Equipment - $1000 coffee machine?
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Do I need an expensive espresso machine?
Not necessarily - but we do believe you should buy the best machine your budget allows.
Home espresso machines have improved dramatically over the past few years. Around the $1,000 mark, brands like Breville offer fantastic machines that are capable of producing genuinely great coffee at home.
Can you spend more? Absolutely.
Once you move into prosumer and commercial-style machines, you'll generally gain better temperature stability, stronger steam pressure, higher-quality components and greater consistency.
Our advice is simple: buy the best machine you can comfortably afford. It will almost always make your coffee journey more enjoyable.
What's more important, the grinder or the machine?
The grinder.
Every single time.
If your budget only allows you to invest in one piece of equipment, spend the money on a quality grinder.
The grinder determines how evenly your coffee is ground, and consistent grind size is one of the biggest factors in producing balanced espresso.
You can make surprisingly good coffee with an average machine and an excellent grinder.
The opposite is much harder.
An expensive espresso machine can't fix poorly ground coffee.
What grinder do you recommend?
We always recommend buying a burr grinder over a blade grinder.
Blade grinders chop coffee into random-sized pieces, which creates uneven extraction. Some particles become over-extracted while others remain under-extracted, making it difficult to brew consistently.
Burr grinders crush the coffee between two burrs, producing a much more uniform grind size. They're more precise, more consistent and generate less heat during grinding, helping preserve the coffee's flavour.
If you're serious about making better coffee at home, a burr grinder is one of the best investments you can make.
Can I use supermarket grinders?
You can...
But we generally wouldn't recommend it.
Most inexpensive supermarket grinders use blade-style grinding or have very limited grind adjustment, making it difficult to produce consistent espresso.
If you're spending good money on freshly roasted coffee, it's worth pairing it with a grinder that gives those beans the best chance to shine.
A quality grinder will almost always improve your coffee more than upgrading your espresso machine.
How often should I replace burrs?
It depends on how much coffee you make.
As a general guide, most burr sets last around 500 kg of coffee before they begin losing their sharpness.
For a home coffee drinker making one or two coffees each day, that could mean several years before replacement is needed.
Commercial cafes, on the other hand, may replace burrs every 6 months.
If your shots become inconsistent or you find yourself constantly adjusting your grinder, worn burrs could be one of the causes.
What's the difference between conical and flat burrs?
Both produce excellent coffee, and neither is objectively "better."
Conical burrs are often quieter, produce less heat and are commonly found in home grinders.
Flat burrs are popular in commercial cafes because they generally offer exceptional grind consistency and can produce very clean, balanced flavour profiles.
The reality is that both can make fantastic coffee.
The overall quality of the grinder matters far more than whether it uses conical or flat burrs.
Are scales worth buying?
Absolutely.
If there is one accessory we'd recommend to every coffee drinker, it's a good set of scales.
Scales remove the guesswork from brewing and allow you to repeat the same recipe every time.
By weighing your coffee, you'll:
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Build consistency.
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Learn faster.
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Troubleshoot problems more easily.
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Waste less coffee.
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Make meaningful adjustments with confidence.
They're one of the cheapest upgrades you can make, yet one of the biggest improvements to your coffee.
Should I buy an automatic coffee machine?
It depends on what you're looking for.
If convenience is your priority, today's automatic coffee machines are excellent. Brands like Breville offer fantastic options that make consistently good coffee with very little effort.
If you enjoy being hands-on and want complete control over your coffee, a traditional espresso machine will always give you more flexibility.
Machines like the Sanremo Cube allow you to control almost every part of the brewing process, but they also require more skill and come with a much higher price tag.
Neither option is right or wrong.
Choose the machine that matches how involved you want to be in making your coffee.
What equipment should every home coffee drinker own?
If we had to choose just two pieces of equipment, we'd recommend:
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A quality burr grinder.
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A good set of digital scales.
Those two items will improve your coffee far more than chasing expensive accessories.
Freshly roasted beans, a consistent grind and accurate dosing will always be the foundation of great coffee.
What's the biggest mistake people make with equipment?
Cheaping out.
We know that's probably not what everyone wants to hear, but it's the truth.
People often spend good money on freshly roasted high quality coffee and then expect a very inexpensive espresso machine or grinder to produce cafe-quality results.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.
Good coffee deserves good equipment.
That doesn't mean you need to spend thousands of dollars, but there is a point where buying the cheapest option simply makes it harder to brew great coffee.
Our advice is to buy the best equipment you can afford, look after it well and learn how to use it properly.
It will reward you every single morning.