Beginner Home Barista Setup
How much room does a machine need under a cabinet?
For a standard 18 in gap between counter and wall cabinet, buy the Gaggia Classic Pro.
Read the answerHalloween is Saturday, October 31
Halloween on a counter that still works on November 1
Decorate around the machine: one mug, one tray and one piece of decor, all of it off the counter in one trip.
On sale today
GaggiaClassic E24
$499
Stainless Steel, no accents · other finishes from $549was$549Save $50 (9%)At Whole Latte Love · Oct 29
Today's prices
Quick answers
Coffee Bar Organization
Can you still reach the tank and the hopper under a cabinet?
Under a wall cabinet, buy the Classic Pro.
Read the answerBeginner Home Barista Setup
Where do you dial in on a Bambino?
Pair the Bambino with the Encore ESP.
Read the answerEspresso Corner
When and how do you descale an espresso machine?
Descale when the machine shows the symptoms: flow through the group slows, the machine takes longer to reach temperature than it used to, or steam pressure drops.
Read the answerWant to know what fits your counter? Give us three numbers.
Three numbers, kept in this browser only. Nothing sent, nothing to sign up for.Figures first in
Three places to start
Begin with a morning you recognise.
Fits 47.2 in (120 cm) with room to work
First espresso setup
Machine, grinder, scale, bought in that order, because that is the order they change the cup.
$499.90 · prices as of Oct 29Total excludes the Bambino Plus Espresso Machine (BES500): bought later
See this setup
Depth decides it
Small-space espresso
The machine stands fine. The water tank is the part that catches people out.
$389.94 · prices as of Oct 29
See the checks
Fits 35.4 in (90 cm) with room to work
Step-up espresso (single boiler, 58 mm)
Keep what already works. What changes is the one thing you have outgrown, and nothing is bought to match what we have not seen.
$1,300.94 · prices as of Oct 28
See this setupThree ways in, and the rest of the shelf behind them.Every setup we holdMachines side by sideGift guides by budget
The one thing you buy again
Beans you can buy today.
26 bags, each with our own drawing and a current price.
Counter Culture CoffeeSee at the roaster
Big Trouble
12 oz bag, medium dark roast, Counter Culture's best-selling year-round blend.
$19.50Oct 29
Intelligentsia CoffeeSee at the roaster
Black Cat Classic Espresso
12 oz bag, roast level "Comforting" (Intelligentsia's own Bright/Comforting/Traditional scale), a semi-washed Brazil single-country espresso blend.
$17.50Oct 28
Volcanica CoffeeSee at the roaster
Colombian Decaf Coffee
16 oz whole-bean bag, decaffeinated, Colombia.
$29.99Oct 29
What we keep is the evidence.
Every figure carries where it came from and its date. After two days a price comes down rather than go quietly stale. Where two published figures differ, we show both and use neither for a fit answer. We do not own these machines and we have not tested them, so nothing here rests on having held one. Where an owner has written about living with one, we quote them in their words, with its source and its date.
What we will say todayas of 29 October 2026
Exact prices we will quote62prices as of Oct 28
Figures where published numbers differ12both shown, neither used for fit
Owner reports quoted here288from reviews and forums, in their words
And what that costs you.
You will see fewer machines here than on any other comparison site, and on some questions we will not answer at all. That is the trade. We would rather be short than wrong.
