Right hope you all can help... I have a £300 budget for a coffee machine...
What is the best bang for my buck?
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Coffee Machines - Again!!
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Posted 6 months ago #
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Cuisinart.
Posted 6 months ago # -
de Longhi. £50. Lasts 2 years. £300 will see you sorted for 12 years, which is longer than my mate's £500 Kitchen Aid lasted.
However, I've given up with pumps and now have a Pavoni, which should last forever but blows your budget.
Posted 6 months ago # -
Nespresso, £100 or so for the machine then the £200 will get you a very big supply of coffee.
Plus the added panache of being like George Clooney
Posted 6 months ago # -
I looked at those nespresso machines today - i'd need a 2nd mortgage for the capsule's...or sell one of the kids
Posted 6 months ago # -
Gaggia Classic
Edit: The change will get you most of the way to an Iberital MC2 grinder too
Posted 6 months ago # -
It's worth spending more on the grinder than on the maker TBH.
Posted 6 months ago # -
Scrape together another £100 and get a Gaggia Titanium - full bean to cup jobbie, and a bit of a bargain for the price.
Posted 6 months ago # -
I looked at those nespresso machines today - i'd need a 2nd mortgage for the capsule's...or sell one of the kids
i think coffeeduck do a re-usable pod for the Nespresso. I'm thinking about getting one.
Posted 6 months ago # -
My wife loves her Nespresso coffee. The machine is a DeLonghi something.
Posted 6 months ago # -
I was given a £250 DeLonghi Nespresso that someone had bought and then never used.
The capsules don't seem so badly priced now
I may give the re-usables a go though....
Posted 6 months ago # -
The capsules don't seem so badly priced now
am I looking in the wrong place then..£5 > £7.50 for 10 capsules seems expensive to me
Not sure about the Coffeeduck - reviews seem a bit mixed
Posted 6 months ago # -
nice edit. Was confused, now just a little shocked
Posted 6 months ago # -
Nespresso capsules should be no more than 33p max on line (on the Nespresso site that is)
Posted 6 months ago # -
NOT a bean to cup. The tamp is never hard enough.
NOT capsules etc - you want to experiment with the beans
If you have £300 spend 150 on the grinder, 75 on the machine, 20 on the tamper, 20 on a jug, 10 on a themometer. Save the other 25.
Posted 6 months ago # -
I've always been wary of 'cartridge' systems. I figure, if the supplier stops making them, or goes bust, you're knackered.
Posted 6 months ago # -
Eh? Nespresso Capsules are 28p or 31p each. Thats max 62p for my double cappacino vs £2.75 at Starbucks.
Granted you have to buy the machine. You can get the 200 capsule multipack for £56 so average 28p
Nespresso often launch special editions through the year, loved the Almon coffee last Christmas....
Finally you can bag (supplied free) and send (free collection) the used pods for recycling, so much greener than they used to be.
Posted 6 months ago # -
If you can find a second hand one you can't go wrong with a Rancilio Silvia.
http://www.italy-outlet.com/en-gbp/i/product667562.html
It's a real coffee machine so you'll need to do a bit of learning to work it but they are bomb proof and you can get spares for them. Should keep you going for years.
Oh, and don't forget you'll need a real grinder to go with it!
Try lurking on the coffee forums, that's where I got mine.
Posted 6 months ago # -
At 6.30am a 30p cup of Nespresso is Ok, minimal faff, pretty good coffee.
Posted 6 months ago # -
OK - so not such good deals at Amazon then
I'll look closer at possibly owning one then
Edit - I just scrolled down the page to the reviews
Posted 6 months ago # -
Eh? Nespresso Capsules are 28p or 31p each. Thats max 62p for my double cappacino vs £2.75 at Starbucks.
v's about 27p for a double shot of coffee with beans from monmouth/hasbean/square mile etc.
Posted 6 months ago # -
http://www.hartsofstur.com/acatalog/Cuisinart_Espresso_Coffee_Maker.html
+
http://www.hartsofstur.com/acatalog/Cuisinart_Coffee_Burr_Mill.html
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http://www.animalcoffee.com/products.php?cat=14
(I can't claim to have tried the combination!)
Posted 6 months ago # -
Thanks for all the input...
Posted 6 months ago # -
Flapjack which Pavoni do you have??
Posted 6 months ago # -
Had a de longhi iconica in daily use for well over a year, no problems at all. They retail at 160, I found them 50% off at currys. Great kit IME, especially if you get one for 80 quid.
EDIT - it does have a basket for capsules if you are that way inclined..
Posted 6 months ago # -
Love it. Totally unpractical and tempramental, but what style. And wonderful coffee. Awesome steamer too.
Although the £75 de Longhi was nearly as good for flavour (15 bar pump so what can go wrong), but the steamer was pants.
Posted 6 months ago # -
I'm proper addicted to my Mocka pot - the selfish just-the-one double espresso size; just enough for me as I'm the only coffee drinker in the house.
For me the cost is one thing, but with a smallish kitchen the footprint of a machine and a grinder (I just use Lavazza Oro in the Mocka- not sure it makes much difference with "just" a mocka using your own grinder) is as much an issue.
Would I really notice the difference?
It would be a pavoni if I was to change I think.
Posted 6 months ago # -
I love what you get out of a Moka, but it isn't the same as what you get out of a high pressure system.
IMO it would be worth having a (burr) grinder even with a moka, because it frees you up to use better coffees, and Mokas do make a drink which allows the subtleties to come through.
Posted 6 months ago # -
I give you the Rolls Royce of home Espresso makers: The Rancilio Silvia. Save up another £150 for the grinder.
Until then, buy freshly ground on line from one of the specialists or even your local Whittards. They grind 'on demand' and you can buy small enough quants for it not to go stale and you can fiddle with the grind. Not as nice as freshly ground each time but will get you going.
Gaggia? Pods? Puleeeaze...
Posted 6 months ago # -
Decided to get a pavoni and spend a bit extra!
Fell in love with how cool it looks to!
Posted 6 months ago # -
You can't go wrong - simple design, parts available, but you need to learn how to use it - plenty of advice on internet. Had mine for 15 years, one small problem in all that time. (They are a pretty safe 2nd hand buy as well I would have thought as not much to go wrong)
Posted 6 months ago # -
Gaggia Classic and a burr grinder as below.
Dont go for a pod thing they are............. not the best coffee or offer as has been said future selection of specific beans.
amazing happy donkey beans £9.00 (order two bags)
Gaggia bottomless filter (a must) £27.00)
shot glass to measure the extraction £2.88
All in for £389.00, its all you will ever need for coffee heaven
Posted 6 months ago # -
silvia.. you wont regret the extra spend. hasbean are about the most reliable supplier in the UK
get a decent hand grinder - they do one for about 35 quid that will grind finely enough for espresso
Posted 6 months ago # -
i've used the "cheap but good coffee maker" delohngi coffee maker for about 9 months and almost every time i used it there was a slight drop off in the quality of the espresso made, until finally it just was not worth the hassle of using/cleaning it.
Dont go cheap. you get what you pay for when it comes to coffee makers.
Posted 6 months ago # -
Well I gave in to temptation today and bought a Nespresso machine with the milk doodad. Quite an intelligently designed piece of kit (Pixie). The milk brother is all done with magnetised whisker and produces a really good froth in skimmed (for Mr AdamW's cappuccinos) and John Lewis threw in another 7 pods for free.
Now I have to make sure I don't drink so much coffee today that I end up awake all night!
Posted 6 months ago #
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