Home Espresso/Cappuchino Making

I'm not a coffee addict, but I love a good latte and a warm drink in my hands. I've been looking for a decent latte maker, but they all seem so complicated, expensive, and they take up so much room.

The one I've had my eye on is the new Bialetti Mukka Cappuchino Maker. The online reviews are high, and I'm drawn to the stovetop and simpleness of it. Anyone tried it?

I have a mukka and LOVE it -- I tell everyone I should be a sales rep for them since I've convinced so many people to buy one! It's small, compact, and makes better foam than any other machine (<$200 range) that I've had. 3 minutes on the stove and you have a nice latte! While I believe the box says it makes 2 servings, it makes 1 american size latte (tall / grande?).

I bought the Mukka and HATED it. It just never made a latte that measured up to coffee house creations. I recently bought Breville's Cafe Roma machine and really like the results. It cost $250 but I like it so much more than the Mukka. There is no comparison.

Good luck.

the comparison is that it costs significantly less (<$100) and is smaller than a teapot. and it does everything in one step -- no steaming the milk separately. it's no coffee house but a convenient inexpensive option.

The conventional coffee geek wisdom from boards dedicated only to coffee suggest that the best "low price" espresso machine is the Starbucks Barista at around 300-350....

A step up and considered really the only machine where you can pull a coffeehouse like crema laden espresso shot is the Rancilio Silvia which runs 499.

If you are using these machines, you of course want to grind your coffee fresh and fine, which means a quality burr grinder which can also run $200.

While I'm a total food geek and I regularly hit 3 or more grocery stores a week to get everything just right foodwise, 500-700 seems like a whole lot of coffee house lattes.

So instead my setup, and I think the best for the money...get a pound of freshly roasted whole bean La Perla de Oaxaca from Intelligentsia, a bodum antigua burr grinder, a french press, and a milk frother (if you really want to save money, skip the frother, heat some milk, pour into a closed container and shake the hell out of it).

Grind fresh, brew the water no hotter than 210, let it steep for 4 minutes in the press, froth the milk, and mix.

For less than a 100 bucks, you'll have consistently amazing flavorful coffee, and you won't be able to tell the difference from the poor barista craft and automatic machine pours at most Starbucks...the only better cup is a perfectly surfed,dosed, and tamped and hand drawn one by a great barista at a coffee shop that cares.