Best automatic Espresso machine?

Dpoirier

Dpoirier

Fractal Fanatic
I was inspired by another thread on favorite coffee.

I'm ready to make the jump from my trusty Moka pot (trusty, but not as good as real Espresso). But I want a fully automatic one - grinds the proper quantity of beans, packs the ground coffee just right, and produces heavenly coffee with crema to die for.

My sister swears by her Breville, but I'm impressed by the Saeco Lirika OTC. Both of these have features that are redundant for me (I don't froth milk, so I don't need a wand or built-in frother, neither do I need a two-boiler unit)... But if it makes the best Espresso, then I'm in. Of course, I have no way to test-taste these two (or any other machine) side by side, so...

Anyone out there have a recommendation? My acquaintances are perfectly satisfied by crap coffee like Starbucks, so I can't rely on them.

Thanks, y'all!
 
My 3200 series Saeco/Philips machine was a PIA. Two repairs in two years. And it did a middling espresso pull. Ultimately the fully auto machines just don't do it well; they do it "okay-ish". It was also a ton of maintenance to keep it functioning. Coffee gets everywhere and you have to pull it apart and clean it weekly and then lubricate it all every month. Descaling it is also quite a process.

If you're going to do espresso, invest in separate pieces IMO. They're generally more durable, easier to maintain and if one piece breaks, like the grinder, you're not totally out of comission for making a cup. You don't have to go nuts and can do it for less than a good auto setup. A Baratza Sette 30 grinder. A used Gaggia or even their Classic Pro if you're feeling a little spendier and you'll have better coffee and better reliablity.

Hell, try a Prismo on an Aeropress with beans that are ground properly and I'll bet you walk away smiling. My Aeropress still pulls a mighty nice cup of coffee 12 years on.

If anyone wants a 3200 machine, mine hasn't been used since the last repair -- it's collecting dust in my basement now....
 
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I’ve always been skeptical of automatics. Do they really dial in the grind every time the weather changes? Or is it manual set-it-once-and-hope-for-the-best thing?
 
I had a fully-automatic espresso maker, lot's of maintenance and repairs, would not recommend. We switched to a traditional Breville that has the grinder as part of the machine and we are very happy with it.
 
Rex said:
Or is it manual set-it-once-and-hope-for-the-best thing?
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They vary, but the sub-$1k stuff is this.

It's also a lot of plastic parts and cheaper bits and bobs. The grinder on the Philips we have isn't as good as the Virtuoso I use for other coffee and couldn't handle harder beans like Ethiopian very dry beans, for example, without getting jammed. It's just a lot of compromise for a mediocre cup of coffee IMO.
 
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bradlake said:
Second Aeropress mention on this website today!!(the first by me…)
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It's a ridiculously simple device. I bought one like 10 years ago to make better coffee at my desk and it's still going strong. These days I use it with https://fellowproducts.com/products/prismo to brew a single cup when I want one. I'll bring it when we car travel too for hotel rooms with a small kettle. Wife thinks I'm nuts and then I hand her a decent cup of coffee before we've left the hotel room and she's no longer thinks I'm crazy. :D

Our morning cuppa comes from an Oxo Barista Brain which I will also express undying love for. It makes very good, ridiculously consistent coffee. Dead simple design. Low maintenance. And: Oxo's customer support is top notch. The plastic top on our carafe broke during the move to NH and when I contacted them for a replacement part they, get this: sent me an entire new carafe for free. I just wanted to buy a replacement part. They went way above and beyond. It's not even a new machine. I think ours is 5-6 years old now. Talk about how to turn me into a rabid fan.
 
The Nespresso machine isn't bad, but it's a bit of cleaning maintenance. Because of that, I usually use my Keurig for making espresso if I don't old school use my espresso pot that sits on my stove top.
 
iaresee said:
Hell, try a Prismo on an Aeropress with beans that are ground properly and I'll bet you walk away smiling. My Aeropress still pulls a mighty nice cup of coffee 12 years on.
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+1, really fun. I take that combo with me when I travel and it's not fussy and pretty consistent.

I'm using a Flair manual machine at home and while it's the opposite of automatic it's so much fun to play with espresso.
 
2112 said:
I'm using a Flair manual machine at home
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These look cool. Like a more durable Aeropress that can build up more pressure. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. If you like espresso go for durable like this stuff. Not fancy automation.
 
I have a very expensive grinder - rancilio rocky, and at the moment have a saeco via venezia, proper brass boiler etc. I even wired in an industrial PID controller to get precise temperatures. With all that - I get easier, more consistent, and somehow less messy shots with the Aeropress. Just one of those, and hand burr grinder, and a big ole bag-o-beans, and you will get just as good or better shots than with an expensive machine.
 
The real secret to good coffee is in the grinder, not the machine (is there a guitar metaphor in here somewhere??) You need a conical or flat burr grinder, which is technically actually a mill not a grinder. Don't use anything with blades. The cheapest decent burr mill is by sunbeam here in Aus - but I reckon a hand grinder does a great job, a muso friend of my bro in law had one of those and an aeropress camping and it was pretty slick.
 
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iaresee said:
These look cool. Like a more durable Aeropress that can build up more pressure. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. If you like espresso go for durable like this stuff. Not fancy automation.
Click to expand...

It's a fun way to get into all the nerdy stuff like pressure profiling without dropping $5k on something like a Decent D5. Plus it's lightweight and easy to store.

@tysonlt great point about the grinder. It's like having the right pickup or setting the intonation and action on a guitar.

OP if you haven't already James Hoffman has some great coffee content on YouTube.
 
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