Espresso Machine for my Office

[daniellewiley]

A bunch of us at the office (maybe 15 of us) will be chipping in for an espresso machine. Any tips on what we should look at? The ringleader of this movement is recommending a Saeco.

Also, we aren't sure if we'll be able to connect to the plumbing line. It is a possibility though. Any thoughts on that?

[melkor]

The saeco automatic machines are in hotels all over asia, they work but I'm not a big fan of the results. What sort of budget are we talking about? Having the machine hooked up to a water line is really helpful but isn't required. Though with 15 people you'll be refilling the tank pretty regularly.

[slschnur]

We've had a semi-professional EXPOBAR Office (Spanish-made) recommended for offices for the past year & are extremely pleased with it. It's available, among other places probably, from wholelattelove.com.

[daniellewiley]

The saeco automatic machines are in hotels all over asia, they work but I'm not a big fan of the results.  What sort of budget are we talking about?  Having the machine hooked up to a water line is really helpful but isn't required.  Though with 15 people you'll be refilling the tank pretty regularly.

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I think $1000 or less is what we'll end up at. I'll know more soon - we're compiling our tally of interested parties.

[phaelon56]

You can get into an Expobar E61 style machine and a decent grinder (e.g. Rancilio Rocky or its ilk) for about $1,000. Saeco should come into consideration only if you're determined to have a super-auto machine. But you need to get into super-autos at the $2,000 + price point to get one that makes even decent espresso and does an okay job of foaming milk.

The cheap super-auto's make a good cup of regular coffee by the cup. The only catch on something like and Expobar / Rocky combo is it's a bit messy if many people are using it, there's a short learning curve and someone has to take responsibility for regular cleaning, backflushes etc.