The Bar Espresso Machine

[gekichan]

Hello There,

I am about to buy a small but professional coffee Espresso Machine...

Which is your best pick?

[Mjx]

Not clear as to whether or not you're interested in a commercial unit (they don't generally run small), or if, by 'professional' you mean one that's a good quality.

To get you started, have a look here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/136006-espresso-machines-for-less-than-500/page__p__1774410__hl__espresso+machine__fromsearch__1#entry1774410

and here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/119939-best-espresso-machine-800/page__p__1615548__hl__espresso+machine__fromsearch__1#entry1615548

After researching espresso machines for a couple of months, I decided that the Rancilio Silvia was the one that best fit our requirements (and got a unit for my boyfriend as a birthday present last year). To date, I have to say that it still seems the right choice.

[Caligo]

I own a MyPressi Twist wich i find to be a good home option.

The pros of this unit is obviously storage space and price, its also easy to clean.

The cons as opposed to a professional unit is the lack of a steamer, so to complete the setup i use a iSi cream whipper that i heat with milk in a water bath to 70░C for lattes and such. Also, since there is no steamer you have no place to warm your cups.

If you drink espresso more than a couple of times a week i would go for a more permanent fixture in your kitchen.

[cdh]

When you say "professional", do you mean to say that your budget is ~$2000 or so? That seems to be the baseline for used commercial stuff... Do you have the plumbing in place for a permanent fixture type machine?

[rotuts]

there is plenty of info at the eG

there is a lot more here:

http://www.home-barista.com/forums/

before you buy, read the reviews at the above. very complete and through.

whats your budget? beginner? intermediate? expert?

once you get a 'quality' machine its important to realize that the grinder is probably as important if not more so than the machine.

[thirtyoneknots]

once you get a 'quality' machine its important to realize that the grinder is probably as important if not more so than the machine.

The grinder, and of course, the beans. Freshly roasted!

[gekichan]

I need a small coffee espresso machine for my restaurant, I've been always using moka machine so far and i need it basically just for cappuccinos and lattemacchiato... 60/70 per day maximum.

I also got that the minimum budget is around 2000$... of course to spend a bit less would be better but I don't want to renounce in any case to good quality........... I'll be looking trough names and forums you posted....... thank you people!

[rotuts]

Im not sure what you are using now:

this?

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=mocha+machine&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=7161035799432912336&sa=X&ei=zYtGT5qLAaq20AGPn-2YDg&ved=0CIgBEPMCMAQ#ps-sellers

that you plan to make 'milk' drinks and not true 'espresso' makes your choices less $$ i think if you concentrate on your beans and grinder.

[gekichan]

Im not sure what you are using now:

this?

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=mocha+machine&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=7161035799432912336&sa=X&ei=zYtGT5qLAaq20AGPn-2YDg&ved=0CIgBEPMCMAQ#ps-sellers

That's right...

[David A. Goldfarb]

I'm happy with my La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi II, but if you have plumbing in place, a better bet may be a used two-group machine, which you might find for around $1500.