While not exactly a Barista, our bootstrapped startup invested in a DeLonghi EC702 15-Bar-Pump Espresso Maker for approx $175 USD on Amazon.com. We'd usually make Starbucks runs and spend $2.50/trip once or twice a day, so it didn't take long to pay itself back.<p>But more importantly, it's been a fun for us developers to try and hack our little entry-level espresso maker into pulling the best cup possible. Toying with the variables that go in to pulling a tasty espresso (quality of grinds, grind fineness, tamping, duration of pull, etc.) has become an on-going project here, and our espresso rituals are now baked in to our culture.<p>So yeah, definitely recommend "hiring a barista", even if it's just a DeLonghi EC702 15-Bar-Pump Espresso Maker.