Recently I’ve taken a shine to drinking one or two coffees a day. Instead of running to Costa I’d like to make it in the house. Any recommendations for a machine or press? Ideally it would be at the budget end of things, but I don’t want to spend twice either. Instant just isn’t cutting it.

Aeropress before everyone else recommends one.

filter cone and a decent ceramic burr hand grinder.
if you insist on supermarket beans then anything from Modern Standard which is sold in most Sainsburys.

For me, moka machines over aeropress. Stronger but shorter, so depends a bit on what you want.

recently got an aeropress for work. not convinced its any better than a french press. paper filter cuts out some of the taste (oils).

Beans are more important, buy freshly roasted and use within 6 weeks. Rave Coffee, Union, Coffee Compass are all good companies to try. Most do some kind of subscription where you can get a small amount monthly.

Grind is important, for a budget of under £50 I’d go used from ebay or get a hand grinder (unless you’re getting an espresso machine, when maybe not such a good bet).

Again for low budget, used espresso machine for less than £100, or one of Aeropress, French Press or Moka Pot for a proper budget example.

For me that’s the order of importance. You don’t say what type of coffee you like; if its anything with steamed milk then to match costa you’ll want an espresso machine with a steam wand. Gaggia Classic is the one most commonly mentioned.

Buy a £18 to £20 grinder from John Lewis or Argos etc ..

Buy some coffee beans then grind it yourself. Medium coarse is prefer to fine for the Presse below.

Buy a £30 =>Presse by Bobble

Total £55. (Grinder, Presse, coffee and sugar)

You will be very surprise how good your coffee can taste.

It will remain hot for 4 to 5 hour easy.

The only slight drawback is that the silicon lid smell a bit when new so after a few times it will be fine. I only use the lid as cover and normally just leave the coffee to cool down a bit with lid off when on table.

Look at the clip below but warning the coffee is very hot.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBgOwY5kgO4[/video]

Thanks, some stuff to look at. I order a large americano if I go to Costa, no milk or sugar.

More info here … no I don’t sell them but will buy them for presents.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdIRNtRHN9o[/video]

Purists will shudder, but I’m sitting here with a Costa Americano from my Tassimo machine. Machine costs about £40, pods about £4 for 16, or 25p each. The taste is so close to what you buy in Costa as to make no difference. Espresso from the machine is good enough for me too, and we keep pods in for latte too.

There were some good threads on here recently about coffee suppliers. I think Pact was the one who have an introductory offer of £1 a bag? As you’re on Americano then if you’re looking proper budget then don’t get an espresso machine. I would rate a hand grinder above anything you could get for £20 which is electric. Hario, Rhinowares are good new for about £30 I think. You shouldn’t need sugar in properly made coffee; when it’s badly made that the sugar masks the bitter/sour flavours.

cafeteria for me and starbucks Columbian mmm. Its the coffee taste that’s important not the machine. Find the taste you like then the method of brewing.

To begin with, forget about what kit to get.

The first question to ask yourself, is what coffee do YOU like? If you have been buying and enjoying milk based espresso drinks from Costa like cappucini, lattes or flat whites, then buying filter coffee equipment may not be what you want. Conversely, if it’s really espresso that you like and want, then that will determine your kit options.

However, I think it’s very unlikely that you have acquired a taste for espresso from Costa, because for various reasons the large chains do not (in many cases cannot) do good espresso and rely on the addition of the milk to conceal their mediocre/poor espresso pours.

So actually I would take a further step back, and suggest you first start trying coffee from some better places than Costa, and try different drinks (especially espresso and filter), to clarify in your own mind what you like and want to be able to make at home. Going to different coffee shops and trying the various drinks is all part of the pleasurable experience of drinking coffee.

So have a look on Google for local recommended coffee shops (and/or ask on here for recommendations). The best are likely to be some of the independents, but McDonalds for example is reckoned to do good (and inexpensive) filter coffee. In an ideal world you would have a mate (or local fellow forum user) who had their own grinder and coffee machine and kit, whose coffee you could taste.

If you happen to decide that what you most like is filter, and you find that you are happy with coffee made using good quality pre-ground coffee from a supermarket, then that is something which is very easy and inexpensive to replicate at home. Remember – all that matters is what you like and enjoy, not what other people have or tell you that you should drink.

Lastly, you need to keep a perspective when it comes to how much things cost: there is often too much focus on the one off upfront cost of the kit, when in the longer term it is the beans that cost more. So you want kit that will get the best out of the beans (although this does not necessarily mean more expensive kit).

Since I wrote the above comments, I see you have said you drink Americanos (=diluted espresso). I would strongly recommend you try drinking esppresso and filter to compare and clarify what it is that you like most. I suspect you will find that a good filter to be as good as (or even better than) an Americano, and filter will mean no need for an espresso machine.

The Bobble Presse looks ideal as I can also use it at work. Off to look at grinders, I take it it is worthwhile grinding rather than buying ground stuff?

KRUPS F20342 Coffee Grinder – £18 from John Lewis.

This one.

Some review here. I bought 5 of them as presents for all my friends’ coffee grinding.

I filter my coffee through an exquisitely curated hipster’s beard.

I only have a roughly shorn fatbikery beard.

If you like black coffee consider a v60 coffee filter with beans and a Krups grinder. Cheap simple set up

Those krups grinders aren’t as good as a hand grinder though, plus you can take a hand grinder into work easier.

Isn’t that Krups thing actually a mill and not a grinder? If so then don’t bother. Get a hand one or a proper burr grinder.

As for the OP, what someone up there said about doing your research and figuring out what you like is the first thing to do. Though if you’re happy enough with a Costa Americano you might as well just get a pod machine and save a lot of faff. There’s a lot of decent options out there for nespresso now that anyone can make the pods.

Right, I’m going in, cover me.

I’ve never had an aeropress coffee that was as good as the tesco finest pretentious instant range. And I think if you were to put a lot of good modern instants in front of a picky coffee drinker they’d think it was good too, as long as you told them it’d come out of an expensive machine with a name you can’t pronounce.

<runs away>

Klaus, ye can borrow my aero press no worries bud. I’ll bring it into work next week. Have to agree with Northy though, it’s not amazing.

Northwind – Member
Right, I’m going in, cover me.

I’ve never had an aeropress coffee that was as good as the tesco finest pretentious instant range. And I think if you were to put a lot of good modern instants in front of a picky coffee drinker they’d think it was good too, as long as you told them it’d come out of an expensive machine with a name you can’t pronounce.

<runs away>

I like to drink good coffee so I am not fussy about the brand or type of coffee, whether they are instant or not.

My office gives us tonnes of fair trade freeze dry instant coffee and it is the worst coffee I have even drank in my life.

In the very unfortunate event where I forget to get my morning coffee fix, I will still drink it but it is so shite … those who produce that sort of coffee should be put to hard labour. Such shite coffee.

I cannot be arsed with grinding beans. Lavazza ground coffee and a stove top Mokka pot does me.

KRUPS F20342 Coffee Grinder

Those are utter shit. The £40ish Krupps burr grinder is far superior. Hand grinders are better still for cheaper, but the novelty wears off after a few weeks and the urge to press a button gets strong

For Presse by Bobble you only need coarse coffee so KRUPS is good first grinder to start with.

If grinding coffee beans is hard work then simply buy some ground coffee and use it in the Presse.

In that case no even a grinder is needed and Coffee will still be good to drink.

Therefore, grinder is optional.

Sugar … I need sugar in my coffee …

Cheers all, I don’t think I need the nth degree of coffee finesse but I can tell that instant isn’t cutting it. There aren’t many places around here to really sample lots of different types and I’m more than happy with the stuff from Costa and the machine at work, filter too when I have it.
Reading a bit more about the Bobble Presse does seem to bring up the taste of the lid more often than not, I’m going to try the Bodum travel press I think initially with some already ground stuff and then get a grinder and beans later on.Quite fancy trying one of the mokka pots too as I’ve always been intrigued as to what they do.

<shudders> You make that sound like a good thing…If you like the taste of cheap over roasted robusta coffee, that’s fine I guess. 😐

For work I use a Porlex grinder and areopress. The areopress took a few goes to get right and now takes no longer to make that others who make instant.

YoKaiser – Member
Reading a bit more about the Bobble Presse does seem to bring up the taste of the lid more often than not, …

Yes, they really need to deal with the smell from the silicon lid.

Not a problem for me as I don’t drink via the lid as I normally takes off the lid when drinking.

The smell is getting lesser now but it is still slightly noticeable.

I like the stainless steel construction and how it works. There are only two silicon in the Presse i.e. one near the gasket and one is the lid. The silicon lid smell is putting some people off.

I have actually looked at many other makes but they all put me off because of the plastic in them. I don’t like plastic with hot water. Silicon might be slightly more acceptable for me.

I don’t think I need the nth degree of coffee finesse but I can tell that instant isn’t cutting it. There aren’t many places around here to really sample lots of different types and I’m more than happy with the stuff from Costa and the machine at work, filter too when I have it.

So you have clear ideas about what you like – good for you, that is all that matters.

The Bodum and Bobble Presse are the same typing of coffee brewing method as a cafetiere/french press, and the resulting coffee is different from filter (not necessarily worse or better) and probably also quite a bit different from Americanos. If you know anyone with a french press, I would ask them if you can borrow it to try, before buying your own. Personally, I prefer filter to french press coffee, and find that french press is harsher on my digestive system, but everyone is different. Aeropress (and Moka which I’ve not tried), will probably be the most like an Americano.

A cheap bladed grinder/mill is worse than pre-ground coffee.

So you are telling me that beans know if they were ground by a cheap grinder? 😆

As pre-ground goes, I quite like Lava Java.

As instant goes, Nescafe Gold Barista has recently become my new favourite.

I’ll let the experts do the selecting and grinding of beans instead of pretending to know what I’m talking about and this stuff is bloody lovely.

You will with the taste tho.

http://www.thekitchn.com/coffee-tools-what-kind-of-grinder-should-i-use-204496

So you are telling me that beans know if they were ground by a cheap grinder?

No, I’m saying that with a bladed grinder you get equal parts chunks and dust, and ultimately a very bitter yet earthy taste. What you need is a constant particle size. Whilst shop-bought pre ground stuff might be a bit stale by the time it gets to you, at least it’ll have been ground nicely.

Many supermarkets have a grind-your-own section (choose beans, grind as required and then buy) which is convenient especially for taking a bag to work. Also, allows for adjustment of grinding size, and you know it’s not been sitting around for months (as dust) before sale.

Oooh a coffee thread!

I had various methods – Bialetti, plunger, drip filter, Gaggia Classic and now a Saeco bean to cup. Buy the espresso beans from my local drve thru coffee shop for $40 a kilo. My Gaggia made the best shot, but the Saeco is just easy. Fill it with water, beans, press a button et voila.

No Costa here and I’ve not seen a Starmucks either. Literally coffee shops, one after another (Cappuccino Strip in Fremantle!) so great places to drink.

(Slurps a Sunday morning coffee and relaxes…)

We have a Nespresso machine with cheap pods from Lidl. I like it.

The quality of the water is just as important as the beans and grind. If you use manky tap water, you’ll never get first class results. I only use dewdrops that have been harvested from the leaves of blackberry bushes before sunrise.

Many supermarkets have a grind-your-own section

Can’t say I’ve seen one.

Your local deli may have coffee to grind fresh.