Apologies if I have inappropriately bumped an old thread.

I am in the market for an espresso machine for my home, and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I haven't decided between fully automatic or "semi-automatic" although I think I am leaning toward the latter because I want maximum control and time/convenience is less of a priority.

I want to keep it under about USD $1,000. The brand "Breville" has some very nice looking machines that seem to fit the bill, and are available locally. I would be happy to spend less as long as I can have great tasting espresso!

Long ago, I used to have a machine from a company called "Pony" that was excellent.

I want to avoid cartridge type machines. Some of them, like LaVazza espresso point are good looking and make good coffee easily, but I don't like them for environmental reasons, and because I don't want to be committed to using a particular product all the time. Long term cost also probably is higher than standard machines, using whatever coffee one wants to.

So, are there any recommendations or insights? Any other brands to look at? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.