I travel to Italy a fair amount and the best espresso I have ever had was at Caffe Ambrosiano in Milan (http://www.torrefazioneambrosiano.it/negozi.htm).

Like some others in this thread I home roast (and coffee is prepared in a simple Chemex). I get green beans from Sweet Maria's, roast and use them within a few days (grinding right before brewing).

Roasting coffee produces a bit of smoke, and this will have to be vented if you roast coffee indoors.What is the best vent to remove smoke if you've roasted coffee in bulk quantity.

I only have a small roaster (see here http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmari...e-roaster.html ) that roasts a half pound (250g) at a time and use a low-end oven hood. If you are going to roast a lot of coffee (say a pound plus) I would look into a serious hood but I would imagine most households would rather roast less more frequently and have fresher coffee.