I think a MyPressi Twist might work out well, paired with a good hand-grinder like a Kyocera CM-45 CF or a Porlex. This will be small, quiet, ready to go pretty quickly, and makes good espresso. You'll have to do something for milk, but you could keep your steam toy for that or get a stovetop steamer. Don't forget the grinder, you won't be happy with a good machine without a great grinder.

I'm using the Twist with the Kyocera at work now and my La Peppina lever with a Vario at home. I'm getting better Black Cat Classic shots from the Twist though so I've pulled a few Twist shots at home too.

I'm still working on steaming with the Bellman stove-top steamer I picked up for the Wife's cappuccinos.

I've also heard good things about the Bacchi Espresso Machine (http://www.orphanespresso.com) but never tried it myself. It's a stovetop espresso machine which has a hydraulic piston to achieve a full 9 bars of pressure.

If you want to sort through all the options on machines like the Mr. Coffee, Delonghi, and Krups, you might find other forums have a user base with more experience with these machines willing to provide recommendations. These machines typically have pressurized portafilters designed to alleviate the need for a great espresso grinder and fake the crema production but you'll find that it's very hard to make consistently good espresso from these entry-level machines, much harder then when you step up to a machine that has reasonable control over shot temperature, pressure, etc. You can drive yourself nuts trying to reproduce that one good shot you managed to get out of the machine on another day.

Inexpensive and good espressso is kind of an oxymoron. Take a look at: Ten Espresso Commandments

My 2 cents...

On this site we don't take care of low end machines, but there are lot of people out of here (almost all, IMHO) that are not as involved as us with coffee.
For those I suggest a pod machine. It's easy to use, don't spread powder around, it's fast and cheap, give always the same result.
It's not by far the quality we are looking for, it's not compliant with "10 espresso commandments".
But if kids are main priority and don't mind espresso, an heat exchanger machine is off topic. Perhaps the Gaggia Classic and MyPressi Twist could also be too complex. Too complex if we strive to reach the same result of a prosumer.

For pods machine this is the wrong site; for prosumer, instead, HB serve tons of informations. Let me make an example: prosumer machines are too much little for me; for my wife are too much for "her" kitchen (too much bulky, too much complex and time consuming, too much dirty, too much expensive, etc.).

Pierluigi

I need something not loud. I have kids and I get up before them, plus I need to be able to hear them if they are up.
I need something fast. That is one thing I really like about my steam machine. It is quick.
I don't make espresso all day or even every day. So it doesn't need to be heavy duty.
I need something super easy to setup and clean. Like I said, I have kids, they take all my time.
I need something small. I don't have a whole lot of counter space.
I need something as inexpensive as possible. But I might consider something nicer if it's worth it. But with how little coffee gets drunk in our house it would be silly to spend hundreds and hundreds.

http://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/Coffeemakers.htm

Silent? Check.
Fast? Check.
Not heavy duty? Check.
Easy to setup/clean? Check.
Small? Check.
Inexpensive? Check.

Espresso isn't right for everyone IMO...

Maybe I missed it, but what kind of drinks are you trying to prepare? Do they involve preparing milk? How many at once?


If you were happy with your steam machine, you can always go get another one. From what I've seen lately, the differences are largely cosmetic.

The Mukka Express looks interesting, but I have not used one. I expect it's similar taste-wise and time-wise to a steam machine, but what you do during that time will be significantly different.

A lever machine with a hand grinder would be similarly quiet and capable of producing much better quality when guided by a skilled hand, but it will take longer and cost more.

Espin wrote:Maybe I missed it, but what kind of drinks are you trying to prepare? Do they involve preparing milk? How many at once?

I don't think you missed it . . .

tash wrote:I need something not loud. I have kids and I get up before them, plus I need to be able to hear them if they are up.
I need something fast. That is one thing I really like about my steam machine. It is quick.
I don't make espresso all day or even every day. So it doesn't need to be heavy duty.
I need something super easy to setup and clean. Like I said, I have kids, they take all my time.
I need something small. I don't have a whole lot of counter space.
I need something as inexpensive as possible. But I might consider something nicer if it's worth it. But with how little coffee gets drunk in our house it would be silly to spend hundreds and hundreds.

In general, Tash, while all of this is important, you failed to tell us what is, perhaps, the most important information:

1) What kind of drinks do you need to make? Straight shots? Lattes? Cappuccinos? Americanos? Others?
2) How many drinks, on average, do you need to make at any one time?
3) How many drinks, on average, do you need to make in any given week?
4) What is your budget? (I know, "as inexpensive as possible.")

Q1 gives us an idea of the capabilities you need. Q2 gives an idea of how fast the machine needs to recover. Q3 gives an idea of overall workload.

Q4 is obvious, but does your budget include a grinder? What do you intend on using for a grinder? Is that budgeted separately?

More info from you gets more helpful replies from us.

Cheers,
Jason