Coffee machine or OS?

whodathunkit

Anne_Marie wrote: »

It's probably a case of what you are used to, and with a bit or trial and error, about getting the measurements right, get a really good cup of coffee, that suits you, or in your case your DH.

Think the bottom line in this thread is, that most of us don't rate the pod machines much at all.

I must be the odd one out. We've got a Senseo, love it and find the prices really reasonable.

Frugalsod

peachyprice wrote: »

The Tassimo pods you buy here have bar codes on them already.

Well a great deterrent for all frugal users then. While I am no coffee expert I can use any coffee beans that are available and in most machines.

Muppet81

Love my Nespresso Pixie. Yes at 30 to 35p a cup it is not cheap but enjoy it so much I think it is worth it. Tend to drink only 1 or 2 cups a day though. My first thing in the day treat.


If out, we often will head home rather than buy a coffee out after shopping trips so a saving there.


Easy to use, easy to clean and compared with other coffee machines I have experienced at friends homes, far far superior.

Beckyy

We used to have a tassimo machine, the intial outlay isn't really much but the cost of the pods do add up. I think we were paying £3.89 for 16 coffees, but if you go for a cappuccino or milky drink you pay the same price but only get 8 drinks from 16 pods as you get a pack of 8 coffee pods and 8 milk pods in the pack. If you're being offered it then there's no harm in trying it, it's not to say you have to use it as often as you would a cheaper alternative.

We now have a bean to cup machine, not very OS but the coffee is amazing and it has a long warranty.

Ben84

Personally, if the manufacturer is going to control how I use the machine that much, it's not for me. I like to feel like I own and can do what I like with my stuff, use it in new ways, with new products and choose what settings I select. Having to ignore all these other coffees and only buy pods isn't going to be great, and they're pretty costly too. Also, what to do with all the plastic cases you've paid for? I guess most people throw them out.

Anyway, I've got a Russell Hobbs coffee percolator from the late 60s or early 70s (much the same as the more popular Sona brand) that I can put any ground coffee in. A bit out of fashion now, but makes coffee how I like and can use any coffee I want in it.

However, at work I use Lyons coffee bags (basically big tea bags with coffee in), which have worked great for me. I think they taste better than most take away coffee and they're vastly cheaper at about £2.60 for 18. So if you want good coffee that's convenient or just made with a kettle, they're worth a try too.

prowla

Frugalsod wrote: »

Yes I think that sums up the attitude of us all to pod machines. I was reading somewhere that in America one of the pod manufacturers was looking at putting bar codes on the pods so that the machines would not be refillable by third parties and so allowing them to sue anyone for copyright infringement if they did so. Basically jacking up the price of the coffee that you had to pay.

If I were ever to get a fancy coffee machine it would have to allow me the flexibility to use third party filters and coffee.

Nespresso's copyright/patent/whatever has expired, so 3rd parties are able to make "compatible"s, hence my mention of Dualit and another brand, and also the refillable pods.

However, I've found the Nespresso coffee to be very good; then again, they are a coffee company who contracted out the building of machines to other companies.

lushlifesaver

We have a dolce gusto and I have to admit I love it. I use if for hot water for tea (perfect drinking temp that way) as well as for drinks from the pods. I've found some of the ice tea pods in the 99p shop before now when they are usually much harder to get (usually you would have to get them in from Spain out of 'season') we also ordered a big box of the nesquik pods on eBay (again, not available in the UK to the best of our knowledge, we first saw them in Copenhagen)

Bf doesn't drink hot drinks very often but I tend to have one on a morning before work 3/4 days out of 5 which is usually either tea (regular bags) or something from the pod selection we have, often a mocha or a chocolate drink. At the moment we have quite a lot of the chococino pods as bf has been away a lot and they are 'his' so I've been using them with a scoop of Starbucks microground to make a lovely mocha :-)

I agree pods can seem expensive but if you like the drinks and aren't solely having them (ie having a couple of decent coffee/pod drinks plus 'normal' tea/coffee) I think the cost is actually OK. I often get the pods on offer 3 for 2 or three boxes for £x, alternatively I also pick up a few boxes in Makro when they have them for £2.60 or so

In short, if you get one of the machines that can be used for hot water etc as well they can be an investment and a nice 'luxury' if you enjoy the drinks available

hilstep2000

I gave up with fiddly machines, and just use a cafetiere, which works fine!

Ben84

lushlifesaver wrote: »

I agree pods can seem expensive but if you like the drinks and aren't solely having them (ie having a couple of decent coffee/pod drinks plus 'normal' tea/coffee) I think the cost is actually OK.

That's a fair point, how much coffee you drink matters. I drink about 10-20 cups a day, so the difference does matter a lot to me.

lushlifesaver

Yeah that's what I meant; that number of cups would make the cost completely unfeasible. I tend to have a couple of cups of coffee and or tea each day - even when not pregnant I couldn't drink quite as much as 10-20 cups a day!

That said I don't drink 'standard' instant I have the Starbucks microground instant (via) which I buy on offer and find goes a long way, I have a tin at home and one at work.

Used to drink a lot more coffee/caffiene drinks when I was a student but have gradually weaned myself off and have them more as 'treats' or luxuries now