Which Coffee Machine?

[BradNaylor]

The coffee shop next door has just put their prices up (again) so we're thinking of getting one of those 'pod' coffee machines for the workshop.

We want something that is silly person proof and doesn't require a lot of cleaning. The coffee shop was perfect but at £1.80 a cup it starts to add up!

The choice seems to be between the Bosch Tassimo, the Philips Senseo, or the more expensive Flavia Fusion.

Any comments or suggestions?

Cheers
Brad

 

[Doctor]

Have I missed something, when did you move down south?
You must pop in old boy; i'll introduce you to all my morris dancing chums, we could have a G&T and nibbles on the veranda :lol:

 

[RogerS]

All you'll ever need. In one convenient to use tin.

 

[OLD]

We have the Tassimo and like it the m/c reads barcodes on its 'food'which comes in packs and adjusts temp and flow time etc for the beverage to be made .The food cartridges then go in the bin no mess ,if it sits doing nothing(rare occurence) just clean the barcode window and of you go.
http://www.tassimo.co.uk/tassimo/page?PagecRef=1

 

[woodbloke]

Brad - coffee?..'oop north? I thought it would be tea the colour of creosote, drunk out of a battered tin mug and so thick you could stand a spoon up in it - Rob

 

[Karl]

We've got a coffee machine (Kenwood), but don't use it much.

Kenco Cappuccino sachets. £1 for 8 (on offer from Asda). Just add water and 6 sugars :lol:

Cheers

Karl

 

[Racers]

Coffee machine? the wife just brings me mine :wink: :wink: :wink:


Pete

 

[Dibs-h]

I'm an occasional coffee drinker now but anything other than the proper stuff - nope. The Pod ones are marginally better than the jar stuff - for me anyway.

Suppose you have to ask yourself - how many do you drink a day currently, and how many would you drink if the machine was in the workshop\office?

The downside of the Pod machines is that the machine is relatively cheap - but the choice of Pod suppliers is very limited - same with the Tassimo ones. Not to mention pricey.

If it was me - I'd much rather go with one of the new generation of Bean to Cup machines - they're around £300-400 and just connect it to a water supply, 'leccy and fill it with some milk (if req'd for lattes, etc) and pour beans in. Standard or whatever you fancy beans, from whoever.

Gaggia are a big name and they are based in Halifax (Dean Clough) and have a factory shop that does reconditioned machines and massively cheaper prices -

http://www.gaggia.uk.com/gaggshop.htm

Look at the last 2 on the web page. They come with 12 months warranty - so based on next doors prices - even if it died after 12 months - I reckon you'd still save money.

Might impress the potential customers too - :wink:

HIH

 

[cutting42]

We (me and SWMBO) used to buy 2 cups of Costa or Cafe Nero each day and at around about £2.30 per cup plus the occasional chocolate snack added up to 7-8 quid a day 7 days a week. The cost creeps up on you and when I did the adding up, paying for a coffee machine was a no brainer. Ignore the coffe capsules, not a bad taste but very expensive and it ties you into that manufacturer for what is just coffee after all.

Like Dibs-h said, get a proper coffee machine, we got a Neff built in jobby off eBay for about £300 and the coffee is fantastic and it grinds the beans and has a fast water heater/steamer. I have found many of the smaller stand alone machines cannot heat or generate steam very fast which is fine for one cup but a right PITA if you are making 6 cups at a time!

This is the one we got, must admit I didn't know it was this pricey new but even at 1K it would have still paid for itself in 6 months

http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPO-Neff-C7660

We still do get the occasional Costa but only once a week or so so worked out well.

 

[SketchUp Guru]

I've got one of these. It cost maybe $30, uses simple ground coffee, shuts off after brewing. I've used single cup machines every day for about 20 years. Had three of them including this one. Got rid of the first because I dropped it. Second one went to my in-laws so I can have coffee when I'm there and now this one.

Must be something similar you can buy.

If you're going to buy a pod-type coffee maker, you could also get the little thing to make your own pods.

 

[MikeH]

If your buying lots off of them can they not cut you a deal on bulk purchase. As long as you don't have to take all 250 cups on the same day of course!

 

[BradNaylor]

Brad - coffee?..'oop north? I thought it would be tea the colour of creosote, drunk out of a battered tin mug and so thick you could stand a spoon up in it - Rob

You and the Doc forget that I am from Cheshire, the Surrey of the north! We're far more posh around here than Wiltshire - or Essex!

:lol:

 

[wizer]

 

[jhwbigley]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAVJYm73 ... re=related

3.55 mins in, what happens when Brad doesn't have his coffee in the morning. :lol:

 

[bluezephyr]

All you'll ever need. In one convenient to use tin.

2 spoons of that, 2 sugars and plenty of moo juice.

Or a can of redbull :lol:

 

[nlp]

1.80 a coffee is quite steep especially if you drink as much coffee as me (I would be hitting them for a discount). The Arabic coffee listed above is a good option. The coffee machine can make a big difference to the final taste, I would say.

----
NLP Scotland

 

[matt]

I use a Magimix Nespresso machine. 23p per capsule plus the P&P (per order) ordering them online. Lots of flavours and strengths to choose from. Nespresso is marketed as an Espresso machine, however, all you need to do to make a mug is use more water (and milk unless you take it black). I make mine with half milk and half water via the capsule, having warmed the milk using the frother. Everyone who visits loves the coffee. Quite often John Lewis branches have demos so you get a chance to taste the coffee.

 

[BradNaylor]

Anyway,

I spotted the Senseo on special offer in Sainsburys at £40 so picked one up.

http://www.senseo.co.uk/Products/Pages/ ... rview.aspx

It's brilliant!

Dead simple to use and the coffee is great - just as nice as the coffee shop stuff. The 'mug size' pods cost around 15p each and make two cups of decent strength coffee.

I experimented using a Yorkshire tea bag instead of the coffee pod and it works fine too.

Highly recommended. Trouble is, I can't bloody sleep now!

:shock:

Brad

 

[Vormulac]

I have a Gaggia Compact Digital bean to cup machine at home and although it has been fantastic, after 2.5 years it doesn't work properly and it's going to cost me £125 to get it serviced! Can't really write home about Gaggia's customer service either.
I'd have another B-t-C machine in an instant, but I think next time I'll go German, probably a Krups.

 

[Walter Hall]

What's wrong with a little Krups grinder, a cafetiere and a kettle?