Though stopping at the local coffee-house on the way to work may be your regular routine, you could save yourself some money by making your own espresso at home. There are many good home espresso machines available that won’t cost you a fortune.

Even if you are pretty familiar with using your regular drip coffee maker, you will need to learn a few things before you start making your own espresso. The main difference between a coffee maker and an espresso maker is the pressure. An espresso machine produces pressure and forces the water through the coffee grounds, rather than the passive dripping of a coffee maker. This is why you get so much flavor (and caffeine) in an espresso.

Your finely ground coffee goes into a portafilter, which looks kind of like an ice cream scoop with a small cup at one end and a handle at the other. The coffee grounds are tamped into the portafilter cup, firmly but not too tightly packed. It takes some practice to get it just right. The portafilter locks into place, and the pressurized hot water is forced through the grounds into your waiting espresso cup. You don’t brew a whole pot of espresso at once like you might do with coffee, just one “shot” at a time.

It’s certainly not complicated, and your home espresso machines doesn’t have to be complicated either. That’s not to say there aren’t more advanced and complex espresso machines out there. A high-end model will give you all kinds of controls over water temperature, pressure build-up, length of extraction time and more. You can really fine tune your shots of espresso, if you know what you are doing.

Inexpensive espresso makers usually use simple steam pressure when they brew, which is ok but won’t produce a really rich cup of espresso. Average and expensive machines will nearly always be pump-driven, which does a better job.

Don’t forget to look for a milk frothing wand as an important feature. You won’t be able to make a latte or cappuccino without it.

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