Saeco Incanto on sale at Costco 699, or Seattle Coffee 799, had 3 of them over them years great machine...

Espresso Machines
 

Apologies if I have inappropriately bumped an old thread.

I am in the market for an espresso machine for my home, and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I haven't decided between fully automatic or "semi-automatic" although I think I am leaning toward the latter because I want maximum control and time/convenience is less of a priority.

I want to keep it under about USD $1,000. The brand "Breville" has some very nice looking machines that seem to fit the bill, and are available locally. I would be happy to spend less as long as I can have great tasting espresso!

Long ago, I used to have a machine from a company called "Pony" that was excellent.

I want to avoid cartridge type machines. Some of them, like LaVazza espresso point are good looking and make good coffee easily, but I don't like them for environmental reasons, and because I don't want to be committed to using a particular product all the time. Long term cost also probably is higher than standard machines, using whatever coffee one wants to.

So, are there any recommendations or insights? Any other brands to look at? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I bought this 2 years ago:

https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/sa...ed-refurbished

I think I paid $300 or so on Woot.com. I wasn't ready to drop $1K or more on a machine, so this was an easier price point for me to give a machine a try.

I've been using this for 2 years. It makes both espresso and drip coffee. I use a Nespresso Aerocino (about $100) for my frothed milk because I happened to have one and it's so easy to use.

I love the machine. 5 cups of espresso and/or drip a day for 2 years running and we have never had a problem. I buy fresh, locally roasted beans and I can't think of another cup of coffee I've had that's better than what I can make myself.

I wasn't expecting to get 2 years out of a refurb'd machine. When the time comes, we'll likely buy another one.

I think there's just one caveat - the machine isn't crazy about highly oiled beans. We've adjusted our tastes more towards medium roasts.

Back when I was investigating an espresso machine (which I never wound up buying), the consensus on coffeegeek.com seemed to coalesce around the Rancilio Silvia as the best bang-for-your-buck semiautomatic machine.

http://coffeegeek.com/guides/howtobuyanespressomachine

http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/consumer/rancilio_silvia

I have used this for the last two years. Brilliant machine and doesn't take up half the kitchen.

http://www.delonghi.com/en-us/produc...85m-0132106179

I have the most expensive delonghi and it sits in the basement. Don’t recommend. After having vac pots, French presses, everything, I’m now just doing pour over with a heated kettle on the stove every morning.

Oh, and one tip. I bought it open box at Williams Sonoma. I think it was like 2k, marked down from 3k, and I offered 1k to the manager and they took it.

Now I use a $5 system and like the coffee more.

Thanks for all replies. The Rancilio Silvia looks very appealing as a good value, solidly built semi automatic.

That DeLonghi looks interesting, but as it seems to be priced at the top end within its class of lighhter duty machines, I feel at that point I would just as soon spend a bit more for a more serious machine like Rancilio or Breville, etc...

If I go super automatic, Jura is also highly recommended and one that I will consider.

I’ve been using one daily for 9 years. One of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

Friends who have one and use it multiple times a day for 10 or so years say that it will last forever if you follow the maintenance and cleaning regimen in the manual. They said they had to replace a switch that wore out, but that's it.

are there super automatics best regarded for quality of espresso/coffee?

Jura has been highly recommended to me. According to a reliable source it sounds pretty much as close as it gets to perfect coffee, with a minimum of maintenance and fuss.

thanks!

curious re the coffee fanatics who talk about things like dryness/humidity and lack of decent coffee anywhere

As an older person-
I had a Pavoni manual, the a Pavoni commercial unit for 15 years. When it died went to Saeco and found it garbage. Then to Jura (F-50) and when it was "permanently borrowed" by my son bought another individual Jura. All the mechanisms of Jura's are the same. The difference is the computerized functions. As a BMW buyer for 40+ years, I will be a Jura buyer until I am past my use by date.

Not exactly espresso but close - I've been using the Delonghi Alicia Electric "Moka" coffee maker for about a year. Makes delicious coffee that is very close to Espresso (no cremma). Inexpensive at about $50. Quick and pretty much fool-proof. It is virtually identical to the Bialetti 6-Cup Stovetop Moka coffee maker but you have to be careful with the Bialetti to turn off the stove at the proper moment and you don't have to worry about that with Alicia because she shuts herself off. It looks like Bialetti also makes an electric version but it's really expensive ($290) compared to Alicia.

so... just wonder.. did you make a decision?

FDW