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Hello, this thread is a little old and some of the recommendations might be out of date.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.

If you drink coffee only occasionally then a tassismo you get about several pods in a box. And the coffee doesn't go off for ages compared to a ground coffee machine. And tassimo have a big range include hot chocolates etc.
But if you drink it Farley regularly then I'd got for a ground coffee machine, you get more out of it.

We have a filter coffee machine (doesn't make great coffee but is good for parties as you can make lots of coffee and keep the coffee pot warm for refills), a Delonghi espresso maker which makes fabulous coffee but is never quite strong enough to make a second espresso so feels like it's more hassle than it's worth sometimes, a cafetière which makes good coffee with minimal hassle and expense but isn't quite as good as the Delonghi, and a stovetop espresso maker which is good but too small so we need to upgrade it. We also have an electric grinder which is a bit pants but means we can alternate between supermarket-ground coffee for weekdays and freshly ground coffee at weekends.

Fundamentally I love the Delonghi, but really wish it were larger. I would never ever buy a Nespresso or any machine that locks you into buying expensive pods from a particular manufacturer. And that's before you even get to the environmental issues of the pods themselves as many folk have already mentioned.

I love my Tassimo. I'm not a big coffee drinker at all so when I want one, I want it quick. I don't want to be faffing about with milk frothers and what not. I also hate strong coffee so the pods are perfect for me. There definitely is a lot of snobbery on the thread.

I have not seen one person recommend artisan coffee and hundreds of pounds of machinery.

It is interesting how many posters post without reading the thread.

Pod coffee is fine. It is a lot better than instant or that horrid vending machine stuff. But you will pay more long term than if you bought a good espresso machine as the pods are far more expensive than buying good coffee beans.

The OP had a reasonable budget to get a good coffee set up. For her budget my advice is to split the money between an espresso machine and a grinder as this will make much better coffee than spending more on an espresso machine without the grinder. Same money spent better coffee outcome.

Dictionary definition of a snob:

"a person who respects and likes only people who are of a high social class, and/or a person who has extremely high standards who is not satisfied by the things that ordinary people like:"

So could someone please explain to me why spending less money on good coffee from a ground coffee machine as opposed to more money from a pod coffee machine which makes an inferior product constitutes snobbery?

For me the reasons to not advocate pod machines are just as much financial as they are about quality.

I have to say I agree with pumpkin.
You can get fantastic coffee at home, just as quickly and cheaply, without buying a pod machine.

Our set up which I detailed in my suggestion (Heston sage grinder and a chemex) was probably more expensive in the first instance than a pod machine but now our only expense is a bag of beans and filters (although I'm yet to repurchase any filters so far and we've had the chemex for over 6 months).

It takes no time at all to make really delicious coffee in the morning: grind beans, put filter in chemex followed by ground beans, pour over boiled water, it filters through. Done! Clean up is to put the filter and grind in the compost bin and rinse out the chemex when it's empty.

Yes it may seem 'snobby' to buy beans roasted at an independent place but imo there is no competition in taste when compared to the pods. My DP (who is a barista) said that you should buy beans within 2 weeks of them being roasted to get the whole flavour.

My DP (who is a barista) said that you should buy beans within 2 weeks of them being roasted to get the whole flavour.

Exactly this. I get my beans within a few days of them being roasted and let them "rest" for a week. I never buy beans that were roasted more than 6 weeks ago (and heaven forbid if they don't have a roasting date). But I admit to being a coffee snob as where I live I'm surrounded by excellent independent coffee shops (and roasteries) so local standards and expectations are very high.

No one has said it's snobby to buy beans roasted at an independent place.

Another vote for the de'longhi magnifica. Had ours 4mths now and it get used a lot!! Looks great, a doddle to use and lovey coffee!
If you can stretch your budget I would highly recommend it

I know @FrToddUnctious, I said that it may 'seem' snobby to do so as I feel like coffee can often have a pretentious/exclusive over tone to it. Certainly my mum thinks I'm a snob for buying my beans from an independent place rather than a jar of gold blend from Tesco but, like @HundredMilesAnHour, I live near so many amazing roasteries that it isn't any more inconvenient.

We have an awesome bean to cup gaggia machine, which has been sitting broken in the utility room for a year. We're in Northern Ireland and it has to be sent to England for repair. Last time Parcelforce dropped it on its way home and it had to go back again to be re repaired In it's absence, we're using cafetieres and a Waring bean to filter jug machine which was v cheap because Currys were delisting them. I also bought an aeropress and can't make a decent cup of coffee with it. For those of you who like it what am I doing wrong?
Oh and if anyone knows who'll repair a Gaggia in Ireland, let me know

In all honesty I am probably only an aspiring coffee snob as I do buy my beans from an independent roaster but I have found a company that deliver excellent quality for around the same/less than supermarket beans cost.

"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!"

More insults. Well done you Do you always resort to insults when your ill thought out arguments fail?

I do not see you as being very kind for your comments as you have said nothing of any value. The OP said she didn't want pods but you are obviously not very good at reading comprehension.

I do appreciate you giving yourself a pat on the back though as it is important to self congratulate even when you are being both offensive and a waste of space in an otherwise helpful thread.

Can you tell I am not a fan of thread bullies?

@PumpkinPiloter what company is that? I tried Pact before but it was a bit hit and miss, I like Lavazza Oro beans best

We have. 3 yr old Nespresso - best gadget I've ever bought for the kitchen

I admit I am a coffee snob.
I have a subscription for freshly roasted beans and if I run out before my delivery I buy them from an independent cafe.
I have a professional espresso machine but it cost ££££ - so not what you are after but what I recommend is:

1. good quality coffee (keep it the fridge or freezer)
2. cafetiere

You will have a much better cup of coffee than any pod machine would give you.

DandySeaLioness

My current favourite is RAVE The Italian Job. It was £12 but went up to £14 recently (probably loss in value in the pound). Makes a lovely espresso with lots of crema.

Oh just to add that although Rave its own site you can also order from amazon. If you have prime membership it means free next day delivery and never seems to have been roasted more than a few weeks ago.

If you are as disorganised as me you may find this helpful!

Get one of these, we've ditched our coffee machine over it!

lhco.co.uk/Bialetti-Moka-Express-6-Cup-Espresso-Maker-p3259.html?utm_source=google-shopping&utm_medium=organic&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw5nAjsf31AIVbrftCh1hdglJEAQYAiABEgKu-_D_BwE#.WV-yCDx4XYU

Moka pot for the stove if you want to make coffee under pressure.

It's what the Italians use and they should know.

@PumpkinPiloter many thanks!! I shall order some from Amazon :)

@DandySeaLioness I really hope you like it as much as we do!

I've got 6 aeropresses in various locations. I'm a fan. Environmentally good too. DH fan too. Buy good (Ethiopian) ground coffee.