I want something that will make both espresso and coffee...any suggestions? How much does a good one usually cost?
try william and sonoma if you want a really nice one. there is some info you can get from some sites. im thinking the nicer you get to an extent the taste doesnt get too much better, but you are able to make more volume of esp/coffee at one time. i also think the coffee grinder you get can be pretty important also. they can get expensive to.
Getting a machine good enough to make nice espresso drinks is expensive. You're looking at 250-300 for the machine and 50+ for a nice burr grinder. If you're just looking for good coffee, french press coffee makers are nice because they don't have a filter and thus more essential oils from the coffee beans makes it into your cup.
Like the poster above said, a good espresso machine will cost you at least 250-300. I have a Saeco espresso machine which was around 400. Makes a damn good espresso. It is still a lower end machine though. My parents are big espresso drinkers and they paid 1500 for a machine. It is freaking awesome though. It is fully automated and grinds your beans fresh right before your espresso is made. Don't even bother getting one of those krups type 50 dollar machine. I have never seen a machine that makes both american drip coffee and espresso.
Benign DMD - I had "coffee american" at Starbucks- Is that the same as cappucino-but uses water instead of milk? I liked it - strong..... I like different kinds of coffee, but do not know that much
American coffee is just our regular drip coffee...I don't know what Starbucks' coffee american is. Cappuccino's use espresso, which is produced by pumping hot water through finely ground compact coffee.
I don't know what Coffee American is, but I drink Americanos regularly. An Americano is 1 part espresso shot and 3 parts water. Its called americano because it can be made with a typical dripping coffee maker, but starbucks and other cafes just ad boiling water.
Sland: You can get a good espresso machine like the one I have for ~250-350. If you want to buy a coffee grinder separately you can, but I just get my coffee ground when I buy it. I drink 2-3 espresso's/day and buy 1/2 a pound of Hawaiian Kona every 2 weeks. Kona rocks! Pure Kona runs ~20/pound, but I usually get a Kona blend which is a more reasonable 7/pound at Spec's Downtown. The second espresso machine is a hell of a lot more fancy. It will run you over a grand, ~1200. It is fully automated. It grinds the coffee right before it makes the espresso, and you can make multiple cups really fast. With my machine, you have to empty out the old coffee each time you make a cup and add new coffee to make another. I never go to Starbucks or any other coffe joint. Why pay $4 for a crappy cappuccino when I can make my own with much better coffee and clean cold filtered water for 20 cents. Of course Starbucks is convenient if you are on he road, but it just tastes like crap. You will never go back to store bought once you taste good espresso. Of course if I lived in Italy I would not need to own a machine. You can get a bad ass Segafredo or Illy espresso (2 awesome coffee beans) for 1 euro
You could always get a low end espresso machine for ~40-50 made by companies like Krups. They are not very good quality and are not built to last, but are a smaller investment. That way you don't drop 300 only to find out you never use the damn thing! like someone said earlier, coffeegeeks is a great resource
Cafe Americano is made from an expresso machine using a standard expresso portion but using a full 8oz of water. So rather than drip coffee, it's pressured through the expresso machine. Until my expresso machine broke, this is how I made my coffee every morning. Very tasty. Of course, how Starbucks does it is probably some bastardized version.
This is exactly what I was trying to figure out. I have an economy machine- I want to try. I live near Beaumont and was raised on Seaport- "between dark and medium roast" and Community coffee. Thanks to all.
