[satvikpendem]

Not the parent, but I bought a Gaggia Classic espresso machine as well as a great coffee grinder. The difference is night and day between grinding your own beans and making your own espresso (or even pour overs) to prepackaged stuff, not to mention cafes. I honestly haven't tasted a better espresso drink at cafes than at home, since they usually are working with multiple patrons and have to make the drink fast, and they often have burnt beans or burnt milk.

I'm not sure if OP bought an all-in-one, but I wouldn't recommend those, they don't do any of their tasks particularly well, when you could spend the same amount and get much better coffee.

[jakeinspace]

I’m looking to upgrade my espresso setup (basic delonghi dedica machine right now). My grinder is really inadequate for espresso grinds and so I mostly just buy small quantities of pre-ground lavazza qualita oro. I’m thinking that in this situation, I’d be better off investing in a good grinder first, and waiting to buy a nicer espresso machine until I feel I can justify a ~$1k outlay. Ideally I’d just splurge and buy both but I can’t quite stomach that.

[satvikpendem]

> I’d be better off investing in a good grinder first

You'd be correct. Check out some recommendations on /r/coffee for a grinder, and also James Hoffman's on YouTube.

[etrautmann]

the Niche zero is a good place to start

[lostlogin]

You sound like you’ve hit the sweet spot where you pass on coffee out as it better at home.

[satvikpendem]

Well, I do like the convenience of cafes so it's more that I'm now spending double the money, lol