coffee machines

[mrsleroyjethrogibbs]

So I would love one of those bean to cup thingys but clearly I dont want to take out a second mortgage, so will probably look for something second hand and cheap to buy instead.
We like cappuchinos or expresos so what woudl you recommend?

Get a mini frother/whipper instead and you get the cappucino froth without the Clooney mark-up

We have an Nespresso machine and it makes great coffee.

The machine itself is not that expensive, you get the basic ones for around £100, there is one on Amazon at the moment for £129 including the milk frother.

I would not get a machine that grinds the beans. They are a lot more palaver and IMO, the coffee does not taste better than Nespresso.

I've got a Jura bean-to-cup and while I love it, it does have to go back for servicing quite frequently. My previous manual model lasted 10 years with no problems. I'd go for a basic Gaggia in your position. You can also get reconditioned bean-to-cup machines.

i have a gaggia classic and a bean grinding machine. lovely coffee.

we've a tassimo that was half price before Xmas, £48 IIRC. makes good coffee... we had a proper fancy gaggia one but it was such a pain that we used it about 6 times before it has been retired... too complicated and £££

Yeni
We almost bought a Jura until we noticed that the shop had about 30 Juras sitting waiting to be repaired in the back room. The shop assistant sheepishly admitted that they were a bit temperemental.

It's not even the actual coffee maker part going wrong! It just starts telling you to send it back for service and flashing up messages on the screen. I'm sure it is a deliberate swizz. Avoid anything with a digital readout!

We have this one- it's great, and much cheaper than bean-to-cup.

I've got a Senseo and I love it. Makes a nice espresso (although not too concentrated) with that froth on top (without any milk, iyswim). Got it 2nd hand on ebay for £18! Believe you can make cappucinos too altho never tried it. If I want milk I just heat some in mug first before I add the coffee.

what about this one

WE've got this one. Makes good espresso. Haven't tried making anything else, but it can be done.

thank you everyone. I have gone for a bogostandard model stocked by starbucks as I heard that they were bombproof

Gaggia, Gaggia, Gaggia.

I have a gaggia classic at home.

But for bean to cup this was £300 or so on e-bay new. Had it a couple of years now, no problems at all.

There's far less waste than using the pods. The coffee is yummy when it's so freshly ground. Just needs a proper clean once a week. Easy.

We have a Tassimo and it is fab!

I 2nd weebump's Gaggia Classic it's my best friend!!!!!!!

Errrm what's the once a week cleaning thing?

Is that different to that button on the right that pushes steam out after you've finished? DP told me to do that every time which I do but nothing else. 2 years on mine is fab too.

hairygodmother
We have a senseo, and do you find the decaff tastes a bit gross? Also it doesn't heat up hot enough...But other than that I like it

Never tried the decaff, purpleduck, so couldn't tell you! And agree that it doesn't stay hot enough, just have to drink it quickly! Or add hot milk, which is what I do. Keep meaning to get some refillable pods so can use my own coffee though. Somewhere on my list of things to do ...

hulababy you dont happen to want some tassimo discs do you? I bought two packs for our machine and it promptly packed up..

Haven't looked up other peoples link's so forgive me if this has been done, but argos had a bean to cup machine in around christmas time for around £200. We've got a cheap migros (swiss supermarket) own brand machine which looks almost identical to th argos one. Its quite basic, but we've had it for 6 years. Mum and dad have a jura and its always going wrong. I wouldn't bother with a machine that doesn't do it all for you, as you just don't get the use out of it. The pod machines are as good as any, for a quick cup..

... However, you are limited to their choice of coffee. When we were on holiday, there was a stove top jug esspresso maker in the caravan. We were surprised how good the coffee was from it. If your only making one cup a day i'd recommend it. And their only about £10. I plan to get one for camping with :-).

mrsleroyjethrogibbs - yes, sure We go through them loads lol! Email me and I can sort payment, and P&P, etc. claire.king13(at)btinternet.com

Thrifty,
I have one of those stove top ones BUT I also have a rayburn cookmaster which I only turn on as and when I need to cook, so therefore it would take about 20-30 mins to wait for the cooker to heat up and then I would be able to use it. Its brill when the cooker is on as I tend to just pop it on the hotplate as many times as I need to.

hulababy I have emailed you

We have a senseo and the only bad thing is it is a bit cold if you add cold milk, i usually heat milk in a mug first and then top up with coffee, gives a latte style coffee

MilaMae, it's the bean-to-cup Synchrony Logic machine that needs proper cleaning. I have it in the office, and you just take out the insides in one piece and rinse under the tap. Easy.

Of course, machine aside, what makes a good coffee is the actual coffee you use. Fresh ground is the bestest. Fresh ground Illy beans are the way to go. And apparently they've always been fair trade without using the label. Yum.

fabby i think you are quite right. Cant wait to try out my new machine