coffee peeps, bean to cup machines

strumjoughlamps

Well as some of you may know I loves my coffee, not in a geeky fussy way but I do like to process and love to drink a good cup or 20..

One thing I have never bothered with are bean to cup machines, until now... blimey they are a revelation, okay the machine is big but takes up less space than my gaggia and grinder.. but that one big box with one plug grinds the beans tamps it down and doses out pretty darn great cup of coffee then deposits the puck into the waste box. Milk frothing is tip top too.

I am converted.

Zodiac51

Lol

I just got rid of our bean-to-cup £800 machine and replaced it with a cheep nespresso machine because

• I likes different blends of coffee at different times of the day, you cant do that with a bean to cup, as you have to empty out all of your beans,
• The bag of beans might be sat in the fridge/cupboard for a few weeks/months at least
• Getting hold of good quality beans can be a pain in the arse, you have to buy a whole bag to try them
• They are a fag to clean
• They take up acres of precious counter real estate
• They cost a fortune :0

The little sealed nexpresso capsules overcome all of the above, I get excellent coffee every time for about 37 centimes a cup

strumjoughlamps

I have a Nespresso and a Tassimo machine in the house as well as a gaggia and a moka and now the delonghi b2c, pods machines are nice and convenient but no way do they compare to the others.

Beans, fridge ? Are you mad...:)

You most definitely do not drink the amount I go through if you have beans hanging around for a few weeks.

rolls1392

Cheapo tip:

Buy yourself a coffee grinder. You grind your own beans, brew them in a caffetiere  thing then drink quality stuff.

Saves the cost of a machine. And the coffee is hot!!"!"

strumjoughlamps

coffee from a caffetiere is horrible

bertie

rolls1392 said:

 brew them in a caffetiere  thing 

IME the worst possible way to make real coffee,  or should I clarify - of all the methods it makes the worst tasting coffee

Ive just started using a Moka again........ and Id forgotten how well it makes it

If you must, keeping grounds and beans in the fridge helps - BUT

a) must be completely air tight so no moisture can get in

b) MUST be brought to room temp before use (yeah even tho hot water/steam will be passed over them in the brew process)

just started using a Moka again after years of going down the  filter maker -> espresso maker -> filter maker   route

EricTheWeary

Zodiac51 said:

Lol

I just got rid of our bean-to-cup £800 machine and replaced it with a cheep nespresso machine because...

...you have no taste buds if you can't tell the difference between fresh coffee and a nespresso capsule?

:bz

stickyfiddle

Capsules bloody awful. Bland, expensive and when they stop making the right shape capsules everyone'll be fucked (or more likely, when they start pushing the price up..)

I'm a moka man. Takes a few minutes to brew but well worth it. We have Carrefour over here and, being French, all their own brand stuff is brilliant. The coffee comes out super-rich and so good.

Col_Decker

What about them posh 'mukka' mokas that do capachino (sp?) too as well as espresso (sp?) ? Anybody tried one?

 

 

 

 

stickyfiddle

Col_Decker said:

What about them posh 'mukka' mokas that do capachino (sp?) too as well as espresso (sp?) ? Anybody tried one?

 

 

 

 

Never seen those before. A quick google suggests it uses the steamy coffee to also steam/froth the milk. I image it'd make a latte rather than proper thick-foamed cappuccino, but definitely looks interesting.

Reviews suggest it makes a better cup than Starbucks, but not as good as a proper, fresh ground/roast & separately frothed cup.

TimmyO

<looks up Moka> - wow - what a faff : http://stumptowncoffee.com/brew-guides/moka-pot/

bertie

TimmyO said:

<looks up Moka> - wow - what a faff : http://stumptowncoffee.com/brew-guides/moka-pot/

its not that bad, and does make "better" coffee if you want to add hot and/or frothy milk (mrs bert does, I dont)  

I use one of those aerolatte things for frothing hot milk (from microwave) and its perfectly good

strumjoughlamps

I had a mukka and for a milky coffee it was superb, one day I had an accident where it over pressurised and blew, it went everywhere luckily I had a long sleeve top on and shielded my face, it was over the ceiling and everywhere... shook me up a bit so I stopped using it.

chrispy108

I reckon my aeropress makes a slightly nicer coffee than my nespresso, but I love the variety of the nespresso and the ease of use.

chillidoggy

I always have one coffee a day. Espresso from the cafetiere, with hot milk. And I only use Carte Noire ground beans, kept in the fridge in an airtight container.

Col_Decker

TimmyO said:

<looks up Moka> - wow - what a faff : http://stumptowncoffee.com/brew-guides/moka-pot/

oooh never knew about using pre heated water in the Muka, cheers mucka

stickyfiddle

TimmyO said:

<looks up Moka> - wow - what a faff : http://stumptowncoffee.com/brew-guides/moka-pot/

I don't worry about most of that.

Water in - Coffee in - Screw together and put on heat - Wait for steamy spitty splurty noise while you find a mug and milk - Pour

All that takes maybe 90 seconds of actual effort, and 7 or 8 minutes waiting in the middle.

Axe_meister

Just dug out my Ikea brand Moka pot. Could only find a large one. Made myself a mug full.

Will be high as a kite for the rest of the day.

Have a good Italian friend who brings back fresh very strong beans every year, they truly blow your head off.

CabbageCat

Fcking hate cafetie caffit plungers.

The bint that insists on visiting leaves her plunger round my house (taking up room in my tiny kitchen) and she always leaves it half full of grit which then coats everything in my sink when I wash up. Boo.

And I much prefer the coffee from my wee Dolce Gusto device.

bertie

what is it the yanks call them........................... ah yes............ press,   a coffee press...........

FX_Munkee

After several years of umming and arring I decided life was too short for crap coffee and jumped on the bean to cup bandwagon. This after years of grinders, espresso machines, moka's and filter. 1 year on and I still think it's one of the best "kitcheny" things I've ever bought.
Nespresso are OK (as are Tassimo) but they're not really in the same league.
The Delonghi (magnifica?) I got is a piece of proverbial to clean/maintain and sourcing beans is easy and half the fun TBH.
Downside is it's a bit big, it's not going to sit well in your bijou London apartment kitchen (or cupboard as we hicks like to call them).