OT: Espresso machines

Ok, now I'm dying for a God Shot from photomax's gear and Eriksquire's beans!  If I head down this path as much as audio my wife will definitely take notice.  Tea drinker.  I'll have to live vicariously for now.  But yeah,  grind is most important.  Erik I know you're a DIY guy... about what does it take in cost to dabble in roasting?  Maybe after I get rid of my beer-making gear.  I laterally mentioned this to her today.

I have & enjoy the Rancillio Silvia Pro X. It’s the real deal, made in Italy, about $2000. High quality single head machine w/ two boilers like all quality machines have. It’s simple, works very well, not too big but pretty heavy. Definitely worth a consideration in the price range. 

Erik I know you’re a DIY guy... about what does it take in cost to dabble in roasting? 

@akgwhiz To be fair only with speakers and cables.  My days of custom modding amps is over. 

Of all my DIY hobbies, nothing has been more cost effective than roasting my own beans.  I also buy from SweetMarias.com and the prices there vs. at the store or coffee shop are superb.

I use a very basic Fresh Roast which gets rave reviews from my neighbors.   They were not big coffee drinkers but when they had their second child I gave them some coffee and now it has become indispensable part of their routine.

It is limited in size (110g) and in my mind can’t do dark roasts consistently, but once you dial in the settings you can pretty much do a batch at a time and forget about it.  It’s also about the same width as my grinder, so while I complain each time that I can’t roast 500g at a time (near a pound) I also like that it doesn’t take any more room in my very small kitchen.  Also, because the batches are small the smoke is as well.

If you buy from SweetMarias you can get it with a sample set of beans.

OK, now that I think about it, I did just see a pair of speakers in Stereophile that used largely the same drivers I do selling for $125,000.... so maybe that's cost effective too?  Of course, that assumes the designer did a half decent job in the crossover design.

Espresso is definitely the cheaper hobby. A TOTL "home" machine, a LaMarzocco GS3 as an example, is far from cheap and takes up some kitchen counter real estate, but as a daily-use device costs less than an average home 2-channel system. Of course you don’t have to spend that to get a consistently excellent cup, one better than most coffee shops will pour. It just takes a good selection of beans, a good grinder and a machine that heats well and consistently. Some swear by lever machines. I have had one, and it was OK, but I prefer a quiet electric pump and to not mix the brewing water with the steaming water. PID controls are great, but there are very good machines that do just fine without them. For a grinder,  I have been using a Mazzer Mini E (Typ 2) for over a decade and it has been excellent. (I had a Mazzer Major for a short while, massive for home use, but total industrial overkill and I sold it.) One of the requirements I have is a water reservoir (no plumb-in, please) and it has to fit on a normal depth counter-top under a normal height kitchen cabinet. I am not interested in a machine that requires a 20A 240V supply or an open area due to device height, so my dream of having a near-vintage  Elektra Semiautomatica Murano, a lovely machine I must admit, will have to wait.