looking at getting a decent coffee machine anybody got any ideas? lets say no more than £200.
Not sure how much but Gaggia Classico will take some beating.
I love my Nespresso machine - started with a basic model about 4-5 years ago and now have upgraded to fancier model with coffee gubbins and thingie for frothing/heating milk for latte and cappuccinos. I still have a basic coffee pot that bubbles up on the hob and I used to have a hand-pumped Gaggia machine and would make coffee from freshly ground beans etc but love the easy cop out of the capsule system now <lazy> 🙂
Couldn't be without it:
[url= http://www.nespresso.com/uk/en/ ]Nespresso[/url]
Gaggia Classic at departmental store when they are on offer.
🙂
I got a Gaggia classic and it's fantastic. Bought it secondhand on ebay. Not really to much that can go wrong with them so if you get a second hand one that looks like it's been looked after you should be laughing. Also bought a used commercial style grinder. It is amazing what a difference one click +/- makes on the grinder. So maybe budget for a good used grinder too. I paid about £180 (mint used) for the Gaggia, they do go for alot less on ebay and £120 for the grinder. If you have a good coffee house near by that does roasting then you could hold out on the grinder for a bit. Any questions just mail me. Hope this helps.
Yep another vote for the Classic and a decent burr grinder ( not a bladed one).
my parents have a Gaggia Classic and it's required quite a bit of maintenance over the past few years - it does get well used though.
I bought a Dualit for £200 a couple of months ago and it makes a great espresso, but only time will tell as to its durability - it did get 5 stars on the gadget show though 😀
Another vote for Nespresso if you're lazy and don't mind paying for the capsules. Unless you're such a coffee enthusiast that you want to faff about grinding your own beans and carefully loading your machine and fiddling with switches to get the right pressure then taking pictures of the crema and posting it on the internet, before spending even more time cleaning the thing - you'll probably get more use out of a Nespresso one.
I like coffee first thing in the morning when my brain just doesn't function well enough to bother with doing it "properly".
It's not essential to get a grinder if you want to stick to budget. The grind really does make a difference, though. I've experimented over the years and the best grind for my taste (using the Gaggia) is Lavazza, whereas Illy's so fine that it seems to pack down too tight. I only use Lazazza now and (shock horror) keep it in the freezer in between use - lasts much longer whilst still tasting fresh and still passes the Pespi challenge for me.
Another vote for Nespresso if you're lazy and don't mind paying for the capsules. Unless you're such a coffee enthusiast that you want to faff about grinding your own beans and carefully loading your machine and fiddling with switches to get the right pressure then taking pictures of the crema and posting it on the internet, before spending even more time cleaning the thing - you'll probably get more use out of a Nespresso one.
I like coffee first thing in the morning when my brain just doesn't function well enough to bother with doing it "properly".
It really is no faff and all part of the pleasure of making the drink. And you get to choose your beans from loads available. I am liking the Wittard Guatamalan Elephant (?) beans at the moment.
+1 gaggia classic and lavazza.
I simply don't drink enough coffee to be able to justify another £100+ on a grinder plus extra for fresh roasted beans. Tried Illy too, but prefer lavazza.
Depends what you mean by a 'coffee machine'. Filter? Most anything will do, as long as it keeps the coffee hot enough. Espresso? Gaggia Classic bought from E Bay is great - still supported, tough, as manual as most people can cope with.
If you can find Caffe Mako, try that. Much better than that Lavatzza stuff. Even better is to find a local roaster to you.
lavazza and illy coffee is o.k in an emergency but fresh roasted coffee from a local producer or mail order is much better. i use monmouth and square mile, square mile has the roasting date printed on the bag which can be just a few days before you you buy it.
another gaggia classic user here.
thanks for that looks like i better get a gaggia classic then. you know you need coffee in the morning now the dirty winter weather is just round the corner!
Right - Gaggia Classic ordered!
I've not got a grinder, nor do I have a freezer, so I'd like to get hold of some reasonable ground stuff to kick things off. Any tips on suppliers (other than the ones mentioned above)? How long does ground last and any tips for prolonging life or how much I might use in (say) a week?
I've also never used an espresso machine before, so any tips?
IIRC there are some good tips on the Gaggia website.
Lots of places to buy beans in shops or mail order. I rate the Bean Shop in Perth highly and they are reasonably local to us. They also do mail order. Current faves are Monsoon Malabar and Sumatra Fair Trade
I just remembered the make of the one I got for my parents - Cuisinart. It's very good, poss better than my Gaggia and cheaper.
PS do search on here, we talked about this at length on several occasions.
A double shot (14g of coffee) should take about 23 sec to pull. Get a shot glass to measure the size. Find a local roaster and get them to grind for you. Get the espresso beans/blend and play with that for a while. Learn how to clean the Gaggia properly. Happy Donkey is a good place to buy and read their website.
Molgrips. The cuisinart of which you speak. Is it this one?
this is a great device, makes great coffee and doesnt break
[url= http://www.lecafeshop.co.uk/coffee-makers/products/the-presso/ ]http://www.lecafeshop.co.uk/coffee-makers/products/the-presso/[/url]
Yeah, I've had a rummage through a lot of previous threads & got a bit lost TBH!
I'll order some ground in to let me have a play. Once I start going down the bean route, is there any downside to getting a hand powered grinder rather than a leccy one?
Try [url= http://www.hasbean.co.uk ]hasbean[/url] for freshly roasted beans, all the coffee I've had has been roasted the same day as it's been dispatched.
I have a gaggia classic it works.
but the thing is you NEED a good burr grinder to get a good coffee imho
Nespresso, no mess no fuss, and great coffee
Nespresso-fresh coffee every time with minimum of faffing-bit pricey but simples really.
Gaggia Coffee Deluxe here (same innards as the Classic, I think)
Another Lavazza user most of the time.
Life's too hectic, for me at least, to always have fresh beans in to grind. And a cheap grinder will be worse than decent packed espresso ground coffee.
If this is your first espresso machine, first practice getting the right pack of coffee in the basket. It makes a huge difference. Once you can get consistent results with one coffee you can start experimenting with different coffees.
Crema, crema, crema!
got the shiny machine?
you need a bling tamper
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they even do purple ano
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Bregante - that is not an espresso machine 🙂