Starbucks isn't great espresso, but there's a reason espresso drinks cost what they do. There's a lot more labor, a genuinely obscenely expensive machine, or both involved in making it in a shop like that.
I'm perfectly fine with a cheap machine at home, but it just doesn't work in a coffee shop.
Definitely a legit way to make great coffee. I don't usually have the 10 minutes it takes not to scorch it in the morning, but I do bring it camping and on vacation.