[Bump] Let's talk about coffee machines

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by woob

Nice, I was looking at one of those yesterday but think I'm going to try the Aeropress first. It seems to get rave reviews from some of the bigger names in coffee down to your casual coffee drinker. Are you going to get that Hario kettle to help with pour control? Where do you buy your beans and any recommendations? I'm always on the lookout to try new ones.

Ha interesting, thanks. Looks good. And I didn't know there was a hario kettle It's a great point because my kettle is aweful, have to cook it on the stove and takes forever / spills etc.

For beans, creature of habit that I am I go to the roasterie. Their prices have been going up but apparently that's the case everywhere. I was told recently that it's not the best anymore, but depending on where you're going currently it could be a step above. I guess I wouldn't mind bean recommendations too!

[amorak]

Originally Posted by AFireInside

I picked up a nespresso machine for xmas....

We love it so far. Milk frother works great as well!

I've read that the patent on the nespresso runs out.. From wikipedia:

"Nespresso's patents will begin to expire in 2012 [9], eventually allowing competitors to offer capsules and machines compatible with the Nespresso system. Nestlé is working on ways to prevent competitors from doing this"

"Other competitors include a Swiss start-up (Nexpod.ch) which is offering Nespresso-compatible empty capsules which can be filled with the coffee (or tea) by the buyer and a South African company which sells Nespresso-compatible capsules under the brand name Café-Caps."

Also sara lee has started manufacturing capsules that fit nespresso machines...

Could be promising...

Nice! That's my only 'issue' with nespresso - the patented pods.

[pylon]

I got the Keurig platinum a couple weeks ago. Love the machine, and I have it in my office at work. Probably already paid for half the thing already saving on Starbucks across the street. I do find though I have to use the dark roastsbto get a strong enough cup for my tastes. I bought the little add your own beans doohikee, and haven't tried it yet, but I can see it potentially halfing the cost per cup yet again. Overall I love it. Best machine brewed coffee I have ever had. Only complaint is tge largest potion it delivers is about a tall size cup, while I am used to venti's.

[chummer]

I bought the Tassimo T65 a few weeks ago.I've used it about 5 times and find the coffee way too strong.

I paid $229 and will sell it for$150 if anyone wants it.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by Frank MetaMusil

How much are you looking to spend?

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/categ...7c14851ee8en01

I've got the Cuisinart SS700 and love it.

Just ordered one of these units tonight.

[Mad Mel]

The g/f's parents have a Nespresso machine. It's nice. It's convenient. It makes decent coffee. But... a proper pressurised espresso machine makes better coffee, creates less waste, and gives you a world of options for the kind of coffee.

You don't need to spend a pile on something fancy, I use a $200 Sunbeam with a 15 bar pressure pump and a steamer hanging off the side. Add a nice little coffee grinder with a feeder and a timer, so with the push of a button there's enough fresh grounds for a double espresso. The machine heats up fast, I have my morning coffee in about 2 minutes.

I am well and truly a coffee snob these days. I didn't realise how bad brewed coffee was until I moved somewhere that you can't get it. Now when I go back to Canada, it's hard to stomach the swill. Thank god for all the Italians that moved here years ago and converted the masses to decent coffee.

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by Mad Mel

The g/f's parents have a Nespresso machine. It's nice. It's convenient. It makes decent coffee. But... a proper pressurised espresso machine makes better coffee, creates less waste, and gives you a world of options for the kind of coffee.

You don't need to spend a pile on something fancy, I use a $200 Sunbeam with a 15 bar pressure pump and a steamer hanging off the side. Add a nice

just looked at the nespresso machine and its 19 bar pressure..

this one

[Mad Mel]

^ Hmmm, interesting. I knew they used some pressure (they kind of have to), but it didn't seem like very much. I'm going to have to take a closer look at it next time I'm down there and figure out how it works. I seems weird that the coffee is really loose inside the capsules instead of being packed down like you would in a conventional machine, but it must have some kind of internal pressing mechanism. It's probably just the coffee that isn't as good. I've never looked into the coffee, I wonder how much you'd pay per cup compared to grinding your own.

[Kipper is King]

My folks bought me the Breville BES830xl for a grad present and I love it!

It takes a practice to make espresso properly and steam/froth milk well, but it yields awesome results.

I use the Baratza Virtuoso burr grinder which is quite nice, too. You should spend a fair amount to get a good burr grinder with an espresso machine, as others have mentioned.



If speed and convenience is your top priority by far, or you are the only person in your household who drinks coffee, then a single serve coffee machine like Keaurig or Tassimo makes sense.

If you really want a good coffee, like lattes/cappuccinos, and don't mind a little effort, consider an espresso machine.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Mad Mel

The g/f's parents have a Nespresso machine. It's nice. It's convenient. It makes decent coffee. But... a proper pressurised espresso machine makes better coffee, creates less waste, and gives you a world of options for the kind of coffee.

You don't need to spend a pile on something fancy, I use a $200 Sunbeam with a 15 bar pressure pump and a steamer hanging off the side. Add a nice little coffee grinder with a feeder and a timer, so with the push of a button there's enough fresh grounds for a double espresso. The machine heats up fast, I have my morning coffee in about 2 minutes.

I am well and truly a coffee snob these days. I didn't realise how bad brewed coffee was until I moved somewhere that you can't get it. Now when I go back to Canada, it's hard to stomach the swill. Thank god for all the Italians that moved here years ago and converted the masses to decent coffee.

15 bars eh? thats ridiculous if its actually spitting that out.

Just picked this bad boy up as my xmas gift to myself


http://gizmodo.com/5707531/mypressi-...spresso-dynamo

Its been reviewed as the best espresso maker for less than $500. Use N02/C02 cartridges and a fancy mechanism to deliver a consistent 9 bars, freshly boiled water in the preheated unit delivers the optimal brew temp (195-205') Any other cheapo machines just can't get you consistent temperatures and pressure (9bars, not 15) needed for espresso. This bad boy lets you virtually eliminate those variables that cheaper machines fail on and lets me fool around with the grind, temp, and extraction of the beans.
Best part is you can rock it without the base so you end up with a naked portafilter, allowing me to watch the extraction. Its mui bueno

The hardest part of the whole thing is keeping freshly roasted beans on hand, I have fresh 49th parallel beans shipped from Van every couple weeks, and by coffee snob standards, that's already too old once they've been in my cupboard for 2 weeks.

[First Lady]

After reading this thread and seeing what some of you go through just to get a a cup of coffee.... well it's no wonder people are showing up late to work...

[Knut]

I got the cuisinart Kuerig as a gift about 5 months ago and love it. I am one cup a day person only and it has saved me money and time by not having to stop at Timmys or a coffee shop.

I am running low on the K-cups I have. I need some recommendations on some good dark roast or Bold coffee's to try. The Van Houte is horrible, but I find the Timmy's ok. Specifically I want to order from that singlecup website.

Thanks

[normtwofinger]

Best coffee ever!

[Tinordi]

What's wrong with a plain old drip coffee machine? Love it.

[Rhettzky]

^^
Rotary phones worked pretty good too.

[Knalus]

The Tassimo is a great system if you like mochas or cappuchinos, or any of the fancier starbucks-style coffees. We got one from my parents for christmas, and my wife loves it. She's using it a lot, but it's quite a bit cheaper than $4 a drink (if I'm lucky) at Starbucks.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by Knalus

The Tassimo is a great system if you like mochas or cappuchinos, or any of the fancier starbucks-style coffees. We got one from my parents for christmas, and my wife loves it. She's using it a lot, but it's quite a bit cheaper than $4 a drink (if I'm lucky) at Starbucks.

Tassimo sells Nabob Latte and Nabob Cappuccino drinks. As far as I can tell, the difference between a latte and a cappuccino is how you prepare the milk. Since both Nabob packs contain the espresso T-disc and the latte concentrated milk T-disc... what's the difference?

[Kipper is King]

Originally Posted by fredr123

Tassimo sells Nabob Latte and Nabob Cappuccino drinks. As far as I can tell, the difference between an espresso and a cappuccino is how you prepare the milk.

I think you mean "between a latte and a cappuccino". I am not sure how the Tassimo machine does things, but my understanding is that a cappuccino has a lot of foam on top, while a latte has milk that is steamed, but not frothed.

[woob]

Originally Posted by normtwofinger

Best coffee ever!

Haha that's awesome!! Did you build that yourself? What's the filter?

[Drury18]

I saw it mentioned that the Cuisinart SS700 has an Iced Beverage setting and I was just curious if anyone has used it before. I'm looking at one of these for my Mom because she likes the fancy coffees and iced beverages and it seems they have a large selection of them.

Also, if you have made the iced beverages, do you add your own milk to them or is it premixed? (Lactose Allergies in the family so if you can add your own lactose free and soy milk to it, that's an instant selling point for me).