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coffee maker advice needed - warning utter novice wrote this!
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Dear Littlejaffa
Is the coffee maker a present for someone?
Have they stated what they want?
Do they make coffee already or do they have instant and want to try to make "shop" coffee at home?
Have you a price limitation?
Have you a Whittards near you? Go in and ask and see the different methods.
1. Cheapest method. Sit on cup filter. Funnel shaped plastic that sits on the cup/pot. Paper filter sits in the plastic holder. Add the ground coffee and drip just off the boil water through slowly.
2. Cafetiere. Glass jug that you put ground coffee at the bottom. Add off the boil water. Leave for 5 minutes. Then plunge the metal/plastic filter down. Self service restaurants will use these, you pick up the small cafetiere and add the water yourself. Readily available, about £2 to £18 depending on size and "poshness".
3. Filter machines. Known as american coffee. Basically it is an electric machine that drips water at the right temperature into the filter with the coffee and it drains through into a glass jug. Same as the sit-on-the-cup filter, but automatic and larger quantities. Readily available. About £8 to £35, depending on style.
4. Stove top espresso. Italians use these at home, to make one or two cups of coffee. Basically a small, always aluminium, pressure cooker where once the temperature/pressure is reached the hot water is pushed through the ground coffee. Whittards and kitchen shops sell these... from £12 to £40 depending on size.
5. Espresso electric machines. These use the "small saucepan" that you describe, to hold the ground coffee. They vary in price from about £45 to over £200. Gaggia is one of the more famous brands. They are expensive as the pressure part has to be safe. Water is put into the machine ( or a holding tank). The water is heated up to the right temperature and pressure. When it is ready the hot pressurised water is pushed through the ground coffee at a controlled rate into cups. You are paying for the machine to automatically get to the right temperature and pressure, whereas the other methods rely on you controlling the temperature and speed of dripping the water through the coffee.
Hope that helps0 -
Have a browse through the Gaggia site. For an espresso machine, the cheaper models tend not to have enough pressure to force the hot water through the basket holding the coffee. You need to look for bar pressure of at least 15.
Gaggia have reconditioned machines for sale on their site too, with 12 months warranty. Still not cheap, but plenty around £150. Expect to pay double that for a brand new one :eek:Warning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac0 -
littlejaffa wrote: »I need one of those coffee machines where you put the coffee in the little holder then lift it up and turn to lock into the machine, most coffee shops have the same style - any idea what it's called, strangley putting that sentence in google isn't getting me many good results!?
Now, can i make 'normal' coffee with that system, as well as espresso, and assuming i get a milk frother the latte's etc
And if i get a bean grinder can i use that in the little holder or does it need to be filter or powdered or something wierd?
Also, i'd like it to be a small one or two cupper and cheap (bout £50 ish so any sugestions make/model etc apprecaited.
To be honest, you're not going to get all that for £50.
And I think you need to decide whether you want an espresso machine (coffee in the little basket) or a filter machine for "normal" coffee. The combined machines tend to end up doing neither job very well.
An espresso will usually include a nozzle for frothing the milk too. The double machines which dispense two cups at the same time are very pricey - and you need higher water bar pressure for it to successfully process two cups of espresso at the same time.
So ..... if you're going for an espresso, a good quality single cup machine, with milk frother. Or a simple filter machine for "normal" coffee.Warning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac0 -
As a coffee fan, I can recommend the following:
1) Proper stove top espresso machine - small (1 or 2 cups) purchased mine for £6 in Whittards sale. A must have.
2) Filter machine for 'long' coffees i.e. normal strength. Decent filter machine can be had from Asda for £6.
Most other things are just fripperies (e.g. those horrid little 'pod' machines). Unless you want to go for some real professional/commerical kit or a Gaggia and then we are talking hundreds of quid.0 -
Ok I’m getting confused,
I asked for info on the lil saucepan type coffee machines that do normal and other coffee’s at about £50, thanks for loads of great suggestions.
I like the Kenwood ES630 Espresso machine and the Krups Black Vivo Coffee Maker both with 15 bars, and the ability to make normal and Macchiato, Americano, cappuccino, espresso etc. Both happy to take shop bought or my own ground beans, at £59 each with discounts, both are available I’m on budget. They seem to be exactly what I’m looking for.
But
A few people are saying it’s impossible to get what I’m looking for at this price, so is there something really wrong with these machines that I do not understand (versus other 'saucepan type' machines)?
Thanks to everyone who posted info about filter, higher priced etc etc but I’m after the saucepan around £50.Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.0 -
littlejaffa wrote: »
I like the Kenwood ES630 Espresso machine and the Krups Black Vivo Coffee Maker both with 15 bars, and the ability to make normal and Macchiato, Americano, cappuccino, espresso etc. Both happy to take shop bought or my own ground beans, at £59 each with discounts, both are available I’m on budget. They seem to be exactly what I’m looking for.
But
A few people are saying it’s impossible to get what I’m looking for at this price, so is there something really wrong with these machines that I do not understand .
I have had the Krups machine for about 4 years and it gets used at least 5 times a day (using the double shot holder) pretty well every day. It is finally showing signs of giving up (it's leaking steam around the head), but has been an excellent machine producing great strong espresso with a lovely crema head (and the occasional capa-whatnot for the milk lovers). The base model is among the cheapest of the 'fit-for-purpose' machines but I would recommend it.0 -
I was looking online and found the Krups XP2000 for £41.12! Everywhere else it costs £125. No idea if it's a typo or not.
http://www.werl.co.uk/kcofmac.asp
Edited to add: They're 'graded' goods. That must be why it's so cheap.0 -
littlejaffa wrote: »Ok I’m getting confused,
I asked for info on the lil saucepan type coffee machines that do normal and other coffee’s at about £50, thanks for loads of great suggestions.
I like the Kenwood ES630 Espresso machine and the Krups Black Vivo Coffee Maker both with 15 bars, and the ability to make normal and Macchiato, Americano, cappuccino, espresso etc. Both happy to take shop bought or my own ground beans, at £59 each with discounts, both are available I’m on budget. They seem to be exactly what I’m looking for.
But
A few people are saying it’s impossible to get what I’m looking for at this price, so is there something really wrong with these machines that I do not understand (versus other 'saucepan type' machines)?
Thanks to everyone who posted info about filter, higher priced etc etc but I’m after the saucepan around £50.
I can't speak for others but these both look like great deals. But neither of these seems to do Americano, which is the coffee you get from a slow filtering process. These machines make espresso (which is the strong small shot of coffee made with a 15 bar pump), which can then be added to steamed milk to make latte or frothed milk to make cappucino. Americano is a longer drink and you'd make it either in a filter machine or in a cafetiere - no fancy equipment is necessary which is why I recommended the £3.49 cafetiere as a supplement. But these machines above are nonetheless excellent value for money. The one I recommended is equally as good IMHO and I recommended it because it is sub-£50 as you asked.
Here is an example of what I was suggesting that you might avoid:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4227755/Trail/searchtext%3ECOFFEE+MAKER.htm
It has three separate jugs but (although the spec on this website doesn't say so) it only has 5 bar pressure and so the espresso is rubbish and you don't get the crema on top as you would with any of the smaller machines.0
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