I’m currently brewing in an Aeropress, and considering one of the lower end espresso machines.
But based on a few comments from James Hoffmann about him drinking filter coffee at home, I’m wondering if an espresso machine is something that people end up using every day, or if people are brewing with simpler methods and just making espressos when they’ve got time on the weekend or people over?
What’s your experience, did you buy a machine and it mostly just takes up counter space, or is it a daily source of joy?
Short answer: multiple times every day.
Look at it as a hobby. You will sink as much money into as you want. I started with a cheap mister coffee espresso machine but now have a pretty nice E61 group head machine and jazzed up grinder and all the various coffee toys. It all brings me joy. The morning coffee ritual is what gets me out of bed.
From a cost perspective, if you are the kind of person who drinks 3 lattes from a cafe everyday, then even with the cost of a relatively nice machine and grinder will be paid for with the difference pretty quickly. If memory serves, you save about $4 per cup which adds up pretty quickly.