Over the past few years I’ve gotten a small handheld blade grinder, an Aeropress, a French Press, and started roasting my own beans.
The problem is that while some changes stick (like the grinder and the bean roasting), some changes just take up space (I usually use my Mr. Coffee over the Aeropress or French Press).
With that in mind, I’m looking for an espresso maker that is low budget, since I may not use it that often; but is still nice enough that I’m not going to hate espresso making because the machine is bad (ie: low pressure, low heat, leaks, etc).
Most espresso makers I’ve seen are a few hundred to a thousand USD; but since I’m worried I may end up almost never using it (or just using it to froth hot chocolate), I’m looking for one that’s around 100 USD or less.
While I expect you all have loftier targets for your espresso machines than that, I am hopeful if you don’t have any specific recommendations you can tell me what signs to look for that an espresso machine is of decent quality.
Seconding this. Moka pots are the classic Italian way for a reason. I keep a small one at home and it makes a lovely espresso.
I’ll skip the usual NPC monologue about how a moka pot does not make espresso, period, because the grind and pressure and process are completely different and that’s OK… Well, damn, still monologued. 🤣
Anyway, I have a Bambino (which is the absolute low end of things I’d consider) and a moka pot, they’re both fun and make decent coffee, but the moka pot is a lot more forgiving than the espresso machine. The amounts of time I got really bad coffee out of the moka pot vs out of the espresso machine are not even close.