Hey All,
Since we have a varied bunch of members on here there must be some coffee drinkers
Any recommendations for some online coffee retailers, looking for a bean to cup machine and somewhere to purchase a variety of beans.
Rather than discussing budget I am more interested in what is or isn't a good machine.
We currently have a Tassimo which is very limited
I have a Bosch Tassimo for the daily breakfast start - the coffee is shockingly bad.
I also have an Electra Microcasa a leva. It’s a manual springload lever that makes stunning coffee and velvet steamed milk.
MCAP4 stepless flat plat grinder that gives an excellent consistent grind.
To use you switch on, 15mins later the water is ready, you dose, tamp then once in the grouphead you push down the lever and wait for the water to fill the cylinder and let go of the handle. The spring does the rest by pushing the water through the coffee.
Probably the best manual lever out there period.
It has it’s foibles - having fresh beans ground is a must, stake beans will simply cause it to gush or choke. Same with the consistency of grind and tamping. It will punish you if this is wrong. With spring you have to get the grind perfectly right.
The lever also means this will not sit under most kitchen cupboards! Plus there’s no locking in the basket, so although unlikely (it’s tight) it’s best to keep the hand on the basket handle when pulling!
The water reserve is shared between coffee and steaming - you’ll get two coffees with steamed milk (perhaps 3) before it needs filling up. It is “personal” as an experience - so forget a fast round of coffees after dinner as it doesn’t have the capacity. It’s great when a friend pops over or the Sunday -hence why we have the Tassimo for daily/bulk, an alternative would be an aero press for example.
Steaming is superb, with serious oomph results in velvet microbubbles.
The Mrs has just said it’s a unicorn.
It’s also a talking point looking like a steampunk Jules Verne contraption.
Shown there is the straight chrome, mine is the brass/chrome, although the copper/brass is really nice in an old school way! They also do a semi-auto which has more water without a lever. (The big Electra machine in the background of the video too)
