Have you got any recommendations for coffee machines?
I only discovered coffee a few months ago and now I’m an addict!
I’m now pulling over every time I see a costa sign or mcdonalds for a latte so any makes to get or avoid.

Nobody here drinks coffee

Just like we all don’t work in IT

Cheap filter machine wins for me. Easy enough that you can be bothered brewing up fresh coffee each morning.

What sort of coffee do you like…milky or espresso?
Are you obsessive and geeky?
Budget?

Start with good beans; I get mine from Hasbean, superb service…roasted on the day that they’re ordered and delivered the day after. That means they’re proper-fresh. Nothing in the shops will be. Nothing.

There’s one for sale in the classified’s Gaggia I think!

Milky, under £200 but could go a little over and I’ll look into hasbean tonight.
I’ll search the classifieds now cheers

I’m thinking about getting one of these:

Pavoni europiccola. A thing of beauty, and it will probably out-last me! They regularly pop up on Ebay for under £200.00. I understand Gaggia Classics are well regarded, and in the flesh they feel/look fairly well made. I’m personally put off by any of the Delongi models. They feel incredibly cheap IMHO.

Might want to take a gander at this too..

http://www.coffeemachinesreviews.co.uk/best-deals/the-five-best-espresso-machines

The Dualit Espressivo looks nice.

I’ve got a Dualit Espressivo, makes fantastic coffee for the money and is built like a tank. It doesn’t have any automatic features, you need to learn how to use it, but I like that sort of geekery. Make sure you get a good burr grinder to accompany it.

Avoid any of the pod systems/nespresso. They are rubbish and you will soon learn to realise that you want ‘real’ coffee.
You can’t go wrong with a Gaggia classic, but the other thing you will soon find out is in general a coffee machine is a coffee machine. As long as it provides the correct pressure and heat it has the potential to make a decent expresso.
However what you really need for a truly decent cup of coffee is a decent burr grinder. But thats a whole other topic!
Check out coffeegeek for some advice.

Gaggia classic , a burrr grinder and fresh roasted coffee from happy donkey or others , welcome to the mad house

Yup, that’s mine for sale in the classifieds section. Decent machine that’s not used enough.

Get a Bialetti, that’s what the Italians use to make coffee at home. Aluminium, light, simple effective and cheap. We find the 6 measure one the most flexible for typical two people. Mix with warm milk or boiling water or just make an espresso.

The mantra is that you should spend 33-50% of the total budget (£200) on a grinder. They’re way more important than you’d think.

I’ve got a DeLonghi Icona – the handle is vaguely plasticky but in use it’s solid and I’ve got no complaints over the rest of the machine. It makes great espresso shots with lots of crema, supposedly better than similarly-priced competition. I’m not sure about the milk-frother though – I don’t really use that.

Bialetti stove top wotsits make great coffee and are perfect for camping, but the coffee they make is more bitter. I still use mine from time to time even at home, but I definitely prefer the proper espresso from the machine.

+1 on the Bialetti. Use mine every day. Its also the 6 cup one. Paired with the Bialetti Tuttocrema, some really nice Cappuccino can be produced

I have one of these: Delonghi EC152 Pump Espresso Coffee Machine

And a hand grinder like this: Porlex Ceramic Burr Coffee Grinder

Get some good coffee, it makes a big difference. I bought some good coffee from here: Costa Rica ‘Tarrazu’ I like the Tarrazu, it is good fresh stuff.

I don’t think you need to spend too much on the equipment, spend the money on the coffee beans instead.

I bought a milk thermometer and stainless jug as well.

Hasbean regular here, brewing with Porlex Mini & Gaggia Classic or Zassenhaus & Aeropress.

Lovely.

I’ve got a Rancilio Silvia with a Dualit burr grinder. Fine, fine machine. Previously had a Francis Francis X5 – excellent results, but unreliable piece of kit.

Get a decent machine, spend some effort to work out what works, and you’ll be making Costa-type coffee taste shite in comparison.

Quick, easy, cheap, makes good coffee in the quantity you need?

Cafatiere FTW

APF

I’ve been using a Bialetti Brikka for a while – a stove top that works at about 2x the pressure of a regular one. Bit pricey, but it produces crema and the difference in taste is noticable.

I find that an Aeropress and a Bodum milk frother make an excellent combination.

http://www.aeropresscoffee.co.uk/

http://www.bodum.com/gb/en-us/shop/detail/1446-01/?navid=45

Aerobie Aeropress Espresso makers are fantastic…

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aerobie-AeroPress-80R08-Coffee-Maker/dp/B000GXZ2GS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336473324&sr=8-1

Check reviews online.

Delonghi magnifica here, bought from Ebay (reconditioned, although I could not tell the difference from new)

Mine was £210 from a place near Nottingham

It ticks the bozes of most of the comments here, burr grinder (all in one bean to cup)

Might not be well thought of by the anti delonghi brigade, but if you feed it good beans, then nice coffee comes out!

HTH

Al

Gaggia classic and porlex hand grinder

I love my coffee, and recently bought a Nespresso machine. Best money I ever spent. It’s so much less hassle than any other machine ive tried, and consistently great tasting that I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone. I travel around Europe a lot with work, and there’s nothing like finding that you’re staying in a top hotel with a Nespresso machine in the lounge so you can make your own.

I used to grind my own beans etc etc etc, but I really couldn’t be bothered any more. £150. Easy peasy, no mess, no fuss, no hassle.I still love drip coffee, but just couldn’t be bothered any more. I’m afraid I tried stove top espresso makers, but I really don’t recommend them.

Johnhe, I couldnt agree more. I dont have the time to fettle a coffee grinder/machine in between work/kids/bikes/pub, so the Nespresso machine is fab.

I would put the “Do I need fresh ground coffee” question in the same bracket as “Do I need a handmade Ti bike with Kashima coated forks and colour coordinated floating rotors for my local trail centre”

I love my Aeropress. Easy to use, rinse and use again. It also doesn’t add another lump of clutter to the kitchen. Even a cafetiere is significantly more hassle to clean out.

I get my coffee ground for filter from Hasbean. There are others but I’m enjoying theirs at present.

Europiccola Professional here, Bit pricy to be fair although the basic europiccola does go sub-200 fairly often on ebay and is still an ace bit of kit that will last a very long time if you maintain it.

Friend has the Dualit mentioned above and loves it, seems a nice bit of kit although (snob hat on) I can tell the difference in coffee between it and the europiccola. This doesn’t make it bad however and its a lot easier to live with.

Good beans are vital – Hasbean mentioned above are great.

Nespresso +1 here.

I used Hasbean at work in a caffetierre and although both are different I dont have a preference for either. I do like the ease of the Nespresso (and have an Aerocinno for Capaccino) and thier recycling policies, not to mention the “special” coffee’s that appear once in a while.

Another vote for the Aeropress. I bought a cheap hand grinder but after the first batch of beans, I just went for ground coffee (filter grind is best for the Aeropress) as its so much easier/quicker.

Takes 2 minutes from scratch to make a coffee, 15 seconds under a running tap to rinse things off and dump them on the draining board, then retire to the laptop and STW to enjoy said coffee 🙂

In keeping with the ‘no hassle’ theme;

I have moved from ordering ground coffee online from Hasbean, to finding a local coffee house (redroaster in Brighton for me) that roasts their own beans, and grind to order while you wait. (you know they know their stuff when they display the ‘roasted on’ date on the blackboard)

I had a glass milk frother that thankfully broke as it had to be disassembled to clean properly which was a pain, and I replaced it with a mini whisk that again, just needs a quick rinse.

See I’m surprised at all the people saying nespresso is good. My take on it having tried it is, the coffee is fairly standard. Not bad but not good.
I don’t see all the complaints about mess and faff, my coffee takes me approximately 6 mins to make in the morning (which is the machine heating up) Whilst I do other things. I have my coffee down now and have it just the way I like it. I get a new taste with different beans, or even sometimes a new packet of the same beans.
I have tried about 4-5 of the ‘different’ nespressos and they all taste the same to me, maybe I am missing something? The machines are more expensive if anything, you can actually get a half decent espresso machine for £50. PLus the expense?? Those nespresso capsules cost a fortune!!!

So many options. I’ll go put the kettle on and keep looking!

Nespresso not readily available either (except the machines), and only in a strictly specific limited range (even if it is 30, you can knock 28 of the list as not the preferred strength). Certainly not readily available off the shelf in any shop I’ve been to in this country.

Liking the look of those la Pavoni ones.

tomhughes – Member
PLus the expense?? Those nespresso capsules cost a fortune!!!

Wow yes at least 30p each on average, knock me down with a feather….

andytherocketeer – Member
(even if it is 30, you can knock 28 of the list as not the preferred strength)

I like this – do you pick your wine / beer by its “strength” or perhaps how it tastes?

I stand corrected, they are cheaper than I thought!

Just get some Mellow Birds

Aerobie Aeropress Espresso makers are fantastic…

but they don’t make espresso coffee.

Pavoni Eurobar Deluxe here – £80 off Ebay and got a cheap burr grinder off here. Probably sub-optimal but I’ve got to the point where I can make Espresso/Latte/Capuccino consistently better than anywhere I’ve paid for it.

I do agree it’s a bit of a performance but it’s a weekend treat.

I would put the “Do I need fresh ground coffee” question in the same bracket as “Do I need a handmade Ti bike with Kashima coated forks and colour coordinated floating rotors for my local trail centre”

Hi-five fellow caffeine fueled bike ponce 🙂

Is there a knack to Nespresso or an element of skill involved? I’ve had a few cups made for me by proud owners and found them weak, bland and tasteless. A struggle to finish and not be rude to be honest. The only times I’ve drunk such pap was in the States. Just wondered if it was user error (by three different users) or that’s really as good as it gets.

Pavoni Europiccola here – it’s a little faff but not that bad and worth it for great coffee. Just about to buy an aeropress for work and see if that will be better than the little cafeteria I use there.