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I got my brother this one for Christmas last year.  It makes perfectly good espresso for the price.

If you haven't made cappuccino drinks before, ask a good barista for a few tips.  You can make a perfectly good cappuccino with an inexpensive machine if you do it right.

DevoDoc wrote:

You can make a perfectly good cappuccino with an inexpensive machine if you do it right.

I disagree. The brewing process for espresso is greatly different than that for drip brewed coffee. I wouldn't even recommend a Mr. Coffee for somebody for making drip coffee. Espresso requires closely tuned pressures to extract the coffee properly, and if the pressure is off, or the cycle is too long, the espresso will be over or underextracted. Both are really bad for flavor. I doubt a mr. coffee can do this properly.

Normally I'd say I'm the wrong person to be asking but I happen to know someone in the business. I'll see if I can pick his brain.

thume wrote:

I'd beware of the cheap-o ones.
I've been through a few of the $50 type that you can get here. They make decent enough espresso (not cafe quality obviously), but they have died on me after about a year. My last one went not too long ago, this time I'm waiting till I can afford a good one.

I have to stress this sentiment. If you are serious about espresso because like all espresso and cappucicno drinkers you need it for whatever reason and love the flavor, don't disappoint yourself or your company by making coffees that suck. For $300 you can get a machine that makes espresso or anything else that tastes no worse than a real cafe. There are variables, however, where your technique at home or at the cafe(by the barista) can give you inferior results. That's what I liked about the machine starbuck's sells: it came with an instructional video mirroring the steps they use to train their employees. Unfortunately for them, my coffees at home taste better than theirs unless I get served by a very meticulous person.

Last edited by knobtwirler (2005-10-28 4:18 pm)

Don't ever even think about purchasing a pod based espresso machine.  The coffee is gross and the pod's are overpriced.  I've been a barista for a while now and I can say that you can't really find a good espresso machine for only $75.  The best espresso machines in my opinion are made by Nuova Simonelli.  However they are really expensive.  If you want espresso strength coffee that tastes good, I would recommend a Moka (thats the type) stovetop coffee maker.  It uses the same principles as a espresso machine but costs only about 30-50 dollars.  However, you can't steam milk with them.

Also, stay away from anything starbucks.

Wow, I guess the amazing espressos and cappuccinos I've been enjoying the last 3 years at home with my Starbuck's machine that has not broken or malfunctioned are not as amazing as I thought.

I just got a new one today! (My fiance said she'd pay for half for my burthday present).
It's an Ufesa(Mine is the "CE7140 DUETO CREME " if you check the link). I don't know if you guya have them in
N.America but it's a Spanish division of Bosch.

It's pretty nice, got 15 bars of pressure, and something called a "Barcream" filter. I got a nice creme on my first cup (enjoying it right now actually). So far so good, it was about $140, and has a 2 year warranty. Good quality without breaking the bank. 

It's also has a filter set for those pre portioned pouch things, but to be honest I had never even heard of them until I was looking at new machines in the store today.
I'll definitely stick with grind-my-own though.

Zapata wrote:

tomfoolery wrote:

And what is wrong with one of these:
http://www.cookware-online.co.uk/ishop/ … xpress.jpg

???

Its all you need for "real" espresso.

tF

Yeah I have one of those, its really nice.  If you want steamed milk, you can just buy a wisk/frother type thing and froth up milk in a pan over the stove.  Tastes just as good.  Although one day I hope to own a nice non-automatic espresso machine of my own.

They make that really awesome sound too!! HCLHHHHCCCCHOHHH...

My ex-girlfriend was Italian and would probably have castrated me if ever I bought a machine for making espresso. And if she didn't her mother, or her mother's mother would have

It's all about the family. Family and coffee. And pasta. And wine...

tF

I've used my Starbucks Barista machine every day for the last six or seven years. I don't think I've ever had a problem with it.

I'm happy to say that the best espresso drinks I've had are often the ones I've made myself.

[MA]PaveHammer wrote:

But those little pots make great espresso.  It's like coffee though you need good water and good, properly ground, coffee.

Yeah, I tried putting Nescafé instant coffee in there once. Didn't taste anywhere near as good.

tF

mmonte wrote:

I've used my Starbucks Barista machine every day for the last six or seven years. I don't think I've ever had a problem with it.

I'm happy to say that the best espresso drinks I've had are often the ones I've made myself.

My point wasn't that starbuck's machines were poorly built.  The espresso quality is what I was referring to.

Yeah it really depends.  Starbucks tend to all taste the same because they use automatic machines which require very little skill to use.  Others use semi-automatics which is what I used at my old job.  Those require you to be very picky about seemingly minor details as how the beans are ground, tamped, and many other variables.  In italy though, they often have manual machines which I really want to learn how to use.

Back on topic, if you want a decent espresso machine you are looking at 500 dollars.