Thanks to everyone who provided the much valued information.
OPMark's post of the Jeffery Steingarten quote about summed up my attitude. My goal was to have a double espresso everyday at my fingertips without much hassle.
Probably the best choice for me would have been one of the Nespresso machines advised by MAG and Erik M.; however, I didn't want to have to purchase pods from a single source provider, particularly Nestle Foods for the duration. That, and the $.90 a pop (double) is a bit too close to the $1.50 at Starbucks for a double.
I took JeffB's advice and went with a Saeco. I met with the interesting Bosnian Military guy at
Esspresso World; however I did so only after seeing an advertisement for used machines on
Craig's List-Chicago, as I mentioned in the original post. Although I had a nice quick chat with Huso, he did not have any used machines and never got around to scaring me with political rhetoric. He did chide me a bit for being a professional and still quibbleing about parting with $600 for a new machine. Those are the salesmen I run from, not walk. I'm sure, though, if he had it, we would have centered our discussion on the used machine.
The ad on Craig's list did not include any information other than that they had used machines. An email from
The Expresso Shoppe appeared in my mailbox on Monday. They had a used rebuilt Saeco Vienna for about half the price of new. So that's what I bought. UPS delivered it the next day.
Thanks also to Rien for the post including the website for
WholeLatteLove.com. Anyone who is an espresso drinker can learn something from this very informative website. If you are in the market to buy, I would go so far as to say the website is required reading material.
So far, I am quite pleased with my purchase. Again, thanks for the advice.
Regards,
Peter
Unchain your lunch money!