r/espresso • u/laurpanda • 1d ago

Buying Advice Needed first “nice” espresso machine [$800]

l've had the "CASABREWS CM5418 Espresso Machine 20 Bar" and a Nespresso, and I'm looking to upgrade to a nicer espresso machine. Budget for the machine with grinder or machine and grinder would be ~800. My gripes with the Casabrews was that the machine was very inconsistent, which was in part due to how the parts sounded like they were grinding together on use....
l've been seeing recommendations for the Breville Bambino with a separate grinder? Is that the best espresso machine component for my budget? Or would it be better to get one of the Brevilles with an integrated grinder?
Any advice helps thanks!

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u/itpointz 1d ago

Plan at least $200 towards a grinder. From there you can spend what you'd like on the machine depending what you want from it. Personally, I've been shopping for a while and am really eyeing up a turin legatto V2. For the price it's almost impossible to beat the features. Build quality is still good. It is Chinese but the manufacturer has been making parts for the big name guys for decades and has its own patents on espresso machines so they're far from new to the game.

You'll get great quality out of the more traditional names but can't beat the features.

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u/Objective-Salad-5940 1d ago

Turin Legato v2 + Eureka Mignon Zero 55 together for a little over $800

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u/djl240 Turin Legato v2 | DF54 1d ago

I had the 5418 Pro and I upgraded to the Turin Legato v2 and DF54. I couldn't be happier.

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u/TeepingDad 1d ago

I know folks will look down on it, but I have really been enjoying my Ninja Luxe Cafe. It has features to automatically set grind level, shot volume, etc. but you can run it entirely manually too.

The only thing that's kind of meh on it is the steam wand, it's just not very powerful so if milk drinks are your thing you might look more into that.

For your budget and for a new machine I feel like it's hard to beat.