Any coffee/espresso nerds on here?

[Fab Foodie]

I’ve been a espresso fan for many years now since my Italian customers converted me.
Years ago I bought a proper grinder with a view to getting a real espresso machine...but never got round to it...
I survived on a Mokka pot, Nespresso and and an Aeropress. All make a fine coffee, but neither a proper espresso with a good crema and the theatre of the barista....

But now thanks to the ever loving @Hill Wimp I/we are soon to be in cofvevfe heaven....just as soon as I get the hang of this beauty!

So if there are any coffee geeks out there with experience to share, am all ears :-)

 

[StuAff]

There's a long-running thread over in BikeRadar commuting https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/12751344/silly-commuter-coffee/ which may be of help.

Might have to pop round when it's legal…

 

[slowmotion]

I’ve been a espresso fan for many years now since my Italian customers converted me.
Years ago I bought a proper grinder with a view to getting a real espresso machine...but never got round to it...
I survived on a Mokka pot, Nespresso and and an Aeropress. All make a fine coffee, but neither a proper espresso with a good crema and the theatre of the barista....

But now thanks to the ever loving @Hill Wimp I/we are soon to be in cofvevfe heaven....just as soon as I get the hang of this beauty!

View attachment 572955

View attachment 572956

So if there are any coffee geeks out there with experience to share, am all ears :-)

It looks good but does it make all the right bronchial and emphysemic noises?

 

[HMS_Dave]

I absolutely love Costa Rican beans. Every morning, Grind em up, stick em into the espresso machine. I have a cheaper machine than that one, but it makes a decent cup with a nice crema.

 

[Tenacious Sloth]

A bit too much faffing around for my liking...

View: https://youtu.be/J3UQmKiVH9E


I’ve been using a DeLonghi Bean to Cup machine for the last 8 or 9 years which is great, but I’m currently downstairs watching the Test Match live in India at 0445 in the morning, gagging for a coffee I can’t have because the grinder on the machine is so noisy it’ll wake the whole house.

 

[Fab Foodie]

It looks good but does it make all the right bronchial and emphysemic noises?

It’s a basic manual machine so you have to make your own noises. YouTube have some as accompaniment....

 

[stephec]

You've go the right brand there, I had a DeLongi espresso pump that made a decent cup, then it broke and I bought a Gaggia, somehow for a machine with the same spec it made a much better one.

I'm currently using a DeLongi bean to cup which does a top job.

My favourite beans are Booth's own espresso ones followed by Lavazza Oro.

 

[Drago]

That looks pretty swish. I like a good coffee (I dont do milk, makes me sick, so tea is off the menu) and have done ok with the DeLonghi Nespresso. Its a bit of a ballache having George Clooney hanging round my kitchen though.

Youll have to let us know how it goes.

 

[Blue Hills]

I've had a gaggia classic for years - a great bit of Italian engineering - if your water is at all hard you have to make sure that you descale it regularly or you will run into problems.
I also have the Gaggia burr grinder.
I used to use the stand for both as well so you can do that knocking of the grounds into the tray like a real barrista.

I have 3 espressos first thing in the morning, then a fair few more later.
Can't function without it basically.

 

[SheilaH]

Yes. Massive coffee nerd. Used to roast my own, but sold my roaster a few years back. Got a La Spaziale S1 and a Mazzor Major grinder.

 

[Dave7]

I imagine you need to drink a lot of coffee to justify the outlay......and maybe the faff of preparing and cleaning ??
I have/had** a Tassimo which suits me as I have just one per day and that is a "long" one eg Americano with milk.
**it stopped working
Got onto Bosch who reckon it could be a dodgy batch of pods but I am not sure.

 

[Blue Hills]

I imagine you need to drink a lot of coffee to justify the outlay......and maybe the faff of preparing and cleaning ??
I have/had** a Tassimo which suits me as I have just one per day and that is a "long" one eg Americano with milk.
**it stopped working
Got onto Bosch who reckon it could be a dodgy batch of pods but I am not sure.

whatever that turns out to be, confirms my determination to never go near a pod dave.
Can't see a "dodgy batch of beans" halting things.
Pods are for peas.
Or George Clooney.
Apologies if my tone seems a bit hyper - had 4 espressos already

 

[Dave7]

whatever that turns out to be, confirms my determination to never go near a pod dave.
Can't see a "dodgy batch of beans" halting things.
Pods are for peas.
Or George Clooney.
Apologies if my tone seems a bit hyper - had 4 espressos already

But do you agree that, for just one cup per day, the outlay and faff are just too much.
BTW, I don't much like granular coffee.

 

[Blue Hills]

But do you agree that, for just one cup per day, the outlay and faff are just too much.

Well yes I see your point.
And I out you as George Clooney and claim my free coffee.

 

[SheilaH]

I imagine you need to drink a lot of coffee to justify the outlay......and maybe the faff of preparing and cleaning ??
I have/had** a Tassimo which suits me as I have just one per day and that is a "long" one eg Americano with milk.
**it stopped working
Got onto Bosch who reckon it could be a dodgy batch of pods but I am not sure.

I think maybe 5 coffees a day are drunk in the house (not all by me). It's not much faff really,about 10 seconds to prepare a shot. 25 seconds to pour (one press of a button...its a volumetric machine) Knock out puck then quick flush of portafilter and job done. Certainly more faff than a pod machine, but then the results are much better, doubly so if you are steaming milk. Cleaning isn't a minor weekly faff, takes about 5 minutes. It's all worth it, though. I wake up everyday to a flat white that is better than you'll get in all but the specialist coffee shops. The only downside is that I can no longer be arsed to make filter coffee because it is so much of a faff!

I think pod machines are great if you can accept that they have their limitations. I wouldn't have one myself, but they are at least consistent, something which is hard to achieve on single boiler thermostat controlled machines such as the OPs. I bought my mother in law a pod machine last year. She was chuffed but I had a vested interest.