The cheapest legitimate path to pulling real espresso shots, not just pushing a button on a pod machine. Out of the box it's mediocre, pressurized basket and weak steam, but swap in a non-pressurized basket and pair it with a decent grinder and this $100 boiler-based machine suddenly delivers espresso that embarrasses gear three times the price. The modding community has turned it into a platform: pressure gauges, dimmers, PIDs, bottomless portafilters, owners running them daily for 3-6 years. Buy it if you want to learn real technique without financial commitment and don't mind timing your own shots. Skip it if you want plug-and-play convenience or won't upgrade the basket, because stock performance is forgettable.
This $99 lever pulls legitimately cafe-quality shots with budget hand grinders once you dial in, and the 2024 steel brewhead finally eliminates preheating for medium-dark roasts. The workflow becomes punishing at scale: one shot is meditative, two shots is a chore, and three shots sends people shopping for electric machines. Disassembly and cleaning between pulls takes longer than the extraction itself, and the puck screen traps grounds in tiny holes every single time. Buy this if you're the only coffee drinker and genuinely enjoy the ritual, or if you need something portable for travel. Skip it if you're making back-to-back drinks for guests or thinking this will replace a real espresso machine for volume.