What to buy?
I'm in the USA. I've had a flair classic. It was able to make better espresso than most baristas, but because of preheating and cleaning, the first shot could take like 15-20 mins.
The weird plastic portafilter grew a hairline fracture and so I can't make espresso at home anymore.
I want something, new or used, that costs under, say, 700 usd (possibly closer to 400 usd), and is faster and possibly more automated, and makes just as good espresso, that I don't have to fiddle with as much once I've gotten it honed in.
I probably don't need a grinder because I have one of those hundred dollar hand grinders that does a pretty good job.
I also want a good steam wand on it to steam milk.
I'm considering like a sage/braville bambino, but that's such an influencer brand that I can't trust anything I see on it. Also considering a gaggia classic. But I haven't used any real espresso machines, so I don't know what I'll like or not.
Durability/robustness, espresso quality/output, and speed/time-to-coffee are my big priorities.
Any advice is welcome!
Gaggia is a good option, but also check rancilio and lelit. Lelit has machines that have grinder in it.
The newest Gaggia Classic Pro has a brass boiler and that's a great cheaper option. There's also second hand Rancilio Silvia units. They're indestructible. I bought a 2008 model and spruced it up a bit. There's also Lelits, new and old. If you go with one of them, make sure it's using a 58mm portafilter. I'd probably go with a second hand Rancilio or a new Gaggia Classic Pro (brass boiler version).
There's also this which seems to be a succeasful and well built model with a bit more automation.
I got a gaggia classic last Christmas as my first machine and I really like it. It’s fairly straight forward and you can pull a shot in under 5 minutes. I paired it with a breville smart grinder and I get good results once I’ve dialed in my ratios.
I've had a Gaggia Classic Pro for 4.5 years and my wife and I use it every day.
We would definitely purchase the machine again. It makes incredible cappuccinos and other espresso drinks and you can nail it in every cup. You absolutely need a good grinder with a lot of grind settings. I use a Rancilio Rocky Doserless and it does a great job grinding so I can get the shot perfect. Each click on the grinder equates to roughly 5 seconds up or down on the timing of the shot. Once we got that down it makes dialing in easy. It does have some quirks like the temperature control for the steam is handled through a thermal switch instead of an electronic control to stabilize the temperature. The steam wand valve needs to be replaced every 1-2 years.
The awesome part about the Gaggia is there is a large modding community so you can change your machine to have computer control with a display showing you information and settings.
We previously had a Breville machine and I would not get one of those again. Finding parts so you can repair the machine is impossible. It used odd sizes on portafilters so fitting most holders on grinders was difficult. The Gaggia uses a standard portafilter size so swapping for different parts is easy.
I recently quit caffeine but that just means I switched to decaf coffee. I thoroughly enjoy the drinks we make and expect that it will continue to work well for a long time.
Y'all have basically talked me into getting a Gaggia classic. Now the only question that remains... What color?
If you don’t want a science/engineering project then you won’t be happy with the gaggia classic pro, but the longevity is great if you take care of it. The Turin legato or breville bambino are supposed to be better out of the box but they aren’t going to last as long as a stainless steal machine.
FWIW: I have the gaggia classic with a pid, gauge, one steam tip, and dimmer mod. It’s a great machine but took some work to get where I wanted it. Still takes 20 minutes to come fully up to temp though.
When I was in your position, I ended up buying a Breville "Infuser" - it's the one without their grinder (since I'd heard tepid reviews of the grinder part). Apart from turning it on to warm up when I first get up, and doing the cleaning thing every three months it's just a no hassle, good espresso every time deal. It's only a single boiler (so you can't steam milk and punch out an espresso at the same time) and the steaming is slow compared to a professional machine - this probably becomes important if you want to make a heap at a dinner party or something.
I love it - no regrets. I did give up my Timemore hand grinder for an electric one though - so you've got that in your future.