There was a time when I sued to really enjoy drinking tea. I was obsessed with tea. I would try so many different flavors and try to get my hands on any and all types I could get. Now I am obsessed with coffee!
I traveled abroad a few years ago and discovered that many people outside of America, prefer to drink shots of espresso as opposed to big cups of coffee like we do in the United States. At first this was a hard transition for me to make because I was so used to a huge cup of coffee like you get at Seattle Coffee. I also thought that drinking coffee black was not that good tasting, but once I tried a very strong espresso I was blown away at the intensity of the flavor. It was almost like the stronger it got, the more I liked it!
I began looking for an espresso machine that cost under $100, because I wanted to keep a tight budget. However, I quickly discovered that this amount of money was not enough to really get a good machine. In fact, the best espresso machines cost about $500, but I’ll get to that point in a minute.
The problem with cheaper machines is that they don’t produce a consistent beverage each time. Instead, you may get a strong espresso flavor on one pour, but the next one may taste slightly off. One of the big problems is that you have to tamp your own coffee beans into the tamper, and if you don’t add enough or tamp it the same pressure each time, the flavor is affected.
One day I stumbled across DavidandMax.com Reviews of Home Espresso Machines. This blog provided a ton of free information on the subject I was looking for. I poured over each webpage in order to figure out what was the best buying decision to make. What I quickly discovered is that $500 is the optimal range for the best espresso machine.
When you spend this amount of money you get every feature you could possibly imagine all in one machine. You don’t get the inconsistency of flavor like with a $100 machine. Once you set up the settings like you want, after trial and error in order to get your signature taste, it is just a press of a button from that point on.
You get the same great tasting espresso, each and every time.
The product I ended up buying was the Breville Infuser. This was rated as the best espresso machine to buy under $500 according to DavidAndMax.com. The features I liked best were:
- 5-bar pump pressure that delivers outstanding crema
- Stainless steel construction
- Thermocoil heating system
- Dry puck feature that removes excess water from the coffee grounds
- Espresso pressure gauge that allows you to monitor extraction pressure to know if the beverage is being over- or under- extracted
- Set customized shot volumes
- 360 degree rotating steam milk frothing wand
I am so happy with my purchase. This espresso machine has really be a great investment and works well in my kitchen. I used it during a party a few months back and everyone loved enjoying espressos at the touch of a button. Consider it if you are in the market for a new espresso maker!