OT: Espresso machines

Erik I know you’re a DIY guy... about what does it take in cost to dabble in roasting? 

@akgwhiz To be fair only with speakers and cables.  My days of custom modding amps is over. 

Of all my DIY hobbies, nothing has been more cost effective than roasting my own beans.  I also buy from SweetMarias.com and the prices there vs. at the store or coffee shop are superb.

I use a very basic Fresh Roast which gets rave reviews from my neighbors.   They were not big coffee drinkers but when they had their second child I gave them some coffee and now it has become indispensable part of their routine.

It is limited in size (110g) and in my mind can’t do dark roasts consistently, but once you dial in the settings you can pretty much do a batch at a time and forget about it.  It’s also about the same width as my grinder, so while I complain each time that I can’t roast 500g at a time (near a pound) I also like that it doesn’t take any more room in my very small kitchen.  Also, because the batches are small the smoke is as well.

If you buy from SweetMarias you can get it with a sample set of beans.

OK, now that I think about it, I did just see a pair of speakers in Stereophile that used largely the same drivers I do selling for $125,000.... so maybe that's cost effective too?  Of course, that assumes the designer did a half decent job in the crossover design.

Espresso is definitely the cheaper hobby. A TOTL "home" machine, a LaMarzocco GS3 as an example, is far from cheap and takes up some kitchen counter real estate, but as a daily-use device costs less than an average home 2-channel system. Of course you don’t have to spend that to get a consistently excellent cup, one better than most coffee shops will pour. It just takes a good selection of beans, a good grinder and a machine that heats well and consistently. Some swear by lever machines. I have had one, and it was OK, but I prefer a quiet electric pump and to not mix the brewing water with the steaming water. PID controls are great, but there are very good machines that do just fine without them. For a grinder,  I have been using a Mazzer Mini E (Typ 2) for over a decade and it has been excellent. (I had a Mazzer Major for a short while, massive for home use, but total industrial overkill and I sold it.) One of the requirements I have is a water reservoir (no plumb-in, please) and it has to fit on a normal depth counter-top under a normal height kitchen cabinet. I am not interested in a machine that requires a 20A 240V supply or an open area due to device height, so my dream of having a near-vintage  Elektra Semiautomatica Murano, a lovely machine I must admit, will have to wait.

I have just entered the world of Nespresso as of last Christmas. Definitely better than K cup crap. Always hated that K cups were plastic and heating anything in plastic is dubious to one's health. Little more expensive, and you need a frother, but all in for 150. Well worth it.

Photomax you sure do know a lot about coffee!

Jura E-4 owner here.  One-button gets your beans ground, and a pretty decent shot of espresso.  Will also brew pretty much any kind of coffee you'd like.   This model does not do milk/foam.  No interest in that.

I do wish it had a hopper that was removable to make it easier to switch beans.

Not cheap, but we are pretty happy, and not too geeky about coffee.

Son owns a chain of coffee shops, so we have access to great beans.  We go to one of his shops if we want a really good shot of espresso.  I ask the guy behind the counter one time why their espresso tastes better than what I make a home, and he said "because my machine cost $30K !"  Sounded like something I might have heard on this forum.