I would like a coffee machine for my home, you the kind to make
espresso and cappuccino. I know nothing about these sorts of machines;
could you let me know which machines meet my requirements and where I
can buy these online at the best price?

Dear pietch-ga;

No problem!

In my opinion the best search engine for bargains is (bay far)
FROOGLE. I don?t say that because I am somewhat affiliated with
Google; I say it simply because its hard to beat Froogle?s usability,
ease and functionality.

Searching for cappuccino/espresso machines Froogle will quickly return
a list of choices from various vendors:

://www.google.com/froogle?q=cappuccino+espresso

You will note for your convenience that there is an option on the left
column that will sort the results in prices ranging from ?high to low?
or ?low to high?, whichever you prefer. In addition, you can also
conveniently search only for machines that fall within a specific
range of prices to fit your budget.

Here for example, I have instructed the search engine to find me all
types of cappuccino/espresso machines being offered by independent
vendors in the range of $100-$125, AND to show me search results that
have the best prices first by sorting from the lowest price to the
highest price:

://www.google.com/froogle?price1=100&price2=125&btnP=Go&q=cappuccino+espresso&scoring=p&price=between

If you can?t find the exact cappuccino/espresso machine that suits
your needs using Froogle, they probably don?t make one like the one
you are searching for.

Cool huh?  Enjoy.

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

Defined above


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Froogle http://www.froogle.com

---

Request for Answer Clarification by pietch-ga on 29 Jul 2005 08:42 PDT

I am in the UK, does the same still apply? Also could you recommend
the best value machine for me. Thanks :)

---

Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 29 Jul 2005 09:03 PDT

You bet! Specifically for our cousins in the UK Froogle has developed this:

FROOGLE UK
://www.google.co.uk/froogle

Here is a Froogle UK search for capuccino/espresso machines sorted by
price range of £75-£125.

://www.google.co.uk/froogle?price1=75&price2=125&btnP=Go&q=CAPPUCCINO+ESPRESSO&price=between&scoring=p

My personal choice would be a Delonghi brand but that is not en
endorsement (I want to avoid that here, you understand) so much as it
is my trust is a well known and proven brand name.

://www.google.co.uk/froogle?price1=75&price2=125&price=between&scoring=p&q=delonghi+CAPPUCCINO+ESPRESSO&btnG=Search+Froogle

://www.google.co.uk/froogle?q=delonghi+CAPPUCCINO+ESPRESSO&btnG=Search+Froogle 

How's that?

Cheers;
tutuzdad-ga

great

Espresso machines have wildly different performance characteristics,
and price should not be the first or only step in choosing a good
espresso machine.

A regular drip-style coffee maker simply has to boil water without
regard to pressure, timing, recycle rate, etc. and so variances in
price mostly buy different design styles, automatic start and stop
timers, and other bells and whistles.

In stark contrast, an espresso machine has to do many things, and good
espresso machines do many things well. They have to create ample steam
pressure, not only for the espresso shot, but for steaming or frothing
milk. And they have to recycle quickly (get back up to temperature and
pressure) if you want to make more than one drink every few minutes,
for example, drinks for your friends at the dessert course. And they
have to be sturdy, to withstand the rigors of constantly working under
high pressure and high temperature. And they have to have some mass,
especially in the water tank and the brew group (the brew group is the
combination of  the handle, filter (called "portafilter"), and contact
point on machine where portafilter latches on). The extra mass helps
stabilize temperatures during an espresso extraction.

I personally prefer non-partial research sites, but one of the best
sites around is a company called Whole Latte Love
http://www.wholelattelove.com/buyingguide.cfm

I think some of the better performers are: Rancilio, Saeco and Gaggia.

Good luck, and happy brewing!
rosecity-ga

If you don't really drink so much espresso and cappuccino to want to
have a machine sitting around all the time, I would recommend a
stove-top model:

http://www.viecokitchen.com/mokexbia.htm

This seems to be a standard fixture in Italian kitchens.