How to bring Europe home to Philadelphia
 

My husband and I have been fortunate to travel to Spain and Italy this year. Each time we return home my husband bemoans our Mr Coffee and fixates on how wonderful it was to walk any direction and have a perfect espresso.
He longs for that accessibility back home (no argument here) but sees only one solution- moving abroad. I see another option: an at home machine. Has anyone here had success with a system? Looking to spend under $800 (if this is irrational please tell me so). I have also had trouble looking for beans so any insight will be appreciated!

where do you live? Italian machines and all sorts of craft roasted beans should be readily available in any good sized city.

. . . even just Sur la Table has machines from under $200 to over $2000 . . .

I have found Nespresso much cheaper and quite satisfactory.

But surely Philadelphia has good independent coffee shops???

Oh jeeze -- I didn't even notice the Philadelphia in your title (!) :)

Of course you should have no problem finding what you need there . . .

We have some great spots, particularly La Colombe. But I'm looking for a magical way to enjoy a daily espresso. We are very handy in the kitchen and our tastes have grown beyond our Nespresso. I'm hoping someone here has found a great way to bring the experience home!

Then you are talking serious money. Last time I looked into this I found several good websites written by coffee enthusiasts, suggest you do some online searching.

I had very good results using the Bialetti so ubiquitous in Europe:

https://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-6-Cu...espresso+maker

It's ubiquitous for a reason :-) And of course, you have to use top quality coffee, filtered water, etc. for best results, but really, nothing could be simpler or cheaper.

<I have also had trouble looking for beans so any insight will be appreciated!>

Freshly roasted is the key, so buy from a local shop that roasts locally, or online from someone who roasts and ships promptly. And grind the beans yourself as needed, ideally, or a few days or a week in advance.Keep the beans in the freezer in double ziplocs in the meantime.

Soapbox moment: please try to buy shade grown coffee. It also tastes better. This is my favorite producer, they roast in Arizona shortly before shipping. Once you taste this, you won't go back.

http://capulin.com

There's a lot of good options *in between* a Mr Coffee and an $800 espresso machine!!

I use a stovetop Bialetti (as posted above) or a French Press.

We use a Gaggia and are happy with it. We grind our beans just before brewing. BTW...you can now buy beans online and roast at home.YouTube it...you'll see!

OMG, and I thought I was nerdy about coffee, lol! I see a new hobby developing. Calabria, thanks...I think :-)

It is hard to do so...the problem is that u can bring with u just a little part of that lifestyle but not 100%. Try to find a way to go back eery now and then just to get refreshed. Or maybe try to get in contact with some Italian or Spanish in Philly(original ones do, not 4-5 generatio Jersey shore wannabee)...

I am sure she did some research. It seems like she is looking for specific recommendations. Why waste everyone's time essentially saying "google it?"

No matter what Amazon calls it that's a Moka not an espresso machine. Espresso Machines have much higher pressure. In Europe they actually made a relatively low cost home machine. It's mostly plastic to keep the prices down. But it looks like they no longer make the bialetti Mokona. Or at least I can't find it.