coffee machines/ cappuccino makers - recommendations please?

[LetThemEatCake]

need to start depriving our local Starbucks of our hefty financial contributions by indulging our caffeine addiction at home - can anyone recommend a machine they have and love? many thanks

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Hello, this thread is a little old and some of the recommendations might be out of date.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

Sopalot, we drink around 4 cups/day here, which equates to around a 500g pack of beans every 2 weeks or so. The beans cost around ? 4 a pack.

I don´t know how much each capsule costs exactly (???) but 56 capsules over a 2 week period surely costs A LOT more than my
? 4 ...

sorry..

? = EURO..

Personally i find my cafetiere makes better coffee with crema then my coffee machine, doesn't do the milk thing mind!

One packet doesn't last us two weeks. But I usually put the filter maker on and make more coffee which means we drink more therefore use more. With the capsules you make what you drink/need IYSWIM For us that works out more economical. But the way you add it up yes it would be more expensive with the capsules. They are about 25p each. Much more expensive

have you made a purchase yet LTEC?

I'd love a bean to cup, but could never afford one. I like the look of the DeLonghi that Norbert posted and may buy myself it for Christmas.

Currently I'm spending £7 a week on three coffees, which is daft really when I can get a machine for £60.

yy I know, the bean to cups are v expensive (I think the cheapest listed on this thread is £300).

I have one, only because i. I am lazy ii. my brother services Gaggia machines (so managed to get me a huuuge discount)

maybe purchase a bean grinder as well, at least that way the beans will be freshly ground?

We get perfect capuccino by making the coffee with one of those French metal things, then using a small Bodum cafetierre to 'pump' the milk for about 30 seconds.

In to the microwave for a minute or so, where it froths up and makes an absolutely perfect, creamy cappuccino, complete with drinking choc sprinkled on top.

I'm not joking.

DH discovered this a couple of weeks ago and we bask in tightwad smugness with white moustaches on our top lips.

It's got to be worth trying before forking out £300, non?

I have killed my nespresso dead.

Mind it has had a fair bit of use and it would happen just as I bought my monthly coffee supply.

wow that sounds amazing (and very cheap too!). You know I've never even tried one of those metal thingys although I've heard great things about them

as I said I am v laaazy

and I paid nowhere near £300 for my £800 gaggia machine

Oooh, my Dad's got one of those metal things but never uses it as he also has a Senseo. I reckon he'd give me it if I asked nicely.
What's the milk thing I'd need?
Would I also need a grinder then, because I'd have got one if I'd bought another machine.

My brother has the Nespresso one and it does make fabulous coffee but I can't bear all the little cartons. Very expensive and very un-green.

I love my Gaggia Cubika.

They do say, however, that the grinder is more important than the coffee maker and you have to fork out for a decent grinder.

Muggle, if you go to Amazon they've got a Bodum 1446 Milk Frother.

We just use the small cafetiere because we already had one and DH was thrilled to save £10.50!

I don't think the French thing is essential - I'm sure some people have very precise requirements as to the quality of the actual coffee but for me it's the lovely egg-whitey milk on top that counts.

Ditto the coffee grinder - probably essential if you're in to the perfect cup of coffee but we're happy with however it comes from the (pre-ground) packet.

< plebs >

I promise you can get the frothy top without spending a fortune though.

Well its not a cappuccino maker but we love our Bialetti Moka Express coffee pots. If you want a budget solution try one of these rather than an expensive coffee machne. We have 3 pots in different sizes.

Get good Lavazza or Illy ground coffee or better stil grind beans yourself and it takes just a few mnutes without all the faffing about of cleaning a cappuccino or espresso maker.

Oh yes, Italian not French .

we've had a Gaggia evolution for about 4 years now - and we love it. I prefer a machine which doesn't use pods - we've got a great local coffee shop where we can get a great range of fresh coffee.

We have got the Dualit Espressivo, very happy with it and would recommend it.

I have a Magimix L'expresso and I love it too (with Illy coffee) - I know there are better ones out there, but for the price (around 150 pounds from Amazon in the sale 4 yrs ago), I would certainly buy one again.

My aunt has the pods one and the amount of rubbish that machine generates is not worth it IMO! My parents had SAECO, and found that their machines vary wildly in terms of the final quality.

Gaggia also seems a safe bet from what I have seen...

mmmm all this talk of coffee....

gaggia espresso here. 5 years old and always made a suberb coffee and great creamer too. About £150 i paid so not sure what they re now.

sounds like gaggia lasts well too

I have a gaggia, and a basic krups burr grinder. 'Tis heaven. I love the idea of a bean to coffee machine, but drink both caffeinated and de-caf, as do friends, so I'd need either 2 machines or a hideously expensive one.

You can get great results with stovetop boilers (I use one when the gaggia needs descaling). However, you'll never get good results with lavazza - it's so thin and nasty. Bleh.

that's a very good point about the caffeinated and de-caf there deadpirate, my gaggia has a separate compartment for ground coffee so that's the only way I can get around that, as it is a bit of a problem. I end up avoiding coffee at night, as I have only have caffeinated beans, even when I'm really itching for one!