LUCCA (Clive Coffee) - Solo

So the Lucca Solo is what I would recommend if you are interested in flow control, it’s an E61 machine rather than a saturated group head!

Get a LUCCA Solo, a Fellow Kettle, a Brita, and a nice grinder. You’ll be swimming in long black Americano goodness back to back to back. Oh and Clive coffee school will really help you.

Just throwing this out there... I'm primarily a filter person, but got interested in espresso last year. After learning on a Flair, I purchased a Lucca Solo (a Quick Mill Carola but with some aesthetic upgrades). It's an E61 single boiler that just pulls shots, no steam wand. I drink mostly straight espresso when I make espresso, but when I want a milk drink (or need to make one for friends/family) I use a Dreo. The Solo was $1300, a bit more with flow control, but you'd have at least $500 left over afterwards for a solid grinder, which has just as much of an impact on the user experience and an outsized impact on flavor. I can't comment on the sub's opinions on HX's, but I can say that a universal value across online espresso community is that having an espresso-capable grinder is quite important :D

Hey! Sorry I never responded to ya Personally, we love the Lucca. It's been a work horse since we bought it. Haven't had any issues so far. I would say my biggest complaints would be the tamper included is not wide enough (still need to find a better one) and for some reason no dosing funnels would fit the included double shot basket. Ended up purchasing a different basket in order to actually fit a dosing ring. LMK if you still haven't made a purchase and I can shoot over exact measurements.