Espresso machine recomendation needed

[charliex]

My old Krups espresso machine is giving up the ghost after 5 yrs and I'm looking for input on a replacement. The Krups has been a good machine but lately I get very little crema and I have to continually increase the grind coarseness or there isn't enough pressure to force the water through. I use RO water so I know it's not limed up. I only paid $50.00 for the Krups and now I see I am looking at > $200.00 to replace it with something simiular. So since I am an addict ( 2 cappuccinos or Lattes per day + an occasional coffee americana ) and need a regular fix I am prepared to spend more if I get a good recommendation. Thanks in advance for your responses.
Chas

[HarmsWay]

Unless you're going for fancy electronics and auto-feed hoppers that grind for each cup, you pretty much get what you pay for. We've had one for quite awhile that works great, but I also don't use it every day. The original ones Starbucks sold (I forget who actually made them) were good value when on sale. Before you buy, see which ones you can get parts for. Some recent manufacturers seem to be selling non-repairable units.

Bob

[eddy merckx]

Up here in the Pac NW, we give those machines a really hard workout. I killed several expensive units until I got a Gaggia machine. They are really bullet-proof. We have one at work which has produced 20-30 espressos a day for 4 or 5 years.

I got a Gaggia pod machine for home. I got a reconditioned unit from Whole Latte Love (huge distributor) for pretty cheap. Their site also has quite a few useful reviews. I get the pods from Podmerchant. Pods are nice because they don't go stale, no grounds to clean up and perfect crema. Price is comparable to good whole bean. You can also buy pods from Starbucks.

Gotta go make some coffee now.

Best wishes,
Eddy

[DaveStL]

We've had one like this:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...4653821&RN=278

for over a year and it has done well; daily use is 2 to 4 cups espresso, more on weekends. It appears to have the same mechanicals as the fancy "digital" one costing twice as much (which Starbucks also sells). BBB frequently sends 20% off coupons in the mail. We got this one as a close-out at Sam's Club for $400. We have tried several roasts and now keep it loaded with medium, which I recently learned is common in Italy. There's a grinder bypass if you want to use already-ground coffee. It can make full cups at whatever strength you like, but it's a pressure machine and so doesn't taste quite like drip coffee; we prefer a drip machine for the morning.

The frother is much better than the old boiler version we had, but you can't froth and brew at the same time. You set it to froth and do the milk, and then set it back to brew mode and let the temperature/pressure down quickly with the steam valve, so there's not much lag between frothing and brewing.

Dave

[Alex Franke]

We got the Startbucks Barista machine over 3 years ago for Christmas and it's still going strong. Highly recommended. Plus I think it even had a three year warranty, which is pretty darn good for an espresso machine.

http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/consum...rbucks_barista

Of course, being a Franke myself, I would be remiss if I failed to plug the Franke Sinfonia One Step Super Automatic -- a steal at $24,260!

[HarmsWay]

I was in Harrods years ago back when they still had amazing things for sale like a toy department with kid-sized cars that actually worked and life-sized elephants and giraffes. Even more amazing though was this one espresso machine on the kitchen floor. It was a huge cafe-style one, Italian, curvy and incredibly beautiful. Looked like it was out of the fifties. No price marked and I didn't ask.

Bob

[germdoc]

OK, you will probably consider this heretical, but I'm a fan of the Tassimo coffee machine. It makes espresso, cappucino, hot chocolate, coffee, etc.

I had a Krups espresso machine that I NEVER used because it was just too much trouble. With the Tassimo, I can make a latte by putting in 2 pods and pushing the button. Couldn't be easier. I personally think the taste and quality are pretty good, at least as good as the coffee place in the mall and maybe even Starbucks as well.

I like the Starbucks coffee for the Tassimo very much, and in fact we got one for work so everyone can have their hot beverage of choice anytime they want it. Only gripe is that it only uses proprietary coffee discs, and Target is the only store around that carries them; otherwise, you have to order online.

[HarmsWay]

To each his own Jeff. If I was making a bunch of caps every day my manual one might become tiresome. Although I hope not. I enjoy that part. Friends of ours had a really nice manual one that they got rid of when they moved. They went to a fully automated built-in unit that is the favourite part of their house. I still like my caps better and they're very happy with theirs. I draw the line on automated ones if they also make chicken soup though.

Bob