Coffee machine for a beginner

[TiredButTerrific]

Hoping to understand which coffee machine (if at all) will be good for me-I usually do instant coffee (Nescafé) with milk once a day-but have started hating it. At cafes, I usually order a flat white/capucino/latte/mocha and like these. So I do I make myself good coffee at home ? I’m new to coffee machine land- but I know machine would need to be compact, less than 100 quid, pods easily available and should be able to try different flavours. Don’t necessarily need frothy milk if it goes out of budget.

should I be going the coffee machine way and what can I buy within my budget ?

I would get yourself a basic Nespresso machine and an electric milk frother - Dualit make a good one but there’s other brands as well. That should come to under £100.

For the price point this combo is the best option for the type of coffee you like to drink. I’m a coffee snob with a £££ manual set up and grinder but not everyone wants to or has the time do this which is why Nespresso is so popular!

I would agree, we started with a nespresso machine and then moved onto a bean-to-cup machine (Scott’s) with a steamer.

Depends how much you drink, beans begin to degrade after 3 days of opening. But very nice if you drink enough to keep them fresh.
Nespresso ideal, make awesome coffee but quite expensive.

Hi Everyone,
My OH likes a simple pod machine - ( simple things for simple minds eh lol ) and
at the moment we have a Bosch Tassimo but the pods are becoming really expensive
I have see a Nespresso machine for about £60 and the pods seem a lot cheaper
Has anyone tried both and got a preference ?

I will admit to being a Coffee Bore

I am not convinced about making 'steamed milk' at home

I use an Aeropress - sometimes and picked up one of these on holiday a few years ago - along with a pair if safety boots as you do

https://www.roys.co.uk/46680023-swan-programmable-coffee-maker-sk13130n

Does me two cups for breakfast with minimum hassle

You will also need a 'Burr' grinder, scales and a supply of Coffee Beans. I use

https://roundhillroastery.com/

Because pre lockdown it was down the road from work

You can get 'pods' from independent suppliers eg

https://colonnacoffee.com/

But I dont have a pod machine so cant comment

Some places do 'coffee brewing' courses have a look on the Internet

https://www.lorespresso.com/en_gb/p/l-or-barista-sublime-100-bundle-sunset-rubis-summer24-1n

L'or pod machines are good and compatible with nespresso type pods. Often on offer too.

My 15 year old De Longhi barista machine finally wore out after much use and I bought a pretty decent replacement from Aldi, £49.99 (they still have them) which I thought would be temporary but which may do me for a few years. It (like the old one) has a milk frother that works OK but which I rarely use - I heat the milk in the microwave beforehand.

Cuisinart Grind and Brew. This is the single cup but bigger machines are also available.
https://amzn.eu/d/0dPlfpV

Otherwise, buy coffee bags. Taylors are good, as are Percol which Tesco sell.

I’d reccomend the l’or Nespresso machine as well, I’ve had real Nespresso machines (both original line and vertuo) and now I have a sage espresso machine.

for a budget of £100 ISH (104.99) you can get a Nespresso compatible machine and a milk frother/heater and that will get you decent coffee - plus 100 capsules to get you started. An espresso machine requires a grinder (pre ground beans degrade in quality VERY quickly) and if you can find one with an inbuilt grinder for £100, it’ll be pretty bad quality and inconsistent.

the other thing to consider is the coffee itself - fresh coffee beans can get expensive - you’re looking probably £7-8 per bag at the lowest and that’ll get you 12-14 espressos. Nespresso capsules are much more affordable - if you go for the original line (OL) you can get them in supermarkets starting at about £2 for 10, ranging up to £6 ish for ‘official’ Nespresso ones. I tried a lot and actually found l’or and dualit were my preference over nespresso ones. You can also get flavoured ones (espresso beans come in blends to give subtle taste notes, as opposed to flavours like caramel, vanilla, hazelnut, etc)

the vertuo line can only use vertuo capsules which you can only buy from nespresso so less cost effective.

OL ones look a bit like top hats, vertuo ones look more like flying saucers.

Yes - that's the one i was looking at :)

They are really good machines! I’ve bought two as presents for people.
nespresso aren’t putting much effort into the original line now, they are pushing the Vertuo line (the patent for the original line capsules expired which is why you can get knock off capsules everywhere these days, which is what they used to make the most money from!)

Get a bog standard nespresso machine. I get the Starbucks capsules on Amazon on subscription - they’re compatible, aluminium so recyclable and much cheaper. You can get cheap pods in any supermarket - see what’s on offer that week. I would avoid the plastic ones though as they tend to be weak and leak into the machine. I got a nespresso milk frother on eBay years ago and still works to this day.

If you’re used to instant coffee, this will be perfect for you. Don’t bother with a fancy espresso machine that needs coffee beans. Or the Vertuo machine which is a con because the pods are extortionate.

Try cworks for your fresh beans. Excellent company and excellent coffee. Usually roasted the day of despatch.

With subscription I'm paying £17 a kilo which works out at about 30p a cup. About the same cost as decent brand nespresso pods, but an infinitely better coffee!

I’ve tried them - they are ok, not my favourite - buying a kilo is a great way to save money but it lasts me SO long (I live on my own and only have 1-2 a day) and I definitely notice after a few weeks the beans aren’t as good. I do freeze them occasionally but I’ve come to realise I’d rather just buy a smaller amount, more often!

i think though that the quality of espresso you get with a cheap machine/grinder/beans is worse than a decent nespresso capsule. My sister bought a sage machine (which isn’t even the optimal way of making espresso!) after seeing mine but still uses supermarket beans and doesn’t understand why the coffee isn’t great!