For the home barista who's serious about their espresso, the Rancilio Silvia is a commercial-style espresso machine that includes professional-grade components.
Using the Rancilio Silvia Espresso machine can be a bit intimidating if you have never used an espresso machine at all or even if you have previously used a machine that controlled a lot of the variables for you. The machine to a large degree assumes you know what you are doing.
My coffee drink of choice for the past few years has been the straight espresso shot. All my other coffee equipment has either been packed away or is gathering dust. For me it is all about espresso now.
There is a relatively new phenomenon among coffee enthusiasts that is not only a great Barista training tool, but is also beautiful. It is commonly referred to as a Bottomless Portafilter.
A very reasonable alternative for home use is an "espresso pot", called a moka in Italy. The moka is a simple device that uses steam pressure to force water through a strainer to make espresso. It won't be exactly like the espresso you find in bars, but it can come close.
