What's the cheapest and most space-saving way to make espresso?

MSE_Laura_F

I'd love to hear of any experiences making espresso from home, without the need for a bulky machine and endless little pods.

How do you keep it MoneySaving and space-saving?

I've read that you can make espresso using a French press - anyone had success that way?

Thank you.

Nonnadiluca

Stove top pot, it's what the Italians do. Think it's called a moka pot. Lavazza rossa coffee is excellent. Think I'll go and have one now!

tacpot12

We inherited a Delonghi Espresso machine, like this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174972822292

I've been quite impressed with it as it seems to make real espresso and froth milk adequately. It's quite small, the foot print is about that of a toaster. 

Rosa_Damascena

MSE_Laura_F said:

I'd love to hear of any experiences making espresso from home, without the need for a bulky machine and endless little pods.

How do you keep it MoneySaving and space-saving?

I've read that you can make espresso using a French press - anyone had success that way?

Thank you.

I sure have - using a slim stainless steel French Press bought from the chazzer for all of £1. It may not actually be expresso but its delicious served in a big mug of piping hot milk.

greenbee

Nonnadiluca said:

Stove top pot, it's what the Italians do. Think it's called a moka pot. Lavazza rossa coffee is excellent. Think I'll go and have one now!

Your name gives you away, but if it didn’t your choice of pot and coffee would identify you as Italian. None of my Italian friends will knowingly drink pod coffee, and they’d rather drink water than instant!

penny_less

Definitely a stove top moka!
A french press will make the coffee far too weak for an espresso 

MSE_Laura_F

Thanks all of you for sharing your expertise and experience, and sorry for not getting back to you for so long.

After reading the replies I was sold on the moka pot, which sounded like just the thing I was after. But then my partner went and bought a cheap Tassimo coffee machine from Lidl on Black Friday! I was dubious about tying ourselves to a lifetime of buying pods for it, but he discovered you can buy a reusable pod and add your own coffee to it. So far I'm liking.

Thanks again. ☕

tboo

Rosa_Damascena said:

MSE_Laura_F said:

I'd love to hear of any experiences making espresso from home, without the need for a bulky machine and endless little pods.

How do you keep it MoneySaving and space-saving?

I've read that you can make espresso using a French press - anyone had success that way?

Thank you.

I sure have - using a slim stainless steel French Press bought from the chazzer for all of £1. It may not actually be expresso but its delicious served in a big mug of piping hot milk.

Oh, I have one of those, keeps the coffee hot for a long time.

Not that it was intended for but take the coffee filter out and you can serve tea in it as well. Dual purpose.

zagfles

If you like expresso neat, ie not to make a latte, have you tried Greek coffee? Similar to expresso but much nicer IMO and apparently healthier too. I much prefer it to expresso and all you need is a briki, a small pot you put on the hob. That's it! No filter, you need to use a finer ground than normal ground coffee so either buy Greek coffee, or Turkish which is basically the same, or what I do is buy unground arabica beans and use a small grinder, athough that obviously takes up a little space. Far less than my expresso machine though, which is now in the back of the cupboard.

You can't add milk though, it doesn't work, the grinds float to the top and make it undrinkable.