I'm a espresso fan. A double or triple shot americano to start the day is awesome, particularly when the kids (toddlers) have kept Mom and Dad up half the night.
I use a Gaggia Classic espresso maker (bought used on ebay for a decent price) and a hacked Krups burr grinder (added #4 washers to allow the burrs to get a good espresso grind). It's hard to make a bad shot with this setup - easily beats what you can get at most coffee shops, except for one shop in my town that has both high quality baristas and a really good commercial espresso machine. I also have access to fresh, locally roasted organic espresso beans. If you're a latte or mocha fan, buy a stovetop steamer and do a little research on how to properly steam milk. Guests are usually impressed.
It's a fun setup and I enjoy the preparation ritual. If only my kids were old enough to begin their barista training . . .
The one thing I don't like about it is that where the top screws to the main body, there is a rubber gasket with holes about the diameter of a pencil eraser. You want one of these holes to match up with the hole on the steam wand - if you tighten the lid in a way that makes the gasket slide away from that, it seems like the wand isn't as effective.
But with a little practice (oddly enough, the sound is the key), you get a really decent foam out of it. You won't be making latte art, but you'll do much better than the vaguely hot milk splashed around by some coffee shops. I found a thermometer to be really helpful as well - I use one that I bought for $5 at Borders one day on a whim.
The other thing is that you have to let the steam pressure build back up between drinks - you can't really do three drinks in a row without doing that. But for one latte or mocha it's fine. It probably takes less than 5 mins on the stovetop to get the pressure back up though.
It's funny, but the stove top steamer works better than the steam wand on the Gaggia - the Gaggia has some weird foamer attachment that creates really bad bubbles without making any nice pourable foam.
I use a Gaggia Classic espresso maker (bought used on ebay for a decent price) and a hacked Krups burr grinder (added #4 washers to allow the burrs to get a good espresso grind). It's hard to make a bad shot with this setup - easily beats what you can get at most coffee shops, except for one shop in my town that has both high quality baristas and a really good commercial espresso machine. I also have access to fresh, locally roasted organic espresso beans. If you're a latte or mocha fan, buy a stovetop steamer and do a little research on how to properly steam milk. Guests are usually impressed.
It's a fun setup and I enjoy the preparation ritual. If only my kids were old enough to begin their barista training . . .