You have to define "expensive" but research I did years ago seemed to indicate that any level of quality was many hundreds of dollars.

I have one of these, and it's worked well since I bought it in 1987. I use the frother when I make hot chocolate, too. Kids love it.

They make better ones now that are cheaper than mine was. It's easy to use and easy to clean up.

I also have a small Bialleti stovetop pot and it works well too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link

Mine looks just like the one Mom posted. I haven't used it in a while but I was always happy with it. Admittedly I'm far from an espresso connoisseur and figure there must be a reason folks spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on higher end machines. For me it's fine though.

I haven't used the Bialetti Mukka but it is a modified standard Bialetti that adds some frothing as it completes brewing. The basic Bialetti is very cheap. I was surprised to hear that the Mukka may be around $100 which could be a bit much if it turned out that it was completely unacceptable. I think the basic unit is probably around $30, or almost free at a garage sale etc.

I searched without results for a link that I thought was started by johnliu. I believe he (or whoever) was very happy with the device. I occasionally use the basic unit, but I am not an espresso expert. However, my wife likes the fancy espresso drinks and used to spend a lot of time at Peets or Starbucks. I just scrounged up a cheap maker for her and after Christmas, I may be able to tell you if one of the basic units could pass muster with her; or if it goes flying out the door on her way to Starbucks.

If he wants to impress others, by all means get him one of the fancier machines. But I know people that own them, and the espresso they produce is really so-so. Great espresso is more about the quality of the beans, the freshness of the grind*, and the skill of the barista, than about the price of the eqpt.

* When someone pressed James Freeman, founder of Blue Bottle Coffee, for how long they could keep coffee beans at their peak once ground, his answer was, "Hmmmm.....45 seconds, maybe?"

Buy him some high quality beans, a good quality burr grinder (aka burr mill), a Bialetti which makes awesome espresso, and the top rated hand milk frother, below.

$150 total, max.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aerolatte Handheld Milk Frother from W-S

Or you can get a decent frother from Ikea for $2.49 :)

We buy six at a time, I have one at work, a couple at home, my SIL has one at work, and some spares.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link

I don't have equipment recommendations, but the others haven't talked about technique. There are a lot of devices called "espresso machines" that don't actually force water through the ground beans. Espresso is not a "brewing" process, per se, though there are some machines out there that do, essentially, brew coffee out of espresso beans (including the steam force ones).

They make single shot, lever action espresso machines that can generate enough pressure to get a good pull, and I think there are a number of them which go for a very reasonable price. The automatic machines where you just push a button and can get multiple servings quickly, which are any good, cost thousands of dollars.

Espresso is the only "coffee" that I like, and I don't like it if it's made wrong, so I think making sure there's adequate pressure is important.

I see many machines of many brands, in the Goodwill store.

People bought them, used them, and throw them away.

dcarch

I have to speak up for the espresso maker. DH and I just figured out that between two machines and 11-12 years, we have made over 20,000 servings of various coffee/espresso drinks. We bought both of those machines refurbished, for half the price of new or less, and have them both after 7 and 11-12 years. At that rate, they aren't really costing us more than the Mr. Coffee, Krups and other units that would die soon after their warranty ran out and they sure save a lot over having a Starbucks habit. Neither of us are that fond of Starbucks anyway, so we get the coffee we like, brew it the way we like and we don't have to go anywhere or wait in line -- except when we meet someone there.

We started with a Krups similar to the one pictured at the top of this thread. It was a wedding gift and saw occasional use at first, then weekends, and then another 2 years or so of daily use. I was told they were not really intended for that regular kind of use, so we got a good life out of ours. The problem with something like that is that you have to fill it and the water chamber is very hot. You can get burned if you aren't careful and want to brew more than 1-2 cups. And it won't last that long -- but they are decent starters or occasional use machines.

Our next machine (a Solis) required the tamping and dumping and I laughed at the notion of needing more than just coffee if I couldn't handle that. We did get a burr grinder too. Over several years, I wiped a lot of fine coffee grounds off my white counters -- then we moved to this house and had white tile for several more. There was nothing wrong with the machine, but the powdery fine grounds on white tile and grout got very old.

The super automatic is an older Jura Capresso model that hasn't been made in 8-10 years. We bought it refurbished and then bought a second one (also refurbished) in a different color after redoing our kitchen. DH took the first one to the office. They have paid for themselves several times over just for DH and I. Our guests enjoy them and they make great coffee and espresso. For us, there is no going back.

Now, all that said, I don't know if your son is single, lives alone, entertains, drinks espresso daily, several times a day, only on weekends or what. You said he wants a frother -- how much he uses that compared to espresso or coffee only makes a difference in what machines are worthwhile too. Find out a little more about how he plans to use it before trying to make a decision.

Some good websites for looking at various models are wholelattelove, aabree coffee and 1stincoffee. You will find new and refurbished models and they will offer guidance too - once yu know a little more about how he wants to use it. You can get a good espresso machine for several hundred dollars. You will also need a burr grinder with those. Double that for a entry into the super-automatics. Double that for the fancier models and double that for a commercial level. Roughly speaking.

If what he would really like is more than your budget allows, even if refurbished - or if you can't gift refurbished (I wouldn't generally -- but maybe with a full year warranty, for my son to get him what he wanted and with him knowing we bought our own refurbished), consider giving your son cash towards the one he would really want. Maybe its best to let him pick out what he wants so he will think about how he will really use it. If he hasn't had one, there may be a lot of things he hasn't thought about.

Thanks! He is single and lives alone. I don’t know about entertaining. He is a medical resident, so I don’t think he has time for it. It looks like I need to ask him some more questions and find out more before I start seriously looking. Or I’ll start looking for the one for me, and then decide if it is too individual a choice for me to make for him.

You'll find more than you ever wanted to know at Coffeegeek.com.

That said, I have some peculiar views on the matter. Espresso machines belong at commercial espresso bars. My old uncles who always wore suits to watch the news and old aunts who always wore black never had some fancy machine on the counter. It was a Bialetti. That's it.

If you do go that route, there are a few things to know. They are made of aluminum and never, ever go in the dishwasher. It will pit and stain. Typical espresso grinds may be too fine. Experiment with a touch coarser. And remember that each Moka is made for a specific number of cups. There are 4 cup models, 2 cup models, etc. You can't make two cups in a four cup model.

You've strayed onto a dark path, fraught with peril. For any given machine that someone might recommend, someone else will claim that it is absolute crap, and the only possible way you can get even a barely acceptable espresso is to spend at least twice as much as the first machine costs. Of course someone else will then disparage that machine and tout a different model that costs twice as much again. Rinse and Repeat.

And the story is the same for coffee grinders. Some say, you simply must spend at least $500 for a grinder to have any hope of producing a decent espresso, irrespective of how much you previously spent for your espresso machine.

I received a Mr Coffee espresso machine similar to the one pictured above as a wedding gift 20 years ago. It did a passable job of making "espresso" if the coffee was sufficiently finely ground, but never really steamed the milk well. After about 10 years I bought a Krups pump-style espresso machine, which did a slightly better job of steaming the milk, but a less good job of making espresso, plus it was loud, messy and imparted a strange "plastic-y" taste to the coffee. When it blew a gasket (literally) rather than trying to replace the gasket, I returned to using the original Mr Coffee machine, planning to look into the matter again when it fails, but it is another 10 years later and although the off switch doesn't work, and the little glass carafe is long-since broken, and it still doesn't steam milk well it is still hanging in there being used pretty much every day.

To compensate for the anemic performance of the steamer, I use a frother wand like momj47 depicts. To address the requirement that the coffee be finely ground (and more importantly evenly ground) I no longer even attempt to grind my own, instead I buy vacuum-sealed, foil-wrapped bricks of espresso ground coffee either Cafe Pilon or Cafe Bustello, and the results are better and fresher tasting than they ever were with whole beans that I ground.

lascatx's point about making a second batch shortly after the first batch being potentially dangerous is valid. For me that is rarely an issue.

The website marcolo listed does have a lot of detailed information, but in my experience their reviews will lead you towards spending several thousand dollars, and feeling ashamed for having "cheaped-out". This post of mine would probably be considered heresy over at coffeegeek, have me branded an apostate, and cause them to dispatch the coffeegeek ninjas to silence me.

LOL, bob_cville. That is why I left the posting of the Coffeegeek link up to Marcolo.

Bob, I agree -- and would only add that there will also be someone touting a $20 stovetop model they love, a drip coffee maker or a filter cone.

Linnea56, if he's single and a medical resident, a very basic machine will give him a single cup and send him on his way. My hesitation would be that he might want more than a single serving. Time is probably precious for him and something that will make using, cleaning and maintaining the machine easier would probably be greatly appreciated.

If this were my son and I was willing to splurge a bit but not go totally overboard, 1stincoffee has a refurbished Jura ENA 9 One Touch. It is small and suitable for an apartment kitchen, but it has the basic features of the larger superautomatics. It is half the retail price, comes with a one year warranty and will grind, tamp, brew and give service reminders. My DH calls the Jura superautomatics idiot proof. It has a tank that holds a liter plus of water and nearly half a pound of beans. He can probably fill it once on his day off (if he gets one) and use is the rest of the week. It uses a water filter to help reduce descaling as well as help make great coffee and the machine will tell you when you need to change the filter, dump grinds, add water, etc. I can't tell if it comes with the milk container. It would be as close to a Keurig for espresso as you may get, and that sounds like it may be just what your son needs most at this point in his life. If you buy refurbished, there's not so much invested so he can upgrade or switch types as his situation changes.

Wholelattelove has some other brands and I know the Gaggia are good machines, but I am not as familiar with them. I have more experience with Jura. They used to have refurbished Jura also, but they only sell new ones now. They have a big selection -- I just can't tell you as much about them.

It can be hard to shop for espresso machines -- Sur la Table has some in their stores and they will brew you a cup so you can see how they work, how the coffee tastes (relative since it may or may not be the same kind of beans you would use) and get an idea what is required to maintain them. There aren't many other places I have found where you can see more than a couple of models displayed and even fewer when they are demo'd.

Good luck -- and sounds like you might be buying for yourself too. Have fun!

I also for a while had a Primula brand stove top espresso pot similar to the Bialetti marcolo described. Mine was made from stainless steel so that it could be washed in the dishwasher. However since I have an induction cooktop, it wouldn't work at home. I could only use it when I was traveling visiting family, and left it behind on one visit.

It actually made quite good espresso. To use it, you put the coffee in, tamp it down, fill the bottom compartment with water, screw the bottom to the top, and place it on a burner. Given the size of the pot the flame of a gas cooktop went around the sides and mostly missed the pot, but made the handle scorching hot. When the bottom boils dry the top contains espresso. Pour it out and add separately steamed/heated/frothed milk, but take care to not set it on something heat sensitive ( like a corian counter or sink) since boiling the bottom dry makes it very hot.

A Bialetti doesn't really make espresso. It makes caffè. Espresso is different. It's pumped so that it's made faster--it's "express." Originally espresso machines were installed at train stations to serve harried travelers; hence the need for speed. However, confusingly, espresso is also called caffè. Only tourists ask for an espresso. Locals request un caffè. Even though it's espresso. Got it? :-)

Of course, espresso has no milk. Cappuccino has milk foam, but it's for breakfast. Drinking cappuccino in the afternoon is kind of like eating cereal for lunch. Caffè latte has hot milk. Latte is milk, not some sweet coffee drink. Espresso is a sweet coffee drink because it has sugar in it. No, not sometimes. Pretty much always. If you don't want sugar you specifically request bitter coffee.

That clear everything up?

On second thought, just go to Sur la Table and ask to try the espresso.

I'm an espresso/caffe lover and I have often thought about buying an espresso machine for the very reason you are considering one, I spend a fair amount of change on my cappuccino/latte habit. So far I have made do with switching over to french roast and other darker types of coffee. Contrary to how it might seem intuitively, darker roasts actually have less acid and less caffeine, which for me is a good thing. I've also spent a fair amount of time researching on all the variables of good coffee, because I am a science weenie. As you are probably aware, a great machine is only part of the equation for great coffee based drinks, the beans, roasting, grinding and water all come in to play as well.

Given that, here is what I have learned, thanks to Dcarch explaining it to me. I'm not sure if this is true with espresso machines, but it is true with coffee brewing machines so I think it is probably true by extension. What you pay for in a more expensive machine is the innards (not sure I know what they all are, but the heating element and the part that transfers the electric current into heat energy). In a cheaper model, they will wear out relatively quickly and soon your machine will not be brewing the coffee at the optimum temperature and you will gradually start getting cooler and cooler coffee. That's why folks initially might love their cheap coffee machine and wonder what all the fuss is about it not making good coffee when it makes perfectly good coffee for them. But come back to them in a couple of years and ask them. Many of the cheap ones just downright break after a couple of years.

The irony of the middle level priced ones is you are probably paying for cheap innards with nicer outer features. But do you really need the more expensive machine, that's hard to say. How much will you use it and how do you feel about it having a limited useful life. That's why folks dole out more money for the Breville coffee machines, at least at one time, they had more robust heating elements. Not sure this is even true anymore. I know a lot of people would say to avoid this issue just use a moka, where you can heat the water on your stove. I know for me that would be a sure fire way to burn myself or damage some part of my kitchen!

Another solution is to get something inexpensive, see how you like having it and using it, and if it works for you, graduate to something better. On the flip side, I'll bet there are tons of good machines out there "used" because a lot of folks probably buy something higher end and then realize they don't use it or need to devote the counter space to it.

I ended up quite happy with getting myself an instant hot water pot and using a french press or pour over coffee filter, because I have a tiny, tiny kitchen and I don't regret not having one of these coffee makers taking up counter space. If I ever do decide to venture into caffe at home (I guess I can't dare call it espresso) I will probably go with a moka to start. I don't know if I will ever have the money to be in the dilemma you're in, I would like to dream that someday I will have a kitchen with a little breakfast bar and my cool espresso machine standing nearby!

Thanks again for the help. My son said to wait on his. He said he wants to give it some thought.

I, however, feel much closer now to choosing mine! I have surfed the sites recommended above and have learned a lot. I think getting a refurbished semi-automatic machine may be the way to go. There are so many choices… but I am getting there. I don’t expect I will be using mine every day (though I work at home, and you never know ), more as a treat for weekends.

Besides the burr grinder, what else is useful? I see metal pitchers for frothing the milk, but don’t know what height or shape is optimal. Or is that specific to the model of espresso maker?

bob_cville, I find it interesting that you are using vacuum-sealed, foil-wrapped bricks of espresso ground coffee. Where do you go to buy it this way? Once opened, do you freeze the rest?

My local grocery store has it alongside all their other coffee. Here is an image:

{{gwi:2135901}}

It also apparently can be purchased online through Amazon (since that's where I stole the above image)

For me the 10oz package lasts between two or three weeks, I merely fold the foil package tightly closed, and put a "chip-clip" on it. Even by the end of the bag there is less of a bitter/off taste to the coffee than when I buy whole beans and grind them myself.

More importantly, even though I have a ~$90 burr grinder, it has never really produced a consistent grind, which is important for good espresso results. The Cafe Pilon coffee is a perfect even grind that produces better results in my inexpensive espresso machine than coffee I ground ever has.

My experience with using the steam wand on my espresso machines is its messy, fiddly, tricky, and often prone to overheating the milk. (maybe I'm just not very good at it.) I get much better results with less work by using a small hand frother like momj47 shows above.

Thanks again! To keep my life simple, I think I will go that route. As a novice, controlling the variables should make me happier with the results and more likely to use the machine.

I have tentatively picked out some refurbished machines, now I need to narrow down the choice.

Italians buy Lavazza or Medaglio d'Oro.

There are also little Latin American coffee pots similar to the Moka, which make something more like coffee. They're fun, too.

I actually do have a little stove top pot, which I bought for making Turkish coffee, after a trip to Turkey. I like it, but to me it tastes nothing like espresso.

I don't do the milk drinks. :) Yes, turkish coffee is nothing like espresso! Steam made espresso is nothing like pressure driven espresso. Unless it's really really good, I won't drink it. If you add milk, it probably doesn't matter nearly as much. :)

LPink, thanks so much for passing on the coffeemaker info! I don't drink regular coffee and just have a couple of cheap coffeemakers for company. Which I get compliments on (it's just Yuban in a clean pot). The thing about the element going bad makes so much sense!! At the rate I make coffee, I think they'll last me for some years more. :)

Just FYI regarding the Bialettis, Mokas, and other stove-top coffeemakers:
>>They are made of aluminum and never, ever go in the dishwasher. It will pit and stain. >>

This is ONLY true if you are using a phosphate detergent. By Federal law last year all phosphates were removed from DW detergents in the U.S. You can buy phosphate additives, but that's the only way. Phosphates improve cleaning but are bad for the environment.

It's the phosphates that pit/stain aluminum. I use Finish DW detergent tabs, and with no phosphates, all my aluminum items can now go in the DW.

I once exploded a Bialetti on my cooktop. It happened in 1988 and, no matter how many times the kitchen was cleaned, I still found bits of Medaglia d'Oro in recessed areas.