[Food] Bean to cup coffee machines

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disgruntled h blocker

Active member

Oct 16, 2003

819

Ampfield

• May 30, 2019

• #21

Buy a secondhand Gaggia Classic (not the 2016 version) - loads knocking around on ebay/facebook marketplace, then a good Burr Grinder - like an Iberital MC2 (from HappyDonkey.co.uk) and a decent stamper. Job done! You can replace the steam wand with one from a Rancilio Silvia to make a very good coffee.

 

P

Palacefinder General

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2019

2,594

• May 30, 2019

• #22

Heaped teaspoon, fill 2/3 of a cup with boiling water poured from a height to froth it, splash of milk if you want to, job done. Nescafé Americano Azera, for all of us too lazy to even use and wash out our cafetières, but who want a marvellous tasting cup of coffee. I normally wouldn't touch instant, and certainly not Nescafé, but this stuff...

 

Gilliver's Travels

Peripatetic

Jul 5, 2003

2,916

Brighton Marina Village

• May 30, 2019

• #23

I'm with disgruntled h-blocker here. Mine's a pre-2016 Gaggia Classic (no perfect crema widget for me!), and a Sage Smart Grinder Pro - excellent espresso results, total outlay circa £450. Current bean of choice: Waitrose Italian.

But coffee's all a matter of personal preferences, and the OP wanted a bean to cup machine. And why not?. But for me that's cheating - the equivalent of conquering Everest by helicopter, or visiting Starbuck's. But heck, each to their own.

 

Lyndhurst 14

Well-known member

Jan 16, 2008

5,125

• May 30, 2019

• #24

RandyWanger said:

I went back to the trusty burr grinder and boden french press.

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Once you've used a burr grinder you would never go back to a blade. Use a Capresso with Costco's house blend beans for a great cuppa

 

swindonseagull

Well-known member

Aug 6, 2003

9,264

Swindon, but used to be Manila

• May 30, 2019

• Thread starter
• #25

AmexRuislip said:

This is coming from someone who lives in the Shires and throws bread at helicopters

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Says the man who was banned from our aircraft because of his constant window licking.

 

swindonseagull

Well-known member

Aug 6, 2003

9,264

Swindon, but used to be Manila

• May 30, 2019

• Thread starter
• #26

Goldstone1976 said:

Definitely worth getting one if you like decent coffee. Generally, the more you spend the more you get. Pro machines in coffee shops are several £k for a reason.

I’d suggest you focus on the following things: definitely get a double boiler, the quality of the grinder, the ability to fill the water tank from the top, the ability to adjust the fineness of the grind (dosing too if you’re prepared to pay for both), the ability to create good foam (if you like that). I got a decent machine that allows full automatic down to near full manual. Expensive, but if you time your purchase right, you can decent discounts off in the shop, plus a rebate from the manufacturer. By waiting 4 months, I got 30% off mine.

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Thanks all makes sense
Even a shop selling plenty of machines has advised waiting for Black Friday
My trusty Bosch Tassimo will keep me going.

Looking at a Krups or Delonghi both around £300
Both have the adjustable grinding option.

 

matt

Well-known member

Mar 19, 2007

1,539

• May 30, 2019

• #27

+ =

 

Gilliver's Travels

Peripatetic

Jul 5, 2003

2,916

Brighton Marina Village

• May 30, 2019

• #28

matt said:

View attachment 110572 + View attachment 110573 = View attachment 110574

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As used by my old mother-in-law. She was Italian. But conventional wisdom is that coffee beans should never be exposed to boiling water. Instead, 93C is about right. And those appalling mocha-type pots work by forcing bubbling, boiling water through the ground coffee.

So, all that time, that old lady (along with millions of other Italians) had been getting it wrong. But she liked it. And so did we. Coffee? In the end, it's all a matter of taste.

 

Creaky

Well-known member

Mar 26, 2013

3,842

Hookwood - Nr Horley

• May 30, 2019

• #29

We have had a Krups bean to cup machine for about 6 years now. The first one stopped grinding the beans after about 2 years - Krups were very good, arranged collection and returned the repaired machine within 3 days! It failed again after about 6 months and despite being out of warranty the replaced it with a brand new machine. This has been going now for over three years and still makes a superb cup of coffee.

 

Notters

Well-known member

Oct 20, 2003

24,869

Guiseley

• May 30, 2019

• #30

Muhammed 'im hard' Bruce Lee said:

I too have gone through a whole range of coffee machines.
The one we have at the moment delivers probably the best cup of coffee I’ve tasted.
It’s a nespresso machine that uses pods.
Luvvly cuppa and the machine won’t break the bank

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My in laws have a Nespresso and the supposedly strongest pods produce coffee that tastes like watered down piss!

 

FatSuperman

Well-known member

Feb 25, 2016

2,830

• May 30, 2019

• #31

I’ve gone through the following over the years;

Expensive built in bean to cup machine (gaggenau)
Nespresso
Hario v60, burr grinder
DeLonghi bean to cup

The biggest difference for me was buying freshly roasted coffee from a local roaster. Amazing difference. But as many have said - everybody's tastes will vary. The grinder & v60 combo is great, but actually if you don’t have quarter of an hour spare to make a coffee, it’ll just piss you off. If you get a Nespresso you may as well just use a premium instant and heat milk in the microwave. Not a judgement, just the same result for free. A half decent bean to cup will give you a great compromise. It’s never going to be coffee shop level but that’s mainly because you will be using coffee roasted 6 months ago and you don’t really know what you’re doing. I’m ok with that

 

AmexRuislip

Trainee Spy 🕵️‍♂️

Feb 2, 2014

33,801

Ruislip

• May 30, 2019

• #32

swindonseagull said:

Says the man who was banned from our aircraft because of his constant window licking.

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Great, now everyone knows

 

Muhammed - I’m hard - Bruce Lee

You can't change fighters

NSC Patron

Jul 25, 2005

10,850

on a pig farm

• May 31, 2019

• #33

Notters said:

My in laws have a Nespresso and the supposedly strongest pods produce coffee that tastes like watered down piss!

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They’re using it wrong then

 

RandyWanger

Je suis rôti de boeuf

Mar 14, 2013

6,032

Done a Frexit, now in London

• May 31, 2019

• #34

Notters said:

My in laws have a Nespresso and the supposedly strongest pods produce coffee that tastes like watered down piss!

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Not sure what piss tastes like, or even watered down piss by my issue with those Nespresso pods is the coffee is never strong enough, it's like luke warm water with a hint of coffee in the background.

Currently enjoying a Gail's Coffee

 

L

loco61

Well-known member

Jan 30, 2004

1,678

Hove GOSBTS

• May 31, 2019

• #35

we use a Jura c70
it´s just done its second mug of the day

very happy with it
does take quite a bit of space up
and defintely wasnt cheap
must be three years old now
and as others have indicated it depends what coffee beans i use … stronger the better
currently Lavazza full bodied beans

 

GOM

living vicariously

Aug 8, 2005

3,225

Leeds - but not the dirty bit

• May 31, 2019

• #36

We use Nescafe Dolce Gusto pod machine. The stronger 'intenso' pods are very good, they suit me anyway, and the Ristretto espresso pods are definitely strong enough for me.