I understand what you mean about easy bake oven machines. Before stumbling onto good coffee via some good coffee forums and then espresso the only thing I knew were steam pressured machines that called themselves espresso machines.
I've had two machines and two grinders in the last two years: a Rancilio Silvia and Rancilio Rocky grinder to start and currently my machine is a Quickmill Vetrano and a Macap M4 stepless grinder. Home roasting keeps the beans fresh and after two years and counting of research and practice the espresso my current set up gives me makes it worth the investment.
A good machine needs to generate between 8 to 9 bars of pressure to extract what is by definition espresso. It's the pressure that draws out elements in the coffee that no other extraction method can. It's why espresso is unique and for many the ultimate form of coffee extraction.
Most budget machines sell themselves on pump pressure but there's also more to a machine than just how much pressure it can put out. The higher the pressure doesn't mean the better the espresso either, in fact, 8-9 bars is ideal for espresso. Anything outside of that range can compromise regular extraction.
Good machines are adjustable, consistent and reliable. They're designed for espresso and use commercial or commercial grade parts. No gimmicks and elaborate promises just sound engineering and solid performance.
This is my current set up and I'm very pleased with it.
Never would I have imagined spending so much on espresso equipment two years ago but after a year the investment not only started looking sound but necessary for the quality of espresso I was looking for.
Still there are other machines much, much less expensive that others can advise you on better than me on. You did stress good so this is my advice on what is necessary for good espresso.
