[mtts]

If a lever machine is too finicky for you, consider an espresso machine that is actually made for home use. Now I don't mean things like Rancilio Silva and other mini machines that are actually fairly crippled because they don't allow you to adjust the pressure, but a proper one.

AFAIK (but it's been a few years since I researched this) there are exactly two: the Profitec Go and the Lelit Victoria. Both are small(ish) and warm up quickly, unlike machines intended for professional use like the La Mazocco. The difference between the two is that the Profitec has the pressure adjustment on the outside while the Lelit requires you to open the machine up. However, adjusting the pressure is mostly a one-time affair, so that's not much of a problem.

Like all machines intended for home use neither will let you (easily) pull a shot and steam milk simultaneously, because they have only one reservoir and the temperature for pulling a shot is different from the temperature for steaming. You can get simple, cheap, milk frothing devices, however, which work pretty well.

(all of this is assuming you already have a good grinder and decent coffee, which is, as everyone else said, much more important).

[SoleilAbsolu]

We have a double-boiler Profitec, but I imagine the Go is just as good for its price point. My wife is an espresso fiend, and with this machine it's the first time in our decades together that we can truly make cafe-quality espresso at home. Probably goes without saying, but: be sure to invest in a high-quality burr grinder, makes as big a diff as the espresso machine itself.

[menaerus]

A good machine will always need time to heat up since the temperature stability, which is very important for getting good espresso shots, correlates with the weight of the device. For most machines this means 30-45 min or so no matter what the manufacturer is saying and in practice this isn't much of a problem once you plug the machine through a smart plug which you can program to turn on the device before you're getting up in the morning.

Secondly, adjusting pressure is almost a completely unnecessary feature so I'm not sure why do you chose to point that out as a major differentiator. 9 bars is just fine. In similar category goes the PID for adjusting the temperature. While on the paper it sounds cool in reality you will not use them 99% of the time. There's many prosumer machines which don't allow you neither of those and are still perfectly fine machines.

[julianz]

La Marzocco Micra is up to temp in under 10 minutes and will stay there all day, it works very well indeed.

[menaerus]

Do you know what is it that it allows for such a quick warm up? Small boiler? Saturated group? Maybe my comment is more relatable to HX machines then although I don't quite get how is it possible to warm up so quickly - the machine is still a 20kg piece and you can't beat physics with such large thermal mass.

[julianz]

250ml brew boiler with a small saturated group, and a separate 1.6L steam boiler. It's definitely aimed at a home environment but will easily keep up with making several drinks in a row. Compared to previous HX machines I've owned, it heats up much quicker and is more stable. I think not having a massive lump of brass like an E61 style machine helps a lot.

[Daishiman]

They have separate tanks for keeping water heated up to temperature wit a much smaller volume and don’t use saturated groups so the total hot mass is much smaller.

[heeen2]

Ascaso Steel Duo is an affordable compact machine with two PID controlled circuits and adjustable pressure.

[mtts]

Ah, didn't know about that one. Twice as expensive as the ones I mentioned, though.

[faichai]

I have a Lelit Elizabeth. It’s a dual-boiler machine, so you can pull a shot and steam milk at the same time. If you want consistently good coffee without going too far down the espresso-nerd rabbit hole, it hits a nice sweet spot, especially if you’re into flat whites.

[BoingBoomTschak]

>Profitec Go and the Lelit Victoria

I didn't expect these prices! Think I'll stay with my Bambino which cost me a third (and does a _much_ better coffee than my parents' horrid DeLonghi Dedica) but good to know these exist.

[Aaargh20318]

If you, like me, are not a baby cow and don’t drink milk I can recommend the ECM Puristika. It’s a tiny, single-boiler E61 that’s just purely for making espresso (no steam wand, no hot water spout). Heats up in about 15 minutes.