Coffee Machine Recommendations?
Coffee Machine Recommendations?
Author
Discussion

Baldy881

Original Poster:

1,500 posts

206 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
The OH's 40th is looming, and she fancies a nice coffee machine. To be fair to her the ones she's pointed out are ok if a little basic, but i'm trying to convince her that if we get one it should be a good multi function one.

We don't want just an espresso maker or something that only works with pods, but i have seen a Delonghi machine that does espresso and filter coffee which looks a good option, however the particular model we looked at had pretty shocking reviews on Amazon (60+ 1 star reviews out of 120 odd reviews).

I wont be spending thousands, but budget up to say £250.

Any user recommendations brand/model numbers etc?? wink

Thanks,
Rob

vsonix

3,865 posts

192 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
If you're not that fussed about espresso coffee then a £25 aeropress is a very worthy proposition and makes a fab cup of coffee.

Tuvra

7,926 posts

254 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
I use a Bosch Tassimo. Pods readily available in supermarket and it makes a lovely cuppa smile

Podie

46,649 posts

304 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
Tuvra said:
I use a Bosch Tassimo. Pods readily available in supermarket and it makes a lovely cuppa smile
Baldy881 said:
We don't want ... something that only works with pods, ...

Tuvra

7,926 posts

254 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
Podie said:
Tuvra said:
I use a Bosch Tassimo. Pods readily available in supermarket and it makes a lovely cuppa smile
Baldy881 said:
We don't want ... something that only works with pods, ...
Sorry, I hate people who do this frown

LordHaveMurci

12,334 posts

198 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
Lots of options, there is at least one large thread on here somewhere.

I have a Gaggia (Baby I think) which are in your price range, does Pods or ground coffee + milk frothing wand, makes a lovely cup of coffee.

RISK

68 posts

160 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
Yes it is a pod machine, but the Nespresso Citiz with Aeroccino also makes a very good cappuccino / latte etc.

http://www.nespresso.com/uk/en/product/citiz-coffe...

Someone will be along in a minute holding their Waitrose bags to comment that only the finest coffee beans that are hand fed to a Colombian rock salamander before it poos them into a £3 million antique italian coffee machine will do, and that anything else is for Luddites.

However I have found that the Nespresso is damn good. I also liked the Tassimo, but our broke so I thought I would try something else.

chockymonster

658 posts

239 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
I have a Gaggia Classic and an iberital mc2 grinder.
The gaggia is simple, has a frothy wand that is pretty useless (pannarello wand that pumps lots of air in as well as steam) but it's upgradable.

Out of the box the classic is an alright machine, the portafilter is a highpressure jobby that forces the liquid through a single hole to make a representation of crema (the pale froth on top of the black coffee)
The advantage of the high pressure stuff is you don't have to be spot on with your grind, you can use any coffee and also pods if you want.

With decent coffee (£6-8 for a 250g bag range) a proper portafilter basket (£6) and some experimentation with grinding I get a lovely cup of espresso every time. I'm working on the foaming of milk so I have a chance of keeping my wife happy!

Here's the link I purchased from
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Classic-RI8161-Machine-Pro...

They come around from time to time at a lower price, my warehouse purchase was £109, so with the grinder, decent tamper, tamper mat and portafilter I'm in for about £250.
As for coffee, I'm currently loving Butterworth's Peru Tunki (http://www.butterworthandson.co.uk/demo/prodinfo_00726)

(oh, and I do shop in waitrose. Decent coffee doesn't have to cost the earth and nespresso isn't decent coffee in my opinion)

Baldy881

Original Poster:

1,500 posts

206 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
Thank you smile

Haven't looked at the Gaggia ones before now so will go and take a look.


Baldy881

Original Poster:

1,500 posts

206 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
May have found a winner...

Krups Espresseria Combi XP2240

This is the kind of thing we were thinking, jug filter coffee for lazy weekend mornings and also option of single/double espresso and milk frother.

Can't find any reviews though, anyone?

smile

E36GUY

5,907 posts

247 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
I have Nespresso machine but in hindsight, I should have got a proper machine where I can grind my own choice of beans.

anonymous-user

83 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
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rancilio silvia off ebay?

loughran

3,237 posts

165 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
Here`s a German review of the XP2240, Googly translated.

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&...

Unfortunately there doesn`t seen to be a way to express Nuzer a Edelstahlmilchaufschäumers but other than that it`s pretty understandable.

It looks like an interesting concept but I`m always dubious about web reviews, (have you ever tried to decide where to go on holiday by consulting Trip Advisor ?)..... Probably best if you just buy one and let us know how it goes. smile

phelix

4,678 posts

278 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
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Edelstahlmilchaufschäumers = stainless steel milk frother; nuzer could be nutzen which means use?

Grenoble

59,131 posts

184 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
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Go to Peter Maturis in Leeds or Harrogate. The Leeds one has more to try before you buy, great service nice knowledgable staff. Great Leeds institution.

toastybase

2,305 posts

237 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
As long as it has a bean to face feature you will be laughing.

Chr1sch

2,592 posts

222 months

Friday 31st May 2013
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We have the basic nespresso setup, it's fantastic and makes instant coffee taste like dross. Similarly we had an alessi one that ground it's own beans and steame milk etc and frankly it became an utter pain.

I saw the latest nespresso a few days back which has an automated milk bit that can be kept in the fridge - this looked excellent!

Rocksteadyeddie

7,971 posts

256 months

Friday 31st May 2013
quotequote all
Tuvra said:
Podie said:
Tuvra said:
I use a Bosch Tassimo. Pods readily available in supermarket and it makes a lovely cuppa smile
Baldy881 said:
We don't want ... something that only works with pods, ...
Sorry, I hate people who do this frown
Which bit?

Those that ignore a key part of the question, or those that quote you for ignoring a key part of the question?

Kapenta

1,835 posts

225 months

Friday 31st May 2013
quotequote all
I have a Dualit Espressivo.

Very good, but does require using ground coffee, or grinding your own using a Burr grinder (Porlex ceramic manual or Krupps electric, for example), or you can use ESE Pods, so its dual purpose. It has a very decent steam wand. The water container stores about 1.7l.

They are about £150 and look stylish. Requires the "head" to be cleaned roughly every 400 or so cups (4 screws and 5 minutes).

matt173407

515 posts

258 months

Friday 31st May 2013
quotequote all
I got one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DELONGHI-BEAN-TO-CUP-ESP...

Very good machine , does bean to cup as well as ground, will do steamed milk etc, easy to clean highly recommend