heywood on 1/8/2020 at 18:01
Like most Americans, I was raised on brewed coffee, and when I was younger I used to grind my own and use a French press or percolator. I've had my share of coffee from automatic drip machines using paper filters and it's rarely better than just OK.
In order to speed up the process of getting caffeine into my body in the morning, I abandoned my French press and bought a Keurig capsule machine about 5 years ago. The water pump just failed. Part of the Keurig appeal was being able to quickly brew tea and hot cocoa and make a whole carafe at a time when we host a larger family gathering. It was delightfully fast and low maintenance, but I really never liked any coffee or tea it produced so I'm not going down that route again.
I've never been a coffee snob, but I do enjoy a double espresso or macchiato and sometimes iced latte. So I'm looking for an automatic espresso machine this time. I'm posting this on TTLG because we have a diverse crowd here. These coffee makers are not common in US homes.
There seems to be two categories. First are the all-grinding, all-frothing, fully automated espresso machines. Second are the pod/capsule-based Nespresso machines. The former are significantly more expensive, but promise a much lower cost per cup. Nespresso is the opposite. As far as taste goes, I have no idea, I've never had a cup from a Nespresso machine. I assume that a Nespresso machine + frother would also be easier to maintain with less cleaning effort, but I don't really know.
And if I go with Nespresso, the next question is, which one? There seems to be a dizzying variety of machines to research. First there is the original line vs. Vertuo line. I see the patents ran out on the former, so there is an open market for the pods, whereas Nestle owns the market for the Vertuo pods. But Vertuo can draw a long cup, which may be more to my guests' liking. There are several manufacturers. De'Longhi, Krups, Breville, and Magimix seem to be the big ones. And within each line there are multiple models which seem barely different in terms of features. A few expensive models have an automatic milk frother & dispenser built into the machine, but otherwise the only feature differences seem to be the size of the water tank or capsule container. Do they all perform the same when it comes to making coffee?
And if I don't go with Nespresso, the what should I be looking for?
caffeinatedzombeh on 1/8/2020 at 18:27
I rarely make coffee for more than just me at home and I have a tiny kitchen so I've got a cafetiere and a small stovetop espresso machine.
Due to the recent reduction in the number of people in the office at any particular time and a general reluctance for people to carry pots of coffee around we've switched from our percolator to a fairly inexpensive small bean to cup, this one (
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001EOMZ5E/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_i_ZJBKEbP8T59TV)
It's reasonably sensibly adjustable and whilst it's not quite set to my taste and it certainly doesn't get fed the sort of beans I use at home (but I'm not paying for them so they're decent enough) it makes a pretty respectable cup of coffee at a reasonable price. Whilst it's the neediest thing I've ever seen, constantly demanding to be emptied or filled, cleaning is actually very low effort and it's coping with several addicts using it all day five days a week.
Capsule machines are stupid expensive to run and make the coffee that they'll sell you capsules for, not the coffee that you want.
If being able to make tea with it is a concern then you need to better train your tea drinkers to understand their place in the world ;)
Judith on 1/8/2020 at 20:02
Quote:
Capsule machines are stupid expensive to run and make the coffee that they'll sell you capsules for, not the coffee that you want.
I'm with caffeinatedzombeh on this one. I love good coffee and no coffee machine in the world has ever served me one. I buy beans + use a small grinder, and for brewing I use either French press, stove-top moka pot, or cezve (Turkish coffee style brewing). IMO the last one makes the best coffee, although it's requires very slow brewing, so it's better for weekends or lazy mornings.
Aja on 1/8/2020 at 20:58
Nespressos are fine, not great, but good when you want a quick cup of coffee. We had one for years before I realized that you can actually set the length of the shot, so any machine can do as long of a shot as you want. I only ever make Americanos with ours. Speaking of different machines, they're all more or less the same, and the mechanical parts *are* the same, so get whichever one you think looks nicest.
Al_B on 1/8/2020 at 21:20
It's always a bit dubious to argue coffee against someone whose username contains the word "caffeinated" but I quite like our Nespresso machine. It's never going be quite as "pure" as real coffee but it does the job and is a heck of lot better than instant. The biggest advantage for us is that it's easy to switch from a dark roast to a light one on a per-cup basis which allows both my wife and I to enjoy a cup of reasonable coffee without compromise.
Harvester on 1/8/2020 at 21:33
I don't know, I like my coffee from a drip coffee maker just fine. I do use an A-list brand of ground coffee, but then it's good enough for me. People who come over never complain either.
In the Netherlands we also have this popular coffee maker called Senseo for which you can buy pads that easily and quickly produce a cup of coffee. It's convenient for sure, but opinions vary on whether that's good coffee. Personally I'll drink it without complaining if it's offered to me but I'm not a fan and would never buy such a machine for my own home. Nor would I ever make instant coffee for myself. But drip coffee makers with paper filters and a good brand of coffee suits me perfectly fine, I don't need anything fancier than that.
SubJeff on 1/8/2020 at 21:51
Ground coffee in a French press.
I've tried all these machines. They're okay, but never as good as ground coffee in a French press.
Aja on 1/8/2020 at 22:00
The thing about French press coffee is that it's really oily, and for me it's more likely to cause a stomachache. I prefer paper filters, be it pourovers or a drip machine.
I used to work as a barista for a fancy coffee shop, and before I quit I managed to get a nice grinder with my staff discount and a really nice drip machine (a Technivorm) for free, basically built out of the leftover parts of units brought in for repair. The Technivorm is the best, most convenient way to make good coffee, but if it's a lazy day and I have time, I'll make myself a pourover. I'm no longer the coffee snob that my old job used to require me to be, and I tend to make my coffee a lot weaker than the recommended dosages, around 30g/litre, as opposed to the prescribed 60. That way I can drink three or four cups before my body starts to shake.
Pyrian on 1/8/2020 at 22:20
These discussions make me wish I liked coffee just so I could be picky about it. It's hard to be all snooty about diet coke. (Okay, let me be a little snooty: if it's been sitting in your garage for more than a month or so, it's expired; normal soda takes a long time to spoil but the aspartame in diet coke is a methylated dipeptide protein and doesn't keep well at all.)