Which Coffee Maker - Integrated or stand alone

Leif

bazzyb wrote: »

General rule of thumb is that the better tasting coffee you want, the more faff and mess is involved.

Arab style coffee is easy peasy to make. Buy the very finely ground powder - Najah is good - and place some in a tiny pot with water, a milk pot does, bring to the boil (it foams up, so catch it before it overflows), then pour into a small cup and drink. Add sugar if desired before boiling, I don't, some do. You can get it with cardoman, very nice.

Leif

Arfa__ wrote: »

I've never liked the idea of pods due to waste packaging etc, cost to buy in. Been put off the nesspresso things, because they're Nestle.

The waste is why I am not keen on them, and the cost.

lil.smartie

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

Personally, I could not justify the cost of an integrated one, fantastic though they look, although the Ikea one mentioned may be cheaper (I didn't know they did one!!) as their appliances are very good value.

We have a 13 year old Francis Francis that touch wood is still producing excellent results but I believe (from reading reviews) that quality has gone down and when it finally dies we will probably replace it with something less pretty.
.

I had a Gaggia Classic from pre-phllips era and it was fantastic but it was written off after a flood so needed a replacement, the Ikea was not far off a new Gaggia (or Francis Francis or Rancillio!) and I wanted a proper water pressure machine not a cheaper steam one as I can make good coffee. The Ikea's not a bad bit of kit, need a new portafilta as it comes with a 'crema enhancing' one which is pants!

Aromocoffee do the ESE pods and they are really nice

Kate

abankerbutnotafatcat

lil.smartie wrote: »

I had a Gaggia Classic from pre-phllips era and it was fantastic but it was written off after a flood so needed a replacement, the Ikea was not far off a new Gaggia (or Francis Francis or Rancillio!) and I wanted a proper water pressure machine not a cheaper steam one as I can make good coffee. The Ikea's not a bad bit of kit, need a new portafilta as it comes with a 'crema enhancing' one which is pants!

Aromocoffee do the ESE pods and they are really nice

Kate

That's good to know for next time, if it comes with a 5 year guarantee, which I believe Ikea appliances do, then that's a pretty good deal. The integrated ones I saw were in the thousands and much though I love my coffee we had to compromise somewhere!!

loracan1

StuC75 wrote: »

would recommend worktop one, that way easier to put away in 6months time when novelty worn off and its not used...

This is why I bought a cheap expresso/cappucino maker from Rumblelows back in 1986. Had one in the house ever since. I've never been precious about my coffee, but I do like a proper cappucino now and again and like having the means to make one. (Just bought my third one)

abankerbutnotafatcat

loracan1 wrote: »

This is why I bought a cheap expresso/cappucino maker from Rumblelows back in 1986. Had one in the house ever since. I've never been precious about my coffee, but I do like a proper cappucino now and again and like having the means to make one. (Just bought my third one)

My OH now refuses to drink instant and has become such a purist he now grinds his own beans!!

Mummy_Jo

Thanks for your replies - busy busy with unpacking boxes yesterday and sorting out so I never got a chance to look back...

I'm not sure I'm any the wiser but I think I'll look at the IKEA one but I am leaning towards a counter top one. I just need it to not be too messy - I stopped using a cafetiere years ago as I was finding ground coffee all over the place! - I wasn't very well though then after a car accident and didn't have the extra energy needed to clear it up...

I'll probably still be deciding at xmas knowing me:cool:

Thanks

penguingirl

I know you said you considered pod ones- we had a senseo and I wouldn't recommend it. It was easy enough and we mainly used the lidl pods so not expensive, but I never thought it heated the water enough so I used to micro it after or pre-boil the water and then it died after 3 years (possibly related to the boiling water). We then switched to a caffetiere as a supposedly temporary thing and have stuck with it as we really like it. I've not found it to be messy really, I just run it under the tap to get rid of all the ground coffee and I keep the fresh stuff in a sealed tupperware tub (in the freezer, it keeps it fresher/tastier for longer)

loracan1

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

My OH now refuses to drink instant and has become such a purist he now grinds his own beans!!

I can drink endless cups of instant but more than two cups of 'real' coffee and I get the jitters!


I find a cafetiere more messy than the coffee holder filter on a machine, you can just tip the grounds into a bin and they're in a solid lump rather than scattered. Think the one I have can take some of the pods too but not tried that (only had this one for a week)