(Original text in English)
What is the minimum cost for a espresso setup that can deliver a great espresso if you are a do it to yourselfer? And what if you’re not a do it to yourselfer? What if you do several lattes and espressos in a row? And supposing that you want the very highend equipment how much it would cost me?
In the video above, I give more details about real need based choices for a setup considering your use, price, pros and cons for each choice in a similar price range and the trade-offs that you will have to make if you cannot afford your perfect scenario.
Here are the main points that I comment in this video:
- Choosing the espresso machine. Are you a do it yourselfer or not?
- Single Boilers if you are not a DIYer
- 100% control for the super coffee nerds
- Super autos: prioritizing convenience
- Good enough espresso, fast heating
- Good espresso and multiple lattes in a row
- Perfect espresso and multiple lattes
- Grinders
- Accessories
- The budget
- Spreadsheet with all the gear, estimated prices and links for specs and offers
Choosing the espresso machine. Are you a do it yourselfer or not?
The first question you need to make yourself is how comfortable you are in modifying your espresso machine, if you want to spend your time making the mods, or not, especially considering that recently some very cost competitive options like Apex showed up?
If you are into the mods, there are basically two options: you can spend about USD 100 to add a PID, pressure gauge and dimmer; or USD 300 to make the Gaggiuino mod.
In the first option, you will be able to set a target temperature, the PID controller will do the work for you, but the flow/pressure will be controlled by you with one hand on the dimmer, an eye on the pressure gauge and the other on the scale, extraction or whatever. Pretty doable, but it won’t be as precise, sophisticated, and with all the options that a Gaggiuino mod can offer.
Installing the Gaggiuino can be much more complicated, even if you chose the PCB route where a ready to install board with all the components soldered is delivered to your house. You will still have to install the thermocouple, SSR, pressure transducer, 3D print or buy some parts, depending on the version you will have to flash the firmware in your MCU… But you will have the same capabilities that you can see in a Decent or in a Kafmasino, but a Decent will cost you around USD 4,000 and a Kafmasino around USD 1,400, whilst you can make a Gaggiuino with circa USD 700.
Then, after deciding your route, you need to define which machine will receive the mods. And here, the options are:
a) Very low cost brand new machines: Britania 15 bar in Brazil or De’Longhi Stilosa EC230, in the range of USD 100.
b) Second hand Rancilio Silvia or Gaggia Classic on eBay can be found for 200-400 dollars. However, you may also have to open the boiler to completely descale it, change some gaskets and other parts. But those machines are built to last much longer than the super cheap.
c) New Rancilio Silvia or Gaggia Classic: if you are in the USA, a Gaggia Classic can be acquired for 400-500 dollars and a Silvia for USD 900. In Europe, respectively USD 500 and USD 650. Then, I’d recommend to use a Gaggia in the USA and a Silvia in Europe. In Brazil, only Gaggia Classics are sold new.
All the machines in this group are single boilers, which means that you won’t be able to make several lattes in a row in seconds. You will have to wait for the boiler to heat from brew to steam temperature or cool down from steam to brew temperature for the next beverage.
However, it can deliver precise and stable temperature, good enough to deliver your perfect shot.
Spreadsheet with all the equipment, estimated prices and links to specs/offers.
Single Boilers if you are not a DIYer
For your perfect espresso, I would recommend at least a machine with PID, adjustable OPV and pressure gauge. In some cases you may add a dimmer later which is very simple to install, or a flow control valve in an E61 group, but you may still have very good espressos without the flow control.
The cheapest option is Apex, V1 or V2, for 400-500 dollars in the USA and Europe. But this machine is new in the market and we don’t have much information on the reliability, durability and maintainability of these machines.
A more sophisticated option would be a Profitec Go, which is around USD 1,000 in USA and Europe or USD 1,700 delivered in Brazil. The brand is renowned, the build quality is much better, and I don’t believe you need anything beyond a machine like this for a great espresso.
Nonetheless, you may want a large drip tray and may consider an E61 more beautiful, which was my case and I bought an ECM Classika PID. This machine costs circa USD 1,500 in the USA and Europe, but around USD 3,000 to be delivered in Brazil.
Spreadsheet with all the equipment, estimated prices and links to specs/offers.
100% control for the super coffee nerds
As previously mentioned, for the tinkerers there is the Gaggiuino route where you will spend circa USD 700. The benchmark is Decent for USD 4,000.
And recently, Kafmasino launched their low cost Decent machine, which is basically an Apex with a Gaggiuino, however, the software is proprietary, but the machine comes ready to be used.
I’ve observing the evolution of Kafmasino and their software is rapidly becoming much better. They don’t have the same track record that Decent has, but for 1/3 of the price, it may be the only option today for those who cannot afford a Decent or install the Gaggiuino.
It’s also important to note that Decent can make several lattes in sequence, it’s a machine that was adopted by some small cafeterias.
Spreadsheet with all the equipment, estimated prices and links to specs/offers.
Super autos: prioritizing convenience
I don’t think the audience here is interested in super autos, but just as a reference, Delonghi Magnifica can be acquired for circa USD 400 in the USA and Europe, and a Gaggia Magenta Plus for USD 900 in Brazil.
Spreadsheet with all the equipment, estimated prices and links to specs/offers.
Good enough espresso, fast heating
For those seeking a quick and good enough espresso without waiting for lengthy warm-up times, you can maybe chose a thermoblock machine like Oster Compacta, Delonghi Dedica, Breville Bambino, Tramontina by Breville or Oster Xpert Perfect Brew, (prices in the table in the end of this post).
These machines heat up rapidly, you can use a depressurized filter, grind your coffee to perfection size and do an as good puck preparation as you wish, delivering what I call a good enough espresso. In a thermoblock you won’t have precise and stable temperature like you can with a PID.
Some machines have 3-6 temperature ranges, but some people complain that their Oster Xpert doesn’t heat the water as high as needed for light roasts.
Another detail to take into account: these machines are 51 or 54 mm, except for Oster Xpert which is 58 mm. If you go down the rabbit hole in this hobby, you will probably end up in the 58 mm group and will have to change part of your accessories as we’ll see ahead.
Spreadsheet with all the equipment, estimated prices and links to specs/offers.
Good espresso and multiple lattes in a row
If you want a very nice espresso, maybe not pursuing the perfect cup, and make several lattes in a row, a Heat Exchanger may be the way to go.
These machines have a big steam boiler with a smaller brew boiler inside it. Then, you have a big volume that allows you to make several lattes in sequence, and the boiler is ready to steam right after extracting your shot (not simultaneously, but you probably don’t have the skills to do both at the same time or you want to observe that beautiful extraction in your bottomless portafilter).
The limitation in these machines is that they overheat, if you keep it on for more than 1 or 1h30 hour, it may be difficult to cool down without a long flush, and even if you didn’t forget it heating for too long, you will need a temperature in your group to flush and bring the initial temperature to your desired level. You will waste water, energy and time, but it’s doable, you can get a great cup of coffee with those machines. But the obsessive for the perfect cup will probably end up buying a significantly more expensive dual boiler.
In this group, my recommendation for USA and Europe is Lelit Mara X for around USD 1,400. In Brazil, if you want a local retailer, that will provide the maintenance, support and warranty, it will cost more than USD 3,000 in a Rocket Appartamento.
Notice that you can buy a Lelit Elizabeth, an ECM Classika PID or a Kafmasino with the same budget, then, it’s more about your how many lattes in sequence you make or how perfectionist you are with your espresso.
Spreadsheet with all the equipment, estimated prices and links to specs/offers.
Perfect espresso and multiple lattes
The perfect world for those who are seeking for their perfect shot and make many lattes in a row are the dual boilers. These machines can cost more than USD 7,000. However, a Lelit Bianca will probably meet the needs of 90% of the people in this group, with a PID, pressure gauge and stock flow control valve for USD 2,300 in USA and Europe. The low-cost option here would be a Lelit Elizabeth for USD 1,300.
In Brazil, the options are importing the Lelit Elizabeth for circa USD 2,300 or buying locally a Rocket R58 Cinquantotto for almost USD 6,000.
Spreadsheet with all the equipment, estimated prices and links to specs/offers.
Grinders
Grinders are even more important than the espresso machine, or at least as equal as depending on what you have in your hands.
If you are prioritizing the quality in the cup, but at the same time want to invest the minimum, you will have to buy a hand grinder. It will take about 1 min to grind 18g for espresso (30s to 1min30s in most of the grinders currently available), some of them will demand more or less effort, but except if you have physical limitations, it’s manageable.
One of the least expensive hand grinder that might work for espresso is the Kingrinder P1, USD 56 when I checked today. A cost benefit option could be the J1 Pro for around USD 70, and from what I read about, it’s worth the 14 dollars more, especially considering that it may last for a long time if you use it as a portable grinder to take to the office or travels.
The intermediate level would be something like the Kingrinder K6 or 1zpresso J Ultra, respectively USD 128 and USD 199, but in the 200 dollars range, I’d buy a Kinu M47 for example, for USD 230, which is one of the benchmarks for espresso.
For filtered coffee, high-end, the classic choice is the Comandante C40, but in terms of performance, 1Zpresso ZP6 and Pietro have very interesting reviews and I’d opt for one of the last two instead of C40. C40 and ZP6 are in the same price range, USD 250-280, and Pietro is around USD 450.
Electrical grinders
In the entry level, DF54 for me is a no brainer, available for circa USD 230 in USA, USD 350 in Europe and USD 420 in Brazil, it is in the price range of high end hand grinders and delivers a great cup, there are several reviews available that you can check.
For those who already decided to go deeper in the hobby, I’d recommend DF64 (400 to 450 USD) mainly because you have the options to use the SSP burrs in this grinder and they are renowned for its clarity (MP – multi-purpose) or the sweetness and body in your traditional style espresso (HU – high uniformity), but those burrs will cost you around 200 dollars each.
The high-end will enter the diminishing returns space, I’d say. My recommendations here are the DF83V or Timemore Sculptor 078s for espresso or 078 for filtered, but this means an investment in the USD 800 range. And the 83mm SSP burrs are also much more expensive, about USD 350 in the USA.
But since the sky is the limit, you also have the super high-end like Zerno (USD 1,600), EG-1 (USD 3,800) and KafaTek Monolith Max (USD 3,600). I’m already in the category of “my wife and friends call me crazy” and I’m not prepared to make this investment, but if I did, I’d buy a Zerno, but to keep it shorter, I won’t deep dive in the grinders discussion in this topic.
Spreadsheet with all the equipment, estimated prices and links to specs/offers.
Accessories
Tamper: mandatory, you can buy a very basic levelled, spring loaded, for USD 10; or if you want a better quality, to last for longer, I’d recommend a Normcore or MHW-3Bomber in the range of 40-50 USD.
Scale: also mandatory, and the requirement is any scale with 0.1g precision. I started my journey with a USD 5 super cheap scale, but my recommendation is a Tiny2S (or the similar versions from Fuego or MHW-3Bomber) for USD 35-40.
WDT / Distributor: WDT highly recommended, distributor not needed if you WDT. You can start with the very cheap 4 USD option or if you want something more elegant in your coffee corner, I’d recommend you to add 20 dollars more and buy one from MHW-3Bomber and similar. If you need consistency for side by side tests, my option would be the Umikot, 3D printed, which by the way is the one that I use most nowadays. You can print yourself or buy from an Etsy store for about USD 45.
Bottomless portafilter / baskets: this is highly recommended since it will allow you to understand the quality of your extraction, how well was your puck preparation etc. This will cost you circa USD 25 and I’d pair with a precision basket from IMS or Barista Pro for another USD 30. In the future, you may want to test the high-extraction baskets like the DEX/BEP from MHW-3Bomber, but let’s leave it for a dedicated discussion about filters.
Puck screen: this will help to minimize your efforts to keep the shower screen clean. It will also increase a bit the extraction, which in theory means a more even extraction. Or if you bought one of the super cheap espresso machines, the water distribution may not be super nice and the puck screen may help with more uniformity. I classified as highly recommended also because it’s very cheap, USD 5-10.
Dosing ring: great if you WDT, it will help to reduce the mess on your countertop, also has super cheap options available (USD 4) or some with better magnets if you add USD 10 to your budget. My only recommendation is to avoid the ones with an internal rim that goes inside your puck. I didn’t see any study with evidences that it will affect your puck, but if we want the most even path for the water to flow through your puck, I don’t think it’s a good idea to create a ring inside.
The remaining accessories are questionable. Maybe nice to haves or in the let’s make my coffee corner more beautiful and cozy, but I’d recommend a knock box, a tamp mat or a tamping station, brushes with hard nylon bristle to clean the shower screen and soft to clean the grinder, tamper and other accessories, a coffee bean tray to check the beans before throwing in your electrical grinder (I’ve heard about a few cases of stones found in bags of specialty coffee) and some barista towels that have proven to be very useful and I quite like mines.
Spreadsheet with all the equipment, estimated prices and links to specs/offers.
The budget
If you go to my spreasheet, you will see that a complete setup for espresso will start at USD 500-600 if you are willing to get a very good espresso, close to the level that you get in specialty coffee places, to USD 1,500-1,800 if you want the cost benefit setup to avoid upgrading 100% of your gear in less than 1-2 years.
For more details, check my video and the if you have any questions, you can leave a comment there in Portuguese, English, Spanish or French, where I think it’s easier to track if I answered or not all the questions.
Spreadsheet with all the equipment, estimated prices and links to specs/offers.