Espresso machines .....educate me!

imalone

NervousJohn said:

Americano - named for the US Army during WW2 who were used to the piss thin dishwater they call coffee there. It's an espresso topped up with boiling water.

I'd recommend a second hand Gaggia classic (which I've got). They are well made (ie sturdy) and if something does go wrong spares are cheap and easy to obtain. Mostly it means you got a bit slack on the descaling.

Yes the pod machines make a passable coffee but the pods are stupid expensive and with only a tiny amount of extra effort you can learn to make espresso approaching the Italian stuff. Pods will only ever get you as good as a pod. And you'll still need to descale.

Americano is doubly disappointing, being neither espresso nor the same as decent filter or press coffee.

Grinding, I recently got a fairly cheap hario hand grinder. You wouldn't want to run a shop with it, but you can do a decent grind in the time it takes a kettle to boil (which is not very relevant if making espresso, but illustrates it doesn't take half an hour).

ROOG

I have tried several machines and in the end I realised that it was the faff involved in making and clearing up afterwards that put me off bothering!

The nespresso is easy, quick and gives reasonable results.  

frankus

my mate built one from a  milk bottle and some pipe smokers gauze ... no wait that was a bong...

same thing really ... just for white rabbits instead of caterpillars

fastboy

I've got one of the Tassimo machines and really like it. The costa latte tastes just like one bought in store (or close enough for me) and the carte noire latte machiato are good as well (just drinking one right now!).

I don't think I've tried a Nespresso one but quite happy with mine. Cheap to buy the bosch maker (about £50 - £60) and the pods are always on offer at Amazon or one of the supermarkets so I just buy loads whenever they are on offer. 

FX_Munkee

OK here's my 2p.
Nespresso is OK, not brilliant but certainly consistent. Tassimo not so good, not bad but not as good as nespresso.
Personally I decided a few years ago that life is far too short for crap coffee so I bought a DeLonghi bean to cup thing. I haven't got time to faff about grinding this and tamping that, I just want good coffee when I get out of bed and the kids are screaming to be fed.
It's built like a Dacia Sandero on the outside but inside is some seriously impressive design engineering. Very simple but effective, nicely modularised and easy to clean (and probably fix but I haven't needed to think about that yet!).
No it isn't a Gaggia (not shiny enough) but if you want good coffee at home without the "shiny" premium, I can fully recommend it for about £230.
Oh and I only drink espresso or sometimes, maybe, on a weekend, perhaps, a double espresso and yes, I have been abroad and am aware of what coffee is supposed to taste like.

dafuzz

I bought an ex a nespresso and she still loves it. The shop in London will make you a drink for free if you wander in there and ask - little tip for you Chrimbo shoppers if you fancy a decent coffee and don't want to pay for it. Personally I prefer a nice can of guava Rockstar.

chrispy108

I agree that you 'can' make a better cup than a Nespresso, and my Aeropress does, with newly opened coffee, but it deteriorates quickly, even when kept in a vacuum canister. It's then a steady decline in quality for a fortnight whilst I drink it all (a few cups a day), until new coffee day. I also started to get bored with the same coffee for a fortnight at a time, and it's difficult to decide which is actually you're favourite when you're comparing fresh of one to stale of another.

Compare that to the Nespresso where I've got 15 or 20 varieties in the kitchen, fresh and ready to go.

It's a clear winner for me.

strumjoughlamps

FX_Munkee said:

OK here's my 2p.
Nespresso is OK, not brilliant but certainly consistent. Tassimo not so good, not bad but not as good as nespresso.
Personally I decided a few years ago that life is far too short for crap coffee so I bought a DeLonghi bean to cup thing. I haven't got time to faff about grinding this and tamping that, I just want good coffee when I get out of bed and the kids are screaming to be fed.
It's built like a Dacia Sandero on the outside but inside is some seriously impressive design engineering. Very simple but effective, nicely modularised and easy to clean (and probably fix but I haven't needed to think about that yet!).
No it isn't a Gaggia (not shiny enough) but if you want good coffee at home without the "shiny" premium, I can fully recommend it for about £230.
Oh and I only drink espresso or sometimes, maybe, on a weekend, perhaps, a double espresso and yes, I have been abroad and am aware of what coffee is supposed to taste like.

mmm interested to know which model this is as the Delonghi B2C I had was good for long drinks but a complete failure for a quality shot, no way could the grinder and water amount be set to get a shot let alone a decent crema..

did produce a decent coffee though; I remember the milk frother being inconsistent..

talking of frothing milk I use this http://www.tesco.com/direct/aeg-lavazza-ms5000-u-coffee-machine/328-8206.prd and find it does a decent job, I got it free with the AEG Lavazza pod machine which is now in the cubby along with the Nespresso machine, we still use a Tassimo in the bedroom as the tea and suchard drinks are good, the costa americana isn't too bad either.

FX_Munkee

strumjoughlamps said:

FX_Munkee said:

<snip my boring waffle/>

mmm interested to know which model this is as the Delonghi B2C I had was good for long drinks but a complete failure for a quality shot, no way could the grinder and water amount be set to get a shot let alone a decent crema..

did produce a decent coffee though; I remember the milk frother being inconsistent..

talking of frothing milk I use this http://www.tesco.com/direct/aeg-lavazza-ms5000-u-coffee-machine/328-8206.prd and find it does a decent job, I got it free with the AEG Lavazza pod machine which is now in the cubby along with the Nespresso machine, we still use a Tassimo in the bedroom as the tea and suchard drinks are good, the costa americana isn't too bad either.

It's a delonghi magnifica esam4000
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0036TDF6I
After setting the bean grind to "just right" the only thing I occasionaly alter is the size of cup from "just there" to "just here". If you think, "adjusting a hotel shower so it's not freezing and not scalding" that's about it.

strumjoughlamps

Ours was this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-Magnifica-ESAM4200-Espresso-Cappuccino/dp/B001EOMZ5E/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1416849157&sr=1-1&keywords=delonghi+4200

And no way was the cup setting short enough for a shot, standard Gaggia ipa cups were about its shortest setting.

FX_Munkee

It's the same one except ours is more metal (i.e. black).
Granted I can't get a teeny, tiny shot that looks like a cowboy spat it out, but an espresso sized cup is perfectly possible with mine?

DiscoStu

I have a Nespresso machine. I don't use it every day so the pods last me ages and I like the coffee.

If you fancy a Delonghi, then this one will be cut price tonight on Amazon Black Friday deals. Currently £229 but you should get a good price at 7.40pm!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81hc+y5slgL._SL1500_.jpg