When people ask me for a recommendation for a budget friendly espresso machine, they are usually hoping I’ll point them toward a $100 appliance at a big-box store. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you want real espresso, not just strong, foamy coffee, you need to spend a little more than that.
The world of specialty coffee is weird. We obsess over grind size, water temperature, and pressure profiling. But then there is a corner of the coffee world that obsesses over something else entirely: animals eating (and excreting) coffee beans.
If you are building your first home espresso setup, the Breville Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Grinder is probably on your radar. It’s everywhere. It looks professional, has a fancy digital screen, and often comes recommended as the go-to "budget" option for espresso.
I have a lot of respect for Baratza. They are legendary in the coffee world for building grinders that are repairable, reliable, and backed by incredible customer support. So when I started looking for a dedicated espresso grinder, the Baratza Sette 270 espresso grinder was at the top of my list.
Here is the most common mistake I see people make when getting into home espresso: they spend their entire budget on a shiny new machine and then plug in a $50 blade grinder they bought at the grocery store.
When I decided to finally dive into making espresso at home, I knew there was a steep learning curve. I spent hours reading about pressure, temperature, and extraction times. But one piece of advice kept coming up over and over: puck prep is everything.
Living in Hawaii, I have a complicated relationship with hot coffee. I love the ritual of a warm cup in the early morning but it doesnt take long for the sun to heat things up.
When you walk into a coffee shop and look at the menu, the options for espresso with milk can feel endless. You’ve got lattes, cappuccinos, flat whites, macchiatos, and whatever seasonal sugary invention is currently trending. For years, I defaulted to a latte simply because it was the safe bet. Though thanks to the 90's movie "You've Got Mail", it was the Caramel Macchiato that got me started.