Been using this old Krups unit for over 20 years. Not too expensive, gets the job done when I don't want to go the French press route.

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Seems to me that once again hardly anyone but rouxroux and wdfifteen bothered to read the OP's 1st post. A French press don't make true espresso.

Mark needs a dual purpose machine, IMO.

Although I prefer a good cup of joe over any espesso I've had. Myabe just didn't go the the right place yet.

Yeah, the old Krups only makes 10 cups of "regular", but with only my wife & myself and sometimes a guest or two, it works fine (I don't like to let coffee "sit" for long. It does a good job on espresso and has a good steamer. Has served us well.

While I prefer my Jura Capresso, I agree with the Super Automatic!

The K Cups aren't very good for expresso and aren't all that great of taste even for instant coffee. The best instant expresso machine is Nespresso. It is quite good. A little more expensive than the K cups but a lot better.

For a combination machine that can do both expresso and cappuccino type drinks instantly, the Dolce Gusto line is what you're looking for. They are owned by the same company as Nespresso. You can do expresso with them and they're good for an instant maker, not quite as good as a Nespresso but still good, considering it's an all-in-one machine. The cappuccinos and lattes are very good. I never buy them at the store because they're so expensive, but at about a buck for a mocha latte frappe cappuccino or whatever, they're excellent.

If you're looking for an on-demand unit that can do both, Dolce Gusto is your product. The brand is from Nestlé but the machines are made by Krupps.

French press every day. Fast, easy, best tasting coffee by far, cleans up in a minute.

I don't get the hit a button and instant gratification thing. There's just no gratification, ever. But boy do you get it fast!

Need more qualifying info to guide you...
 

126coupe, the passion for cars and coffee runs deep over here...

Warning: Most of the petite combo coffee machines we had are mediocre in doing BOTH variety of coffee brew you want.... we had Capresso, Jura, SAECO, krups, Nespresso...unfortunately these did not have enough steam pressure and the built in burr grinders are just ok...bottom line the expresso side was not up to par...plus it can't froth enough cream or it takes way too long... The drip side on most are acceptable.

We would rather boil my own water, manually adjust the bean dark roast/light roast ratio and grind it and have it drip in a chemex (his) or steep it via a frieling french press (hers)...for expresso we use a seperate dedicated machine for her "red eye" - cafe + steamed whole milk with a shot of double expresso ;)

less footprint, ease of clean up ...my 2 cents

But it is all a matter of taste, budget and space...

It would help if you provide a budget, home use or office use? Built in whole bean grinder or independent? Meanwhile...

My best advise to you is to do some product testing in stores like Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table and test drive it ...if you like how it taste and quickly makes your coffee and it fits your space...you have your machine.

We use a stovetop espresso maker. I started using these on a trip to Italy, 15 years ago.

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There are versions which you load with water, coffee, and milk - they magically produce cappucino.

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For regular coffee, I use a French press.

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And I have one of these in the garage, waiting to be refurbished and installed in the dining room. Someday. Running 240v, water, and a drain into my dining room just to show off at diner parties might be not worth the bother.

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I have the exact same Krups! In white though. Got it when I was married, today it lives in the office getting occasional use.

This is a Jura Capresso E8. I own 3 of them. My parents own one. One of my employees bought one when she moved to a new place. She loved our machine that much.

http://www.jlhufford.com/images/jura-capresso-e8-pb.jpg

It is a full pressure, 15-17 bar, espresso machine. Being a super-automatic, beans are stored on one side, water on the other. It grinds and brews a fresh cup every time. By adjusting the amount of water, you can have espresso to regular coffee.

Patrick's Saeco is virtually the same. And some models of the Saeco are reasonably priced.

Compared to using a K-cup machine, the cost is about 1/4 per cup.

We use Eight-O-Clock, 100% Columbian Coffee: Very reasonably priced, excellent coffee.

My first wife used to tell me that!

Seriously, I understand. Some people enjoy the ritual of making coffee. I just want the coffee. On the other hand, it would be tragic to have an super automatic Martini machine. The ritual of making a perfect Martini is half the fun. Wait ... PART of the fun.

I have been a French press guy for years (at home) and Mr Coffee at work (fresh ground beans always).

I begged for a real espresso machine for Christmas... wife had one somewhere in her past and insisted they were a PITA to clean.

We ended up with a Nespresso... been going strong since Christmas... pretty good espresso (and I'm a coffee snob)

Sixty to seventy cents a shot... however I do double/triple shots. ;)

I've never tasted a expresso/cappuccino. Never been to starbucks either.
But I like coffee. Usually get it at the corner donus shop, $1.60 for the XL.


The wife has one of thoser kuerig single cup makers. I tried it several times, not bad but the snob-foo-foo grinds she got in an assortment pack didnt impress me in the least. Kinda like expensive imported beers, most of em taste like crap and are only good as phoney image-boosters.

The best grind so far IMO had the word "folgers" on the label.

Chock full-O-Nuts in one of these. Best coffee

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Oh and the Nesprsso machines cost $200-$500

The online reviews say they have great customer service if the thing breaks (haven't had to try that yet)

Also when I was researched espresso machines... the all stainless Cuisinart got high marks... not as fancy as the $5000 machines some of the guys here use but I was about to pull the trigger on one... then at Macy's we got ambushed by a Nespresso sales person... the rest is history.

You can find a refurbished E8 for around $499. Whole latte love has deals on the Saeco units for under $400. Hard to go wrong with a $400 Saeco Super Automatic

I got a refurb Saeco from the US Saeco distributor that worked less than a month. They sent me another one and it sucked too. By then they didn't make that model any more so they sent me a brand new unit of the next best model. It's been great for going on 3 years now. Saeco was a good company to do business with. May still be.