Silvia

First of all you need a grinder. I recommend the eureka mignon line of grinders because there is one at every price point, albeit those price points start at about $350 and go to $1k-ish. But truly this is your must have purchase. The Specialita is what started their popularity because they are so q

No plastic is impossible. Way to good for some uses to skip on. I'd look for a used rancilio silvia. Built like tanks and easily servicable if something does break

Rancilio Silvia. Klassiker. Grym. Bäst av alla maskiner. Gaggia Classic. Också bra, men Rancilio är långt bättre, med större kokare dvs bättre, snabbare och stabilare ångtryck när du ångar mjölk. Men nästan än viktigare, är faktiskt kvarnen. En kvalitetskvarn gör ALLT. Om du har en billig kaffekvarn

Have a Rancilio Silvia/Rocky grinder 4 shots a day. In 12 years 1 group head seal and 1 pump for the coffee machine, nothing for the Rocky. Replaced pump/seal myself pretty straight forward. Pump was $65. Think I descaled it about 3 times, back flush fortnightly. Can make cafe quality coffee. Bit of

If you're gonna spend that much money, get a decent machine like the Rancilio Silvia. The thing is totally consumer friendly, you can take it apart, repair it, replace parts, etc. And it's almost totally mechanical, it keeps on going and never breaks down.

I can buy specialty beans almost for the price of supermarket organic blabla beans. So I guess you have to find a better supplier. Also your grinder does the most important part. So I would go (went) for a Rancilio Silvia and then the most expensive grinder your budget allows. Eureka Mignon Libra to

Rancilio Silvia Pro X + Niche Zero grinder have been making great coffee for me for years

Fair question - no hate from me. Economically speaking, if I bought a latte and an Americano (my daily drinks) every day of the year I'd be spending approximately CAD ~$12.00 per day. Multiply that by 365, the machine paid for itself in less than 18 months. These are hand-built and are, quite litera

Might be boring but a Rancilio Silvia Pro would be all I need. Especially considering that Silvias are built like tanks and can be easily repaired. I am sure there are plenty of fun machines with cool added functionalities out there, but in terms of one-and-done I would rather go for less features,

Might also be that your aftermarket PF is not a perfect fit for the machine, regardless of the gasket. I once got a PF that's designed for a generic E61 group head, and although I do use it with my Silvia, I sometimes notice slight leaks I don't get with the Rancilio PF, even with a fresh gasket ins