Machine is Mainstays from Walmart, $68 regular price. Pressurized "2 cups" filter (could only hold max 16g coffee). Plastic scoop+tamper. Touch controls.
Coffee is also in the cheapest category, "El Aguila" pre-ground coffee brick. I taste tested all the popular bricks, and this obscure one I like best, much more than the popular brands (Bustelo, LaLlave, Pilon, Illy etc.).
Glass cup is a recycled dessert cup from Aldi.
I don't like milk too much, but I tested the steam wand with Great Value 3.25% milk (in a proper stainless milk pitcher), it works OK.
Do you have a cheaper setup? There is a $59 machine at Walmart, but it looks like a drip coffee+espresso hybrid that says "5 bar" so I didn't bother.
by wreck_of_u
23 Comments
This guy cheapressos
This is much more interesting to me than the $5000+ setups. Thanks for sharing.
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I’d rather not have espresso than use pre ground
Did it taste well? Kudos, I like people making coffee for a few bucks and not only mistaking it for Rolex flexing 😉
And getting most of the cheap machine can be very rewarding 🙂
Love it. Big fan of ‘try it to see if it works for you, then upgrade later’
This machine actually pairs great with Weber EG-1 w/ Ultra burrs.
Only thing you should be ashamed of is that i looks like you didnt clean the portafilter before the shot. There is definitley some old coffee getting out in the first 0,1s of the shot 😀
It looks like the same as my £50 ALDI machine, actually makes decent espressos so I probably wouldn’t upgrade in a while.
as long as you love drinking it. cheap or pricey doesn’t matter much.
(my personal choice is mid budget so im not exactly cheaping out and also not breaking the bank)
For a while I used a cheap machine that I got a bottomless portafilter and manual grinder for and it was great! I upgraded over time due to things breaking, but honestly my results aren’t *that much* better on more expensive gear. I feel like the primary benefit of the better gear is just that it hasn’t broken yet.
My cheap set up is my delonghi EC9255m that Best Buy threw out and cut the power cord. It was free
Had a similar one in the past. Cafeletzia or some shit. Pretty good with the pressurized basket honestly. Without, not so much but happily used it for a year+.
This is one of the few posts on this sub that hasn’t made me feel like I’m way too poor to be on here.
If you buy a cheap bottomless portafilter and dial in a good grind for your coffee, you don’t need anything else for an everyday cup of coffee. Congrats on your machine!
Love this
I have a $150 capresso machine I got as a work gift. These are the struggles we face. We just raw dog a press and move on. It somehow sucks less than you think it would.
You beat me. I splurged $100 for DeLonghi Stilosa. Now I’m using a bottomless portafilter and a scale like the big boys.
My mom bought me a Breville Cafe Roma, can I make do with this too or should put towards a Bambino?
It has a pump. There are cheaper machines. Please have your butler try again.
I had 20 yo Estra as my first machine and still it was great coffee for the beginner
my manual grinder and entry-level lever machine were cheap to me until i saw this. bravo!
Aero press possibly? That’s a damn good looking shot.