Fresh coffee beans, a good burr grinder, and a dependable espresso machine or lever device, in that order, will get you well on your way to the ideal home espresso bar setup.
Insider/Owen Burke
A home espresso bar can cost thousands of dollars, but one can be built for as little as $500.
To get started, you’ll need fresh beans, a good burr grinder, and a decent machine or manual lever device.
I’ve gone all-in on my home coffee setup in recent years, and unfortunately for cafes, there’s no way I’ll ever drink espresso out again unless absolutely necessary. While I’m sure I’ve lost a few friends in the outside world as a result of my growing obsession with achieving the perfect espresso shot right within my own four walls, I’m saving money and having fun in the process.
I’ve been slowly working my way toward this goal, interviewing countless experts and testing dozens of espresso machines and grinders along the way. Much of that research went into our guides to espresso machines, coffee grinders, espresso tampers, Moka pots,, and one of my main goals in this line of work is to help readers discover that there are affordable ways to find your own cup of bliss at home.
Without further ado, let me tell you about my espresso bar. Here’s everything I use, in order of importance.A fresh bag (or tin) of beans
Get your hands on the freshest beans you can find if you want to make the best espresso on the planet. If you have a good espresso bar nearby, that’s the best way to go; you can ask the barista if they’ll grind to your liking on the spot, and you won’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on a burr grinder.
I mostly shop locally, and some of my favorite single-origin roasters are Partners Coffee Roasters, Brooklyn Roasting Company, and Onyx Coffee Lab, but I always check dates and try to get the freshest stuff possible.
My top pick after trying well over a dozen grinders is the Baratza Sette 270. It’s a small, conical-burr grinder best suited for fine grind sizes (i.e., those required for espresso), offers infinite adjustments, and is easy to clean and service.
You might balk at the idea of a $400 coffee grinder. But to achieve consistent grind size (measured in nanometers, or one-billionths of a meter), you need precise machinery.
The trick to good coffee, whether you’re making espresso, French-press, pour-over, or cold brew, is consistency. To ensure your grounds are uniform, you need a tool that reduces them in such a way. Blade grinders, which are really more suited for spices, create lots of undersized bits (fines) and oversized chunks (boulders) that will throw off your brew.
