Last week we took a look at the best purchases for semi-automatics and grinders to get started brewing espresso at home. This week we wanted to offer up some ideas for those ready for an upgrade! Whether you're outgrowing your machine or it's getting a little long in the tooth, here are some ideas for where to go next.
Grinder
Upgrading your grinder depends a lot on what you already have. Because the quality of your espresso is so dependent on the consistency of your grind, this is a key part of your setup. We generally recommend a grinder upgrade
before you upgrade your machine. A great grinder can elevate the quality of espresso you're getting from a weaker machine. On the other hand, a fancy machine won't produce great shots without a quality grinder.
The biggest thing you should look for in stepping up your grinder is a stepless grind adjust (pun a little bit intended). Stepless adjust means that the distance between the burrs isn't on set steps that click from one to the next. Stepless adjustment works more like a screw, bringing the burrs closer together as you turn the dial. While consistency in grounds is the most important thing in an espresso grinder, this kind of adjuster gives you more control. It is, however, harder to dial in beans with a stepless adjust. This is why we recommend these kinds of grinders as an upgrade.
With that in mind, one of the all around best home grinder lines is
Eureka. We love their Mignon line, which offers fast, consistent, and quiet grinding. The best part here is that there are several options that you can pick from depending on your budget. From the simple and efficient
Silenzio all the way up to the feature filled
Specialita. All of the grinders in this line feature stepless adjustment.
Machine
There's one particular machine we love for anyone looking to upgrade, and that's the
Rocket Espresso Appartamento. This is a stellar espresso machine that brings you a heated E61 brew group, pro style steam, and hands on brewing. All of these features strike at the sort of creature comforts that come with a commercial machine. While the Appartamento will take practice to pull the perfect shot, it has the power and reliability to be the last espresso machine you buy.
If you're looking to go even bigger, the
Rocket Espresso Mozzafiato and
Giotto offer their own arguments, each providing incredible upgrades. Either way, these are machines that will last you decades. Finally, if you're looking to go
really big, the
Rocket Espresso R58 Cinquantotto is a behemoth of a machine that will give the local coffee shop a run for its money. It's another machine that will last you a lifetime.
We recommend all of these upgrades because of the power of their pumps, plumbing options, and PID controlled temps. Check out our reviews and other educational articles to get a better understanding of how each of these elements puts these machines over the top.
Check out the rest of our getting started guides!
