# New Espresso lover



## LittleRedRoaster (Oct 10, 2016)

Hey,

So I'm going to make the plunge and get myself a more serious coffee machine. I've been a tea drinker for most of my life and that kind of stopped me from getting into coffee as I would always drink tea as a matter of course. I went to Melbourne recently though and as I was there, I thought I'd branch out and try the coffee - the city is pretty famous for its baristas. The quality and depth of flavour of the brews blew me away so I've decided I'm going to bring more coffee into my life.









So I've been looking at buying a home espresso machine and found a good couple of machines on a website - http://www.for-sale.com/gaggia-espresso-maker. I've read a few reviews and have been trawling this board too. I've narrowed it down to a couple of options. People seem to generally recommend the Gaggia Classic as a good starting point. I'm a bit loathe to buy a machine that I'll have to replace pretty soon if it doesn't have the features of a more high-end machine. The Londinium espresso machine is another that pops up quite a lot in conversation. It is significantly more expensive though. What are the additional features and are they worth it for a beginner? Beat in mind that I tend to get into things really quickly and am a bit anal so always want to do things the best possible way.

Thanks!


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

- that's a big jump classic to Londinium - actually its like going from a ford to a rolls Royce - both will get you to the shops (make coffee)

My advice would be to get a second hand classic to build your skills up on while you decide which machine to go for - also do a 1/2 day espresso course somewhere with a good reputation.

also plan to spend 50/50 on the grinder. rubbish in rubbish out.

I would keep looking - do you have a fixed budget?


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## grumpydaddy (Oct 20, 2014)

Going to disagree here....

If you have the funds to support jumping in with both feet then do it.... just be prepared to spend a broadly similar amount on the grinder as on the machine to truly get the best experience.

There are further costs too but not in the same league.


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## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

Depending on where you live you might also want to go and try a few machines out to see what you get for the money


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

The irony is, the more expensive machines and grinders make it a lot easier to get good results, especially as a beginner when you're still trying to get consistency into your routine, but end up having to faff about temperature surfing etc cos a big temperature stable machine was over your budget. If I had to start again and I had the money available I would buy exactly what I have now and skip the whole Classic bit. The Classic is a good value way into making good espresso but can be a bit fiddly due to the temperature instability inherent in a small machine with a low mass group and tiny boiler. Some of what you learn on the cheaper kit will stand you in good stead, but a lot of it is just learning to work around the kit's shortcomings, which miraculously disappear when you get a big machine. But then it's a big ask to invest over 2k on coffee toys when you don't even know the craic which is why people dip their toe in first (unless you find 2k down the back of the sofa or have just come into serious money).


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

If you buy starter kit, buy second hand, as suggested. This way you wont lose a deal of cash when you upgrade.

If I was doing it again I would go straight for what I wanted (if I knew what I wanted). I bought cheap and changed until I got where I wanted. It cost me more to do it this way. I was happy with the progress with each upgrade but always knew I wanted more.

If you have the cash kicking about and can get your head around spending the money on high end gear, do it. Higher end stuff is more forgiving, especially grinders.

edit : just read hotmetals post - seems we were thinking along the same lines 7 mins apart


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