The Americano, or Long Black for my non American readers, is the coffee drink for the purist. It is deceptively simple: just a shot (or two) of espresso topped with hot water. It has a similar strength to drip coffee, but because it is made with espresso, it retains that rich, oily body and the layer of golden crema on top.
When you decide you want to make espresso at home, you aren't just buying a coffee maker; you are picking up a new hobby. It requires patience, practice, and the right tools. And while there are dozens of plastic appliances out there promising "barista quality" with the push of a button, most of them just don't deliver.
For a long time, "filter coffee" (or drip coffee) had a bad reputation. It was the stuff you got at a diner at 2 AM, or the burnt sludge sitting in the breakroom pot. The "serious" coffee people, or reluctant coffee snobs like me, were all drinking espresso or meticulous pour-overs.
If you are anything like me, you go through a significant amount of coffee every week. And if you are brewing at home, that means you are generating a lot of waste. Every morning, I knock a heavy, wet puck of espresso grounds into my knock box, and for the longest time, I just dumped it straight into the trash.
The Moka pot is one of those brewing methods that always seems to remind me of camping. It’s analog, it looks classic on the stove, and it produces a cup that is rich, bold, and incredibly close to espresso, without the need for a $3,000 machine on your counter. You can also use it almost anywhere with a heat source and some water.
When people ask me for a recommendation for a budget friendly espresso machine, they are usually hoping I’ll point them toward a $100 appliance at a big-box store. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you want real espresso, not just strong, foamy coffee, you need to spend a little more than that.
The world of specialty coffee is weird. We obsess over grind size, water temperature, and pressure profiling. But then there is a corner of the coffee world that obsesses over something else entirely: animals eating (and excreting) coffee beans.
If you are building your first home espresso setup, the Breville Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Grinder is probably on your radar. It’s everywhere. It looks professional, has a fancy digital screen, and often comes recommended as the go-to "budget" option for espresso.