I've been away from email for a few days but in response to the guy who
asked - "What is Isomac Tea?" - it's  terrible name for a great
espresso machine.  Isomac admittedly has a few QC problems but those
usually manifest themselves early in the life of the machine, are
easily corrected (if in fact they occurr at all) and after that they
run (and are built) like a tank.  "Tea" is actually supposed to be
pronounced Tay-Ahh - it's a greek or Roman goddess (can't recall
which).
All the positive press on the Zaffiro is a draw but as a die hard milk
based drink consumer, I love the HX feature.  Even if you yourself
consume strictly straight espresso and Americano's, it's worth
considering the Tea or another HX machine if you have company on
occasion. In any group, even among coffee aficionado's, there will be
folks who prefer milk based drinks - it's just soooooo much easier to
cope with the drink building when steaming is instant. Even if I was
just making straight espresso, I just use the water that is drawn of
the grouphead (in order to get it to the right temp) to preheat my cup(s).
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Hi Owen,
The issue of steaming for company is valid, but I have never steamed a 
cappie in my life and would really not have a clue.  I doubt my guests 
would want to be my first experiment.  I can make arse  kicking espressos, 
and figure I should leave well enough alone at that.  I should learn to 
froth milk, but the directions I have read leave me scratching my head in 
wonder.  I need to have a hands/ears on demonstration.
Dan

Actually my machine has what you need. Its an autofrother. I havn't even 
bother to set mine up since I rarely steam milk; but its suppose to 
perform just fine.
The Scarlet Wombat wrote:
<Snip>

You could also just go for the espresso machine, and on those rare 
occasions where you will be making milk drinks, you could use one of the 
many available stand-alone steamers. These can be had in stove top or 
electric models.....They hold about a pint of water and can steam as long 
as there's a heat source and water left...Price - about $10 in thrift shops..
You can also use a steam toy, just for the steaming. These can also be 
found in thrift shops for about $10. If it doesn't have the coffee/steam 
selector lever, you can get a disk to fit the filter holder from the 
company, or somehow stop up the filter basket so that it can build up 
pressure, without having to brew coffee first.
Ciao,
Angelo.
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