My espresso machine. They're expensive. I do not know why they are, but they are. I hemmed and hawed for years about us getting one and finally decided fuck it. Im an adult, I want one, we can afford it.
In 2+ years the only times I have not made myself a cappuccino are when I have not been home to do so. It is one of my most used appliances. Espresso owns.
Breville bambino plus. I love it. It's quarky with the cleaning (when it decides you need to clean it you CANNOT skip the clean cycle) but honestly probably for the best since if I could I'd just skip it too often.
They're expensive because a good one lasts forever. We've had our Gaggia Classic for over ten years now and it daily chugs out coffee like the day we bought it.
What kind of maintenance is needed with something like this? Would I need to run a vinegar mixture through it regularly to clean like a regular coffee pot setup?
Yes, but not that often. The only thing actually going through the machine is water, so it takes a long time to get dirty at all unless you're dumping bad water in it or not wiping off the group head after use. We did have to replace the group gasket once, which was a $2 piece of rubber I could easily put on myself.