you can ever go to a higher level and get a machine like the Livia D90 which is around $1,700.00 (really). A Franke super automatic from Switzerland can run you around $4,000 and the prices can really get out of hand.
Let me tell you friends you can go crazy researching the perfect espresso machine there are literally thousands Saeco, Jura Capresso, Nespresso, Franke, Ascaso and many many more. It looks like we are going to go with the Ascaso Steel Uno "Special Edition Versatile" Espresso Machine. Has a brass boiler, heating element is outside of the boiler to prevent damage from a dry boiler, and it is ese pod friendly.
My question is what espresso machine are you using? Is anyone using the Rancilio Sylvia, Gaggia classic or Ascaso Uno? I would really love to hear from others about the machine your using.
One last point. If you are thinking about a machine go to Youtube.com. I was blown away by how many coffee making videos there are of people using all of the machines that I was considering. It is a great way to see the machine in action (if you can stand the cheesy music people play). Also CoffeeGeek - News, Reviews, Opinion and Community for Coffee and Espresso is a great review site for coffee makers.