Talk to me about your coffee machine (boring it is lockdown y'know!)

[TonkinLenkicks]

It's DH's birthday soon and I want to get him a coffee machine (one that takes the pods)

So tell me about your amazing coffee machines, Any recommendations greatly received. Ideally under £100 but willing to go to £150 for the right one!

TIA!

Are you absolutely fixed on a pod machine? I ask because as well as being hugely environmentally unfriendly, the pods are really quite expensive to buy compared to ground coffee or coffee beans - you can get metal refillable pods which are more eco but they are really fiddly and messy IMO which kind of defeats the point of a pod machine. Plus with a lot of the cheaper pod machines the coffee does not come out very hot so you then need to faff around heating up milk in order to not have a lukewarm coffee (unless you take it black).

The bean to cup machines are the best IMO for expresso style coffees, cappucinos etc and for ease of use, you'll be struggling to get a new one for your budget but people sell 2nd hand ones in very good order on ebay which might be a good option for you, you could get a 2nd hand entry level de longhi for that budget?

Or you could look into getting him a mocha pot, stovetop expresso maker or nice cafetiere plus a little grinder for well within your budget so you could get him a coffee bean subscription as well? Or the Aeropress comes very highly recommended on here, it makes filter style long coffees rather than expressos but it's very simple to use and cheap as well?

I've was given a dolce gusto for Christmas and wouldn't recommend.

The amount of waste is ridiculous and the reusable pods for it have terrible reviews.

I also don't like the taste of the milk in the frothy drinks so can only have a cortado or espresso so it's a bit pointless.

I would try a bean to cup, espresso maker or moka pot.

I just bought a moka pot and am getting the hang of it now. I use normal milk frothed in a cafetière and heated in the microwave and it's much better than the weird tasting pods.

Basically don't do it, I really don't like my surprise!

I like my Lavazza. The pods are compostable too. I never liked pod machines until I tried this one.

We had two nespresso and they die eventually and as pp said v bad for environment
De longhi now
With grounds

I have a gusto but I like macchiatos and lattes, it’s a cheap and cheerful machine. Don’t have the funds for a more expensive one and a box of pods lasts 1/2 weeks depending on what I buy. I prefer to Costa/Starbucks pods for flavour but if you have a bigger budget and want a pod machine maybe a tassimo or nespresso would be good

We have a Delonghi now but like a PP we used to have a Lavazza one which we'd highly recommend. The range of coffee was great and if you're concerned about waste there are companies that offer reusable pods so you can make your own.

I’d go for pods just due to lifestyle, I can have a coffe within a minute with minimal mess but it’s personal preference

Nespresso. As much as it pains me to say it because I don’t believe they’re as ethical as they claim to be and even with recycling the pods seem extravagant, everything about my Nespresso is wonderful.

It’s all just so lovely and so easy, at the same time as delivering good coffee. I have a vertuo one because I’m always going to want a double espresso, so it does mean I can’t buy the other brands that would fit from the supermarket, but you get a much bigger range of size choices. I have the app set up to order replacements so it only takes seconds now and they arrive the next day. They give you bags that you can just dump the used pods in and they collect them for recycling at the same time.

Nespresso - honestly my favourite machine in the house! DH and I absolutely love it and look forward to our coffee every morning - and we're coffee snobs. Nespresso have a recycling scheme for their pods too. My machine has had heavy use for four years and is still going strong.

Does anyone have any links to specific machines? I feel it's a bit over whelming

Bean to cup sounds wonderful but not in my price range! Appreciate all your replies though!

As a pp said - it pains me to say it, but Nespresso - ours is about 9 years old - I love it! We always send our empty pods for recycling. The coffee tastes amazing and delivery is very fast - or out of lockdown our local John Lewis has a Nespresso pop up inside and I can go and buy pods and drop the old ones off to be recycled.

I've got a Tassimo My Way machine. I love it. It let's you set personal profiles so you can set the temperature and coffee strength. It has several temperatures and 3 levels of coffee strengths and you can save 3 different profiles.

I love the Costa latte. I buy it via Amazon subscribe & save so I get 5 boxes (40 lattes) a month for £16.

This is the type we have - but there are many others

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01IHRLMAE/ref=cmswwrcppawdbimmmt1dWBcGbRARFWF6??encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Just get a filter coffee machine! So much less faffy.

Not a pod machine but I got this for Christmas and it's great and within your price range. I love that it has the milk steamer so I can always have cappuccino.

www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-partners-pump-espresso-coffee-machine-stainless-steel/p4839988?sku=238200624&s_ppc=2dx92700056450125068&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnb79BRDgARIsAOVbhRpAGD7-S-KNenm261VsDtrOXkxaA6ujPVFNGxhEOktI1w_X0E-dW-8aApYkEALw_wcB

We got a bean to cup delonghi one for £179 on amazon using their warehouse open box section?

The machine was perfect and never used, just the box it arrived in had a ripped corner

Might be worth a look

I have a DeLonghi Dedica. Not pods but it's really no faff to use ground coffee (and less faff than a filter coffee maker as there are no filters to faff with)

www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-EC685M-Traditional-Espresso-Machine/dp/B06WGTZ874?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I got a relatively cheap Tassimo during the first lockdown when all the cafes were closed. It's ok but I do have some issues with it. I tend to drink flat whites and lattes when I buy a coffee out but I don't take sugar. The pods for the tassimo are quite heavily sweetened so I don't buy them. I have found an Americano pod I quite like so tend to drink those but I do have to boil the kettle whilst I make it so I can put a little splash of hot water in it to heat it up.

@onthinice that looks pretty good! Do you put a pod in it or ground coffee?

@TonkinLenkicks ground coffe, so not what you asked for I know. But I have had a nespresso previously and I much prefer this one.

It's basically a mini version of the ones in coffee shops (though it is not bean to cup, you buy the coffee already ground).

Things is he has been looking at pod machines and I am renowned for getting him presents that aren't quite right so best stick to a pod one. This one seems to tick all the boxes but if it's an expresso machine does it just make little espressos? What if you want a big cuppa? Sorry for my ignorance, I'm not well versed in the way of coffee

www.johnlewis.com/lavazza-a-modo-mio-jolie-espresso-coffee-machine/white/p4851241

Thanks @onthinice I'll consider!

De'Longhi Lattissima Touch, Single Serve Capsule Coffee Machine, Automatic frothed milk, Cappuccino and Latte, EN560.S, Silver www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079619K74/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_JoCcGbBQZ57YH?tag=mumsnetforu03-21
We have this one OP. It’s really good and you can put most of the parts in the dishwasher. I love the separate milk foamer too.

I've got a Nespresso Essenza with the aeroccino....... in fact I've just bought one for work to have the office. I have to limit myself to 2 in the morning and 1 decaff early afternoon....... and I use soya or oat milk in the frother.

It's a load of bollocks frankly about the pods...... they're recycleable. All coffee comes in some sort of packaging . It's so simple to order pods online, and you can send the others back to recycle at the same time. The range is brilliant - we had a Tassimo and a Dolce Gusto in the past and the pods weren't a patch on the Nespresso. The milk ones were especially grim, like UHT milk.

www.johnlewis.com/nespresso-essenza-mini-coffee-machine-with-aeroccino-by-magimix/white/p5071416

This Nespresso

www.nespresso.com/uk/en/order/machines/vertuo/vertuo-plus-piano-black-c

It’s the one that makes all the different sizes of coffees, it’s on special offer and you get loads of free capsules to try out and help you find what you like.