Right…. any of you good folk like your coffee?

More to the point - have a machine for making it at home.
I dont drink coffee. Cant stand the stuff (shame, because I really love the smell of it (freshly ground stuff) - and the fact there are loads of options for coffee all over the place nowadays).

Anyway, Mrs Zim likes her coffee and in recent times has become a coffee snob.


Can anyone recommend a good machine for making your own (so something that you can make espresso and cappuccino's with)? What else is there? Latte's? Isnt that just mainly milk?

Anyway, I am not after one of these machines that you bung the capsules in (we've got a Nescafe Krupps(?) one which she has outgrown).

So now want a real mccoy grown up full blown jobbie.

Needs to be good, reliable, easy to use - and to satisfy Mrs Zim - look the part too (retro Italian styleee).

Willing to pay £200-£250 (obviously less if its possible).

Cheers

I can't recommend a coffee maker per se as I standard coffee maker, which just does filter coffee.

Russell Hobbs Caffe Torino.

The coffee I would recommend has to be Tesco's finest Java Sumatra. Obviously coffee is a personal taste thing, but thats the nicest I have found. (You didn't ask that question though did you)

edit to add.... there is nothing better than the aroma that comes from a freshly opened bag of coffee

Like the taste except the coffee chocolates of course but the caffeine goes straight to my bloodstream.The Gadget Show did a test.
http://fwd.channel5.com/gadget-show/vid ... e-machines

I have a nespresso machine. Highly recommend but make sure it has a milk filter if you want to make fancy coffees like Latte and Cappuccinos. I only have the espresso/coffee one - no milk filter - but they are great and coffee very tasty too.

Over your budget but the best consumer coffee machine as voted for by Coffee Geek is

http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/consumer/rancilio_silvia

I have one and it is beautifully made - engineered to perfection. Built like a tank and has been used regularly for 6 years without any problems.

Bear in mind that however good a machine you get, it is actually the freshness of the beans and the quality of the grind which is the greatest influence over the crema (which is the browny-reddish cream on top of properly brewed espresso and contains all the oils and flavour).

I have my own roaster (about £200) and grinder (about £200) and I have to say that fresh roasted beans are the key to the best coffee.

Read more advice here:

http://coffeegeek.com/guides/howtobuyanespressomachine


I know it sounds expensive but if you are trading up it's a false economy to go for mid-range.

Weirdly I was thinking about you over the weekend (and how you no longer post)


So does that machine make the cappucino types etc.

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/Ranci ... (New-Model).html

This site refers to it as an espresso machine (but there looks to be a pipe on the right)?

£435.... is that about right? Seems very few UK stockists are available.

The link you sent is in dollars (and converts at about £350). Where did you buy yours from? Was it from that site?

PS - I know my crema's even though I dont drink the stuff

I am purely an expresso man and use the Gaggia Classic. £270 though I bought direct from italy for about 250 eur.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0000C72XS/r ... B0000C72XS.

Does the job nicely. Grind own beans but do not roast at home.

Me too, have had one for years and love the quality and the convenience - faster than making instant coffee. For Latte's etc I have a separate nespresso milk frother thing ("aeroccino") which works very well too.

Earlier thread for digestion:

coffee-maker-t36721.html

Are DeLonghi bean to cup machines any good?

seems the perfect compromise between taste and convenience, without being tied to pods??

Unfortunately pukka coffee comes at a price, I own this



and is very, very good
don't expect much change from 800 squid, [lucky for me i work for Siemens]

Remember your coffee is only as good as your bean, find your local suppler.

however some of my best coffee have been using nothing more then this... it doesn't need to be expensive.



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Martin-Wahl-Gri ... 722&sr=8-2

And


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bialetti-Moka-E ... 646&sr=8-1


you wont go in a Italians home and find a auto coffee machine just that pot above on the stove.