Bit of a strange one maybe
Have used a Gaggia Classic for a good number of years - over 10 I think, and as I'm not really the tinkering type I've left well alone, no PID'ing etc for me. As long as the coffee it is fed with is fresh and finely ground then it generally produces what I'd term good espresso.
Grinder is just a burr Dualit/Starbucks that I've modified to grind finer than the standard adjustment would allow for - this may be due as much to wear as the grinder itself but anyway, it works ok. I also roast my own with an iRoast2
and to now .... - I may look at a job-change from current dull as dishwater long-held IT Applications Support to some coffee-related career if my wife can fully utilise her recent legal qualification (thus meaning I don't have to be the main income earner). So, I'm wondering if a purchase of a significantly better grinder/machine combination is worthwhile ?
On the home-coffee front I'm fairly sure such a pairing should produce better results but on the potentially comercial front (I think that in reality a career switch to some as yet undeterminate coffee-based job is probably likely to coincide with my lottery numbers coming up but anyway ..) would the home-use of a 2 group Carimali machine, be of some benefit were this to happen , ie becoming familiar with a much bigger machine be a skill that I'd need to gain over time since the Gaggia is a machine I've used for a lengthy period plus it is that bit simpler and is designed for comparative simpletons ?
The machines in question (Carimali 2-group plus Ibertal grinder) are ex-cafe from a shop that is closed down near me, no idea of their condition, supposed to be in good working order - I'd obviously want to see them in action before I opened my wallet.
Good/bad idea ?
Looking to pay somewhere around £300-325 the pair. Carimali isn't a brand I've seen myself, not sure how well-regarded they are, obviously Ibertal grinders are pretty well thought of for serious home use.