Starbucks uses a machine called Mastrena. It is a brand that was developed exclusively for Starbucks by a Swiss company called Thermoplan AG. Starbucks uses super automatic machines that have built in grinders and a computerized menu that make the espresso making process as easy and quick as possible. The cost of a Starbucks espresso machine is around $18,000. Starbucks espresso machines are designed around ease of use and rapid production of drinks, not as much around drink quality. For this reason if you are a specialty coffee shop, focusing on artisan drinks is a good way to compete with Starbucks. If you are a home user, most people can pretty easily get better results than Starbucks with good quality coffee beans, some barista skills practice, a good espresso grinder (more important than the espresso machine) and a good espresso machine.
Or you could do what Norm Sohl did and build a highly configurable machine out of open source hardware plans and the thermal guts of an Espresso Gaggia. Here's what Sohl did, and some further responses from the retired programmer and technical writer, now that his project has circulated in both open hardware and espresso-head circles.
It looked neat to Sohl, but, as he told Ars in an email, he was pretty happy with the espresso he had dialed in on his Classic Pro. "[S]o I decided to build a new machine to experiment with. I didn't want to risk not having coffee while experimenting on a new machine." Luckily, he had an older machine, an Espresso Gaggia, and Gaggia's home espresso machine designs have been fairly consistent for decades. After descaling the boiler, he had a pump, a boiler, and, as he writes, "a platform for experimentation, to try out some of the crazy things I was seeing on YouTube and online."
Sohl ended up creating a loose guide to making your own highly configurable machine out of common espresso machine parts and the Gaggiuino software. From his own machine, he salvaged a pump with a pressure sensor, a boiler with a temperature sensor, an overpressure valve, and brew head. Sohl made a chassis for his new machine out of extrusion rails and stiffening plates.
Mostly people are plotting their own path and wondering how deep they want to get into the weeds with extra control. My advice (if they ask!) is to get an ok machine and grinder (The Gaggia Classic and perhaps the Baratza Encore ESP grinder work for me) and then spend some quality time getting to know how to use them. For example, my grinder is old and it took me forever to figure out how fine I really had to go to get the kind of espresso I wanted.
The level of control is amazing, and I am only beginning to dial in a shot that is as good as the one I get every morning from my stock machine. The machine itself still needs work before it goes into daily use - I want to add a decent drip tray before it will be really practical, and digital scales are another thing I... want to try. Honestly I think it may be overkill for my espresso needs, but I really enjoy the detailed work that goes into building and learning to use something like this. I think the satisfaction I get from building and experimenting is probably as important as the end product.
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