Home espresso is, at its heart, simple. While you can get lots of different accessories and tools to improve your brewing experience, at the core of it all is your machine and grinder. So what are some of the signs that you might be outgrowing your espresso machine?
Pressurized Portafilters
Many new at home espresso enthusiasts start with simple machines that are designed for use with pressurized portafilters. The Breville Bambino is an excellent example of this. While these machines can still produce a good shot, they don't give you the nuance and control to find more complex and delicate notes due to that pressurized portafilter.
When you brew espresso your ground coffee in the portafilter restricts the flow of water, pushing back against the pressure from the machine. This is how that extra rich shot of coffee is created in just 20-30 seconds, instead of the longer, multi-minute brew times of slower brew methods. A key for brewing good espresso shots is to find the perfect grind size for that particular bean so that you get the right extraction time during brewing. A pressurized portafilter provides additional pressure with a second metal screen (or sometimes with a plastic insert on cheap machines) that helps guarantee the right amount of resistance.
This can help to make grinders that aren't quite precise enough for espresso work for a given machine, and it can also smooth over rough edges in the machine's temperature or pressure stability. Most of all though, it makes it easier to dial in your machine.
So why would you want to upgrade away from a machine that uses this type of portafilter?
Raising the Bar
Oftentimes machines with pressurized portafilters brew similar tasting shots from bean to bean. To really get a cafe quality shot and tease out complex, elusive notes from your coffee you'll likely want to move away from pressurized portafilters.
Beyond the taste, more advanced portafilters (such as a bottomless variant) are just more rewarding to use. After you've grown accustomed to brewing with a beginner portafilter you'll find that using a more professional, commercial option not only brings out more flavor, but it is more fun to use.
Full-size 58mm unpressurized portafilters to require some additional practice, so don't be discouraged if you have a hard time getting a quality shot at first. Once you develop a better understanding of dialing-in your grinder you'll be pulling shots so good that it'll be worth the learning curve.
Aside from the portafilter, a higher end machine will usually offer better temperature stability and water pressure. This can be a game changer if you're used to entry-level options. You can even steam and brew at the same time on higher quality machines that have heat exchanger or dual boiler heating systems.
But performance isn't the only thing you can expect when upgrading.
Programming and Features
Beyond performance, many higher end espresso machines prioritize bells and whistles like enhanced programming, pressure profiling, automatic steaming, and more. While we often advise that performance is the most important part of the espresso machine equation, some of these features can really sweeten the deal on an upgrade.
Whether it's a convenient control app for turning on the machine and adjusting temperatures or a full blown pressure profiling system (which gives the machine the ability to mimic any pressure curve you can come up with for your shots) these features do often come at a price. With that in mind, if a machine offers the higher level of performance that you're seeking and comes with some of these cool functions then it's a win-win.
Finally, build and component quality tends to take a leap as you look at upgrades. Higher end machines will use materials like stainless steel instead of plastics, and are often constructed by hand to ensure the internal components are properly installed. This peace of mind and solid construction is often well worth the increased price. The Diletta Bello is a great example of a perfect upgrade for many users. It has a heat exchanger for simultaneous steaming and brewing, stainless steel construction, and neat extra features like its eco mode.
If you've gotten this far and still don't see the value in an upgrade from your current machine then it may be that you're not quite ready for an upgrade yet. If, on the other hand, these features and enhancements sound like they'd make your espresso process more enjoyable then it may be time to start shopping for your next machine!
Another thing to consider is your grinder, which we usually recommend upgrading first to make sure that it can keep up with whatever machine you end using.
If you'd like more thoughts on evolving your coffee setup you can check out our video below. Let us know what you're looking for in your next machine in the comments!