yeap.... 70% of the time milk based
is your max budget at $500?
Do you have time to coffee?
usually cheaper machines uses pressurize portafilter and not picky with grinds. U could invest in a cheap manual hand grinder.
say a Kyocera Ceramic Coffee Grinder or Hario Skeleton coffee grinder. they are ~us$50.
as for machine can go for on top of what U have selected. but not sure where U can find them in SG. or order overseas and get a transformer for it.
- Saeco Aroma Espresso Machine
- Jura-Capresso EC Pro Espresso Machine
- ASCASO ARC ESPRESSO MACHINE
imho they works better than the nespresso "stream" milk. they may takes longer to head up and get steaming going. Entry level, to get your self hooked and moved on to HX.
machine may cost ~300-400, but the cost of coffee pods is high in the long run.
if U can up budget the cheapest HX and grinder.. U looking at ~2k. not able to make the jump, then go small and dream big. save up for the next 3rs using a cheap machine, if U use pods on nespresso U are not really saving too much.
Expobar Office Control Espresso Machine - Fine Coffee Company SG MY