Cappuccino/Espresso Machines

[RJT]

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Jeff, Espresso generally sucks in New York. It is also generally very good in Northern California, and, from what I've heard, in LA. Dunno about San Diego, but here is an article full of things to keep in mind when you make your own.

Basically, I think it makes sense to find a good place and go there.

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If this is the same place that I am thinking of - it is also the only place (that I know of) in Rome where one can get crepes. One of the first places I hit when in Rome - beats having to deal with France to get a good crepe.

[BoogerFace]

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I'd like to start making cappuccino at home. Does anyone have recommendations for a good one at a reasonable price? I have no experience making cappuccino. I'm looking for a balance between ease of use and quality of the cappuccino.

Right now I'm looking at the Hamilton Beach 40729.

Also, the Braun Tassimo.

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I'd recommend going to Sur La Table (or some other high end gourmet store) and get a hands on demo and actually taste the coffee. The non-automatic machines can be super messy and having to grind with a different machine is a PITA. Different machines will vary in terms of warm up times and cost of pods and so forth.

IMO, I wouldn't pay less than $500 - $1000 for a machine. I own a Capresso C1500 - you might want to check out their entry level model ($300) here.

[turnipmonster]

I agree that espresso generally sucks in nyc (notable exception is john's which I thought was decent), but I think the culprit is those horrible lavazza espresso pods everyone uses.

btw dave your eggplant died a slow death roasting over an open flame last night and is now in curry form. thanks again!

--turnipmonster

[bdk3clash]

I'd be curious what people who actually know espresso think of the Aerobie Aeropress. (Yes, that Aerobie.)

It's gotten good reviews and I bought one and tried it out a few times, but I don't know much about espresso and can't really tell if it works well or not--it certainly seemed fine to me.

[Meech]

We started off with a cheapo brand and it didn't last 6 months before it broke. About 8 years ago or so, we snagged one of these:

http://www.wholelattelove.com/Gaggia/baby.cfm

And it's still going strong. Had to buy a new knob for it recently, but otherwise no regrets.

[Jeff W]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd be curious what people who actually know espresso think of the Aerobie Aeropress. (Yes, that Aerobie.)

It's gotten good reviews and I bought one and tried it out a few times, but I don't know much about espresso and can't really tell if it works well or not--it certainly seemed fine to me.

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I bought one of these last week and it's brilliant. It doesn't make true espresso, but for $25 it makes great coffee and faux-espresso--much better than my french press.