That was my plan, but if I am gonna open it, gonna lose at least 10% of my money.
I went into this rabbithole for my limited budget, was essentially between vs4 and casa, if not for the bad quality control of vs4, I would have picked it up, while asking this sub last week, I came to include 78s too because it is great value.
But Casa is too damn easy, beans in, beans out, very simple, no retention, no kilos of seasoning. That was my usecase, "decent quality effortlessly".
Few years ago, I chose "sage barista touch" because it was "a piece of mind process with great results" then went into gaggia classic for 2 weeks, I was like what is the HELL even that? All that time for a cup of cappuccino", sent it back.. went again the coffee machines rabbithole, from rancillo, ascaso, bezzera, ecm.. then settled for lelit.
I was about to buy the mara, then realised the pump noise and the choice to make between espresso or steam priority, so I went more than double my budget for lelit bianca v3 that was the end game for me, machines wise, even if i have the funds, la marzocco linea micra or mini is not an option, because I see no value for it.
For the grinders, I went for the most famous at the time, mignon, wasn't happy about the aesthetics nor the coffee that comes out heated too much, so I replaced it by XL, was decent till it broke after 2 months.
Then I decided no more on this regard to invest and try, I went for a sturdy commercial tank sort of grinder, euereka helios 65. Straight forward, in 4 to 6 seconds, I get 18g.
It has been two good years, my only 2 complaints. It is LOUD, so I lose the benefits of my quiet rotary pump lelit bianca, second, 13 kgs to move around to clean is a troublesome.
Casa is way quieter, even with weird chin sound as reported by many in this sub reddit, and easy to move around like a toy. It just gives me this novelty feeling again to try new stuff with my setup. By that people who wonder why some are obsessed by having high end or end game coffee machines, despite the grinder is more important, understand the mobility dilemma(size, weight) matters! Getting high end coffee machine is a smart move so you don't have to be annoyed by changing it or sending it to service because it is problems prone. While the grinder is managenable and easy to resell by the way.
My next move will be something like zerno (z1, z2) or lagom p80, or whatever a grinding disruptor in two years.
Stay away from the Opus. The ESP is a good choice, though I feel like the Mignon Manuale/Facile/Notte is the best budget espresso grinder you can get, and SCG has it for $280. ESP for the easy adjustments if that’s important to ya.
As I’m sure you’ve seen it’s about clarity vs body rather than flat vs conical. E.g. Eureka with espresso burrs or Philos with 189D will occupy the same space as the niche
Having said that, I’d suggest 064s with SSP MP or 078s with SSP, good high clarity flats
At your budget, you could do a Breville Bambino Plus and a Mignon grinder. That's what I have and it is plenty of grinder and machine below aficionado "I can taste the differences between Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa beans at any roast level."
Cheap machines are discussed so often here I keep a post: https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/1pemyi9/comment/nshft26/
SUMMARY (US market):
* hand grinders: 1Zpresso Q Air Manual ($70) and KINGrinder K6 ($100)
* electric grinders: Baratza ESP ($200), MiiCoffee/Turin DF54 ($250), and any Eureka Mignon intended for espresso you can find refurbished or used
* espresso machines: Casabrews 3700 ($100), HiBrew H10B ($125), De'Longhi Dedica ($150), De'Longhi Classic($180), Breville Bambino ($250), Breville Bambino Plus ($400)
Saying cones are chocolate and flats are clarity isn't true. There is significant overlap between them. Flat burrs are also not better for espresso than cones. Look at the Lagom Casa or Turn SK40 or possibly something from the Eureka Mignon line
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