Coffee machine help

[Cherrytreat]

I am lost in a sea of coffee machines, please help.

I gave up drinking last year and now have replaced my love/hate relationship with wine for nice black coffee.

I've got a pod machine atm and would like to get rid of pods, but would like a really quick, convenient coffee before work.

My budget is £200 ish. I have an electric coffee grinder, so can be ground coffee. It needs to be small, quick, really easy to use. I'm not too bothered about frothy milk.

Any ideas?

I bought dh a Sage Bambino Pro a few years ago & it's used multiple times a day ever since. It's fabulous & i highly recommend it. However it's a couple of years later & I can't remember how much i paid for it.

A year later I bought him the sage bean grinder which he also loves

We would not be without then now & would replace immediately if either broke

Good coffee at home is such a luxury

We have many kinds of coffee makers in our house. DH favours an espresso machine, I'm currently favouring a stove top pot - simple and effective.

We have a stainless steel version, similar to this: bialetti coffee

Yep. Stove top pot here too. That’s what Italians use at home too. Cheap and effective.

I like phin filter/cup coffee, or mokka pot (if someone else makes it)
Would never bother with a machine , too bulky and need cleaning ( more often than most ppl don't the taste of some ppls coffee)
Also use a grinder so can beans or ground .

I was looking at the Moka pots, but I think it'd take me too long to make on a rushed morning. Are they quick?

And the 12 cup moka's. How many mugs is that? I guess it's 12 small espressos? I prefer long coffee

Moka ( I didn't notice my spelling previously wasn't concentrating) aren't particularly quick and can produce bitter results, esp if noticeable if drinking black coffee

Get yourself the most basic filter coffee maker. I've got one on a smart plug so I just tell Alexa to make the coffee and five minutes later I've a carafe of coffee that is kept hot until I switch off the smart plug. Fabulous. Ground coffee is great! Pods cost a total fortune and aren't worth it.

@laundryobsessed
I was thinking about that, it would be perfect having one of those on a timer.
I just want to move away from pods, they're costing too much and just a waste of plastic.

Attached a pic of mine. My one cost me £7.50 in a charity shop but had never been used and was in original packaging. It is 22 years old! All parts go in the dishwasher which already goes on once a day so cleanup is a breeze. Just need to remember to load it up with coffee/water.

Something I do: if I'm not home all day I won't do the max amount. I will fill a reusable cup with water, pour that into the machine, and add enough coffee grounds to make a good coffee. That way I'm minimising waste and not having the machine keeping a carafe of coffee hot all day.

It needs to be small, quick, really easy to use
If you want small, Aeropress, or a simple filter like a v60. They're pretty quick and easy too.

Sage Bambino, worth every penny! ☕️

I’ve had a delonghi dedica for the last three years. I grind my own beans, but it can also be used with pods. Am devoted to it, and it doesn’t take up a huge amount of space.

Just got a Gaggia Espresso Evolution as an upgrade to a Gaggia Viva. Heats up quickly and a big step up in taste for little added fuss compared to pods, and way cheaper than brands like Sage (I’m very jel of people who have a Sage though!) You will need a grinder or buy ground espresso coffee *edit read your op again and see you have a grinder, all good!

We do the same as @laundryobsessed. Set it up last thing, then when my alarm goes off I tell Alexa to switch the coffee on and then I snooze for a while and come down to a pot of freshly made coffee. We just have a basic Melitta machine. The filters and grounds go into the compost afterwards. We also have cafetières which is a super-quick method but the filters aren’t as fine as a paper filter so the taste is a bit different. I’m happy with either though.

It really is the best! I usually jump in the shower or lie-in! Then once I'm ready, coffee time. Then I'm ready to face the world😂☕️

It depends on the type of coffee you prefer.

I’m not a fan of filter/cafetière coffee anymore, I prefer espresso-based coffees - flat white with breakfast, lungo, espresso after dinner, that sort of thing . For me, a Sage or Baby Gaggia is the best choice. I have a couple in a day and that’s it.

My father prefers a filter coffee pot and 5 or 6 less intense but bigger mugs of coffee in his day. He swapped from cafetière to a big filter pot a few years back and is very happy.

The drip machines don’t get hot enough for me. An espresso needs really hot water forced through the coffee to get the strength of flavour. But I guess it depends how you like your coffee.

as I said, we use a stove top pot now but have a basic De Longhi machine as well. It’s not bad and cost less than £100.

Thank you for all the great ideas. I'm having a look into your suggestions!

I had written off the coffee filter pot because I have a cafetiere and thought it would be the same as that, my coffee isn't usually hot enough or strong enough. So it's definitely something to think about.

I've seen a refurbished Sage Bambino Plus on eBay £215 with coupon.

Is this a bit risky?

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393244557000?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20221018081743%26meid%3D39dbb886f07c41328081f4012017a63c%26pid%3D101429%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D393236700435%26itm%3D393244557000%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D4481478%26algv%3DSimPLMWebV1EmbeddedAuctionsCPCAutoManualWithCIIXAIEbertEmbRecallsUpdatedRanker0424NoIMA%26brand%3DSAGE&_trksid=p4481478.c101429.m2460&itmprp=cksum%3A39324455700039dbb886f07c41328081f4012017a63c%7Cenc%3AAQAJAAABQHTrdYNOa%252FRJOsDB6IvqWwMtQviv8CDvU8O1h%252Bgnk0jkSXvfLkY%252BVQgc4wnCGwyUCy16VSnL63Y79E%252FYlwTBcAG1Qfiu5WIh7Z6WaIngNT90uD%252F3yz%252Bxtt3CpKIo7EsvZEJdWLmbvop5aF1Ur7UyU75PAu7KcVGD8p0ZD49yU%252F1FquQAEYTAYSl22CkxziCjgXbgP9KNnvMR9mYsrWmVk2QNUZvTbF07tCz6qBGHlAGFu8vnefxOKZGFV4SVzjOnJpU%252FI%252FpvkMDltu%252BelBEcXSg0gusrfZfQiIrpmbOZeQHnEvnMR4axU8uA6CfI9mrVvcEe9MNWwUv20erzgKUlfWCZQFgdokMZ965%252B%252BmTHsbKk0%252FvzyzWUkx8sUPvkykshvnE%252FNoz7hAHS2Z%252B71ReFzmMplIKgzWOZPxc%252FZth2PMYs%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A4481478&epid=6053327905&itmmeta=01JG68JDMNS7D0P9XZWHN32KNX

If it's not hot enough then your water isn't sufficiently heated. Strength is determined by how much coffee is in the cafetiere. Mokka pots good but rely on you being nearby to check the coffee isn't boiling. You then have to clean the pot.
Espresso machines need to be left on to warm the basket and water. Aeropress is quick. Still needs cleaning tho. Everyone forgets that all this eqpt needs cleaning and the grounds disposing of.

I can get the same Sage Bambino Plus for new on AO for £309. Over my budget though.

I think I prefer the strong espresso type coffee to filter. I hadn't thought of that until a few mentioned above, thank you.

@pedalleaur yes the Aeropress looks interesting, never heard of it until you mentioned earlier in thread. I'll look into that a bit more.

Much cheaper than a Sage.

Yes I think I'm a bit slapdash with the cafetiere, just whack a random amount of ground coffee in and the first cup is hot, but the rest are just lukewarm. I transfer it to a flask if I remember to.

@pedallleur, sorry you didn't mention the Aeropress, someone else did. So two recommendations for the Aeropress. It has good reviews online