We bought a Rancilio Silva 10 years ago, and a good grinder. It takes a bit of work, but we have amazing espresso/cappuccino / lattes every day.

I have the Nespresso Lattissima plus, and I LOVE it. I use it every day. Some weekdays when I feel I need a little more caffeine I will use two pods, but it still works out to be so much cheaper (and more convenient) than starbucks or any other coffee shop. Pods are about 65 cents each and sold in packs of 10. If you go to the Bloomingdales in Friendship Heights, they have a Nespresso boutique and you can go there and check out the machines and get a taste test of any of the 19(?) flavor espresso pods.

Anonymous wrote:I have a Jura Impressa - bought it refurbished 5 years ago and it's still going strong. We make 2-6 cups of coffee/day and more when we have company. I LOVE it - best coffee I've had outside of Europe.

It is a little noisy - just the sound of it grinding the beans and then dispensing the coffee. Don't think it would wake me unless my bedroom was right next door.

We have a Jura Impressa too - bought it when we had a lot more disposable income. It was $2k back in 2002 when we got it. We've sent it back once for servicing. I think it will last forever! We justified it by giving up Starbucks -- and this is so much better!

Anonymous wrote:$20 Moka pot. I use it every day.

Us too! It works well and tastes great as long as you have good espresso coffee. We order bricks of Lavazza Qualita Rossa and also Crema e Gusto from amazon and tastes as good as when I lived in Italy.

Hubby bought a Saeco Vienna Plus. I was against it, thought it was a waste of money. Now I can't imagine living without it. Makes a great cup of espresso in a few seconds and super easy to maintain. We can also use whatever coffee we want rather than buying expensive pods. We've ended up saving tons of money since we no longer go to Starbucks or buy coffee at work. It is noisy though.

I use a French press and bought a $20 hand milk frother at crate and barrel and we love it. But, I don't have much counter space so I was happy to get rid of our coffee machine.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. And yes. We spent around 750 on a Gaggia semi-automatic (grinds and makes a nice pour automatically; use a wand for milk frothing). We use it multiple times every day and it has been absolutely worth the cost. We use a french press when we want to serve brewed coffee.

+1. Don't enjoy Nespresso.

Had a nice one. Had a hard time GIVING it away.

I have a Nespresso Pixie and the milk frother. Love it. Not too expensive and the quality of coffee is rather good.