I’ve messed around with making some ginger based syrups, but those were for hot lattes

Manual grinders are a great option for the budget conscious, but they are more work and they add a decent amount of time to the overall workflow

Either the DF54 or the Fellow Opus. I highly recommend watching James Hoffman’s recent video on budget espresso grinders.

Haha no

Only been to Seven Seas once, but I was very impressed with their coffee!

Awesome, thank you!

Personal preference and budget will play a large part in this decision, but I would go the semi-auto route with something like the Bambino Plus and the DF54. I think manual brewers look fun and I want one someday, but they also add an extra variable.

I didn’t buy a kit, but I roughly followed the parts list from gaggiaupgrade.com. I’m using the XMT7100 PID, which came from AliExpress. I used this video as my guide: youtu.be/ZAtsuS6B6xg. I’d recommend watching the video and then figuring out which parts from the list you actually need