I was starting a business importing roasted coffee from Europe to the US a few years ago. I asked my roaster in Paris what machine he recommended. His suggestion was over 1,000 euro.
Smiled, and said my wife won't sacrifice counter space.
He came back with Aeropress and i've never looked back. Near espresso flavor... I do double size - 16 grams fresh ground (using a Porlex) with 6 grams of water:coffee.
Also use the "upside down" hack and permafilters (the finest screen one).
As someone whose counter space is "wasted" on a rather large espresso machine, let me just say, you need to try better coffee. Especially if you're "starting a business importing roasted coffee". You have no way to test if your product is any good otherwise.
Smiled, and said my wife won't sacrifice counter space.
He came back with Aeropress and i've never looked back. Near espresso flavor... I do double size - 16 grams fresh ground (using a Porlex) with 6 grams of water:coffee.
Also use the "upside down" hack and permafilters (the finest screen one).