Coffee Machine for student DD

[LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood]

DD2 is in first year of uni. She loves coffee but usually drinks instant. I don’t drink coffee and know nothing about it. I’d like to get her a compact, very easy to use coffee machine as a surprise Christmas present. She has a studio flat with her own kitchen so no risk of others breaking it. It needs to be very very easy to use (she is neurodivergent and finds uni life a bit overwhelming at times and having quick and easy access to a cup of coffee would, I think, be really comforting to her). I’d prefer to spend under £100 as she has other things too that she needs. But could go more if necessary.

I'm not a coffee drinker but are the pods for these things not very expensive? It's a lovely thoughtful present though.

What coffee does she go for in a coffee shop (espresso, latte, americano etc?)

I’d get her a cafetière, the bodum ones come in fun colours, and a few bags of decent ground cofeee like lavazza. Anything pod based isn’t a great idea unless you can afford to keep buying them for her as they’re too expensive for the average student budget.

I’d go for an aero press-much cheaper than pods as an ongoing cost.

I'd get her a Hario V60 and a coffee subscription. That way she has zero costs other than boiling the kettle.

Buy a cafetière plus a few full sized bags of coffee from Lidl (honestly their Italian roast is the best)

I'd go for an aeropress. It's really easy to use coffee can be as strong or weak as you like and ground coffee is much cheaper then the pods. If she likes a frothy milky coffee you could get a milk frother to go with it.

You could get her any Nespresso machine and some refillable stainless pods so she could use NICE coffee. (And isn’t locked into that particular cult.) I have linked to an example from Amazon Aus. You’d have to ensure that the pods are the right size for the machine you chose
deal: RECAPS Stainless Steel Refillable Filters Reusable Pods Compatible with Nespresso Original Line Machine But Not All (3 Pods+120 Lids+1 Tamper) amzn.asia/d/d7mDzd9 Reusable Pods

There are subscriptions for coffee pods that make a machine a reasonable option, something like wonky coffee.

We tried refill nespresso pods after DM bought me some and they were crap. You just can’t pack the coffee in as tightly yourself so the result is a weak watery coffee.

Nespresso. You can buy the pods in aldi. They aren’t expensive

Pod machine. Three types: dolce gusto - very cheap - £30 or so. Middle range - tassimo - £50. Pricier- Nespresso £100+. Nespresso pods more expensive but the coffee is much nicer so I'd suggest finding a cheap Nespresso machine.

Though I am also fond of my aeropress! They're £15 or so. That is completely manual, you push down hard to create the pressure to make coffee from a spoon of filter coffee so a bit more effort than a machine, but there's an almost unlimited range of filter coffee out there!)

This!

I bough my DC the dolce gusto one - pods are in Aldi or b&m - it does make a good cup of coffee for a budget machine.

I was trying to quote and agree wirh a nespresso and pods from Aldi

How about a subscription instead, DP has this one from Lavazza and really rates it.https://www.lavazza.co.uk/en/my-way-coffee-subscription/coffee-machine-and-capsules

Depends what coffee she likes. I drink black coffee and would have loved this plus a ground coffee subscription as a student, but no good if she likes lattes etc.

https://www.lakeland.co.uk/61783/lakeland-digital-to-go-coffee-machine-with-travel-mug

Dd has a mini Dulce Gusto one. Can find a wide variety of pods for it.

We got student ds one of the cheaper Nespresso machines and wonky coffee pods to go with it. He loves it.

Be careful with nespresso. The newer machines (which are cheaper) only take the special pods (vertuo, i think they're called) not the different supermarket ones and others that say nespresso compatible.

The machines that take these biger range of pods are a bit dearer.

I'd get her an aero press of a drip filter maker. Both are super easy to clean and cheap to make lovely coffee with. No expensive pods.

I’ve got the smallest Nespresso-type machine that uses the original shape pods - it’s called a Pixie. At the time it cost about £100 but they seem to have shot up in price now and you’d be hard-pressed to get one for under £150.

However, I did get a very similar one in Aldi for £65, a brand called 'Ambiano', so it might be worth keeping an eye out in the middle aisle.

It’s very simple to use. And I buy pods from Wonky Coffee (someone mentioned them upthread) which are great. 100 pods for just over £25. You can set up a subscription, get them delivered at whatever frequency you choose. They’re very slightly dented so are officially rejects but I’ve literally never had a problem with a single one of them not working. And they’re metal (or recyclable) so you can recycle the pods (there’s a clever gadget you can buy to pop out the used coffee grounds).

My dh has an aeropress and I don't find it simple to use at all! Maybe I'm just a bit daft but there are so many steps to follow.

I would just get her a percolator jug, those conical filters, and ground coffee in bags.

Or even simpler, just some vouchers for Caffè Nero or similar and then she can take a friend for a treat sometimes

Ps the aeropress is a bit of a bother to clean too, whereas the conical percolator is a doddle, like washing up a bowl

I had a Lavazza A Modo Mio for a while - cheap, looks good, tasty coffee and there are compostable pods available. Feel like it would be a good one for a student. I got rid of mine because i was trying to cut down on plastic exposure and I think there are heated parts including plastic in all cheap coffee machines. I miss it though, kept it ready to go right by my bed so just leaned over for coffee in the mornings.