Recommend me an espresso machine (max £200)

Recommend me an espresso machine (max £200)

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Discussion

James P

2,950 posts

236 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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Paddy_N_Murphy said:
biggrin

How do you think I ended up with mine !!!!

(bloody PH spending power strikes again !)
Exactly the same here smile

Coffee is so good I haven't boiled the kettle since we got it.

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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We've got a Gaggia coffee deluxe that we've had for years. It had stopped working, but a good descaling with stuff that says not to be used in espresso machines and removing and cleaning the mesh behind the coffee holder sems to have got it going again. It does keep scaling up again, though, which may be a concern in hard water areas.

TopGear7

339 posts

175 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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Paddy_N_Murphy said:
From this thread


Paddy_N_Murphy said:
judas said:
We have a machine: beans in hopper, water in reservoir, press button, instant freshly-ground coffee cloud9

Picked it up on holiday in Germany several years ago for about £200. Still haven't seen any other beans-to-cup machines over here for under £500.
Almost this ^^^^



But at £259
tongue out

Great Coffee - everyday........
Doh- just seen the £200 limit...... but hey £400 to £269 is a BARGAIN. right?


Edited by Paddy_N_Murphy on Wednesday 12th September 08:46
Could you tell me what the name / model of that machine above is? Sounds fantastic.

Turn7

23,500 posts

220 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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Paddy_N_Murphy said:
I swear you work for them!!!

PugwasHDJ80

7,522 posts

220 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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A little birds tells me that Starbucks has a pod machin coming out which is very good quality and a fair bit cheaper than a nespresso.

We LOVE our nespresso machine- we used to haven a reasonable espresso maker that got used once a month- we now use the nespresso daily.

The coffee is at least as good as a chain and its just SO easy and quick- I have time ti make a nice cioffe first thing in the morning now!

Digger

14,588 posts

190 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
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CraigVmax said:
VX Foxy said:
CraigVmax said:
go and try the francis francis, I promise you wont look back
I bought one of these...it's crap frown After steaming milk you need to wait 10 minutes before you can make any more coffee...grrr
who dont you make the coffees then steam the milk?
I have the above imaged Delonghi. There is a trick you can pull should you decide to steam milk prior to making the coffee, which removes the need to wait for the machine to cool & desteam itself ready to make coffee . . .

1. Steam milk
2. Turn off Steam function (press Steam button to turn off light)
3. Steam pressure is still high so place a mug with water in under steam spout to avoid getting burnt
4. Turn knob all the way to release the steam . . . after a few seconds it will dispense hot water as per normal. Then turn knob to Off
5. You can now make a coffee immediately!

This may work with a Francis Francis, but never used one so not sure!

CraigVmax

12,248 posts

281 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
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Good tip, it used to work on my old FF but doesn't seem to on this one

MagicalTrevor

6,476 posts

228 months

Sunday 14th October 2012
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I personally didn't like the flavour of the Nespresso coffee whenever I've tried them but there was a demonstration of the Lavazza Modo Mio pods in John Lewis. We both thought they were much better than the Nespresso options so we ended up buying an AEG machine for £150

Linky

The only downsides are that the capsules are only available online, in Waitrose or John Lewis. Other supermarkets don't stock them, however that's not a problem for us as there's a Waitrose and John Lewis near us

Edited by MagicalTrevor on Sunday 14th October 11:21

oyster

12,577 posts

247 months

Monday 15th October 2012
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I've gone the other way.

Had a Dolce Gusto and Nespresso pod machines and got rid to replace with a proper Gaggia machine.

More than half the coffees we drink are lattes and capuccinos so there is hassle with frothing milk anyway - means the extra time to fill and clean/empty the espresso filter is academic.

And the machine will pay for itself in a year or two in saved pod costs.

And I can buy the best espresso coffee available.

And my bin doesn't fill up with plastic dics that leak coffee/milk all over the bottom of the bin.

NDA

21,485 posts

224 months

Monday 15th October 2012
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oyster said:
I've gone the other way.

Had a Dolce Gusto and Nespresso pod machines and got rid to replace with a proper Gaggia machine.

More than half the coffees we drink are lattes and capuccinos so there is hassle with frothing milk anyway - means the extra time to fill and clean/empty the espresso filter is academic.

And the machine will pay for itself in a year or two in saved pod costs.

And I can buy the best espresso coffee available.

And my bin doesn't fill up with plastic dics that leak coffee/milk all over the bottom of the bin.
You did the right thing!

I have a Gaggia after becoming fed up with the quality and cost of pod rubbish. The coffee tastes better, the cost is cheaper and there's a world of choice.

I previously owned Nespresso, Tassimo and Philips machines. All of which left me disappointed. The Gaggia, I love. smile

Piglet

6,250 posts

254 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
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Our old and abused Gaggia Cubika has finally bitten the dust and despite best efforts won't come back to life so we treated ourselves to the Delongi bean to cup model shown above.

We're really pleased with it, it makes great coffee and is really fexible in that it easily switches between expresso and longer, americano type coffee. Can't comment on the milk functions as neither of us drink milk.

There is a BUT to it though, it's bleeding loud. OH is an early riser and can't use it first thing as in our open plan house, the noise reverberates around and wakes me up! We've had to revert to the filter machine for early morning coffee. It's taken a week for the dog to stop leaving the room when it's used! It's about the only downside we've come across though.


AnotherClarkey

3,589 posts

188 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
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PugwasHDJ80 said:
A little birds tells me that Starbucks has a pod machin coming out which is very good quality and a fair bit cheaper than a nespresso.

We LOVE our nespresso machine- we used to haven a reasonable espresso maker that got used once a month- we now use the nespresso daily.

The coffee is at least as good as a chain and its just SO easy and quick- I have time ti make a nice cioffe first thing in the morning now!
Looks more expensive to me - £5.99 for 12 pods instead of £2.98 for 10 Nespresso. Machines looks pricier too, starting at £150.

Piglet

6,250 posts

254 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
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Ahh that's interesting, we've got a fairly big stash of beans but I'll try some different ones at some point. Interestingly it seems to be using less coffee than we were putting into the Gaggia so there appears to be a saving (!)

The only time it's an issue is first thing in the morning and to some extent that's a feature of us living in a very open plan space where the kitchen is quite close to the bedroom - I suspect in a more traditional property it might be less of an issue.

We love it, thanks for the recommend for it, it's a great buy.

Pints

18,444 posts

193 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
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Paddy_N_Murphy said:
I hope their coffee machines are better than their microwave ovens.
I got through 2 DeLonghi ovens in as many years.

Digger

14,588 posts

190 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
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Not the done thing but I am on a health drive (no alcohol caffeine etc etc) & desperately need to find more space in my shoebox flat, so will be offloading my DeLonghi (as above).

It has been brilliant, and I have the box & everyfink. I will even descale the bugger & maybe throw in a free bag of coffee!!

As all owners will testify make sure to keep on top of cleaning the thing. . .& as mentioned it is LOUD first thing in the morning. smile

Will probably get advertised on avforums very soon so take a look there if interested.

Turn7

23,500 posts

220 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
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Digger said:
Not the done thing but I am on a health drive (no alcohol caffeine etc etc) & desperately need to find more space in my shoebox flat, so will be offloading my DeLonghi (as above).

It has been brilliant, and I have the box & everyfink. I will even descale the bugger & maybe throw in a free bag of coffee!!

As all owners will testify make sure to keep on top of cleaning the thing. . .& as mentioned it is LOUD first thing in the morning. smile

Will probably get advertised on avforums very soon so take a look there if interested.
whistle and, I wonder, what sort of money that may be ...... Pm if you like.

Digger

14,588 posts

190 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
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Turn7 said:
whistle and, I wonder, what sort of money that may be ...... Pm if you like.
Aah . . . I'll have to think about that overnight & send a PM in the morning. Not a lot will be the answer. smile

Flibble

6,470 posts

180 months

Thursday 1st November 2012
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Pints said:
I hope their coffee machines are better than their microwave ovens.
I got through 2 DeLonghi ovens in as many years.
I had a DeLonghi coffee machine, lasted 18 months. They are not built to last it seems.

G600

1,479 posts

186 months

Thursday 1st November 2012
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Flibble said:
I had a DeLonghi coffee machine, lasted 18 months. They are not built to last it seems.
I had 2 that leaked, changed for a gaggia classic in the end.

NorthEast

313 posts

236 months

Thursday 1st November 2012
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Flibble said:
I had a DeLonghi coffee machine, lasted 18 months. They are not built to last it seems.
I think the delonghi guarantee on their bean to cup is 2 years.