I live in a place with very hard and nasty water. I've been using the zero water pitcher filter and it's unbelievable. It basically filters everything when to 0tds and is perfect with my espresso machine since there's very minimal scale buildup. The water tastes great too, basically like absolutely nothing.

That's crazy hardware for the money. Well not crazy, just low profit margin - you get more of what you pay for!

The Apex v2 is probably what I’m gonna buy. It has the most control over temperature and pressure, at an unreal price of $350 on AliExpress.

A few years ago, I tested my well water and compared it to James Hoffman's recommended solubility reports and realized that the only thing that my water needed was to run it through a carbon filter. For my well water that worked really well. But when I lived on municipal, I had to get distilled and I followed a few recipes, and selected the one that tasted best to me.

It really depends on your water. You can either get the report from your municipality for the general water in your location, or you can have your water either professionally tested or buy a kit online and test it yourself. Then match the sediments and makeup to a recipe. Make a few, get the ingredients (those are normally super cheap), mix, taste, adjust, and use the one that you like the best.

To avoid having to descale your machine too often, try not selecting a recipe that is too hard.

Ultimately, though, it's whatever it tastes best for you.

Edit. Spelling.

I asked the same question a few years ago and ended up buying a water distiller. Much less wasted water, and doubles as a nice space heater in winter. It's much cheaper than a RO system, convenient enough for espresso (I make 3l of pure water once every 2-3 weeks) and unlike RO systems, doesn't need costly consumables and maintenance. It only needs descaling once in a while like a regular kettle.

Then I remineralise it with one of these recipes: https://www.baristahustle.com/diy-water-recipes-the-world-in-two-bottles/

I've played around with water twice, most recently within the past couple of weeks.

My house has well water which is very clear and refreshing, but relatively hard. We have a water softener, so what comes out of the tap has 0 hardness.

That doesn't mean there's nothing in it, just no calcium (or magnesium, I think).

My water is also pretty basic (high pH).

Soft, basic water can lead to boring coffee from what I've read.

Most recently I followed the instructions at Barista Hustle to make my own water using distilled water, baking soda, and epsom salt.

I'm loving the espressos I'm getting, so the next thing for me to do is switch back to my well water and see if gets noticeably worse.

To answer your question, though -- it depends on your water.

Look for a water report from your municipality. If things are pretty reasonable, a filter may not change your coffee game.

I've heard that RO filters are the best type, but you may end up removing too much good stuff. In that case you can re-add your own minerals to taste.

Espresso Martini is always nice. Online recipes will suggest you use vodka and thats totally fine, but if i have a coffee with citrus or nut notes. I find it much nicer to halve the amount of vodka and replace with a citrus/nut liqueur to bring out those notes.

Espresso tonic is nice, but more for summer.

Aerocano. Also a summer drink. Brew your espresso and transfer to a milk jug. Add some ice cube and steam as you would for a cappuccino. You should end up with something like a nitro cold brew, but much tastier

Do you have a go-to recipe?

Cuban Espresso! Very strong and sugary. If you drink more than one in a sitting you'll be able to see noises

We usually use thin coffee for this drink but espresso should work work. Put a coin in a cup, add coffe until you cant see the coin. Add moonshine until you can see the coin again. This elixir of courage and stupid decisions is called "Karsk". It can be a acquired taste so I recommended at least 4 of these before you start enjoying them, and after that its hard to stop.

Y'all have basically talked me into getting a Gaggia classic. Now the only question that remains... What color?

I've had a Gaggia Classic Pro for 4.5 years and my wife and I use it every day.

We would definitely purchase the machine again. It makes incredible cappuccinos and other espresso drinks and you can nail it in every cup. You absolutely need a good grinder with a lot of grind settings. I use a Rancilio Rocky Doserless and it does a great job grinding so I can get the shot perfect. Each click on the grinder equates to roughly 5 seconds up or down on the timing of the shot. Once we got that down it makes dialing in easy. It does have some quirks like the temperature control for the steam is handled through a thermal switch instead of an electronic control to stabilize the temperature. The steam wand valve needs to be replaced every 1-2 years.

The awesome part about the Gaggia is there is a large modding community so you can change your machine to have computer control with a display showing you information and settings.

We previously had a Breville machine and I would not get one of those again. Finding parts so you can repair the machine is impossible. It used odd sizes on portafilters so fitting most holders on grinders was difficult. The Gaggia uses a standard portafilter size so swapping for different parts is easy.

I recently quit caffeine but that just means I switched to decaf coffee. I thoroughly enjoy the drinks we make and expect that it will continue to work well for a long time.

The newest Gaggia Classic Pro has a brass boiler and that's a great cheaper option. There's also second hand Rancilio Silvia units. They're indestructible. I bought a 2008 model and spruced it up a bit. There's also Lelits, new and old. If you go with one of them, make sure it's using a 58mm portafilter. I'd probably go with a second hand Rancilio or a new Gaggia Classic Pro (brass boiler version).

There's also this which seems to be a succeasful and well built model with a bit more automation.

Gaggia is a good option, but also check rancilio and lelit. Lelit has machines that have grinder in it.

I got a gaggia classic last Christmas as my first machine and I really like it. It’s fairly straight forward and you can pull a shot in under 5 minutes. I paired it with a breville smart grinder and I get good results once I’ve dialed in my ratios.

What? Of course dropping something might be bad for it? Just use safe handling practices for anything sensitive.

Otherwise, just follow what the manual says. Keep your filter fresh-ish and/or use filtered water, and don't drop it on the floor?

I always refilled mine (of a slightly different model) in place from a filtered pitcher, partially so I didn't have to move the tank itself.

Batch brew just means making a big batch of coffee with a machine. Kind of like a drip filter coffee machine, but generally modern cafés have evolved machines that are more precise and consistent. V60 is a thing that holds a coffee filter that you can put over a cup to make a single cup of coffee (this is usually called pour over coffee).

Just two of the many varied forms of filter coffee.

I meant what does "batch brew" and "v60" mean?

Because I make better espresso than they do.

Enlighten me, I don't know what this means.

That's why I always get batch brew or a v60 at cafes.

Yep, never been an issue for me.

Yeah, same. So the quality isn't too important. Sitting there wn for a coffee among people, even if alone is important for mental health. But then again there are some good places that are pleasure to be in and drink their stuff. I'm lucky to have one and a half at walking distance.

I just do it for social reasons.