Should you buy an espresso maker? Oh yes - no friggin' doubt about it. There is no better way to enjoy your coffee as far as I am concerned. But – there are thousands of espresso makers on the market and there is a substantial difference both in quality and price.

Possibly the best maker to start with is a stovetop maker. These are cheap, will last a long time and make pretty good espresso. I say “pretty good,” because they do not make as smooth a shot as some of the expensive machines that use  a higher pressure to force water through the coffee. These little stovetop makers use steam pressure to force water up through the grounds as opposed to most of the machines that use pressure to force the water down through them.

I have several stove top espresso makers – a 6 cup and a 3 cup – although I also have an espresso machine. I prefer the Italian espresso makers for several reasons – if you go to Italy, you will discover that almost every hardware shop in the country sells these t]little machines and it is the accepted way of making coffee at home for most people. Usually – if you want something more sophisticated – you go out for coffee. Italian coffee is the best in the world. No question – you can get a fantastic shot of espresso from just about any roadside café. Oddly – the absolute best shots of espresso are in the truckstops.

The Bialetti is my personal choice – they are robust, the coffee tastes great and you can buy them for around $25 – either size maker. Just one month of noit buying coffee at your local Starbucks will have paid for one of these and you are sure to get years of use out of it.

The only thing you may have to buy later is a new rubber gasket – they can rot or tear if you are unlucky, but they are not expensive. There are fancier machines such as the Cuisinox Roma which sells for around $90 – but you will not get a better cup of coffee for the extra money.

If you love coffee – as I do – the only way to be certain of getting the best espresso is either to live in Italy – or buy an espresso maker. If you are reading this, the chances are that you cannot live in Italy – so that leaves the other option.