I love my shador grinder, I believe you can get the v1 for under 200. I believe you will be happy with either. I used a jmax hand grinder for several years before “upgrading.” It is very sweet and easy to use/clean.
Yes the breville is worth it. The Philipps grinder isn't worth using.
It's my nonprofessional option that you'll be much better served with the shardor and the breville.
It's basically an endgame budget set-up
$30 bucks Shardor on Amazon prime sales. Easily modded to grind finer.
Didn't know if I'd stick to this hobby, and I did. During the time my (replaced and twice fixed) old machined died, so upgraded to a Delonghi Dedica. So was trying out a cheapo. Thought of upgrading but no need to.
Challenges of cheap machines are... never consistent. Espresso is actually VERY easy if you have the right machines, beans, etc. Usually expensive equipments will cover for little variables and mistakes. Kitchen appliance cheap machine is the hardest to make a good cup, IMHO.
So don't go too cheap. 😁
If the main criteria is the quality of espresso, I'd buy a machine with PID, e.g. Profitec Go, Apex V2, Lelit Victoria.
If you think that she will make lots of lattes, maybe a Heat Exchanger like Lelit MaraX.
If she will make milk beverages but the quality of her espresso is a must, I'd choose a dual boiler with PID like Lelit Bianca or Elizabeth, but then only the machine will consume your whole budget.
Grinders are even more important, you're right. I'd recommend a DF64 because in the future she may try different burrs if she wants. And in the US, the DF64 are relatively cheap. Shardor is even cheaper, but the build quality is not the same, and it's a newer model, we don't have enough data to tell about longevity. I have both and I'm happy with my Shardor so far. But if you can, buy the DF64.
Long story short, Lelit Victoria is being sold for 800 by Whole Latte Love, a Df64 you can buy for 400 from Amazon, then you can buy some accessories like a Normocore Tamper, a knock box, puck screen, tamping station, barista mat, a WDT tool, some nice espresso cups like Loveramics or Kruve, with your remaining budget.
In case you're interested, I recommend this video about building an espresso setup:
https://youtu.be/FcA8APz2khs?si=jpLjhj-UqNHNPSeA
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DF54 Series
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Great value for espresso, but clogs and poor for pour-over.
Professional_Team_49
