This post makes me wanna get Espresso/Cappuccino Machine, An Ounce! Amazon had some pricy machine, and some tolerable priced ones, i.e $99 is bearable. But what about maintenance? Are these easy to take apart and clean? Of course the drink itself. Does it taste good? Can you make those designs. If we are stuck at home, in our country, why not bring happiness and joy to us. That is one of the freedoms we have left!
Bumping up the thread. I have all the same questions as OP except I might not be making those swirly designs. We can't get the complete Starbucks taste in homemade coffee but what would the $1500-$2000 coffee machines buy us?
After humiliating myself with my quest for the best filter coffee ending abruptly a couple of years ago, I got a mini nespresso with the milk frother. It’s low maintenance, easy to use and I’ve used it daily for the past two years with zero issues. It’s also not prohibitively expensive although the nespresso pods can get you! I love the mini size and have taken it on a trip once. Occupies so little counter space. I also like my cappuccino. Is it Amulet’s filter kaapi? No. It’s good coffee though. I like the stronger espresso mixed with frothed milk. My DD and niece got the same mini nespresso as dorm gifts and both of them use it. They like the fact that they can make their coffee cold(milk frother can make cold frothed milk).
Following this thread because I have also flirted with the idea of getting an espresso maker for my office. I use a French Press and coffee grinder so I don't have any suggestions for the OP.
My DH is a coffee nut. He has had a Rancilio Silvia for almost 2 decades now and recently also got a burr grinder from the same company. It’s not automatic like the new ones but it makes a mean cup of espresso.
I have a Nespresso machine. I love it. REquires maintenance when the light goes on and it doesn't take long to clean.
Thank you for bumping this thread. One thousand smackers?????? I guess some people have lot of Cheddar. Whatever makes 'em happy. I'm looking to spend $50-ish I am gonna research this. Seems a bit pricey, but I guess it's a tradeoff with ease of use and how durable it is. Ohhh, we can all learn the art of espresso! I will research these as well And I'll search "Nespresso" By the way I like your threads. They inspired me to do journaling and write poems on IL.
The machine can be bought on sale but those pods add up! I prefer nespresso to Keurig though. If you are looking for a mini keurig machine then some of those pods are available in Costco.
Nespresso, Kurig, etc.. are reviewed here: Surprising Facts About Nespresso Coffee Capsules These capsule-coffees are pseudo-espresso coffees that are more convenient to make at home. And quite damaging to the environment. The plastic-aluminium composite cup of Nespresso is not easy to recycle, and the majority of customers do not recycle. here is a guy comparing an espresso machine with a madras coffee filter. The guy is also comparing the various types of pressurized coffee extractors: