Hi Vit
Hope you're doing OK.
You know, there's no need for espresso's to be 'expensive' aside from using good coffee (ASDA do 2 bags of 'Taylors of Harrogate' for £5)
I've tried loads of different coffee machines and I always come back to my favourite - bought for me as a present by my wife a few years ago -
the Aerobie Aeropress - and it is extremely highly regarded in the 'coffee world'
Its a manual press, as easy to use as what it is, basically a big syringe with a filter
I use the paper filters regularly and when I go camping take a stainless steel ultra-mesh re-usable filter with me.
I can make a really nice strong cup of proper coffee in about a minute - clean up is 10/15 seconds
Forget your expensive coffee machines with the expensive refills - this thing outperforms them all on price - and especially on taste - and you can experiment with different delays or hotter water to get the taste just how you like it. It can be mellow (at around 80 degrees) or sharp (at boiling point)
Also, this link shows how the
Aeropress can make an espresso - this inverted method is the way I make coffee using the press - it also allows you to see the crema developing before you attach the filter cap
OK, I admit it - I'm a coffee nerd
Finally
this video shows the inverted method again for making an espresso, an americano or a latte (OK, I can't have milk on the Newcastle) but I'm looking forward to it when I finish !
I think the one my wife bought me was about £24, the stainless filter (made specifically for the Aerobie) I got off eBay from a US seller for about a tenner