Do you have a coffee machine?

[Bimgy85]

And which would you recommend?

I want something that I could have an americano but also a latte if I wanted? Is there an 'all in one' coffee machine? and are they really complicated?

Budget would be around €50 I'd say, seen a tassimo advertised for that in Shaw's yesterday.

Recommendations please?

I have:

A tassimo pod machine
A Moka
A cafetiere
A filter machine

All have advantages and disadvantages.

Tassimo pods ca be recycled but yo have to take them and it can e a couple of miles. Also I drink black coffee so it's nice to be able to offer people something different.

The Moka doesn't work well on my gas hob but does make fab coffee

The cafetiere I find goes cold quickly and the coffee looks stronger than it is.

The filter machine makes good coffee and keeps it warm.

I know some pods can be recycled, but really, it'd be better if they weren't made at all in the first place. There are simpler options.

My DP has a DeLonghi but to be honest the coffee isn’t nearly as good as the Lidl Columbian I make in my cafetière.

Coffee pod recycling - 100 drop off points for the whole UK
sorry but that is not a good enough reason to waste those resources in the first place

I've got a Jura Impressa X7, picked it up at a cafe closing down sale for £500 in 2006. Twin bean holders (decaf and caf for me), twin grind, twin boilers, steamer, milk frother, programmable drinks (set grams of coffee from each hopper, amount of water, amount of steamed milk, amount of froth). It's a big fucker though: www.caffesociety.co.uk/jura-x7-reconditioned-coffee-machine

I got it for myself as a present when I got a job mostly working from home. It's been amaaaaaazing ever since.

I get beans from redmonkeycoffee.co.uk who are the only people in the world (that I've found to do really nice decaf for espresso - so nice you can't tell. The Jura can do mixes from both grinders, too - I have a button for "all caf" "half" "none" for 8am, 12 and 4pm+! So decadent.

I have a Nespresso machine I love it. Versa

I have had an electric grinder for years and the resulting coffee is in no way bitter at all. That’s your opinion, not everyone’s.

I’m glad that you are happy with your appliance but it’s a very well established opinion, held by enough people who are a lot more snobby about their coffee than me to make it pretty much received wisdom.

www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/features/best-coffee-grinders-should-always-buy-burr-blade/

Do try a burr grinder one day. I think you’ll notice a difference.

Cafetière here. I do have a pod machine but the coffee was grim and the pods non recyclable so it hasn't been used for years.

Refillable coffee pods are available to buy now. Nespresso compatible.

I would second the burr grinder thing. It makes a smoother drink.

We have a Tassimo, which I love, but I pull the discs apart and use the coffee grounds for the flower bed and chuck the plastic pods in the recycling. Except the milk ones, for some reason the foil on those shreds my fingers. Luckily we don''t use that many milk discs because . . .

If you like lattes, the nicest ones are made with proper milk heated in the microwave and then an espresso pod. :)

chuck the plastic pods in the recycling
Except they are not plastic and cannot go in recycling

they risk contaminating a whole batch - that will go to landfill
and they will DEFINITELY go to landfill

chuck the plastic pods in the recycling
"Except they are not plastic and cannot go in recycling"

They are plastic, but didn't realise they can't go in the regular recycling. Wonder why not.

I have tassimo one - think it was Bosch. £44. The pods I buy from amazon, £16 roughly for 5 boex, so 80 pods.

There is a suggestion that new coffee pod points can be setup for charity - but it is greenwash, big cities only and other places are being closed down.

Eco disaster - do not use unless in a big city and even then think hard.

muddling
They are NOT plastic
they are multi coated aluminium
they are an UTTER waste of the planets resources
and require very specialist recycling
better not to use them in the first place

But according to this the Tassimo discs are plastic (although they have a foil lid):

From the Terracyle website:

What happens to the waste

Once collected, the Tassimo T-DISCs, foil wraps, L'OR capsules, Kenco Eco Refll packs and coffee jar lids are cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products.

We've got a Krups Dolce Gusto machine that I adore. Makes really good Cafe au Lait from a pod that I drink far too many of a day, or espresso shots into hot oat milk.

I've also got a cafetiere that we use if there are several of us drinking it at the same time, and a Bodum frother pot that you use in the microwave.

Both systems as good as the other.

Get a moka pot and a milk frother (one like a kettle not a hand held one). Then you can choose the coffee you want with no restrictions. Also saves on all those plastic pods and easier to clean. Maybe even get a coffee grinder and get really fresh coffee. Those expresso machines are a pain to clean and the pod ones are you expensive to run and restrictive.

For that budget, I would recommend an Aeropress and add to hot milk. We take it on holiday or work with us! At home, we used to have a Gaggia Classic which died a death after 10+ years. We now have a Rok Expresso maker at home if you feel ore flush. i bulk buy tins of Ily when they are on offer - cheaper than pods. There is a far bigger variety of choice/quality using ground coffee or grinding your own beans imho.

I have am Andrew James barista style coffee machine. It comes with a milk steamer and is so easy to use and clean. £69.99 on Amazon

Even if the pods are plastic, I reckon it's highly unlikely they're recyclable with household recycling. You can check your postcode via this BBC article www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/science-environment-45496884

Aeropress, burr grinder and milk frother is what I’d buy.

And another vote for burr vs blade, definitely.

Those expresso machines are a pain to clean

They aren’t a pain to clean at all.

I agree about not buying pod machines. the coffee is very poor. Definitely make the jump to an espresso machine if you can.