Since quality is every bit important as price, there has to be a balance. The Nespresso Essenza Flowstop is priced “reasonably” and produces pretty good espresso.

Joe

http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.brewers.mokapot.shtml

Ignore those ridiculous prices. You can get them for under $10 at any grocery store in Miami.

Paul

That aside, one thing I’ve learned is that the drink can make or break the smoke. The right drink can make a so-so cigar seem excellent and the wrong drink can down right ruin a good cigar.

My point is, if you plan to drink coffee with some of your smokes, do it right or don’t do it. Do not get something affordable only to have a mediocre smoke-drink experience. Better off without.

This depends on what kind of espresso you like. If you want something that will produce a thick, black shot of coffee, you probably have a lot of options. If you want to get on the coffee geek train and pull shots that really pull out the flavor of an espresso blend and produce a thick, velvety crema, you’re looking at a bigger investment.

From what I understand of home machines, the inexpensive ones tend to suffer from bad temperature control and low pressure. To get a really good espresso, you need a strong pump and a water temp that’s not going to fluctuate all over the place while you’re extracting a shot. Other machines use pods, and every espresso from a pod I’ve had is pretty nasty. (Admittedly, I’m spoiled from spending years behind the bar at some great coffee shops.) The Rancilio Silvia (as Rick notes above) is the standard choice for home fanatics, but it’ll cost you.
http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/consumer/rancilio_silvia

The other important advice is not to skimp on a grinder. A good machine without a consistent grind isn’t going to make great coffee. Coffee Geek is an excellent place for more info on both of these things.

For a low cost alternative, you might also try out the Aeropress. It doesn’t technically make espresso (despite the claims on the box) because it doesn’t use anywhere near enough pressure to produce crema. But it does produce a nice shot of coffee and gives you much more control over the strength and flavor profile you desire. My guess is that, paired with a decent grinder, this would give you much better coffee than any cheap espresso machine you might find.

Good luck!

If simple, than Adam is right on, Bialetti Moka Express. Tip – don’t buy one bigger than you need. If you typically make 1 cup and sometimes make 4 – then buy one of each size; they don’t cost that much.

If really, really good coffee (espresso) is what you are after with quick reheating so you can serve friends, then you want the Rancilio Silvia and I recommend the Rancilio Rocky burr grinder. I have the Silvia outfitted with a PID controller (after market) for better temperature control and I got the Rocky without the doser. But that’s just personal preference. With that you will need a good tamper. And frankly, no set-up is complete without the base.

Given that will set you back over 1200, I’d start out with the Moka Express.