Best home coffee machine?

Without getting too geeky about this (I probably am though)

There are a few "must do's" in my view in the following order for consistant expresso which is the basis for all other drinks, latte etc.

1: Good beans no older than a month (store in the freezer and bring them out as you need them)

2: Grind as you need only

3: Get a bottomless filter, it makes a huge difference (honest)

4: Get a good quality tamper for an even solid tamp

5: Get a short measure glass with a line on to time the extraction (this is getting geeky)

6: If you get the right bean grind consistency, the consistent tamp your extraction (before coffee appears to flow from the filter) should be 8-12 seconds, then the flow should be another 8 – 10 second which should get you to the measure line on the shot glass.

The crema will be amazing, the taste bitter sweet and amazing.

I'll get my coat now !

Rancilio Silvia & Rocky here. Very happy with them.

IMO, there's a massive difference between the supermarket & mass market (Illy, Lavazza) beans & freshly roasted beans you get from the specialist roasters.

Since Hill & Valley stopped doing small quantity mail order, i've been buying beans from Monmouth in Borough Market whenever i pass it. Their organic espresso blend is very nice.

I think that a milk frother attachment (where it takes milk staight from the bottle) is available as an accessory for the Gaggia Classic.

Regarding the Classic – a good tip for keeping the steam hot is to not wait for the "ready" light to go out – just time it for 25 seconds, which will keep the boiler on so you get continous steam. Very handy if you have lots of milk to froth.

I had a Nespresso for Xmas a few years ago off the missus and love it.
It gets used every single day, mostly for Esspresso on the way to work but makes great Latte/Cappuccino on the weekend when I've got a bit more time to drink them.

I guess on this forum it's the equivalent owning a Specialized bike instead of some off-one but that's the way I roll

I think that a milk frother attachment (where it takes milk staight from the bottle) is available as an accessory for the Gaggia Classic.

Is that so? I have been looking recently and cannot find one. Any linkies?

Don't worry bling bling I ride a Marin, how do you think I feel 😉

Is that so? I have been looking recently and cannot find one. Any linkies?

There's something in the owner's manual about it…

Is that so? I have been looking recently and cannot find one. Any linkies?

It's a bit hard to find as it has the easy to remember name of Cappuccinatore. It's good but £50 is a bit steep.

Don't worry bling bling I ride a Marin, how do you think I feel

Big up the Maxwell House crew!

Don't listen to him. Unless you are an expert (which he either is, or thinks he is)

LOL. Thank you so much for biting m_f…you have such a great memory. 😆

LOL. Thank you so much for biting m_f…you have such a great memory

😛

😉

Another vote for a Gaggia Classic. Refurb unit from Gaggia UK and coffee from Fremantle market (fresh and ground to perfection!). Only problem is my machine is in the UK so I'm using a Bialetti stove top for my coffee at the moment.

Just been into my local shop for some bits and apparently Gaggia UK do not exist anymore – Philips are in the final throes of completing a takeover of operations.

Just as a top tip if your going to make the most of making your own espresso then you'll need to get geeky about it. Its actually quite difficult to make really good espresso on a small scale. I ran a coffee shop for a while and we were testing and adjusting the machines (mainly the grinder) through the day to account for temperature an humidity.

Its a labour of love, an art. The best option, logically, from a coffee drinking point of view, is probably to spend your money at your local independantly owned coffee shop as long as the staff there take pride in their work.

However

Making your own and being good at it is a pleasure in its self.

Before buying a machine consider going on a course. When we set up the cafe we spent thousands of pounds on this

2 head stainless steel commercial Gaggia machine. I honestly loved it :-S

As part of the purchase deal we had a guy come up and do a days training with us. It made all the difference and really set me off on a path.

Just looked up the guys website and its here http://theperfectcup.co.uk

I'd recommend anyone who has a passion for making their own espresso to go on a good course. It certainly made a big impact on me and everyone else who attended.

On a course for individuals you should recieve guidence on what to look for in a personal machine.

For instance the pureist in me could never use one of the automatic milk 'frothers'. I hate 'froth' for a start. Part of the art of a barista is making a deep rich dense foam.

A quick google search popped this up http://www.gaggia.uk.com/training.htm

Hope this helps

Ian

man, thsi is getting to be the best thread ive ever started…top tips and handy hintastic…

lookng at the Rancilio Silvia but afraid to tell the missus the price…

Was in the market for a Gaggia Classic on the refurb site and they appear to have sold out!

Another vote for the Gaggia classic. Mine's been used daily for 5 years and still going strong. Be prepared to descale every six months and replace the seal yearly.

6 years, never touched other than a quick wipe down every now and again. Depends on yer water I presume.
Maybe dies quicker if you use the steamer thing, never have.
Can't recommend the Classic highly enough.
Pennine water, fresh coffee (2 parts Illy, 1 part Lavazza Rosso, pinch of salt) and Reg Barber-ed into submission = best coffee EVER. FACT.

AndyP – do you not even descale it?

I live in a very soft water area (North Yorkshire) and we have a 7 year old kettle with not a bit of limescale in it. Yet I descaled my 2 year old Classic last week for the first time (as well as cleaned it thoroughly). The difference is actually very surprising – to the crema, the pressure from the wand and also the head is much easier to remove.

AndyP – do you not even descale it?
nope, there's no scale to remove

I live in a very soft water area (North Yorkshire) and we have a 7 year old kettle with not a bit of limescale in it. Yet I descaled my 2 year old Classic last week for the first time (as well as cleaned it thoroughly). The difference is actually very surprising – to the crema, the pressure from the wand and also the head is much easier to remove.

Yep, poor crema from my Gaggia is always cured by descaling and cleaning the machine. I've just ordered pulycaff and a blind basket to properly backflush it. And a fancy tamper plus tamping mat because I'm a ponce.

nope, there's no scale to remove

How do you know – it clogs up the internal pipes which are impossible to visually inspect. I was amazed by how much stuff came out.

Another Gaggia Classic here.

Good tip on the bottomless filter, will go order me one of those.

We have a Saeco Odea Go, bean to cup, we are impressed with it,and comes in under £400.

http://www.coffeeitalia.co.uk

I use this to clean my machine once a month, its superb

Puly Caff clicky

The bottomless filter is a seriously good investment.

I've taken it apart a couple of times as I was expecting (through reading stuff like this thread) to have to replace gaskets etc. It's **** spotless..

I've taken it apart a couple of times

And you can see inside metal pipes??? But if you say it's clean I won't argue any more!

What is the benefit of these bottomless filters? I can't see the comments for looking…

M-F the idea is that the coffee from extraction passes straight out of the filter directly into the cup and not via a spout on the filter head.

Taken from Happy Donkey site:

In use the bottomless produces more crema on an espresso shot, this is due to the fact that the coffee, on it's journey to the cup, or shot glass, meets with less metal than it would when used with a traditional portafilter, that utilises a spout.

Crema is purely a product of the oils in the coffee beans, which is why it floats on top of the poured coffee liquid, as it heats it effectively foams.

Any loss of temperature on the coffee journey from filter basket to cup, will not help the volume, or the consistency of the crema, which is noticeably thicker when produced with a bottomless.

These portafilters are used for many reasons by different people, commercial coffee machine owners tend to buy them to allow bigger takeaway cups to fit underneath the basket, enthusiasts use them because they know the value these items hold with regards to making better espresso.

Coffee or Barista trainers use them as a training tool, as if you get the tamp wrong when using them, they tend to spray odd lines of coffee in varying directions, causing a bit of a mess.

The big advantage of the bottomless in relation to tamping is that because they do not have a spout, they are easy to lay flat on the tamping mat, giving a perfect base on which to tamp on

Crematastic !

Ahh I see. Makes sense, if somewhat geeky. But then I buy expensive bike bits 'just 'cos' too so I may get one some time.

🙂

check the image on my last edit

If you want to spend less (plug time)…. I am trying to sell my:

Ascaso Arc (full metal construction with brass boiler – it's a step up from the small Gaggia in construction terms)
&
Rancillio Rocky grinder (very, very, very good indeed)
&
Reg Barber tamper (deeply posh coffee squishing!)

I was looking £280 for the lot, but am open to offers 😉

(it's in the Classifieds bit too, but several pages down now)

Was going to say – I had been swithering about going for a Rancillio Silvia myself (I just couldn't justify the expense last time), kept looking… almost about to buy (which would have meant keeping the grinder, naturally)… and then accidentally ordered a Jura bean to cup job instead! Well, I came into some unexpected cash, and have always wanted a Jura 😉

(Even a cheap one like I ordered!)