Coffee machines, Tassimo or Nespresso?

Housey · 25 Nov 2018 at 22:30

Kainz said:
Had my Nespresso Pixie and Aerocinno for a few days now. My enjoyment is somewhat stemmed by the fact that I am awaiting delivery of 150 odd pods from Nespresso still. The starter pack that came with the machine has 14 assorted pods. I have found a few good ones in there like Indriya, Roma, Arpeggio and Envivo so far. The machine doesn't half put out a racket in operation though the final result is a very nice espresso that is hot enough. Build quality on the Pixie is very good and it lends itself well to the surrounding kitchen elements. The Aerocinno does a very good job of frothing up the milk should I want a more mellow drink so I have no complaints there since it is very easy to clean after use.

Think I made the right move in avoiding the Vertuo series. Despite it being able to make bigger drinks, which I do prefer I have read a lot of stories of some crazy amount of crema from various pods and if the pods are expensive now, the price a year down the line will likely be absurd. Not really a fan of third party stuff as I could never find anything good when our work office used to use a nespresso machine a good few years back.

I’ve got several of the original machines.

DJ85 · 27 Nov 2018 at 09:45

Does your choice of milk vary the froth and taste? I use green milk but I think the froth could be better, was thinking of picking up a bottle of the greames gold milk

robj20 · 27 Nov 2018 at 09:49

David Flett said:
Does your choice of milk vary the froth and taste? I use green milk but I think the froth could be better, was thinking of picking up a bottle of the greames gold milk

Yes higher fat is better. I actually use a knob of butter sometimes when I fancy a creamy coffee.

DJ85 · 27 Nov 2018 at 09:58

Ok I’ll pick up some fatty milk tonight, only just figured my milk to coffee ratio

jpaul · 27 Nov 2018 at 10:17

from earlier discussion

jpaul said:
Do you use skimmed milk ? I have not experimented - but there seems to be an opinion that you get a more voluminous foam without the fat,
however a creamy taste imparted by fat is tasty (thinking of Jersey milk)

[ EDIT: forefathers had already been there
]

DJ85 · 27 Nov 2018 at 10:20

Maybe I’ll experiment I’ll get skimmed milk and then I’ll get some of the gold full full fat milk to, I use semi skimmed but think it could be better

robj20 · 27 Nov 2018 at 10:37

I'm not sure how a lower fat content would foam more.
Think about whipping cream Vs trying to whip milk.
The fat content is what holds the air.

"There’s a science behind which types of milk are best for baristas, Joao tells me. Researcher Morten Münchow discovered that Jersey cows produce the best milk for texturing. This is because their milk has high levels of protein, sugar, and butter fat."

https://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2017/05/select-best-milk-coffee-foam-latte-art/

jpaul · 27 Nov 2018 at 11:13

robj20 said:
I'm not sure how a lower fat content would foam more.

because it's got more protein,per earlier link, also

Skimmed or semi-skimmed milk is milk from which the fat partly has been removed. This results in a lower fat content and a relatively slightly higher percentage of carbohydrates and protein in semi-skimmed and skimmed milk.

agree it's counter intuitive
there was a recent news article about some new london milk supplier the espresso bars couldn't get enough of .

edit: https://longandshort.london/brades-farm-barista-milk-the-creme-de-la-creme/

XeNoN89 · 27 Nov 2018 at 15:42

I find full fat milk makes a silky froth where as semi skimmed ends up more like a fluffy foam

Valo · 27 Nov 2018 at 16:19

Could someone recommend some good set of Latte Glasses which are double walled with a handle, with the capacity to take a Tassimo Costa Latte?

I'm looking to get some for someone's Christmas :cool:

TheVoice · 27 Nov 2018 at 17:27

Valo said:
Could someone recommend some good set of Latte Glasses which are double walled with a handle, with the capacity to take a Tassimo Costa Latte?

I'm looking to get some for someone's Christmas

They're not double-walled, but you can get gift sets in Tesco, Argos etc of Costa latte glasses which are the ideal size.

DJ85 · 27 Nov 2018 at 18:29

I just ordered these for myself, with the nice box it could be a nice gift.

SoliD · 27 Nov 2018 at 20:12

XeNoN89 said:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B072Q5H75W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These at the moment as my usual ones haven;t been available for a few weeks now. They do the job but you have to get the coffee tamped the right amount. Not enough and you get watery coffee, too much and the machine will struggle to generate enough pressure to get through the coffee.

I normally use 2 pods for each cup of coffee to get decent strength too.

Thanks what are the ones you normally use out of interest so I can keep my eye out?

Any specific coffee you have to use in them?

XeNoN89 · 27 Nov 2018 at 20:33

SoliD said:
Thanks what are the ones you normally use out of interest so I can keep my eye out?

Any specific coffee you have to use in them?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00S9GI3MO?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title

I used to get these but they are still unavailable, looks like they might not make them anymore.

Any Espresso grind coffee will work, I get my coffee from Rave.

jpaul · 27 Nov 2018 at 21:12

or thinner walled latte glasses -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bohemia-093-012-118-Play-Macchiato-Borosilicate-Drinking/dp/B07CFYM8GT

Valo · 3 Dec 2018 at 16:05

TheVoice said:
They're not double-walled, but you can get gift sets in Tesco, Argos etc of Costa latte glasses which are the ideal size.

David Flett said:
I just ordered these for myself, with the nice box it could be a nice gift.

jpaul said:
or thinner walled latte glasses -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bohemia-093-012-118-Play-Macchiato-Borosilicate-Drinking/dp/B07CFYM8GT

Thanks for the options. I'm going to have a look and see what'll be best.

jpaul · 4 Dec 2018 at 22:26

interesting pioneering from Rave .. they don't announce cost

robj20 · 5 Dec 2018 at 06:34

jpaul said:
interesting pioneering from Rave .. they don't announce cost

What do you mean they don't announce cost. They're £4.85 for 10.

jpaul · 5 Dec 2018 at 07:50

I have not bought enough ? ... but will Hasbean and others follow suit .
so they're setting a high price point vs originals&after-market

XeNoN89 · 5 Dec 2018 at 09:22

robj20 said:
What do you mean they don't announce cost. They're £4.85 for 10.

So a rip off really. Why do they think i will pay that when i can get just get a 250g bag of their coffee and reusable capsules from amazon for so much less?