Looking for suggestions

[swh127]

So I am visiting another site for work and they have an impressive automatic coffee machine. It is the Jura Capresso IMPRESSA S Avantgarde.

It makes an excellent cup of coffee/cappuccino and double espresso. I had a spice grinder and 20 buck espresso maker from walmart that never really worked well.

When I return home I want to be able to continue to have good coffee but really can't justify the 2000 for the Jura Capresso machine. Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to start with only budget of under $200.

Thanks
Scott

PS There is a coffee shop in State College that roasts coffee fresh every day so I have a wide variety to try.

[floydpink]

If you're budget is under 200, you're nowhere near an espresso machine that will work well.

You'd be better off putting it towards a good grinder and getting a Moka Pot as has been said many times in many threads on many boards and holds true.

A spice grinder will never work for espresso. It may work for drip coffee, but won't give you the consistent grind needed for espresso.

Start with the grinder and the rest will come in time. A good burr grinder like a Rocky is the minimum that will get you by, and a Mazzer or Macap is worth the investment as you'll never need to upgrade. (unfortunately, your budget just tripled on the grinder for these two.)

The Jura is a fully automatic machine and for half the price, you can get a good grinder and semi automatic machine, like the Rocky and Silvia combo and have as good, if not better results and a lot more fun in the process for many years.