Espresso Machine for around $60?
 

I love espersso, the hot dark beverage is my favorite fist thing in the morning. Did you know it has less caffiene than a regular cup of coffee?
Anyway I am looking to buy an espresso machine to make it at home and save some money by not buying it every day from my local barrista. I was looking at the Krups XP1020 but it didn't get very good reviews. Anyone have one of these? Can anyone recommend another machine?

http://www.amazon.com/KRUPS-XP1020-E...presso+machine

We have a DeLonghi that cranks out approximately 30 Americanos a week. My wife picked it out, so I imagine it was at least $100, but man... That thing rocks my world every day!

[Edit: it was $85.00. http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-EC155...169761&sr=1-1]

FRANCIS FRANCIS X-1(?) for some SWEET add shots. About $300 IIRC, but that was HER call ;)

Or you could grind fresh beans and use a nicer model of these.
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden...a&kw={keyword}

Thanks bro.I already have the grinder, do those make good espresso?

Stove tops have a learning curve though , at first it'll probably suck cuz you haven't figured the ideal temp [your stove]for your taste right away.
And finding a decent bean , maybe you have a roaster in your town.
Buying un-ground beans is a huge money saver if you buy in bulk [ie @ 2 kilos]

Yes excellent espresso, there are better models out there of the stove top type, some come with a foamer tube if you like foam [ think g/f maybe]

Two kilos gives you[ around] 3 espressos every day for a month i think.
I pay 17 cdn for 2 kilos of excellent espresso bean.

Buy a mypressi twist.

lowsound

Those don't make espresso, at least not according to the Italian standard which requires 6x the pressure.

If you have luck finding anything in this range I would be pleasantly surprised. For handheld, I have heard good things about these: http://www.handpresso.com/, although could just be for novelty and convenience.

Have you tried macchiato? Being espresso with a bit of milk it is fantastic in the morning.

Thanks, no I haven't tried macchiato, I'll check it out tomorrow.

I wouldn't waste the money for $60 unless you could find one of the Gaggia machines second hand, at a resale shop or some kind of killer refurb deal. I once scored one for $30 because the person thought it was broken. If you can't find such a deal then just keep saving. What grinder do you have? Also, what coffee shop do you typically drink espressos from?

brad

I don't know what kind of a grinder I have, I think it's a Krups. I'll look tonight. I usually drink espresso from a small independent cafe here in San Francisco called Sausalito, good espresso, good people. They are Palestinian Christians, talk about counter-cultural. Sometimes I get espresso from a place in my neighborhood called Martha and Bros.

Yeah, buy a good hand grinder and a Twist. All in it will cost around $300 and with practice you will be able to make a comparable espresso. Nothing in the $60 range will make good espresso.

lowsound

What are some good grinders? I have a cheap burr, but it isn't consistent. It works fine for French press though.

For espresso grinding?

bc

DigMe is in the house, it just got serious ladies and gentlemen ;)

Eventually (hopefully), but for now just basic French press, just more consistent and without the flakes I get now.

I just read about Turkish coffee, I want to try it. Anyone with experience?

Hrmm.. Two different types of grinds. Ideally for espresso you need a grinder that has a controlled and consistent amount of fines (very tiny dust-like grounds that help restrict the flow of water through the espresso puck) but with press, drip, vacuum pot, etc.. you want as few fines as possible to avoid overextraction. I use a mazzer mini flat burr grinder for espresso which is a high quality cafe level grinder and I use a Capresso Infinity conical burr grinder for drip and press. I personally never use the Mazzer for press nor the Infinity for espresso and most grinders do one better than the other.

What's your budget and which method of brewing is your priority?

A great coffee maker can only come from a company that also produces world record breaking flying discs.

Aerobie AeroPress

I picked up this low-tech device from BB&B for $25 and I love it.

Here's a quick demo

-It brews 1-4 shots of "espresso" at a time.
-Less than 1 min from start to finish.
-Portable, you can take it camping, to work, on a plane.
-No electricity, no mechanical parts, little chance of anything breaking.
-Simple to use, no tinkering, adjusting or learning proper technique.
-Clean-up is just as simple. Pop the coffee "puck" into the trash and rinse everything under the faucet.

Easily worth the money.