I've use regular soil with good drainage and had great results. Last go around I tried a soil mix of my own creation with mostly coir (coconut husk). Because coir has no nutrients I was feeding the plants with a weak fertilizer. The habenero plant loved this treatment but the rosemary died.

I've got the rancilo Silvia and rocky grinder and am extremely happy with them. We started with the Silvia and a cheap grinder and it was very inconsistent. Once we upgraded to the rocky grinder life was great and so was my espresso! The rocky weighs 18 lbs just to give an idea of how heavy duty it is.

I just finished getting some decent knifes a few weeks ago with the help of Chowhounds. I know you said you want to purchase online. I just went to a local restaurant supply store, they sell at a discount to retail vendors (western Canada). I picked up some Victorinox Fibrox knifes which are excellent value for the money.