Who has a great recommendation on Espresso machines? I owned a cheap Delongi for several years that made a decent shot. Looking maybe at this one on Amazon
I use one sporadically so a cheap Mr coffee has been all I need. When I am looking to get a fairly pricey kitchen item I go to Cook’s illustrated to see if they have done some reviews.
Yeah I don’t want a cheap steam powered one. The good ones use a pump. The Delongi I had was a 15 bar pump driven espresso machine. Looks like they are still available and under a $100.
From the reviews of all the espresso machines I have seen on line it seems like you can only rent them, not own them, since they wear out after a couple of years.
would get the model without the burr grinder. you probably already have a good grinder. why pay for another one?
I like coffeegeek for reviews: http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/consumer/brevillebes860xl
In the old days, during my espresso serial obsession, the rule was to first buy the best grinder you can afford and then buy for an espresso machine. I used to have a Rancilio Silvia with an external pid . Then my coffee obsession went out of hand, and now I hand-pour filter coffee. With the right quality of coffee (the best and freshest light roasted you can find), better than 90% of espresso coffee.
I’ve had an earlier model of this for at least six years and it’s still going strong (I seriously can’t remember when I bought it).
I don’t use it every day, so maybe it wouldn’t last as long under heavier use.
Thanks. Your coffee set up is exactly what I use and I agree it makes superior coffee. But it doesn’t make espresso. 
You are right, I do already have a top of the line burr gringer. I bought this one anyway because, well, what the hell. :0
the /r/coffee wiki over on reddit has a lot of really good info broken down by price range. There are also sections on grinders, pour-overs, etc etc on the main page:
We have this one. No complaints, makes great espresso.
We had a krupps a long time ago and it made great espresso until it crapped out. We’ve had a rancilio silvia and have been making espresso on it everyday for a few years now. I have been very happy with it, but it can be finicky. Grind, freshness of beans, amount of pressure tamping. It can take a while to get the hang of making great espresso every time and you definitely need a good burr grinder. The most important thing is the coffee. If you use crappy coffee expect crappy espresso.
I only use whole beans from a local roaster and have a top of the line burr grinder. I’m probably a bigger coffee snob than I am beer snob.
Awesome! I’m pretty excited about receiving the unit.
Same here. I hope single origin coffee, relatively lightly roasted, and you use filtered water?
Plus, you only use the freshest possible coffee of which you know on which day it has been roasted, and, if necessary, store the beans in the freezer? And if you go to Italy you bring your own coffee? And you own a roaster?
I’ve heard differing things about the freezer. Since I only get local coffee (nose in air), I just keep the extras in the fridge and we try to use it fast.
Owning a roaster… that’s not in the cards ;) Too much beer stuff taking up space for that.
Yes and yes and yes. The guy that roasts my coffee hands roasts every batch. He is a true craftsman. Excellent coffee.
I have have heard both good and bad about storing coffee in freezer. Now, most recently, there is some science that says that grinding frozen coffee makes the best coffee because of the mire uniform way in which the beans are crushed.
And Italy or no Italy, I always take my own coffee with me whenever I travel
You are lucky. I can’t say that I am a big coffee snob, but I am pretty picky, and my wife is worse. Especially when it comes to espresso. I would love to have a local roaster, but we have tried a number of espresso beans from local places and most of it has been pretty terrible. It took a while before we found beans that we liked. I have also pretty much given up on finding a good espresso at coffee shops.
On a coffee related note, I have been using a Vietnamese phin to brew my normal coffee. It takes a while but IMO it makes a very flavorful cup of coffee.
I’m sure there are good roasters that can mail you fresh beans? Order a couple of pounds and store the beans in the freezer (not fridge). Works perfectly.
On a side note, I was in a convent in the Ardennes last year where my girlfriend was giving taiji classes. One evening during supper a nun came to me when she saw me pour my own coffee and asked me whether she could have a cup. She literally had a figurative orgasm when she tasted my coffee. She told me she had had only lousy convent coffee since she had joined the monastery in the early sixties. This was the only good cup she had had in all that time. So every night after that I offered her coffee, but she always refused. Not sure why because Jesus nowhere in the bible says that drinking a nice cuppa joe is sinful