well, did he check with twelve? what does twelve have to say about this? not that eleven is inherently suspect, he's usually right about these sorts of things.
I've been brewing up regular coffee in my espresso maker pictured below.
I do that by giving my beans a coarse grind and also by not filling the brew basket to the top, I'd guess that I'm filling it to 70-75% full. it makes as good a cup of coffee as it does espresso.......
and yes, if you look close enough there really is an espresso maker in that picture