I've often tried espresso made with one of those caffetieres, in fact I have one, but have never had a decent cup of coffee from one.
The real champion for strong coffee was what my father and grandfather called "cabin track special". They both were railroad men (my grandfather was actually a brakeman back before WWI when brakemen ran along the tops of cars to apply the brakes). This was what the crews made in the caboose for their own refreshment. You took a 5-gal. dining car coffee pot, which was made of heavy-guage aluminum, filled with water, put it on the stove, and when it boiled, added a half pound or so of freshly ground coffee. You let it boil for 5 minutes or so, took it off the stove and added a couple eggshells, waited a minute or so for the grounds to settle, and poured it out. When that pot was all, you shook it over the garbage container but did nothing further to it and started over again. You always had some residue of old grounds left to start the next pot. A coffee pot would last maybe 2 months before the bottom fell out. Anyone who wanted a little extra jolt could stir his with a tarred rope end.
