Coffee machines - whaddaya know?

[Dave200]

Blown2CV said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine anything having a better faff-to-reward ratio than Nespresso. I can have a perfect double espresso of my choosing, complete with beautiful crema top, served within a minute of scraping myself out of bed in the morning. A minute longer with the Aeroccino (were I so inclined) and I could have a fantastic latte/cappuccino.

I was a huge Moka fan for espresso until it came time to replace my old pot. A quick wander around John Lewis after Christmas, and I came out with a Nespresso machine, Aeroccino and £75 of capsule vouchers for under £200. A bargain.

I can't imagine why it took me so long to convert - and, at ~30p per double espresso, it's hardly wallet-bursting stuff.

i've tried various pod machines, and whilst they're definitely easy, i've always found the coffee a variously poo. I can definitely see the point, but i'd rather expend a bit more effort for a bit more reward. Each to their own though, and i haven't tried the whole world of pods so maybe i am wrong.

Have you tried a Nespresso machine with a pod that suits your taste? (An easy task to find given the huge choice)
My grinder sits unused since I bought the machine, and I'm confident that I couldn't do a blind tasting and get it right (manual vs machine).

[TX1]

^^^ Depends on the manual you are comparing the Nespresso with, there are grinders and there are grinders however the difference between cheap ones and a decent entry level one say a £300 grinder is vast.
Same goes for the machine itself and than you have the beans.
Over xmas I spent some time in a hotel which had a few Nespresso machines, I tried a few of the blends they had and have to admit they are pretty good however I found them missing something and the more I had the more lacking I found the taste.

[uncinqsix]

Blown2CV said:

with a hand grinder it takes about 5 minutes solid grinding for a cup's worth. That's not factoring in time and wastage when the kids want a go and spill beans and grounds all over the place!

You need one of those HG-One hand grinders mentioned earlier in the thread - 17 seconds to grind a double shot worth (incidentally, almost exactly the same as my electric grinder takes )

[Blown2CV]

giblet said:

It takes me less than 3 mins to hand grind an aeropress scoop worth of beans. Brought my gear along with me on a trip to Pakistan but I've only used it once in 5 days as milky brews are the go to drink here.

2 scoops in a cup though

[Blown2CV]

CarTimeNow said:

Blown2CV said:

zedx19 said:

Thanks for the tips, I'll see how I find this Rave Ground Coffee first, grinding beans just for a morning brew while my 2 year old and 10 month old boys run riot is less then ideal lol

with a hand grinder it takes about 5 minutes solid grinding for a cup's worth. That's not factoring in time and wastage when the kids want a go and spill beans and grounds all over the place!

I have a small electric grinder and it's about 30 seconds from putting the beans in to putting the ground coffee into the aeropress.
I tested the paper filters reusability and you can get 2 full pressings from one with no discernible lack of quality

i quite like doing it though. Also if it takes longer and is more effort, then in theory i drink less coffee.

[giblet]

Blown2CV said:

2 scoops in a cup though

2 aeropress spoons of ground coffee per mug? Seems steep.

[Blown2CV]

giblet said:

Blown2CV said:

2 scoops in a cup though

2 aeropress spoons of ground coffee per mug? Seems steep.

yep... that's what it says in the instructions, 2 level spoons.

[giblet]

Blown2CV said:

giblet said:

Blown2CV said:

2 scoops in a cup though

2 aeropress spoons of ground coffee per mug? Seems steep.

yep... that's what it says in the instructions, 2 level spoons.

Just had a look at the instructions (via poxy gprs) and you are right. I stand corrected. It says two spoons for a double "espresso". I've always used a single spoon of beans and made it using the inverted method and filled to the top. Might give two spoons a try in the morning just to see how it compares.

[Blown2CV]

giblet said:

Blown2CV said:

giblet said:

Blown2CV said:

2 scoops in a cup though

2 aeropress spoons of ground coffee per mug? Seems steep.

yep... that's what it says in the instructions, 2 level spoons.

Just had a look at the instructions (via poxy gprs) and you are right. I stand corrected. It says two spoons for a double "espresso". I've always used a single spoon of beans and made it using the inverted method and filled to the top. Might give two spoons a try in the morning just to see how it compares.

I guess it just depends how strong you like it, but an Americano would have a double espresso topped up with water and that's generally the strength is go for. Can be heady with a strong roast though I admit

[Dave200]

TX1 said:

^^^ Depends on the manual you are comparing the Nespresso with, there are grinders and there are grinders however the difference between cheap ones and a decent entry level one say a £300 grinder is vast.
Same goes for the machine itself and than you have the beans.
Over xmas I spent some time in a hotel which had a few Nespresso machines, I tried a few of the blends they had and have to admit they are pretty good however I found them missing something and the more I had the more lacking I found the taste.

I think I'm going to have to resign myself to either having an uncultured palate, or having never truly experienced good coffee (in spite of buying around Soho indies regularly). I'm sure Nespresso doesn't make the world's best coffee, and at 30p a shot nor should it be expected. But I just can't believe that the difference with anything else you can make in your own kitchen (without spending serious cash/effort) is much more than subjectivity and confirmation bias...

[All that jazz]

Still haven't sorted out a 'proper' coffee machine yet, but... I was recently gifted a Swan SK18110 percolator which has been sat in its box til now. I decided to fire it up but I think I'm doing it wrong . I got a packet of Lavazza Rossa "medium strength" coffee "suitable for all coffee makers" from Sainsburys just to get started. The blurb on the packet seems to suggest that 2 heaped dsps will make 3 cups of coffee so I bunged it in and enough water for same. As it turned out there was only enough water to make about 2 average mugs so I was expecting it to be pretty strong, which is how I like it. Unfortunately the opposite was true and the coffee was rather weak and watery (I have it black). Now the obvious solution here is to bung in more coffee but 2 heaped dessert spoons of coffee just to make 1 decent strength mug of coffee will get very expensive very fast. Am I doing something wrong?

Perhaps a stupid question but am I right in thinking that you have to replace both the coffee and the filter if you want more, or is the coffee still good for another run?

[Blown2CV]

more coffee, less water, make one mug at a time. Oh and mugs > cups.

[All that jazz]

Blown2CV said:

more coffee, less water, make one mug at a time. Oh and mugs > cups.

For comedy I tried re-using the coffee to see how it turned out but the results weren't good so I've answered my own question there.

Just made another brew now with fresh coffee and filter. I put 2.5 heaped dessert spoons of Lavazza in and enough water to make 5 cups according to the gauge on the side. There was enough to just fill my pint mug and it was a nice strength. I usually get through about 10 pint mugs of Nescafe per day so by using the same yardstick that's going to be best part of a full 250g packet of Lavazza. Surely one shouldn't need such a huge amount of ground coffee to make a reasonable strength cuppa? I like it fairly strong but not stand-your-spoon-up-in-it strong.

[giblet]

Never used a percolater but how about trying some stronger coffee? Taylor Lava Java hit the spot for me before when I wanted a proper hit.

[Schmy]

Blown2CV said:

with a hand grinder it takes about 5 minutes solid grinding for a cup's worth.

Which grinder? That sounds absurdly long. My Porlex takes a minute for 12g coffee beans.

Recently that grinder got a little tired so I got an Iberital MC2 and the consistency vs hand grinder is noticeably better.

[21TonyK]

Inspired by another thread and out of curiosity I picked up a Gaggia Cubika off ebay which was half working.

Took it apart, descaled it and replaced the gaskets on the head and boiler. Works like new again.

Not as good as my old Expobar but then it only cost £12.50 and not £2k and still makes a half decent cup with minimum fuss.

So much so I bought another for work and another two "broken" ones to repair or spares.

[giblet]

Schmy said:

Blown2CV said:

with a hand grinder it takes about 5 minutes solid grinding for a cup's worth.

Which grinder? That sounds absurdly long. My Porlex takes a minute for 12g coffee beans.

Recently that grinder got a little tired so I got an Iberital MC2 and the consistency vs hand grinder is noticeably better.

I don't weigh my beans all the time but I find it takes me a couple of mins of grinding with my porlex. The handle is a little loose now though, had it for less than a year. Somewhat annoying as it's slipped off a few times and cut me.

[F3RNY7]

For me, you still can't beat the bog standard filter coffee machines where a big jug sits on a hotplate and the water drips in through the grounds.

Got one 5 years ago for £20 and still going strong. Perfect balance between not being a pain to operate/clean and making plenty of coffee in one go. I don't want espressos/macchiatos/lattes - just a big jug of hot coffee that's better than instant!

[Schmy]

giblet said:

Schmy said:

Blown2CV said:

with a hand grinder it takes about 5 minutes solid grinding for a cup's worth.

Which grinder? That sounds absurdly long. My Porlex takes a minute for 12g coffee beans.

Recently that grinder got a little tired so I got an Iberital MC2 and the consistency vs hand grinder is noticeably better.

I don't weigh my beans all the time but I find it takes me a couple of mins of grinding with my porlex. The handle is a little loose now though, had it for less than a year. Somewhat annoying as it's slipped off a few times and cut me.

It's the handle that's failing on mine too. Worn away the spindle so slips off. A shame because the burr itself is very good.

[RobbieTheTruth]

21TonyK said:

Inspired by another thread and out of curiosity I picked up a Gaggia Cubika off ebay which was half working.

Took it apart, descaled it and replaced the gaskets on the head and boiler. Works like new again.

Not as good as my old Expobar but then it only cost £12.50 and not £2k and still makes a half decent cup with minimum fuss.

So much so I bought another for work and another two "broken" ones to repair or spares.

Great idea - keep doing it, from Ebay, Gumtree, Freecycle etc - fix them up and sell them to members on here.