Coffee machine

[empitness]

Hi all, posting here for traffic. Me and DH are occasional coffee drinkers and like the idea of having a coffee machine. I want to buy a coffee machine, within a reasonable budget upto £170. My problem is that there is so much variety and I don't know what to pick. Some of them are very reasonable but the replacement pods costs a lot, some are filtered and so on. Please help me select a machine , which is not expensive to run in longer term ( like buying pods and all).
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance

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Hello, this thread is a little old and some of the recommendations might be out of date. If you’re looking for up-to-date advice on the best coffee machine money can buy, take a look at our round-up of Mumsnetters’ favourites. MNHQ.

[nocake]

Even if you can recycle coffee pods isn't it a better option to not use them at all? There's an environmental cost to making them and recycling them.

[Flumpernickel]

Well, that is a fair point nocake. Although you can buy your own refillable pods for the nespresso as an alternative. Plus, you could even grind your own beans first in a grinder.

[Flumpernickel]

Here.

[PumpkinPiloter]

Flumpernickel

The OP has said she does not want pods. Additionally it is not easy or practical to try out coffee machines before you buy them so what part of your posts represents good advice?

The difference in the amount of kitchen surface area a pod machine takes up versus a small delonghi machine takes up for example is minimal.

I really think pod coffee machines are marketing sham. If you disagree with me that's fine. Ultimately I (and hopefully OP) will be drinking better, cheaper coffee than you whilst being able to sample the delights of many of the great independent coffee roasters in this country which is also fine.

[Flumpernickel]

"I really think pod coffee machines are marketing sham. If you disagree with me that's fine. Ultimately I (and hopefully OP) will be drinking better, cheaper coffee than you whilst being able to sample the delights of many of the great independent coffee roasters in this country which is also fine."


Nope, not at ALL snooty.


OP COULD use Refillable pods pumpkin. Cheap, and freshly ground if she gets a grinder. Then she could sample all the "delights" as aforementioned.

Also, I purchased mine at a john lewis demo day, there were several machines being demoed by manufacturer staff. Also my mother in law did the same at another department store. They chose the lavazza pod machine, which I find pretty good too.
Anyway, as you know best and are the apparently the final authority on coffee, I shall defer to your superior knowledge and shut up now.

[FrToddUnctious]

I'm not a coffee connoisseur so my suggestion won't be helpful, but i fancied joining in talking about coffee makers anyway as i enjoy my daily coffees. I've used a stovetop, a cafetiere, a clever coffee dripper and have now settled on a filter machine. (Yes i know, i am stuck in the 80s.) I use paper filters (i know!) But you can can get wire mesh filters if you didn't want to lose the oils or to be more enviro friendly. The paper filter full of grounds goes in the compost. The filter machine suits me as it keeps the coffee hot, so you can go back for more, it's super easy to clean by rinsing it or putting the pot and filter holder in the dishwasher. I found a cafetiere a faff to clean but others don't.

[Hillarious]

If we're talking about beans, a friend of mine, who lived for a couple of years with a chap in the States who had his own coffee shop and roasted his own beans, insisted you should keep beans in the freezer. I've also been told you shouldn't do that. Any advice from the coffee bean people here?

[PumpkinPiloter]

"OP COULD use Refillable pods pumpkin. Cheap, and freshly ground if she gets a grinder. Then she could sample all the "delights" as aforementioned. "

What is the point of buying empty pods so you can refill them when the end product will be more expensive and not as good?

I think you just want to argue as you clearly have not thought this through.

The great thing about good coffee as I was trying to explain in my original post was that you do not have to spend a lot of money to achieve it. If wanting the best coffee experience I can achieve without breaking the bank makes me snooty then so be it.

However I think you are throwing out insults as your argument is weak.

[PumpkinPiloter]

"Hillarious" I am really no expert on keeping beans but I imagine that it depends somewhat on how long you will keep them. We just use an airtight container but we do get through a lot of coffee here and a kg bag never lasts more than a week or two.

[Flumpernickel]

I didnt realise this was an "argument". Just different people giving OP different opinions.

Insults?

"Bad advice"
"Useless"
"Ultimately I (and hopefully the OP) will be drinking better and cheaper coffee than you."
"Clearly have not thought this through."
"Your argument is weak"

[HarmlessChap]

It's expensive hard to beat Moka pot aka stove top pot, freshly ground beans make a difference so a grinder is worth investing in ideally a burr grinder.

[Flumpernickel]

Anyway, I hear a nice cup of coffee is much better with a . Enjoy.

[PumpkinPiloter]

"Insults?

"Bad advice"
"Useless"
"Ultimately I (and hopefully the OP) will be drinking better and cheaper coffee than you."
"Clearly have not thought this through."
"Your argument is weak""

Yes you can see that at every stage I have been commenting on the advice you have given as opposed to calling you names like snooty.

I am genuinely trying to help people drink better coffee. Do you work for a pod coffee manufacturer? Otherwise I have very little understanding of why you think they are so great. What exactly is your point?

[PumpkinPiloter]

HarmlessChap I almost agree with you here stove top coffee is probably the 2nd best option.

Although you can get a reasonable espresso machine for a similar price to a decent burr grinder so once you have the grinder you might as well get the machine.

Caffetieres, filter machine all have their uses but they are very different from a good espresso.

An Italian couple in Rome once spoke to me about their love of espresso and explained to me that with an espresso you are only getting the cream of the coffee as opposed to other methods where you end up with more of the dregs.

I do not know if they were right or not but it has always made sense to me.

[Flumpernickel]

Of course I dont work for a manufacturer!

I just happen to think that they are great fairly priced machines. I was dubious and totally against the idea of pod coffee until I tried a nespresso in store. The OP asked for advice from everyone, not just you.

[Flumpernickel]

Are you also so rude and dismissive pumpkin?

[Flumpernickel]

Always

[Redglitter]

Well I like my Tassimo despite it being the coffee from hell apparently

[MargaretCavendish]

I find the idea that most people will be getting fresher coffee by using a cafetiere quite amusing. Most people aren't grinding their own freshly roasted beans, they're using supermarket ground coffee that sat on the shelf for weeks and then open in their fridge for a couple more.

I don't think many people would really argue that pod coffee is better, or even the same as, coffee made in an espresso machine, stove top coffee maker or cafetiere which is made with freshly roasted beans ground right before making. The thing is, most people also can't be bothered to make that coffee everyday. They just don't care enough (I don't). I suspect that for a lot of people (again, including me) pod coffee isn't replacing a lovingly made artisan coffee; it's replacing instant (this is definitely, definitely true in a lot of work places). I make better coffee at the weekend, when I can be bothered, but during the week I find my pod coffee good enough and quick enough to stick in my flask and drink on my way to work. I think that's the case for a lot of people.

[PumpkinPiloter]

"I just happen to think that they are great fairly priced machines."

You are missing the point. They sell some of these machines at a loss so that they can sell you the consumables i.e pods at a hefty price forever.

I am not saying that espresso machines are the only way just that the pod machines were designed to get consumers to spend more rather than less. It is a false economy.

Making an espresso in a machine takes seconds the only difference between doing that and using a pod machine is you have to manually feed the coffee grinds into the coffee machine.

To tell people that pod machines are a cheaper option or a massive time saver is simply an untruth.

[FrToddUnctious]

Yes and people enjoy coffee tasting in different ways.

[goose1964]

We have a dolce gusto, makes good coffee but the pods are pricey

[Flumpernickel]

pumpkin you are just being a GF towards me now.

Anyway, I agree, everyone has different tastes and objectives with coffee and I think IF the OP can get out and try some different options then all good, but if not, I am sure that she willhave found some useful advice here from EVERYONE who has been kind enough to comment!

Good luck OP!

[MargaretCavendish]

It might be true that it doesn't take much longer to brew ground coffee in other methods than to use a pod machine (though I note we're now dropping the insistence that we grind it ourselves first). If we include clean-up, though, that calculation changes a bit... That's my favourite thing about the pod machine, all I do is run the drip tray through the dishwasher every now and again and descale it every three months.