Talk to me about coffee machines..

[kimkimc]

We currently have a Tassimo and I hate it! The coffee tastes crap and the pods are extremely expensive, and there are no cheaper alternatives. It also doesn't fill the full cup and is hardly warm.

I like the look of the Nespresso ones but not sure what the coffee tastes like from those either or if it's the same issue with the heat.

Can anybody recommend?

Had a Nespresso (was a gift) and really didn't rate it at all. Horrid coffee.

Bought Sage www.johnlewis.com/sage-the-smart-grinder-pro-coffee-grinder/p1591194 (now £149 wow...great price) and we use an insulated cafetiere. The bees' knees.

I have a basic Melitta filter machine and it’s great - but I am not bothered about making espresso at home so it may not be the one for you

We've given up on the pod machine and now just use a Mokka pot.

I felt too guilty about the pods and I only like plain ones anyway so it was all such a waste.

The Mokka is easy to use but there are helpful videos online and I just microwave some milk to go with it. I'm now considering a milk frother to fancy it up!

Did you end up buying a machine @kimkimc ? I have had my sage barista pro for a couple weeks now and absolutely love it

I've always disliked pod coffee when given it in friends houses etc.
We had a simple filter machine for years & loved it. During lock down we bought the Sage Bambino Plus & a bean grinder & it has been life changing. We'd never go back now & if our machine broke we'd replace it immediately

Same @NalPolishRemover ! I had delonggi bean to cup and didn't even like that. The difference is unreal. I can't see me buying coffee from a shop in future unless I really have to

I have a Sage Bambino Plus and love it. We have a bean grinder too, but the dual walled baskets will work fine with pre-ground coffee if you don't want another piece of equipment!

If temperature is a concern, here are some temperatures for the espresso, water poured from the steam wand and the two hotter milk temperatures on the preset. Note that the espresso was poured into cold cup on a cold December morning and I could see the temperature dropping as I was measuring it. So if I was careful it could have been hotter.
Espresso - 63°C
Milk (ideal setting) - 65°C
Milk (hot setting) - 84°C
Water from steam wand - 61°C

Officially the Bambino Plus doesn't dispense water, but if you hold the single shot at the same time as the steam setting button, it should work.

That really was something that annoyed me about the delonghi machine @toastofthetown - the coffee was always So tepid blergh! Not a problem now though

If you are interested in a Sage machine, they have a 25% discount on their website with LCF25. Not affiliated with Sage (I wish!) but used that to get the Smart Grinder for just over £100 earlier this month and it looks like it's still active.

The newsletter for this coffee blog will also pass on any discounts which I found very useful when purchasing, and he has many useful coffee machine review videos on YouTube. James Hoffmann also has series on best espresso machine under £XXX and best bean to cup.

I jave had a dolce gusto for years which is great for cappucinos and lattes but just bought an adapter so it can use nespresso pods , we also have a milk frother.
Use to have been to coffee maker at work hated cleaning it

I'm on my second nespresso machine, have about 4 a day😚, but usually just me so I like the convenience. Old style pods which you can get everywhere now and a lot are metal which can be recycled. (personally find aldis great and only work out about 14p per cup). I like my drinks very hot, my biggest gripe with filter machines is not hot enough! I like lattes/cappuccinos but can't be bothered with extra washing up so simply heat skimmed milk in microwave then put cup under nespresso machine to top up with coffee. ☕😋

We’ve had a DeLonghi espresso maker for years. When it finally dies I’m going to invest in a bean-to-cup machine.

www.coffeefriend.co.uk/p/coffee-machine-delonghi-ec-685-r/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw37iTBhCWARIsACBt1IxVulWEqws98s25Cu_5wdbj8z5QBAyTj6yDnuA8uNRKipzEdkUiSg0aAoDLEALw_wcB

I got my sage coffee machine from backmarket so nearly half price! (£324 for £600 machine) Refurbished so better for the environment too and nothing wrong with it at all. Here is a code for £10 off 68c2456386a43b5d

I have a nestle dolce gusto machine. Pods off of Amazon. Coffee taste good to me.

We have a Jura bean to cup. Great coffee but oh my goodness, it’s high maintenance! It always bloomin wants something! Cleaning, descaling, rinsing, more beans, more water, something is not fitted quite right for its liking or it needs emptying! I’ve gone back to Azera instant because I want an easy life 😂

Another Sage Bambino Plus user here - we grind our beans too so get a really fresh delicious coffee. It's very simple to use (although still playing the strategic incompetence card here, always tastes better when someone else makes it for you) and means you can try different beans/blends. The automatic milk frother is also great.

I have a tassimo in the bedroom and don't mind the coffee from the pods. Downstairs I have a Delonghi bean to cup machine, which has a milk steamer/frother attachment. Love the coffee and the fact that i can have exactly the coffee that I want. Definitely worth the extra cost.

Second this as we have one. Try out beans until you find your preferred favour and then look out for them on offer. I don't drink coffee in Costa as it's not as good.

Though you can steam milk with it, we've also got a Lavazza milk heater/frother as we prefer the milk from that.

*flavour

Moka pot - doesn't take much space, better for environment than pods and I like the taste. I used to have a tassimo but didn't like the taste or the pods waste. I do have a velvetiser that I use sometimes for milk frothing.

Personally I’d say nespresso vertuo ( the other version only do small cups). Always great coffee. When you order pods you can book a free collection for your used pods (they recycle). You do need to only use the nespresso pods though imo, as ones made by other companies for the nespresso machine are really not great (and I’ve tried many).

I used to use Nespresso but only because my husband already had a machine when I met him. Coffee was ok and they are convenient but I was never comfortable with the waste and the fact that it's Nestle! Anyway, they discontinued our favourite coffee. We tried a few others but ended up just buying a Moka pot. Coffee is so much nicer. Yes it takes a bit longer to make but still less than 10 mins. No need for a fancy machine.

@MummyJ12 I've got a Jura too and just ignore most of the cleaning prompts 🤣. Does that make me slovenly ?!

😂 Not at all @heartofgoldcoins just sane and rational! I’m glad to hear it’s not just me and my coffee machine!!

I went Tassimo, Lavazza Modo, Nespresso, Delonghi Dedica and now have a Delonghi Magnifica bean to cup. Got it on a cheap "used/open box deal" on Amazon and it's worth every penny.
I really don't like the taste of any pod coffees anymore and have saved a fortune on expensive take out coffees because I can make one just as good at home.