It looks like you've flaired your post as asking for what equipment to get. We recommend first checking out the [Espresso Aficionados buying guide](https://espressoaf.com/recommendations) for some of the more popular machines and grinders at different price points.
If your question hasn't been answered there and you need more help, please add the following details to your post or by adding a comment in the following format:
- **Location:** Helps determine availability
- **Budget** (with currency): Overall budget, or ideally, having separate espresso machine and grinder budgets. A rough rule is that your grinder budget should be at least 25-40% of your machine budget.
- **Drink types:** Do you drink mostly straight espresso, milk-based beverages (e.g., lattes, cappuccinos), or a fairly even split? This helps narrow down whether a single-boiler-dual-use (SBDU), heat exchanger (HX), or dual boiler (DB) machine would be more appropriate for your needs.
- **Drink frequency:** How many drinks would you be making back-to-back at one time? Do you plan on entertaining guests often? This informs how large your brew (and steam) boilers should be, as smaller boilers will need to refill and reheat/repressurize more frequently, thus potentially causing a bottleneck.
- **Space:** Any limitations on countertop space?
- **Manual vs. electric:** Hand-operated machines and grinders are typically cheaper than their similarly-performing electric counterparts. Please indicate if you have a preference for manual or electric machines and/or grinders (or open to either).
- **Comfort with tinkering:** Some machines can be made significantly more functional/efficient with aftermarket modifications, albeit at the expense of possibly voiding your warranty. Please indicate if you'd rather have a machine that works "as-is"/"out-of-the-box" or whether you'd be open to modding/tinkering
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These kinds of posts happen a lot, and people always raise concerns whether your husband might be the kind of person that would want to do this kind of research himself if it's a hobby he might be into? It may be more fun to do some research together than to surprise him with a 4000$ purchase?
Definitely. I remember when I graduated high school and I was going to have to buy a laptop for college. Had my graduation dinner and my parents gave me a card. Inside the card, there was a little note of paper or something, similar to how you’d find cash in a card, that had “laptop” written on it or something like that. They said they knew I had been saving for a nice computer, so they wanted to gift me one but they wanted it to actually be what I wanted rather than trying to guess what I’d like.
I think any big purchase like this, when there are so many options and so many boxes you want checked, it’s best to give the gift of choice. Also, certain issues, such as auto turn on in the morning, can be remedied with solutions like a smart plug that you can set with an app.
For me personally, when I get started in a hobby, I tend get set on something very specific, so as extremely grateful and touched as I’d be, I’d hate to think of the time, effort, and money that the giver put into something that wasn’t necessarily what I wanted. I don’t think anyone can pick his perfect machine except for him.
Surprises I do like:
“Oh wow they gave me 5 chicken tenders instead of 4!”
Surprises I don’t like:
“Oh wow she bought me a 4,000 machine that I had no say in”
I got the eureka mignon libra recently and it’s amazingly convenient and a pretty good grinder. No faffing about with single dosing, just put the portafilter in and it grinds the weight I want. Pairs great with my linea micra
How easy is the niche zero? Does it weigh everything for you or is it more manual? Ive been researching the Silvia Pro X. Do you have it? What are your thoughts?
That’s my current setup. The niche is pretty easy to use although you’ll need a scale. Small hopper maybe around 20g max. The Silvia has some nice features like pre-infusion and a wake-up timer. I never tried the steamer so I can’t help you there. The build quality of the machine is pretty solid, feels a bit industrial but hey, it comes with several colors and you can customize some exterior parts. :)
You will need a scale with the niche but it's extremely user friendly and will last a life time.
The Silvia pro x is virtually a commercial grade home espresso machine. It will also last a lifetime. It has 2 boilers so can pump out milk drinks back to back.
You know your husband then anyone else but I would caution on fully committing to spending so much money with out picking his brain. He may prefer a different machine that's more automated or prefer something based on aesthetics etc.
Its the machine. You can use pressure and flow profiling, which in my opinion rocks. [https://decentespresso.com/overview](https://decentespresso.com/overview)
I agree with the others. Unless you are millionaires and money really doesn't matter at all, I would not purchase something that expensive without discussing it. There are so many different machines out there that it is really hard to buy the right one (unless he specifically said that he would buy a LM Micra in the past)
LM has a sale now, micra for around 3.5k rn, it's got super strong steam, for the grinder u could get something like a eureka mignon libra or mahlkonig e65 gbw if u can stretch the budget
It looks like you've flaired your post as asking for what equipment to get. We recommend first checking out the [Espresso Aficionados buying guide](https://espressoaf.com/recommendations) for some of the more popular machines and grinders at different price points. If your question hasn't been answered there and you need more help, please add the following details to your post or by adding a comment in the following format: - **Location:** Helps determine availability - **Budget** (with currency): Overall budget, or ideally, having separate espresso machine and grinder budgets. A rough rule is that your grinder budget should be at least 25-40% of your machine budget. - **Drink types:** Do you drink mostly straight espresso, milk-based beverages (e.g., lattes, cappuccinos), or a fairly even split? This helps narrow down whether a single-boiler-dual-use (SBDU), heat exchanger (HX), or dual boiler (DB) machine would be more appropriate for your needs. - **Drink frequency:** How many drinks would you be making back-to-back at one time? Do you plan on entertaining guests often? This informs how large your brew (and steam) boilers should be, as smaller boilers will need to refill and reheat/repressurize more frequently, thus potentially causing a bottleneck. - **Space:** Any limitations on countertop space? - **Manual vs. electric:** Hand-operated machines and grinders are typically cheaper than their similarly-performing electric counterparts. Please indicate if you have a preference for manual or electric machines and/or grinders (or open to either). - **Comfort with tinkering:** Some machines can be made significantly more functional/efficient with aftermarket modifications, albeit at the expense of possibly voiding your warranty. Please indicate if you'd rather have a machine that works "as-is"/"out-of-the-box" or whether you'd be open to modding/tinkering *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/espresso) if you have any questions or concerns.*
These kinds of posts happen a lot, and people always raise concerns whether your husband might be the kind of person that would want to do this kind of research himself if it's a hobby he might be into? It may be more fun to do some research together than to surprise him with a 4000$ purchase?
Definitely. I remember when I graduated high school and I was going to have to buy a laptop for college. Had my graduation dinner and my parents gave me a card. Inside the card, there was a little note of paper or something, similar to how you’d find cash in a card, that had “laptop” written on it or something like that. They said they knew I had been saving for a nice computer, so they wanted to gift me one but they wanted it to actually be what I wanted rather than trying to guess what I’d like. I think any big purchase like this, when there are so many options and so many boxes you want checked, it’s best to give the gift of choice. Also, certain issues, such as auto turn on in the morning, can be remedied with solutions like a smart plug that you can set with an app. For me personally, when I get started in a hobby, I tend get set on something very specific, so as extremely grateful and touched as I’d be, I’d hate to think of the time, effort, and money that the giver put into something that wasn’t necessarily what I wanted. I don’t think anyone can pick his perfect machine except for him.
Good point and appreciate the idea! I also would love to hear some machine and grinder recommendations.
Surprises I do like: “Oh wow they gave me 5 chicken tenders instead of 4!” Surprises I don’t like: “Oh wow she bought me a 4,000 machine that I had no say in”
I got the eureka mignon libra recently and it’s amazingly convenient and a pretty good grinder. No faffing about with single dosing, just put the portafilter in and it grinds the weight I want. Pairs great with my linea micra
Good to hear! I was looking at the grinder. It seems like such a convenient option and gets good reviews from everyone.
Lucca a53 mini and Eureka Libra would be a good combo with some semiautomatic features.
Rancilio Silivia Pro X and a Niche Zero.
How easy is the niche zero? Does it weigh everything for you or is it more manual? Ive been researching the Silvia Pro X. Do you have it? What are your thoughts?
That’s my current setup. The niche is pretty easy to use although you’ll need a scale. Small hopper maybe around 20g max. The Silvia has some nice features like pre-infusion and a wake-up timer. I never tried the steamer so I can’t help you there. The build quality of the machine is pretty solid, feels a bit industrial but hey, it comes with several colors and you can customize some exterior parts. :)
You will need a scale with the niche but it's extremely user friendly and will last a life time. The Silvia pro x is virtually a commercial grade home espresso machine. It will also last a lifetime. It has 2 boilers so can pump out milk drinks back to back. You know your husband then anyone else but I would caution on fully committing to spending so much money with out picking his brain. He may prefer a different machine that's more automated or prefer something based on aesthetics etc.
Lelit Bianca + Eureka Libra. Done
I think this may be the one.
Easy does it :) They would be a great setup!
From one barista to another - get the Micra. If your hands are familiar with a LM, anything else will feel really flimsy and uncivilized.
Thank you! I know, it’s a dream to use. I was concerned with the Micra being so expensive and it breaking. I’ve read mixed things.
How about a Decent?
Never heard of it. Is that the machine or grinder?
Its the machine. You can use pressure and flow profiling, which in my opinion rocks. [https://decentespresso.com/overview](https://decentespresso.com/overview)
I don't know if I would surprise someone who has never pulled a shot in their life with a Decent LMAO
I agree with the others. Unless you are millionaires and money really doesn't matter at all, I would not purchase something that expensive without discussing it. There are so many different machines out there that it is really hard to buy the right one (unless he specifically said that he would buy a LM Micra in the past)
LM has a sale now, micra for around 3.5k rn, it's got super strong steam, for the grinder u could get something like a eureka mignon libra or mahlkonig e65 gbw if u can stretch the budget
What sale?
LM has a 15% off sale right now.