[smoldesu]

Word to the wise; a cheap 15 bar portafilter espresso system will make your everyday average black coffee (a-la Americano) along with the frothy drinks if you have a foaming wand. You'll spend less on better-tasting coffee, and can trash/recycle/compost 100% of the waste.

A decent Keurig is ~$100 and will buy you maybe an hour or two of convenience over the lifetime of the machine. A decent cheap espresso machine is only a little bit more and the difference in drink quality is night-and-day.

[allears]

Links or model names?

[smoldesu]

Breville and De'Longhi are both pretty reputable designers of budget espresso machines. I haven't got much experience with the others, but coffee-wise there isn't a ton of difference between a $150 machine's espresso shot and a $1500 one. Mostly you're paying for better internals, higher sustained pressure, and more steam from your foaming wand.

As for what you're looking for; you want a machine with metal portafilters (the little handle thingy with coffee) at a standard size (usually 51-53mm) that loads regular old ground espresso, not capsules or packets. If you don't want to keep a burr grinder in the house, the Starbucks Espresso pre-ground bag is a good dark roast and I like Cafe Bustello as a light roast. The rest of the process can be found on YouTube, and is usually pretty standard across machines. Turn on power, fill portafilter with coffee and press it down as the machine heats up, put the filter in the gasket and then pour your shot. It's not easier than a Keurig cup, but probably faster than a pour-over.

IAAFB (I Am A Former Barista)