Cappuccino machine

[accipiter]

Just need a kettle... what the better half likes
All I do is put both contents of the pod in a mug and pour on the boiling water to get the frothy mix stirred together

 

[Spectric]

I think the subject of coffee is along similar lines to sharpening, there is a lot of strong feelings and loads of ideas with potential to buy expensive equipment. We have angles and flatness to contend with whilst they have the type of grind and process to deal with.

We once purchased a coffee machine that promised to deliver exceptional coffee and was supposed to be fantastic but it was not worth a grand and so it went back fairly quickly because I could get coffee from a sachet just as good. If you want coffee shop coffee then just buy a coffee shop machine and you will get what you want.

 

[Richard_C]

I don't like pods, fine and idiot proof of you are in a hotel or apartment but dislike the cost + waste - even the eco recycled ones are an unnecessary waste to my mind.

I bought a Dualit espressivo to reward myself for finishing the kitchen re fit in 2010. Still fine, but I wouldn't buy a new one because they have messed with the baskets and say you need to put a paper filter in each time. I grind beans using a Krups blade grinder, c £25. They say you should have a burr grinder but this one works fine and again has lasted many years. 3 x 3 seconds for filter or press, 3 x 6 seconds for the expresso machine. Varies a bit with bean. MIlk, steam wand without any of the fancy fitments, a bit of skill can produce anything including flat white foam from just the bare end of the wand. Stainless steel jug, hold handle put thumb on the side, when thumb gets to 'ouch' its hot enough. My daughter has recently bougt a basic deLonghi one chosen because it fits their smallish kitchen without occupying too much worktop space, some of the machines are huge. That works fine too.

Buying decent coffee and grinding the beans fresh make far more difference than the make or model of coffee machine. Most pre ground coffee isn't fine enough for an expresso machine, with beans you can do it as you want for the way you are making it each time.

 

[accipiter]

I don't drink coffee and haven't for about 30+ years therefore I don't see the need to buy any coffee maker. Guessing that makes me a philistine
Re my post above with the no machine needed pics... the wife likes those and all the packaging stuff (box, plastic container, aluminium foil tops) they ALL go in the recycling for collection Mondays... barring bank hols

 

[Inspector]

Can't stand the stuff either and I might have had a total of two cups at most in my entire life. My wife on the other hand loves coffee both hot and iced varieties. She has a little Breville that lasted a couple years (hard water) and it might just need a thorough cleaning to get running again. We also have a big 10 cup machine for when people are expected, gathers dust. Now she has a Nespresso pod machine along with a separate cream frothing thing and loves them. All of it costs a fortune but still a lot less than the coffee chain bought stuff. I'll happily stay with my mug of cocoa in the morning. You can enjoy your coffees but don't ask me to make it for you because I haven't a clue how to go about it.

Pete

 

[Dibs-h]

We, too have a Delonghi bean to cup machine with the milk jug attachment. Had it about 10 years now - runs like a dream and has probably made 20K coffees in that time.

The brew head gets a regular wash, every week or so. It gets stripped, cleaned and lube'd with food grade grease about once a month and the threaded rod that sits behind it, gets a spray of lithium grease every 6 months. That's about all it wants maintenance wise.

I've also changed the 3 orange o-rings once in 10 years and not too long ago, took apart the rear (behind the door) of the 2 nozzles that dispense the coffee. Tell tale sign it wants doing is you get coffee drips down the front of the door.

 

[baldkev]

For anything coffee related always see if James Hoffman has done a video. Brilliant for geeking out.

Thanks, I'll watch that when the mrs goes to bed

I have a delonghi bean to cup which is great, but then I used a smeg espresso machine with milk frother, the frother is 10x better than my delonghi.

Delonghi -
Pros -
one button coffee action
Easy to clean
Bean to cup
No ground coffee everywhere
Big unit

Smeg
Pros
Top notch quality
Milk frother superior

Cons
Seperate grinder machine required
There's more steps to making it
More parts to use


Opinion -

For quick and hassle free

Delonghi

For more precise and not in a rush coffee

Smeg




Good luck, hope you post some of your coffee art lol

Thanks. As for coffe art, ive never tried!

Just need a kettle... what the better half likes
All I do is put both contents of the pod in a mug and pour on the boiling water to get the frothy mix stirred together

Yep, for work i take the nescafe cappuccino sachets, although theres not much coffee in them! It tastes ok for a sachet and there something like 1.60 for 8 sachets

Thanks for all the responses, I'll check out the grinders

@Spectric , im just glad you didnt add 2 and 2..... thatd start a coffee grinder blade sharpening discussion

 

[pip1954]

Hi also have a delonghi it's a bean to cup love it wife is not so impressed.
I cost a few beans

 

[aforjeh]

I got a Sage Barista Express, which is an excellent small machine with steam wand. Has a grinder on top that fits a standard bag o’ beans perfectly with a tupperware style lid to keep it fresh. Also has a good grinder built in, and comes with baskets for fresh ground as well as pre-ground (aka ‘emergency’) coffee. It also has a little jug for steaming milk with temperature gauge.

It’s manual operation but pretty easy to get a really good espresso out of. The steam wand is a bit slow to warm up but works well. I really like the manual operations, there’s a knack to every step but this machine will do it nice if you just follow the motions in the manual…

The only whinges I have are:

- That the water tank is on the back so you often don’t realise it’s run empty (having not had any coffee yet in the morning, see?) and if you hit ‘go’ it results in a rubbish coffee oozing out with what water is left in the pipes, and you then have to discard the coffee and start again.

- once you have a decent machine you’ll realise it’s tricky to get a good coffee out of bad coffee! By that I mean pretty much all supermarket stuff (own brand or fancy) is too old regardless of how fresh it seems, so it has to be ground finer to hold pressure and turns out darker and more bitter. Anything pre ground also sucks. The solution isn’t cheap - i get my coffee delivered from Pact, roasted and sent out the same week and the result is super light, tasty coffee that doesn’t need 7 sugars and a pint of milk to take the edge off.

So the price of the machine (I paid about £400, 5 years ago) seemed a lot to me when buying but the main expense is a bag a week of coffee at 8 quid or so - so another 400 every year! But a bag of stale coffee from Morrisons is 3.50 or more anyway. I do have at least two doubles a day, and have barely ever visited coffee shops/costa et al since.

So overall I think it’s ‘cheap’ in as much as I can have a real good dose in the morning if at home, or if working elsewhere I save 4 quid on a road coffee.

The quality of the coffee is eye opening. A former latte person, I usually just drink espresso now with nothing added, and you realise how bad the coffee you get served in 90% of places in the UK actually is - even in restos or coffee shops that should be better!

I regret nothing

 

[Spectric]

thatd start a coffee grinder blade sharpening discussion

Luckily the best grinders don't use blades but burrs, I think these work more like the old millstones grinding flour but I think the coffee making topic is just as hot as the woodworking sharpening topic with just as much heated debate .

 

[bigf42]

I use a Sage Barrista express, which is three years in, does 10+ double esspressos a day, and is brilliant, Lavazza Red from costco at under a tenner a bag. We rarely use the steamer but it does work well, expensive, but I have seen them in Costco for c £400

The pot stoves do work, had one for years, for frothing the jug aerator ones are much better than the electric whisk types in my experience.

ProCook Milk Frother

 

[DrDarren]

+1 for Hoffman videos.
rule of thumb is that you’re better off spending more on your grinder than your boiler. We bought a Sage / Berville barista pro last Christmas for £500. Integrated grinder is only so-so and with repairers. now wish I’d bought a Sage bambino and eureka mignon for the same price.

 

[TRITON]

Blah.....blah.....argue.....argue

I think I'll stick with tea bags

In actuality i have the tasimo- yes yes pods ruining the planet. Sorry I dont care, and for that matter we all like the sound of trees being chopped down

It makes a very frothy coffee and i like it. I had the duce gusto machine, but the coffee in the pods is instant coffee - ie no grounds left, so it a bit misleading as to what exactly you are getting. Has a misleading Italian sounding name, but i once opened a pod to find instant in there unlike the tasimo pods which contain real coffee grounds, so its just really telling fibs about being 'real coffee'

Another bad thing about the gusto machine is there is no automatic off, it just keeps pouring and on a couple of occasions i ran back to the kitchen after remembering this fact to find the entire contents of the water tank all over the worktop and floor - the last thing you need at 7am.

I've had them all, ive a ceramic burr grinder, stove to pots of different types, I even have a specialist cafetiere type milk frother thingy, but nothing beats the convenience of a tassimo and its tastes just as good as any other coffee i've made.

 

[Sideways]

I lack the palate to appreciate really good coffee. I can taste the difference between different methods of prep and between different beans but it isn't very important to me. My daughter's the aficionado. I just like a "good" espresso after a nice meal and drink most of my coffee in lattes.
For cheap and compact when you don't want yet another appliance in the kitchen, a Hario hand grinder (ceramic burr) + an Aeropress seem to give decent results.
For textured milk, my limited experience is that cheap coffee makers seem to lack the steam capacity to do a good job. I guess there's a minimum price point where the machines start to be competent rather than just frustrating.

Love the pointers to "the little guy" by the way. That appeals to me. Modern art, durable, ritualistic

 

[Spectric]

I think people chase finding a decent coffee machine that can make coffee that they like and end up just realising they don't like coffee.

 

[Jacob]

We just use a Bialetti Moka on the stove. Stainless steel because it's an induction hob. Makes excellent espresso coffee but no froth.
For cappucino froth my daughter has a milk frother of some sort, probably one of these ProCook Milk Frother
Also use a cheapo grinder (Lakeland) for the beans

 

[TRITON]

Also use a cheapo grinder (Lakeland) for the beans

Hardly an aficionado using a cheapo grinder. A true connoisseur would have a ceramic burr grinder.

 

[Jacob]

Hardly an aficionado using a cheapo grinder. A true connoisseur would have a ceramic burr grinder.

Yebbut I'm only in it for the coffee!

 

[pgrbff]

I lived with a lady in Australia who had one fo those in the 90's, it was a great little coffee maker. I've been looking for one so thanks for the info.

It'll cost you as much or more than a lot of LN tools.

 

[pgrbff]

Just need a kettle... what the better half likes
All I do is put both contents of the pod in a mug and pour on the boiling water to get the frothy mix stirred together

Sorry but yuk