I had considered buying an expresso machine for some time, being a Latte lover. Had purchased a Tassimo machine but could not get a decent hot cup of coffee out of the thing. although it produced other drinks, chocolate etc, the tea was, as my wife said, awfull. I returned it as faulty, drinks not hot.
I decided to go for a true ground coffee machine and chose the Delonghi Icona. Have not looked back, the ground coffee is really the only way to get good results. The coffee is hot and the milk frother makes all the difference, although the temperature of the milk can be judged by feeling the temperature of the jug, I have purchased a thermometer and it does make a difference. So now I enjoy excellent coffee at the right temperature.
The machine will also accept eeze pods and, although using the pods supplied with the machine gives a fair coffee, I will not be buying any more as the ground coffee is best.
An added bonus is that it looks good too.