Coffee machines - whaddaya know?
Discussion
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.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.
F3RNY7 said:
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!
They're an improvement on instant but IMO they're on the bottom end of real coffee. We have one at work and admittedly usually some numpty's put way too much coffee in it in an attempt to make undrinkable tar, but I don't think they're as good as a cafetiere or an aeropress.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 said:
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.
The spindle is fine on mine, wear is on the handle itself. I can either order a replacement handle for £15 or look at alternative hand grinders. The handground grinder looks good. $75 including shipping but it won't be delivered until November at the earliest. NicD said:
Schmy said:
What sort of coffee are you hoping to make? Only that one is poor for finer grinds i.e. espresso, Turkish etc.
huh?can you rephrase please?
I am intending to grind beans for all my modes, so cafetiere, percolator and forced steam expresso.
You'd be better off with something like a Porlex tall or Hario slim in that price bracket.
Schmy said:
To make a proper expresso [sic] you need a fine and consistent grind. The grinder you've bought isn't up to the job I'm afraid. Fine for cafetieres and you might get away with a percolator (assuming you mean a Moka pot) but forget it for a decent espresso.
You'd be better off with something like a Porlex tall or Hario slim in that price bracket.
hand grind coffee? Really, like they did in the War.You'd be better off with something like a Porlex tall or Hario slim in that price bracket.
I will let you know how I get on when I have time to try it out.
I have done some research on hand grinders and ordered a Kyocera Ceramic Coffee Mill CM-45CF (japan import) as this seems top of the reviews.
Will be interesting to compare the output of the inexpensive Krups with the Kyocera.
Luckily, we are buying a house so will have room to store all the coffee kit.
Will be interesting to compare the output of the inexpensive Krups with the Kyocera.
Luckily, we are buying a house so will have room to store all the coffee kit.
The Kyocera burrs seem to be the same as the ones in the Porlex. My jdm yo porlex is pretty good for the money. Used it mainly with an Aeropress. It seems to produce too many fines to use in a french press. Should be good for eSpresso use.
I've still not used the Chemex that I got for Christmas not the hario skerton grinder that was part of the ridiculously brilliant secret santa package from a fellow PH'er. Will try to use it soon.
I've still not used the Chemex that I got for Christmas not the hario skerton grinder that was part of the ridiculously brilliant secret santa package from a fellow PH'er. Will try to use it soon.
I like my Chemex as it looks pretty. Coffee is no better than my V60 but it's a nice thing to serve up with friends round.
Even better for the drama is the siphon. To be honest the coffee it produces is fairly average and it takes an age to clean up afterwards. However for pure theatre it's great.
Even better for the drama is the siphon. To be honest the coffee it produces is fairly average and it takes an age to clean up afterwards. However for pure theatre it's great.
I have the Hario 5 cup syphon. The effort vs reward see-saw swings wildly in the direction of effort if you are just making yourself a cuppa. It's brilliant though to rock it up on the dinner table to wow the guests. The oooohhsh and aaaahhhs as it sucks down the coffee almost make it worthwhile. Almost.
Anyone recommend me some nice strong filter coffee for making large black coffees? Tried the Lavazza that a lot of you recommend but it's like piss water for my tastes - far too weak unless you put half the packet in. I got CafeDirect Machu Picchu, Peruvian coffee "high grown organic arabica, strength 4, full-bodied with dark chocolate overtones" 
from Sainsburys and it's pretty decent with a nice bitter after-taste. 
from Sainsburys and it's pretty decent with a nice bitter after-taste. Turn7 said:
giblet said:
Hot Lava Java by Taylors of Harrogate!
Youll be buzzing off your tits on that stuff!We tried some once -sunday morning, and the housework has never been so fast since!
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