Buying an Espresso Machine for the First Time

This article is for people like me.  I don’t want a lot of stuff.  I want a few good things, well-made, beautiful and satisfying.  I invest in what some would consider an unnecessary amount of personal research before I’m comfortable clicking CONFIRM PURCHASE.

Making espresso at home entails a significant ecosystem of gear, procedures and ingredients.  There are a LOT of articles and posts on enthusiast websites, but mostly written by, and for, people that have been successfully making espresso for years.  Their authors have presumably forgotten how confusing it was to produce those first few cuppas.  That, in combination with the fact that I’m pretty happy with most of my choices, and mostly confident in what I eventually learned was and wasn’t important, inspired me to write the following before I forget what it was like to navigate that labyrinth myself.

The good news:  home espresso machines can consistently produce drinks bettering the quality found in most upscale American coffee shops.  That’s because great espresso is the product of a pretty simple formula:  great beans plus pressurized hot water.  Add good milk and you’ve got great cappuccinos and lattes.

I chose a “semi-automatic” machine in the “semiprofessional”, also known as “prosumer”, category.  There are multitudes of options within this category, above and below it.  There are also “manual”, “automatic” and “super-automic” machines.  Since I’m only comfortable giving advice based on personal experience, this article is for people who’ve already downselected to “semi-automatic”.

The Magic Numbers

There are other important numbers, like bar of boiler pressure, but your machine should be set optimally for this already. The following are the ones you have control over when making a double shot of espresso. Temperature you’ll set with your thermostat and forget about, unless your group head requires running hot water to warm it. The Bezzera allows pre-programmed extraction times, eliminating another variable. It only takes a little patience to get the espresso weight correct with a digital scale. Therefore, if you’re reasonably consistent with your tamping pressure, the variable is going to be the volume of espresso produced. This is your feedback for adjusting optimal grind courseness, which seems sensitive to specific beans, weather, and other whims of the espresso gods.

I’ve never seen anything written about this particular combination of features and procedures that takes the guesswork out of dosing, and therefore I just got lucky:  1) my machine programs doses by extraction time (the most basic type of programmed dosing); 2) I use a graduated shot pitcher; 3) I have an accurate scale; and 4) I have easily-adjustable grinders.  What makes this combination so useful, especially since more expensive espresso machines, grinders, and even my scale can do so much more to create precision dosing?  It’s because grind coarseness is so important and variable between beans and even over a day.  What I’ve been told you want is 2 ounces of espresso that takes 20 seconds to drip through 17.5 grams of grounds.  If the grind is too fine, water will not penetrate as easily, and will take longer to fill two ounces; and vice versa.  I do notice that the look (ideally black to brown with a light tan “crema” on top) and taste are off when the coarseness is off.

It’s easy to manually start and stop an espresso shot at two ounces, like my weekday barista does, but that doesn’t tell you anything about how long it took, and hence whether your beans were ground too course or too fine.  At first I tried using my phone to time it, but that was a hassle and inaccurate (well, the phone wasn’t inaccurate, but the user was).  My super expensive scale could beep after 20 seconds from the time it measured the first drip hitting the tared pitcher and tell you how much your shot then weighed (functionality which supposedly changed one salesperson’s life… hmmm); which certainly works but would require moving the scale back and forth, probably getting it wet, shutting off the espresso machine when I hear the beep, and certainly require some time with the user manual.  But it was when I got around to programming the espresso machine dose button to simply shut off after 20 seconds that everything fell into place.  Whenever I make espresso I press the programmed button and walk away to the fridge to get out some milk.  When I return it’s just shutting off after 20 seconds (plus whatever delay I originally programmed in when I waited for the first drip to come out).  If it overfills my graduated shot pitcher (above two ounces), I dial my grinder finer.  If it underfills, I do the opposite, but then I also press the manual extraction button until I fill up to the two ounce line on the pitcher.  It takes about a second to adjust the grinder coarseness dial, and sometimes I don’t have to adjust it at all.  It’s a little trickier with half-cafs because I’m not certain which grinder is responsible, but usually my next cup is a full decaf, or my first cup the next day is a full regular.

My Gear (Everything else I procured it turned out I didn’t need)

• Bezzera BZ07 DE PID Espresso Machine

• Ascaso I-Mini I-1 Grinder (aluminum black finish)

• Ascaso I-Mini I-2 Grinder (aluminum polished)

• Bezzera Tamper

• Acaia Lunar Scale

• Acaia Portafilter Weighing Plate

• Knock Box, generic

• 12 Oz. Latte Milk Pitcher, generic

• Rhinowares 2.5 Oz Shot Pitcher with measurements

• NotNeutral 12 Oz. Lino Large Latte Cups & Saucers

• Intelligentsia Black Cat Espresso Beans (future)

• Intelligentsia Black Cat Decaf Espresso Beans

• Aquafina Purified Drinking Water

• Kitchen Towel

I should start by addressing the elephant in the room of my first photo. I’ve purchased, and apparently require, two grinders.  If you don’t drink decaf, you’ll only need one.  I start the day with caffeinated, switch to half-caf, and finish with decaf.  That’s easy with two grinders (half-caf: fill up the portafilter halfway with regular and top off with decaf), but complicated and inconsistent with one.  Despite the obvious hassle of emptying beans from the bin; different beans and/or roasts grind or extract differently, and you’ll need to adjust the grind courseness accordingly.  I set up each grinder for each bean variety, and intentionally chose different grinder colors so I don’t accidentally overcaffeinate.

Most espresso machines look good.  Very few grinders do.  I’m not sure why.  These Ascaso grinders I purchased were mostly about aesthetics and simplicity.  Grinders do a pretty simple job:  grind beans to an adjustable fineness.  The Ascaso’s work pretty well, but are a little loud.  Despite the descending model numbering, the I-1 is an upgraded, newer version of the I-2.  Metal parts have replaced plastic, and the burrs are different.

Some espresso machines have grinders built in.  Those don’t appeal to me.  If the grinder breaks, I’m not having to fix my espresso machine.  It also feels like separate machines are designed by people focused on doing one thing well. A built in grinder would also be less likely to fit under my upper cabinet door swings.

Stepless (infinite) vs. stepped:  Optimum courseness settings bounce all over the place because of the variables I mention elsewhere. So, I cannot imagine any value in stepped courseness settings, or a set of numbers associated with them.

Love it.  Makes me happy.  Seems well-built, but parts will eventually have to come from Milan…hopefully not too often.  The size is PERFECT!  I almost made the mistake of getting a larger machine with the idea it would sit on my kitchen island.  It would have loomed like a gargoyle.  This machine fits perfectly in the corner of my countertop and short enough for my upper cabinet doors to swing out over the top of two latte cups warming on top. 

Temperature:  Much is made online about PID temperature control, and true, the readout shows that it floats within a degree Fahrenheit.  That level of precision cannot possibly matter, unless the alternative is a LOT of thermostat swing.  On the other hand, I’ve programmed PID before, and if it doesn’t cost a lot, why not?  More important might be the boiler volume. As you can see from the first photo, the temperature has dropped 4 degrees over the extent of a 2 ounce extraction.  Presumably, that’s a result of mixing with incoming room-temperature reservoir water and measured deep within the machine.  So, I’m assuming most of the water flowing through the portafilter is close to the target 194 degrees F.

Startup time:  Enthusiasts seem to focus on boiler warm-up time. By this measure, the Bezzera is a relative speed deamon at under 7 minutes. But this misses the point, because enthusiasts don’t make espresso until their group head and portafilter are at temperature, too. The Bezzera, with its independent, electrically-heated group head (as opposed to the water-warmed E61 group), shines at heating these as well (around 15 minutes to my touch). But this still misses the point. I feel like I’m missing part of the experience without drinking from a toasty mug (of course there are other ways to warm mugs), which requires about half an hour on the top of my machine to warm up. To those that rely on espresso first thing, or try to get in a cup before rushing off to work, this must seem like an eternity; but I turn my machine on as I’m leaving the house, and make my first cup when I return home from my swim. So, warm-up criteria should really be driven by your lifestyle. Don’t eliminate machines because they can’t do what you don’t need them to do. If you choose a machine that warms up more slowly than you’d like, you can add a timer, and some machines come with these built in. 

Pressure:  The internet is pretty insistent about the importance of having exactly 9 bar of boiler pressure.  Lucca Bezzera calls this a myth and a carryover from Achille Gaggia’s machine that revolutionized espresso by increasing pressure five-fold with a manual lever pull.  Before then, espresso did not have “crema”, the lightly-colored layer of foam on top.  Bezzera sets their professional machines at 9 bar (appropriate for their larger, rotary vane pumps), but their semi-professional machines at 11 bar (appropriate for their smaller, plastic, vibration pumps).  Lucca’s description of vibration pumps as “toys”, led me to looking for a rotary vane pump that fit my other criteria.  They were all too large for my kitchen, though, or had other downsides.  Vibration pumps are loud when they are on, which only happens at startup or when making espresso.  I presume a rotary vane pump is much quieter and more reliable, but much larger and more expensive.  The BZ07’s combination water and steam pressure gauge is a pretty clever space saver.  I honestly haven’t ever paid attention to their readings since the day I got it.  I can imagine how the pressure gauge would be useful if there was a problem with the machine.

Reservoir vs. Plumbed Water:  This may depend on how much espresso you make.  My current schedule means I only make espresso drinks at home on the weekends, and typically 3 drinks a day.  That means I fill up the reservoir only once every couple weeks.  Plumbed water likely will require dissolved solids filtering, or regular descaling.

Group Head:  The group head is the part of the machine that holds and heats the portafilter from above.  The portafilter locks into, and seals with, the group head before the espresso “pull”.  The majority of the industry seems to use the E61 group head design (which has been around since 1961), which flows boiler water through the head to heat it, and with a lever, diverts that water through the grind to make your espresso.  More expensive machines recirculate this water automatically.  Other machines are designed to have you run (waste) water through the head for a few seconds to heat it to some undefined temperature.  Some people are appalled by the inaccuracy of the group head temperature associated with this last design, but I doubt it can be tasted.  The Bezzera machines have options for both E61 and their own electrically-heated group head.  Mine uses the latter and seems to work well with no fuss.  Honestly, I haven’t backflushed or cleaned it yet.  That’s something I need to address.

Steam Wand:  The BZ07 steam wand has two holes, while others have four.  Four holes are supposedly better, but without any comparative experience I can’t offer any advice. I find creating good foam the most inconsistent part of the process, and I’m still getting the hang of it.  The tricky part is keeping the wand at just the right elevation above the surface of the milk: too far submerged, and I’m just filling up the milk with hot water; too far above the surface and I’m blasting a mess all over the place and not really creating foam.  Both mistakes have their own distinctive sound, and so does the optimum location where I’m entraining a bit of air into the milk and getting a good increase in volume.  It also seems to help to locate the wand off-center to create a rotation in the milk, dispersing the bubbles evenly throughout.

Steam Valve:  Valves come in a few varieties. Most require a multiple-turn rotation of a screw handle, and these are probably the most reliable, long-term for not leaking. If mine lasts, I like the way the Bezzera works and has a nice, solid feel. Tap it down to blow off the condensed water (into your drip tray), and pull it up where it locks into place for continuous steaming. That leaves both hands free for holding and paying attention to the milk. The tap back down to shut off the continuous flow is relatively instantaneous, as opposed to screw, screw, screw, screw, crap I waited too long to start screwing. It’s probably easy to get used to the screw type. I’m just saying the Bezzera is one less thing to worry about, and feels thoughtfully designed.

I like a lot of foam, and I call what I make cappuccinos, though I’m sure purists would disagree with me.  Basically, a cappuccino is made by filling up about 1/4 of a milk pitcher, and a latte is made by filling up about 1/3 or more of a milk pitcher.  Both are foamed up to the top.  I use good, whole milk, despite having been a skim milk drinker previously.  It seems to be what everyone online recommends, and the only way I’ve ever seen it available in Italy.

Hot Water:  I can’t speak to this. I haven’t gained an appreciation of Americanos, but I might eventually get a guest or two who do. Nearly all machines in this semi-automatic, semi-professional (prosumer) category come with a hot water valve and outlet. I guess I could use it for tea, but that would just add to my bottled water consumption and introduce one more thing that eventually needs to be descaled. Microwaves work pretty well for this.

Warming Top:  I discovered I really like the feel of a warm mug when drinking cappuccinos or lattes.  That’s done by staging mugs upside down on the top of the espresso machine.  They’re designed for this.  Some machines have oddly shaped tops (like some of the Illy’s), and other than a railing don’t seem designed for holding mugs.

Portafilter: The portafilter is the handle and receptacle that holds the filter basket in which grounds are filled.  You replace the basket for different cleaning operations like backflushing.  The baskets are probably pretty interchangeable for the E61 portafilters, but the Bezzera’s are probably specific to their electric portafilters.  Both the portafilter and baskets came with my machine, and I presume will last for a long time.  I always use the double spout bottom.  The single spout doesn’t sit level on a countertop or scale.  I cannot imagine a good use for the single spout.

Boiler Configuration:  The Bezzera BZ07 has a heat exchanger system, as opposed to multiple boilers. Higher end systems, it seems, always have multiple boilers, but generally require more space and are more expensive. I have yet to perceive how my heat exchanger configuration is limiting me. For some reason I felt I had a requirement to steam milk and make espresso simultaneously. I guess if I really got all my logistics right I could pull that off, but the 20 seconds of espresso extraction is time well spent getting milk out of the fridge. Regardless, if I can’t wait 20 seconds for something I have bigger problems. Most heat exchanger and double-boiler systems can steam milk and make espresso SEQUENTIALLY, without wait, whereas true single-boiler machines have to be heated up or cooled down before processing the other liquid.

Dedicated, 20 Amp Electrical Circuit:  I get that this is the scary part, but hopefully it won’t deter you from buying your dream machine.  If you’re looking at a semi-professional espresso maker, there’s a good chance the rest of your kitchen appliances aren’t wimpy either; so sharing electrical circuits might not be a good idea.  I couldn’t find good data on power consumption when machines are just idling all morning.  I presume very little.  But I didn’t like the prospect that my circuit breaker could trip every time I tried to toast or microwave something while my espresso machine was warming up.  Since I’ve got a bit of DIY in my DNA, I pulled a new, dedicated, 20 amp circuit, plugged in the Bezzera, and hated the result.  I hadn’t anticipated the clunky look of the big black cord and plug hanging from the wall next to my beautiful machines.  So, I moved the outlet, which turned out to be the most difficult part.  The grinder cords are not cute, little, white lamp cords either, so my solution was 3 separate outlets in a 4-plex box, tucked right against the corner studs, which makes me happy never to see.

I feel like I got bamboozled on the scale.  Despite its simple look, this Acaia unit is laughably expensive, and could probably trade stocks for me if I ever got around to reading the manual.  I really didn’t need it to do anything more than you see here, tare and weigh my portafilter to tenths of a gram.

The tamper is a handled, flat (or slightly rounded) -bottomed disk for compressing the grounds into the portafilter before pulling a shot (sorry if I use the term “pull” when I’m not pulling anything, just letting a pump do the work).  Much is made online about compacting to exactly 30 pounds of pressure, and you can buy expensive tampers calibrated to trigger at this pressure.  I’ve had baristas tell me compaction pressure is not critical.  It’s probably worth measuring once, on a bathroom scale, to get the feel for it and then not worrying about it again.  My tamper is nicely made, Bezzera branded, and feels very satisfying, but tampers represent an opportunity to save money because a simple device will do the job. 

My knock box is basic as well.  You can spend a lot of money on one, but that’s more about aesthetics.  This one is designed to recess into a counter or slide into some sort of wood surround.  Some boxes are bottomless, outputting directly to a compost bin below.  Mine feels like a temporarily adequate solution.

I probably don’t need to give advice on mugs.  Except that for a latte, they should be 12 ounces for a good proportion to 2 ounce espresso shots.  I’m unconventional in that I like that size for what I call cappuccinos, too.  They should be able to lie upside down on the warming top of the espresso machine.  I like the NotNeutral 12oz. Lino Latte Mugs.  They have a nice modern look and a broad flat top to the handle that allows a thumb to counter the weight of the drink comfortably.

If you’ve decided against plumbing your machine, you still face the choice of tap vs. bottled water.  My machine purchase included a dissolved solids tester with which I was certain my good Northern California water would pass with flying colors. But 70 ppm foretold of a hidden, accumulating scale problem that would inject anxiety into my espresso-making experience. After reading about descaling boilers and a mind-numbing treatise on water hardness, I decided to go the bottled water route, despite its sustainability issues.  The Aquafina water I buy by the case at the grocery story measures 2 ppm, giving me peace of mind that I may rarely if ever have to descale my machine.  At first it seemed environmentally wasteful, but one day I noticed the cases of sad, years-old, semi-imploded plastic bottles holding my earthquake emergency water and thought, “Why not just regularly use that to fill up my machine, and keep it fresh in the process?”  Maybe this would be true for other parts of the world where emergency rations are prudent.

Coffee beans, like mugs, are a matter of personal taste, but freshness probably isn’t.  Considering what my roasted almonds taste like after they’ve been out for a few weeks, I figure it’s worth trying to keep my roasted espresso beans as fresh as possible.  Don’t stock up to generate economies of scale.  Figure out some sort of reasonable balance between ensuring the lifestyle to which you’ve become accustomed will continue post-apocalypse and receiving Fedex deliveries from Columbia every afternoon (which might raise some Federal eyebrows). I order online three (read free shipping), 12 ounce bags of Intelligentsia Black Cat Decaf Espresso Beans at a time.  They arrive in well-sealed, resealable bags, shockingly just days after their roasting date. I open them only when needed, try not to fill my grinders with more beans than I can consume in a day, reseal them and put them back in an air-tight container. Never grind ahead of time, the bean itself protects the insides from going stale, to a degree. It’s a surface area to volume thing.

Update: surprisingly, I don’t really like the taste of Black Cat Regular Espresso. I’m currently loving Andytown Shore Leave Hook for my regular.

Milk

Cold temperatures mask flavors and aromas, including bad ones. This is why good English Ale can be served warmer than old-school American beers (thank you Sam Adams for changing all that). I digress. Point being, most milks can be tolerated cold, but it takes a good milk to stand up to being steamed. I first noticed this when I steamed up some fresh, big-supermarket-chain milk, and wondered where a foul stench was coming from. It was coming from the pitcher. The milk hadn’t gone sour. It was something intrinsic to the product. Lesson learned. After finally dialing in an exquisite espresso, don’t ruin it with bad milk. Get the good stuff. I recommend regularly smelling the pitcher just after pouring out the milk, at least until you’ve settled on a product you can rely on.

Keep a corner-dampened towel handy (it’s the burgundy-colored one on the cabinet drawer pull just below my knock box).  This is to wipe off the milk that starts to bake onto the steam wand.  After about 10 seconds, it starts to become an effort to clean.

Corrections / Collaborations / Chat

I hope my experiences and advice have been helpful. If you have suggestions that might improve this page, or simply like talking about coffee, I’d love to chat. Contact me at my personal address below...