I lived in NYC for a long time, where space is at a premium. The idea of giving up significant chunks of my available counter space to a coffee machine was a non-starter for me. My solution was a hand grinder, a french press, and a pot of water.

I'm in the burbs now, with much more space, but I've kept the setup because the other nice benefit is the simplicity of it -- though I am considering buying a coffee machine to keep in storage and bring out for when I have guests and need to make larger amounts of coffee regularly.

I've gone through a few grinders over the years, but currently I am using a grinder from [1]handground, which I've been happy with. Gone through a few french presses as sometimes they break, but they're also easy to buy at home stores or coffee shops -- I currently have one by bodum that's been working well for a few years.

The actual coffee depends on how much I want to splurge. I'm not a huge coffee snob so I can get away with the medium-priced beans, eg Wholefoods store brand rather than, say, Intelligentsia or La Colombe (though I will sometimes splurge on those). I find _freshness_ matters a lot more than brand.

Not a big espresso drinker, but one of my sisters uses those little stovetop espresso makers and has been happy with it.

[1]https://handground.com/