I suspect that the folks on this board are well beyond the level of my question, but please bear with me, and consider than in a few years, I might be ready to join your ranks.

I like drinking coffee, mostly Decaf Dunkin Donuts from a drip brewer, no sugar, very little milk. I love Cafe Britt Export Reserve when I get my hands on it. Six months ago, a relative got me a Krups XP7225 Super-Automatic Espresso Machine, which I almost exclusively used to make two cycles of 4 oz Cafe Americano, which turned into a 9 or 10 ounce finished drink. I learned what "crema" was. I was happy.

Then the machine broke. I cracked out my trusty #15 Torx Screwdriver, opened it up, and saw coffee dust everywhere. And I saw where the problem was, and decided that it wasn't worth my time to fix it, because the gift came from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and they'll take anything back, which sounded a lot easier than dealing with Krups Service.

So I've now got a $400 credit at BBB. Their ubiquitous 20% off coupons mean that I can get a $500 machine for nothing, though I might be able to be convinced to spend some money on a machine that makes a better coffee product.

Reading a lot of home-barista.com tonight made me realize that super automatics are, essentially, junk. It also made me realize that the Breville BES 830XL that BBB has for $500 wouldn't make me a cup of coffee in five minutes, and that I'd have to both get a $150+ grinder, plus convince my three small children to leave daddy alone long enough to prepare each cup and then clean up afterwards.

So what I've really learned is that, perhaps, I should just get a Nespresso machine for now. My concern here is cost - the dunkin donuts beans are generally $9/pound by me, and I cant imagine that the total cost of ownership of the nespresso will be cheap - I'm not using it replace Starbucks, I'm using it to replace what I've previously described.

So here's the question: What should I get? Another super automatic? A Nespresso? Which nespresso? What else does Bed, Bath, and Beyond carry that I might want to look at? And just how much labor is involved in using a semi-automatic machine to get a daily 10 ounce cup of joe? Also bear in mind than any super automatic that I now get with be subject to a weekly session with Mr. Screwdriver, which will let Mr. Compressed Air and Mr. Paintbrush both prevent problems with the machine and keep the coffee tasting like it did when the machine was new-ish.

Given that the Nespresso Machine are automatic, is there a big difference in the taste of the coffee from a $150 machine versus a $600 one?

Also, what about the Gaggia 12300 Baby Class Manual Espresso Machine? It takes ESE Pods, and real grinds, which seems like it'd be a nice gateway drug. It costs as much as my store credit, and next year I can get a grinder and start to use it like y'all would prefer that such a machine be used. Is that a good sort of compromise?


Thank you for your time.

Cafe Britt rhymes with .... and rightly so.

BBB sells http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product...U=17377345, but it's not particulary great.

You could let the missus use the credit for sheets, towels, etc.

Nespresso is better than any super auto as far as consistency. It's not cheap for coffee, but if you consider the quality it's tolerable : mediocre vs swill.

Nespresso is pretty decent if you do milk drinks, and it's tolerable for straight espresso. I used it that way for about 2 months, and had some good shots, just struggled with inconsistency (you're at the mercy of the grind in each capsule).

Can't beat it for convenience. I believe all the Nespresso machines make the same quality espresso, just differ on other features (e.g. milk frother included or not, how fancy they look). I'd get the cheapest one and spend the extra money on coffee instead.

Nespresso is a good "gateway" machine IMHO - a coworker has one and has been happy with it for years at home. I got one, and returned it after a month because I became obsessed with espresso, and got a Caravel instead. If you're happy with a Nespresso and it fits the budget, no reason to get into fancier prosumer machines. For all the people on here who are delightfully obsessed with espresso, there are many more who buy some of these fancier machines and never end up using them because they're too much work. Best to get into the hobby slowly and find the easiest machine that meets your needs.

Like they say for becoming a surgeon, only pursue if you can't imagine doing anything else. I think the same advice goes for fancy espresso machines. And I spent an hour today practicing steaming and latte art for fun on my GS/3, I'm thoroughly hooked, but it's not for everyone!

Of all the machines they sell, I would get this Gaggia Classic:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product...70&RN=278&

You will then need a grinder, which I would not buy from them.

Thank you all for your advice.

Much thanks to everyone who provided advice on this thread.

Here's what I ultimately did:

1. Googled for a local coffee roaster. Good coffee will need good beans, and Home-Barista.com is no substitute for a live expert. The shop turned out to be 10 minutes out of the way of my usual commute and roasts beans a few times a week. Reasonable prices, friendly people.

2. Bought a Breville BCG800 grinder, which will serve me well, I hope, grinding for drip coffee, a french press, or the new espresso machine.

3. Bought a Gaggia Espresso Dose, because I'm lazy and have small children, and thus don't want to have to to attend to the machine while it brews each shot. (The "dose" model automatically stops the water flow after a set amount, rather than requiring the operator to use a stopwatch and visual inspection of the coffee flow.)

4. Bought a variety pack of ESE Pods from amazon, because I'll be grinding decaf for my evening coffee, and guests might like non-decaf, or the ability to pick their own type of coffee. I like that a "real" espresso machine can use ESE pods, because I also looked into Nespresso, and those machines don't work well for someone who'd like to get into fresh beans and home grinding.

And here I am, happy. (Anyone doing the math on the above should know that with a coupon, Bed, Bath, and Beyond gives 20% off on almost everything.)

Thank you all again for your guidance, advice, and some great FAQs and HOWTOs.

---matt