This is the baby I want - perfect manual control over espressos
http://www.gaggia.com/macchine-da-ca...ali_11_Achille
Freshly ground (if done properly) is a huge improvement on pre-ground (
http://matt-dickins.co.uk/cms/articl...1219162516466). I won't recommend any beans as it's largely down to personal taste, but certainly go for that.