Hey, i'm looking at buying an espresso machine that's good for making lattes. I just bought a de longhi EC152 and the coffee tastes of water (freshly ground lavazza espresso coffee! I also tried starbucks branded pre-ground), and the lattes end up frothy on top and watery in the middle, not the sort of wet-paint texture people aspire to. Anyone got any good recommendations within the sort of £100-£200 mark? That's about $161 - $322 apparently.
is it the actual coffee that's watery or the latte in general? because if it's frothy on the top and watery in the middle, it might not be the espresso, it might be the steamed milk? I don't know anything about the machines itself, I just know that sometimes people at work (I am a barista) complain about their drink tasting like that and it was an issue with how the milk was steamed.
I'll admit I'm not much of an espresso guy but I drink americanos. I use an Aeropress which is a cheap $30 hand operated espresso maker. Easy to use, easy to clean, fast and it makes a solid cup of joe. Again, a shot of espresso isn't really to my taste so I'll add some hot water. It has plenty of body, richness with low acidity. It probably wouldn't suit your needs though. You would still need to heat up water, steam the milk and all that jazz.