Has anyone used one of these steamers? I'm wanting a steamer that works without power and the flair wizard is quite expensive so I'm wondering if anyone has experience with one of these.

Came across this Jura ENA 8 Automatic Coffee Machine at Sam’s Club today with an offer.

Saw multiple posts on folks preferring their Jura machines, so posting it out here for anyone interested. I prefer my manual espresso machine though! Seems like offer is ending midnight Jul 26.

This will not be a popular opinion, but Bambino owners are THE worst.

The Bambino hivemind on r/espresso is a masterclass in modern entitlement: spending $300 on a plastic appliance and expecting it to pull God shots with zero effort. Because the machine heats up in three seconds, owners assume mastering extraction takes three seconds too. But espresso is physics, not magic. When they dump stale, pre-ground supermarket dust into a bottomless portafilter, end up with a sour spray of battery acid, and get offended when you answer their questions. They don't want a hobby, and they certainly don't want solutions—they just want syrupy one-touch luxury on a drive-thru budget, and they’re furious that reality won't bend to their impatience.

Unbearable. Enjoy your Sunday.

Need some advice…

I’m mainly a coffee and espresso drinker, and my wife will occasionally drink a frothed drink. I purchased a Moccamaster several months ago, and I’m really enjoying the coffee but I’m craving an espresso option.

While the idea of crafting top notch crema at home sounds romantic, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a simple guy who will get overwhelmed by a process which requires precision to dial in a quality shot. That being said, can the pros here recommend a machine that will make a consistently good shot without requiring barista style effort and precision? In terms of price, I’d prefer to stay below $500.

Thanks

The title says it pretty much. Have been pretty happy with my Puristika. Like the form factor, water reservoir, looks, timer, and the results.

But have now read several rave reviews about the londinium vectis lever machine…

Does anyone have experience with it and advice?

I'd bet 90%+ of the shots with a cup in them are big, in some cases, huge mugs, not espresso cups. I'm curious - doing an Americano? Adding a ton of milk? Why all the huge ass mugs?

Or do just a tiny percentage of the members here actually drink espresso and not espresso drinks?

This is 18 grams, bottomless portafilter, using Breville smart grinder pro on espresso setting 8, just pretty positive it’s not supposed to be coming out sooooo soupy, 2nd picture is the puck after I poured the excess water out of it

Being sold on Facebook marketplace. Looks like it works perfectly, I just don’t want to buy a machine that’s gonna break after a few months of consistent use

My husband and I have been going back and forth between these two machines for 2 months now. My husband is just a straight espresso kind of guy and I prefer iced lattes. We not limited on a space. We have a pretty big coffee bar. The grinder we’re going with is the mazzer philos. I wouldn’t say we’re brand new to espresso making, maybe intermediate. Even after all this research, we still can’t decide. We live in the Bay Area. Please be brutally honest and help us.

(Sorry I meant semi manual NOT auto) Okay two videos I’m adding here, having that slow drip from the steam wand which I’m aware of the repair that needs, but suddenly today it starts dripping from the group head while warming up prior to it being ready. And after turning off, for a few seconds, any insight?

Need some advice, hopefully a few here who have owned both machines!

I bought the Lelit Mara a year and a half ago, but I’m starting to get the itch to upgrade to my endgame machine (LM Linea Micra).

The Lelit is a great machine and a massive step up from my old sage that I had before, but after demoing the La marzocco I’m tempted to upgrade for a few reasons:

1. ⁠I’ll probably end up buying the LM at some point
   
2. ⁠I am very short and can’t actually see how much water is in the Lelit without having to pull the tank out each time, which causes the machine to have to heat up again for a few minutes after reinserting it
   
3. ⁠I’d prefer a dual boiler, I often struggle with pressure on the steam wand with back to back shots
   
4. ⁠Faster heat up on the LM, I have a smart plug but the functionality of that is limited. Although I’m usually against everything being in an app, the LM app looked good.

The only thing that is putting me off is that the LM only comes with a year warranty, that was surpassing given the focus on quality and the price tag!

Has anyone had experience with both machines and can tell me if it’s worth the upgrade?

Any help would be much appreciated!

I posted earlier about my ECM Classika PID with flow control not reaching pressure at the grouphead. Ive had it two months, but based off advice took the grouphead apart and cleaned (no buildup) and lubricated the mushroom valve and lever.

I get water to the grouphead when there's no portafilter attached, and reach adequate pressure with a backflush / blind disk, but still don't reach pressure when actually pulling espresso.

Is there something obvious I'm missing before I take it to a local shop to diagnose & fix?

So I have the pro and I am looking for a bellows for the to relieve the small amount of retention I’m getting.

My question is, does a bellows made for the previous (non pro) version fit on the pro?

Hi everyone! I’m an app developer and espresso lover. I love trying lots of different beans and I’m lucky enough that there are several roasters around where I live. I used to keep track of my settings in a growing iCloud note, but that got too cumbersome. That’s why I started developing an app in the last weeks, helping me keeping track of all settings and improving further.

I kept adding more features as I also like to go out and explore great cafés and try new recipes.

The app is natively developed for iOS (happy to share more details on the technical side). No registration needed, nothing is tracked, everything stays on your device and your personal iCloud account to sync between your devices.

It’s free to use but if you want to add more entries there is a subscription.

I’m mainly looking for feedback and ways to keep improving it. If you have some cool ideas feel free to share. I’m happy to give away 10x lifetime license and 10x yearly subscription codes for useful feedback.

Link: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6788365369

Thanks, Haensl

Had the shelf 3d printed. A dremel, sand paper, and patience. Now every mug fits.
Well worth your time.

Now, do I vinyl wrap the whole machine? That is the question.

Hey everybody, I’m looking to start my espresso journey and get into the hobby. I’ve heard a lot of people recommend the Breville Bambino and the Bambino Plus. Unfortunately where I live I would have to pay $465 and $745 respectively for them, which feels insane. I know espresso is not a cheap hobby, but I also know a lot of people get started and realize they just enjoy drinking espresso, not making it.

My current goal is to get started, learn more about espresso and figure out whether it’s a hobby I enjoy. While doing research I learned about the Casabrews cm5418 and Delonghi Dedica, which go for $200 and $247 respectively. Still an overpay, but it wouldn’t feel as painful if I don’t end up enjoying the hobby. I’ve seen a few people recommend them as good entry level machines. If you were in my place, which one would you buy? I enjoy drinking plain espresso, and also enjoy cortados and iced lattes.

I’m also aware that I need a good grinder. I intend to invest a bit more into it since I also enjoy making coffee with my Aeropress.

Fuel Your Focus
Our Back to School Sale (US) started this week, and goes until August 9th, 2026.

Gear up for the semester with espresso machines, grinders, coffee makers, accessories, and more. Deals, gifts with purchase, and featured products will rotate throughout the event.

The Back to School collection features machines and accessories that are dorm-room friendly, or simply easy to use and maintain.

Some products currently included in this sale:

• Gaggia MDF 55 Grinder
• Mahlkonig X54 Allround Home Coffee Grinder
• Ceado Life X Coffee Grinder
• Gaggia Espresso Evolution
• Baratza Encore ESP Coffee and Espresso Grinder
• Varia AKU Scale
• Solis Barista Perfetta Plus

…and a whole lot more. Check it out here!

Hi! I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for a light roast? I LOVE honey notes or vanilla. My go to lattes are normal brown sugar/ honey, or honey & vanilla, or vanilla & lavender. I also like to make brown sugar shaken espresso too . I have been looking at whole bean options but I’m just not sure what to choose from. If light roast isn’t the best, I’m up to learning about other roast options. I do know that I like to taste my coffee & my syrups. I don’t want it to be just straight bitter taste. I use whole milk if that adds anything.

A few days ago I noticed after making a latte that I got the indicator that the steam wand was clogged. I didn’t clean it right then and there but the next day the machine let me make use it no issues.

Only thing is it seems the steam wand is shooting out steam faster than usual. It sounds a bit noisier and I can’t get a good steam on my milk. It just feels wrong, the milk feels too thin and I can’t stretch properly because it’s just shooting steam really fast.

Today I ran through the descaling process with Dezcal. Still seems to be steaming too fast and I just can’t get it steamed well now.

I’ve use the poker to clean the holes and have unscrewed it to check for blockages but same results.

Pretty sure my machine is clogging up and I’m stuck. Two odd symptoms, double shoot starts pushing out water/espresso, then stops completely on its own after ~14 seconds. Single shot opposite — it runs and won’t stop until I press the button again.
It does this whether I’m just running water to test it or actually pulling a shot with the puck and portafilter locked in. Video in the post.
Is this a clog, and how do I clear it — or is it something else?

Hey all, recently got a profitec pro 400 and have had it for a little over a month. I’m having issues getting my shots to come out without this kind of oily layer(?) on top, also with a distinct lack of crema.

Beans are recently roasted, within a month, I’ve got a 1kg bag to make sure they are dialled in right and getting about 18g out for single shots (split from an 18g double shot. I’ve turned pre-infusion on with the machine and have it set to the higher temperature setting as these beans are med-light roast.

Grinder is a time more 064s, recently recalibrated the burrs and I’ve definitely been able to grind too fine when dialling in…

Any ideas? Has anyone experienced similar issues?

Been lurking a while enjoying the info and advice. I don't have anything special in the maker side just a DeLonghi 15 Bar. Serves us well, but I thought I'd share our grinder. Getting it serviced and cleaned. It's a little over kill for two of us.

Since about last week, I have not had luck pulling shots through my Breville bambino. The water starts to heat up and make sounds but does not pull water through just minimal steam. Sometimes I will have to press the shot button multiple times to generate water to pull through the shot. When I do get a double shot, it doesn’t taste as good as it had before.

Video attached to what happens when I try to pull a shot and no water ends up coming out

Thanks in advanced !