re: Espresso machine

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I have a Gaggia Classic Evo Pro that I modified with a Barista Gadgets PID. It took me about 3-4 days to dial it in but I love it.

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I want to go down this rabbit hole. Send me in the right direction.

I bought mine off of Amazon (I got the black one) but I think the vender was Whole Lotta Latte. I bought the Barista Gadgets PID from Etsy. I bought all of the other shite (tamper, distributor, scale, frothing pitcher, dosing funnel) from Amazon.

I linked the video how to modify the Gaggia. The video is a little different from the Evo model as they changed the power block but it's pretty easy to modify if you are good at DIY. Main difference is you need to either shrink wrap the terminals not being used or at least use electrical tape. The PDF Barista Gadgets sends with the purchase is really good. Supposedly their support is really good if you need any help. I hope this helps

Barista Gadgets PID

Youtube PID Install

I looked at that one but the short history of the unit kept me away. The Gaggia is a proven unit so I felt more comfortable going in that direction.

It’s been around South Asia for years. It’s manufactured by Gemilai and private labeled by various companies. The short history gave me caution as well, but the Espresso Outlet guys back their stuff so I trust it’ll work just as well as anything else on the market.

The Gaggia is a great machine no doubt. I just didn’t want to mess with mods. Would’ve been hard to justify to my wife why I was modifying the expensive machine I just bought

Did you see the gaggiuino kit modification? Holy frick. These dudes are serious about their coffee.

That’s just scratching the surface of the prosumer espresso niche. There are people on Reddit posting their “first” setups that are $15k+ between machine and grinder.

Jura

Jealousy is an ugly color on you. Enjoy drinking your mud water while you take home best in show at the pig snarfing contest.

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You got that grinder and machine for total of $600 on Black Friday? The grinder is $550 alone.

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I got an open box DF64 v1 Gen 5 for $299 and the Turin Legato for $299. He was running a special preorder deal for $200 off the Legato for the first 10 people to use the discount code. I think there are some $50 off coupons left. Everything else got bought up quick.

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I want a good shot of espresso at home.

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The key to that is the ability to adjust for the kind of bean you are using, and controlling for variable such as shot timing, profiling, pre-infusion, temperature and grind. What some don't realize is that to get a really good shot, the variables are different if the beans are lighter or darker, and depending on how many days past roasting. I've had beans that are 4 days post-roasting produce a perfect shot with one combination of grind/time/quantity, but require a different set of adjustments on the shot when the same beans age a week. Coffee shops use the same settings every day and focus on speed, producing generally crappy coffee.

That's all to say that the low end ($1,000 and under) and automatic machines are not adjustable in the manner required to get really good espresso.

But you do have options. I have a Flair Pro 2 manual press, coupled with a Baratza Encore ESP and the combo can produce shots so good you will never go to a coffee shop again. It requires a little extra education and work, but that's how to cross over into something really good.

I also recently purchased a Profitec Pro 600 with a flow control device and that also gives you the ability to properly account for all variables to make exceptional espresso. I highly recommend it.

What is your focus? Do you want something that makes a version of espresso at home, even though it may be crappy espresso? Or do you want really good espresso?

With a machine, you have to go up in the product lines enough to be able to control for temperature, pressure and flow in order to have the opportunity to hit super high quality. Double boiler isn't necessary. The key is control over variables. With the manual devices, for significantly less investment you can get there with less than a week of practice.