How much should I spend on a coffee machine?

Good on you for, as a shop owner, still covering the financial reality of making your own versus buying at the cafe. We make our own Espresso drinks for the most part, mainly for the convenience and also to get drinks that suit our specific tastes, versus what our local artisan shop offers. The financial benefits are a nice adder, but likely wouldn't be the main decision point on its own.  

We bought a Breville Dual Boiler about 2.5yrs ago and so far (other than a small dribble out of the steam wand), it has been faultless. We first used the Breville Smart Grinder Pro that came as a set with the BDB, but moved up to a Niche Zero about a year later. Here, we spend about $1.07 all in per double shot for the coffee/water and at $4.50USD +tip average for a double latte at our local favorite shop, it doesn't take long to justify the setup financially.

I would like to move up to something a little more sturdy down the road, but frankly, when I take all the features the BDB offers (most of which I didn't know I needed/wanted until I started using it), there are not many options that match up feature for feature, even at double the price. So maybe, down the road when our BDB does give up the ghost, we will just replace it with another new one.

Thanks again for the honest work and great guidance.

You just spilled the beans brother. Now we know your bias. You own a shop, you lose customers to ppl who make the decision to begin making java at home, and if they believe what you say, and you're more than willing to say it, then they think, well, I can't afford 1000 bucks now, so I'll just keep buying from the dude who thinks his cuppa is worth $5. But if you pay attention to some basics, folks, you can make coffee that can't possibly taste any better right at home. So go learn about fresh filtered water, FRESH beans, ground JUST before you brew, and several other tips, each that, if done correctly, each add tiny little bits of quality, and they ALL ADD UP!

I worked as a barista for years and this is one of the dumbest videos i've ever seen, you can get 98% of what a cafe can do with a $500 grinder and $500 machine, they're just not built to make 2000 coffees a day.

I see you're super out of touch with how much money ordinary people have.

Ive had my sage coffee machine for eight years never had a minute's problem with it and I am a huge coffee drinker

Who can afford to spend that much on coffee? I always wonder why the line at Starbucks is so long. Who can go there? My mother is loaded and treats herself once a week.

This video seems very dishonest and bollox

I will be completely honest I’ve never had an excellent cup of coffee in any café. I’ve been to many places in the world, including Italy, France, Austria UK etc. expensive machine does NOT equal great coffee. The only truly memorable cup I’ve had was in Kona, Big Island , and it was a pour over.

sorry man, one-sided cheap review

Ridiculous video. Spend $1000 AUD??? You "...own a cafe..."? Nope, no conflict of interest here...

Fucking waste of time.

$28 / £15 a day, £5,500 a year on coffee do people really spend that much, how much do they earn...I really think I'd rather spend my money on something else.

You spend 10,000 a year on coffee you don't need a coffee machine you need help...what a complete waste of money.

I spend £144 a year on coffee, the idea of spending 1000 on a coffee machine is madness.

My major problem is that I want a super automatic espresso machine but every time I look people's machines are breaking in the super automatic category. Anyone else find this to be the case?

Talking about uk coffee shops,they mostly go for cheapest coffee then make in a state of art Italian machine daft!

Most coffee sold in cafe shops cheap as they can buy,you can get decent espresso maker ie delonghi sculptural around£120 but spend more on getting good quality Italian coffee which has been ground to correct size for espresso machine easy!

I have a Breville Barista Pro cost me $700.00 US and after see this video I sat down and figured out what it cost me, I get my coffee from a local roaster for $11.99 and 12.99 for 16oz bag and I figured that for me to make a 12oz flavor Latte it cost me around 55 cents this is counting coffee, milk, flavor, and water, I didn't figured the electric cost but I think it wouldn't be alot because the Pro uses a themojet and only heats when pulling shot.

A flavor Latte 12oz cost me at the cheapest $5.00 plus 10% sales tax .50 so $5,50 US so my savings is $4.95 US, I make 2 to 4 drinks a day but lets just I make 2 drinks a day every day at home this would save me $9.90 US a day, so in 71 day I have save enough money to pay off the Breville Barista Pro :)

I'm pretty sure out there is video out there looking down on this one and categorically stating you must spend 10k AUD or you are wasting your time. I do not notice the difference between cafe coffee and my cheaper machine. But I admit I don't consider myself an afficionado. I really wonder whether there is such a difference for even the supposed afficionado . I recall they did some double blind scientific studies on wine and all the medal award winners from the supposed superior vinyards came nowhere near the top - most mid ranking or below. A lot of the awards and largesse expressed for the expensive superior producers turned out was mostly bias and snobbery by the wine people when rigorously put to the test. I do wonder whether same applies to coffee. I think it might.

Thank god you said breville dual boiler was the exception. Mine is 3 years strong

Maths doesn't work for me, I rarely drink coffee outside of home as I'm tight and refuse to buy a coffee when for the same price I can get a weeks worth of beans,
Bought a cheap 2nd hand basic coffee machine (and I mean Basic) that works fine, generally get a better cup than the 'chain' store coffees.
I only drink espresso so have no interest in steamers or any other features, so as long as it heats the water up to the correct temperature and has the correct pressure then it will make a decent cup.

Biggest factors I've found is in the beans, as long as I consistently get the quantities and temper correct, everything else is in the Beans.

Instant coffee at the back of the cupboard got thrown out recently as it had been there so long it had set into 1 lump.
Filter machine has been in filed away for the last 3 years.

I'd drink a cup of Tea if I can't have a decent coffee.

My machine cost me less than £30 2nd hand (£70-£80 when new).
Makes a cup better than most chain store bought, and when you get that good cup out of it you'll never drink anything else.
$1000 AUD = £530
Sure one day I'll buy a better machine, but it's a luxury NOT a necessity for a decent coffee .

Coffee difference between made in café and at home is true, and I think the cause is knowledge and experience. I can't make even a simple turkey coffee using cezve as good as I had it in cafes in Greece. So, it's not a machine that makes the greatest difference. (Same thing with cameras: an expensive one won't make your pictures look good if you aren't skilled). Also, a coffee machine bw 200-400AUD is a totally ok thing to buy for someone who never goes to a café for a cuppa coffee and/or who used to drink coffee-bots most of the time, and wants his or hers first coffee machine, and not even sure yet if it will be used often enough.

What do you think about automated machines was thinking about the Terra kaffe 02 that’s coming out?

But Ryde! You didnt recommend any machines besides the Breville, and under 1K with Gaggia and Silva. WHat about the 1500-2500? Also, I think for some folks who are looking for these pro-sumer level machines, we need a diagram to compare their internal parts, such as boilers, valves, elec controllers, piping, weight, size. This way we can see; "Oh, this machine has a aluminum boiler", so I might avoid that, and not lose my pace in finding the right machine. This steam wand is doing X amount of pressure stream vs the other machine. OK, And then it falls to maybe warm up times, or looks, etc. I am about to watch the 1k-3K video, which I likely already watched...Which tells you something...Some of us are not getting the info needed :-) I thought the Ascaso Spanish machine would be great, but, not after reading the details, yet it is pushed as a top performer. So I am skipping it. The Appartmento maybe great, or the Profitec Go or Pro 500? but what are the parts comparable? What are we getting for the extra cost on some of these? Then, maybe cover a bit older models, like NS Musica, or Oscar2 vs what these current top models are offering. Maybe a used machine is a great way, (so far all 3 of my machines in over 20 years have been second hand, and only sold as I quit coffee, or wanted to upgrade).

For great shots and the long run, a grinder built in is the worst choice when buying new. If the grinder is broke and its a great machine (not likely) you could get a great deal.

£500 😂 yehhhh naaaa. I would say that some of the nicest coffee I drink is a simple manual filter coffee at home. That's all I'm looking for, a decent drip filter which makes good coffee, ready for me in the morning

If most people are paying upwards of $10,000 a year on espresso drinks then you would be correct in your analysis. The reality is that your average, everyday working person cannot afford that and honestly probably wouldn't be willing to even come close. In my mind, for the majority of people, you are being over the top unrealistic. There is a HUGE percentage of people that go and get their favorite coffee shop espresso a couple times a week and then do just fine with a several hundred dollar machine with a HIGH quality bean and HIGH quality burr grinder at home the rest of the time. Yes, the machine is important but the grinder and the bean are so much more important for the home "barista". You are simply not addressing average everyday people. I feel you are out of touch. Your statements that it takes such a huge investment of time to learn to make espresso at home is, IMHO again, completely incorrect and out of touch with the average working person. Thank you though for the time and effort you have put into this analysis. Have a great day 🙂

When will we have digital coffee so the learning curve is closer to digital photography? On the Kenyan coffee, of 100 shots...you didn't count that 60 of those shots are just OK, and 40 are better, and maybe 20-30 are GofShots, lol. Moral...learn on cheaper beans folks!

Hey I am confused between buying a fully automatic Budan Machine or a Gaggia classic pro! Please help and suggest please 🙏🏻

Then there is me with my $30 USD coffee machine that's lasted 15 years while living in small town of 3,000 with zero coffee shops >_<

Hey im thinking of getting something from the Delonghi eletta range - would you recommend?

I have a Saeco idea cappuccino at home it's great cost 300 second hand hand 300 to have it plumbed

Terrible advice. Telling a novice to go out spend $1000 off bat for an espresso machine.

Instead of purchasing a less expensive machine and mastering the skills first.

If you spend 1,000 on a coffee machine and it breaks down in 2 years you didn't waste 1k you saved money specially if you buy coffee every day and you spend about 8.00 multiply that for 2 years.

This is true! I was spending $5-10 daily on my morning coffee! It gets expensive when you add extra shots to everything! I have a Gaggia Classic now, and make delicious espresso at home. I did a lot of mods to the Gaggia and it’s amazing! Added PID, Pressure Gauge, and Flow Control. It’s a simple machine built like a little tank! My grinder is a Eureka Mignon Zero. So I guess you would say I did spend a bit, but much less than $2K. Totally worth it.

crap video. Spends half the video selling his kenyan coffee beans.

A french press properly used will make better coffee than any espresso machine. That is of course unless you just want hot milk.

so how purches ? I don't get the point. No any tech information...

You can spend more money to coffee beans, and make better shots comparing to coffee shops. Main COGS in local cafe shops is coffee beans and labor. Both limit the quality.

Bruh no body spends 20 £ on coffe in uk.
Bull shit. Just doing u r promotions

The sage/Breville Dual Boiler can be very easily maintained home. The community around that machine is huge! Bang for buck. The Dual Boiler is (at least in europe) about 2k AUD (1300€).

I got the Sage barista pro. I now find it hard to find better coffee than I make at home. took me 2 weeks to perfect my method and now I'm working on complex latte art =))

shoild try the casabrew machine. $150? vs the delonghi

Only because I felt how important was it for you to stay professional and still support those Kenyan women I subscribed to your channel. keep on rocking!

Mine just went after 5 years, that is why i am here. 6 week wait on repair or do i buy a new one?

The video I needed. I spend so much on latte’s. Looking at my monthly cost was enough for me to consider investing in a quality espresso machine. Especially since I WFH. It’s hard to reason with yourself spending $1000 on a coffee machine. But the reality is those daily latte’s are way more expensive in the long run. Great video!

Great review, Ryd. Thanks heaps!

I am MID nervous breakdown trying to decide what to buy!!!!!!! I'm past hysterical!

Me who has just purchased a 34 bucks coffee machine 💀💀💀