 | Gaggia 35004 Carezza Espresso Machine, White
Good: The best buy in espresso. The same as the Gaggia Baby/Classic but minus a solenoid valve (makes the grounds drier/cleaner). Sells for $200 usually. This and Gaggia Espresso are the best <$300.
|
 | Gaggia 14101 Classic Espresso Machine, Brushed Stainless Steel
Buy new: $499.00 Good: The Carezza but with the nicer chassis and drier pucks. Is it worth it? The Baby is the same machine but with a plastic casing for $50 less.
|
 | FrancisFrancis! X1 Espresso Machine, Orange
Ridiculously overpriced, but stylish. About the same espresso as a Gaggia Carezza. For the same money, consider going up to a Bezerra, Expobar, or Quickmill HX machine.
|
 | FrancisFrancis! X3 Espresso Machine, White
Okay: Overpriced, nonstandard portafilter a minus, but takes pods easily as well as ground. Same espresso as the Carezza provides but much more beautiful! Get a 57' tamper too.
|
 | Krups 867-42 Il Caffe Bistro 10-Cup Coffee/4-Cup Espresso Maker
UGLY: I owned this machine. Lacking a pump and boiler, its "espresso" was cold, burnt coffee. What a rip off.
|
 | Krups 888-43 Caffe Centro Time 10-Cup Coffee/Pump Espresso Machine
UGLY: As bad as the Bistro, but a hundred dollars more. It should be a crime to sell this machine.
|
 | Espressione Classic Espresso Coffee Pods, Box of 150
Buy new: $68.02 UGLY: Pods are convenient. They are also stale, as ground coffee goes chemically stale within hours. Get an MDF (or SuperAuto) and fresh beans and enjoy far superior espresso.
|
 | Gaggia 8002 MDF Burr Grinder with Doser, Black
Buy new: $299.00 / Used from: $255.00 Good: The least expensive semi-commercial grinder capable of a consistent and properly adjustable espresso grind. Or spend some more and get a Rancilio Rocky, Cunill Tranquilo, or Mazzer Mini.
|
 | Krups 203-42 Fast Touch Coffee Grinder, Black
Buy new: $17.99 / Used from: $16.99 BAD: Blade grinders make a notoriously uneven grind, with many overly coarse grinds. With burr grinders so cheap nowadays, why bother with this?
|
 | Capresso 560.01 Infinity Burr Grinder, Black
Buy new: $89.00 / Used from: $75.99 Good: A very nice grinder for the money. Inadequate for true espresso, but great for normal coffee and espresso on the cheap. Easily the best grinder under $100.
|
 | Krups 872-42 Bravo Plus Espresso Maker
UGLY: No pump, no boiler, steam toy. With very good coffee, it can make fair coffee like any drip maker, but never (pumped) espresso. Temperature variability tend to ruin everything.
|
 | Capresso 302.01 Mini-S 4-Cup Safety Espresso/Cappuccino Machine
Ugly: No pump, no boiler, steam toy.
|
 | Krups Allegro Espresso Makers
Ugly: No pump, no boiler, steam toy.
|
 | Krups FNP112-42 Espremio Espresso/Cappuccino/Latte Maker
Buy used from: $29.99 UGLY: Same deal as the above. Avoid Krups for espresso, and any pumpless model like the Capresso 302.01. Will make fair coffee, like any $5 drip maker.
|
 | DeLonghi EC140B Espresso and Cappuccino Maker
Buy new: $62.95 / Used from: $65.00 Fair: Better than Krups, and similar to Briel ES15BF, but buying this over a Gaggia Carezza is like buying a Miata over a BMW Z3 to save $300. (Sells on Ebay for $45.)
|
 | Presto Scandinavian Design Coffee Maker
Good: Amazing value. Uses 2 heating coils to ensure proper temperature. (Most coffee makers heat the water about 20 degrees too cool.) Better temperature for coffee than 95% of what's out there.
|
 | Zojirushi EC-BD15 Fresh Brew Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker
Buy new: $80.99 / Used from: $75.99 Good: A high quality, economical thermal carafe coffee maker with good hot temperatures. I'd ignore negative reviews. I have two and they work as promised.
|
 | Capresso 471.01 CoffeeTEC Digital 10-cup Coffeemaker with Stainless-Steel Vacuum Carafe and FrothXpress, Black
Good: Overpiced in my opinion, esp. compared with the Zoji, but otherwise this is the other "best" thermal carafe coffee maker out there, and this one froths milk, too. Avoid Krups and their ilk.
|
 | Cuisinart DGB-600BC Grind and Brew, Brushed Chrome
Buy new: $102.00 / Used from: $25.00 UGLY: Cleaning any of the Grind and Brews is torture. The mess and the poor quality of coffee makes this lousy. Forget Cuisinart, Krups, Braun, Bunn, Mellita (except for the Clarity), for the home.
|
 | Braun KF180-BLK FlavorSelect 12-Cup Coffeemaker, Black
Bad: Braun, Bunn, Kitchenaid, Cuisinart, Krups... won't make coffee at high enough a temperature. Just get a Zojirushi or Presto on a budget, or a Capresso CoffeeTEC if money isn't a factor.
|
 | Starbucks House Blend Whole Bean Coffee, Two (2) 16-Ounce FlavorLock Bags (2 Pounds Total)
Bad: Stale by the time it arrives. For the same price, you can order from the best roasters in America like Intelligentsiacoffee.com or Rileys-coffee.com. Check out Coffeereview.com for even more.
|
 | Bodum Pavina 9-Ounce Double-Wall Thermo Glasses, Set of 2
Buy new: $14.50 / Used from: $12.99 Revolutionary: Shot glasses for espresso. Larger cups for cappa or latte or coffee, NEAR PERFECT HEAT retention, but cool to touch, and no condensation. Fragile, but cheap to replace.
|
 | Factory-Reconditioned KitchenAid Pro Line Burr Coffee Grinder, Pearl Metallic
Not for espresso, but otherwise a great beautiful home coffee grinder at an increadible Amazon price.
|
 | Thermos Nissan 26-Ounce Travel Companion Stainless-Steel Insulated Bottle
Buy new: $24.81 / Used from: $20.99 A superb thermos for taking to and from work.
|
 | M5 Grinder - Manual Chrome
Buy new: $625.00 Again, just get the Macap M4 or the Mazzer Mini and forget about Gaggia or Rocky or any other grinder. You'll NEVER regret it.
|
 | Mazzer Mini -Timer
The Mazzer is the one. Make espresso forever and never have to fix anything, and have perfect consistency.
|
 | Vaneli's Aluminum Tamper 58mm --2.28 Inches (2 5/16")
Don't forget a tamper with your Gaggia or other espresso machine.
|
Listmania!
