They are incredibly wrong. You can get shots at least as good as most cafes easily, and you can get shots as good as most good cafes. However, it is not a cheap hobby, and unless you're drinking a couple doubles a day, it will be more expensive than it's worth (in terms of monetary value). But the point of the hobby is not to save money.
Here's a summary:
- To get a [automatic, not manual lever] real espresso, you need to spend roughly at least $500 (and this comes in the form of a machine like the Barista Express, which is technically real espresso because you're using a non-pressurised portafilter combined with a grinder that can match it, the downsides is that it's a cheap machine, there are no readily available spare parts, and the warranty is 1yr. But still a great option). But to get great espresso, you're looking at >$1500 (~$1000 for something like the Lelit Mara, $500 for a grinder. Or a cheaper machine and more expensive grinder, but it's around there).
- You then need to factor in the price of the coffee, and you absolutely need fresh beans. You then need to factor in waste dialing in a shot (which can be very wasteful when you're learning). There's also electricity costs (some machines need a lot of preheating), water costs (ideally you would use soft filtered water), and general maintenance of the machine (even cheap machines like the BE need back flushing/descaling; grinders need cleaning somewhat often.
It's an expensive hobby. But if you love espresso, and you're not near a cafe, there's no alternative.
But remember that $1500 is 5 $300 knives.
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