Imag­ine your­self relax­ing into your favorite chair, at your favorite table by the win­dow, hold­ing your warm cap­puc­cino. You savor the aroma and admire the frothy, foamy peak your barista brought to life. It’s nice and peace­ful. No noisy chat­ter. Just quiet.

And here’s the best part: your car keys are sit­ting on your dresser, and you’re still in your paja­mas. And that tal­ented barista who has mas­tered the art of foam? That’s you! You’ve cre­ated your own quaint lit­tle cafe right here at home, with your very own cof­fee espresso machine.

Think this is impos­si­ble? Think again! There are many dif­fer­ent types of espresso machines on the mar­ket that are made espe­cially for home use, rang­ing from very basic and afford­able, right up to the same machines used by pro­fes­sional baristas.

How­ever, before you rush into invest­ing in a cof­fee espresso machine, take some time to do your home­work and con­sider your needs and pref­er­ences. How often do you plan to make espresso drinks at home? Do you also drink a lot of brewed cof­fee? (Some machines have dual brew­ing capa­bil­i­ties.) How impor­tant is the milk froth­ing capa­bil­ity to you? If you have pref­er­ences in any areas such as these, this will help you nar­row down the possibilities.

Also con­sider any pref­er­ences you may have about how your espresso drinks are made. For instance, my favorite part of an espresso shot is the crema — that’s the caramel-colored, creamy foam that forms on a per­fectly pulled shot. When you pour shots from a shot glass into the mug, most of the crema gets left behind, so I pre­fer a cof­fee espresso machine that is tall enough to fit the whole mug, so I can enjoy the entire shot in my drink.

Here are the basic types of cof­fee espresso machines on the market:

What is the Pump Cof­fee Espresso Machine?

This is the best but most expen­sive type of machine to buy. The pump cof­fee espresso machine is called this because they use a pump to keep the water pres­sure at the appro­pri­ate level, which pro­duces the best and most con­sis­tent shot of espresso. These machines are pri­mar­ily made for com­mer­cial use, and are usu­ally very large, heavy, and noisy, but can be used at home.

About the Pis­ton Cof­fee Espresso Machine

This type of machine uses a pis­ton or lever sys­tem to man­u­ally main­tain the opti­mum pres­sure required for a great shot of espresso. This type of cof­fee espresso machine requires lit­tle main­te­nance, and is much qui­eter than the pump machines. How­ever, the lever may require a good deal of arm strength to keep the pres­sure at the right level, and it may take some prac­tice to get the tim­ing down. But if you’re will­ing to exper­i­ment and work out the process, you’ll be rewarded by a great shot, and a sense of accomplishment.

About the Steam Cof­fee Espresso Machine

This type of cof­fee espresso machine is typ­i­cally smaller, eas­ily acces­si­ble and rel­a­tively afford­able, using heat to pro­duce steam instead of a pump or pis­ton to cre­ate the pres­sure. While the lower prices are def­i­nitely an advan­tage for steam machines, if you’re very par­tic­u­lar about the qual­ity of your espresso shots, you may find that the steam does not always pro­duced the opti­mum pres­sure for the best tast­ing cof­fee. Also, main­tain­ing enough steam to both pull shots and steam milk at the same time is some­times difficult.

About Moka Pots

This type of machine costs the least of all the options, and requires only your stove­top. The moka pot is a two-part pot which uses boil­ing water and the steam to cre­ate pres­sure, which pushes the boil­ing water up through the espresso grounds rather than grav­ity sim­ply pulling heated what down. The cof­fee tastes great, but since you can­not froth milk with a moka pot, it’s not for you if you really like your lattes and cap­puc­ci­nos. But if you like a good espresso or a shot in the dark (brewed cof­fee with a shot of espresso added) and have a lim­ited bud­get, give the moka pot a try.

Don’t be put off by the high prices on a cof­fee espresso machine. Take a few moments to con­sider what that daily latte is cost­ing you. A latte can cost you as much as $4. If you’re like me, you aver­age about five a week. That’s $975 a year! Over the course of time you may find that drop­ping the money once up front is worth the invest­ment — espe­cially when you con­sider the con­ve­nience of enjoy­ing your favorite espresso bev­er­age at home.

So take a lit­tle time to con­sider each of these options and how they fit with your pref­er­ences and needs. Whichever cof­fee espresso machine you choose to cre­ate your own cafe at home, you’ll be mak­ing your own espresso drinks for you and your friends and fam­ily — with or with­out the frothy foam peaks — in no time.