Buying a Coffee Machine

benjus

I'm in the proper espresso machine and grinder camp. Pods just don't have the variety you can get with coffee beans and generate huge amounts of waste. The quality is OK but not as good as I can make with my Gaggia machine. Bean-to-cup machines are better than pod machines IMO but still not as good as a proper espresso machine. It's not necessarily an expensive thing either - my Gaggia Baby and burr grinder cost me about £140 brand new.

Cost wise, pods are expensive, but tbh coffee beans can be too. I'm currently using the espresso blend from Bar Italia in Soho, which I really like. A 454g bag costs £15 though, so it's definitely not a moneysaving option... about 60p for a double shot of espresso. OK, you can get much cheaper coffee beans in the supermarket but probably not the same quality or freshly roasted. I don't always spend this much on coffee beans though - a nice blend like Union Coffee's "Rogue" is about two thirds the price of the Bar Italia one.

[Deleted User]

I got a Tassimo sunny it's an ok machine if a bit tempermental . There is a good rangeof pods inc special teas and chocolate available from Tassimo or Amazon, even eBay has a few dedicated coffee sellers.
I'm no connoisseur but I do like a latte a couple of times a day and I just buy the latte milk pods from ebay around £10 for20 and I use my favourite Nescaf! instant to make the espresso before frothing the milk pod in the machine. Delicious. I don't like the coffee in the Tassimo Costa pods. This is the best of both worlds and a slightly cheaper option. BTW I'm quite happy with the actual machine it costs £43
The profits are made from repeat purchasing the pods.

Mr_Singleton

daveyjp wrote: »

Nespresso machines start at less than £100. Wait until they have a voucher offer and you will get up to £75 in vouchers when you buy a machine.

Do people really still fall for that kinda crap?

Its the shaver blade model.... they sell the machine cheap because they know that you have to buy their coffee pods once you do. You'll then get hit with nodescriopt/mediocre coffee that your paying £50+ a kg for.

GET A REAL COFFEE MACHINE!!!!

I'd recommend a Jura Micro ENA 9.

jenniewb

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

Do people really still fall for that kinda crap?

Its the shaver blade model.... they sell the machine cheap because they know that you have to buy their coffee pods once you do. You'll then get hit with nodescriopt/mediocre coffee that your paying £50+ a kg for.

GET A REAL COFFEE MACHINE!!!!

I'd recommend a Jura Micro ENA 9.

Not everyone can just blow £100/£hundreds on a machine to save in the long term. I pay for my coffee in boxes when on offer in the Supermarkets (16 pods for £3 currently, have been lower in the past). I paid in total (after cashback) around £10 to £15 for my machine. And got a few freebies (Costa mug and saucer and 2x £10 vouchers to spend on coffee).


Yes I don't doubt I'll be spending more in the long term, but at the price of the coffee machines I see, I'd need to have gone without coffee for a fairly long time in order to save to make enough to cover the cost. I also have quite mild tastes- 1 pod lasts me 2 coffees easily. If I were making my own coffee it would mean opening a bag of coffee and no doubt having half of it turn stale as it would take so long for me to get through.


At the end of the day, what works for one person doesn't always work for everyone else. It may help to remind yourself that you may also have different needs and tastes than others.

rainygreyhound

jenniewb wrote: »

At the end of the day, what works for one person doesn't always work for everyone else. It may help to remind yourself that you may also have different needs and tastes than others.

There does seem to be a lot of snobbery when it comes to coffee machines. Yes a manual machine will probably make a better cup, but for many they just want to be able to press a button and get a consistently nice drink. Not have to perfect grind settings and get the right tamp etc.

corf999

I bought myself a Nespresso machine a couple of years ago to save myself money in Starbucks/Costa - I have been very happy with it. Not so much with the "cheap" supermarket pods - Carte Noire or Nespresso themselves seem the best options.

It seems to get used more than my mates who bought "proper" machines that seem to be inconsistent due to manually packing the coffee. One I know has abandoned his gaggia for the old school italian hob espresso - he !!!!!es about the amount of cleaning involved in his gaggia.

Its all down to taste and compromise at the end of the day - if you can accommodate the cost of the pods and are not a coffee snob then I believe my nespresso makes coffee as good as starbucks/costa.