Spec me a coffee maker

chipperhead said:
Link not working for me matey but from when I specced myself a coffee machine, if your shopping around the £200 mark it's a Gaggia Classic all the way.

edit: working now, but I'd still get the classic.
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Got to agree. My Gaggia Classic makes excellent coffee.
 
Looks like its Gaggia classic all the way then from the replies to this thread.
We have wedding voucchers still to spend at debenhams and thats kinda limiting my choice at the moment although the Gaggia classic was instore at Reading a couple of weeks ago. I just didnt know what one to go for then.
 
If you dont care much for decent coffee, a machine such as the one mentioned in this thread would be perfect.
 
I also have the gaggia classic - house of fraser had it on sale for about £195 a while back so might be worth checking after christmas to see if they do an offer again :)

However you won't get decent coffee out of it unless you put decent coffee into it - and that means recently roasted (should idealy be less than a week old beans) and more importantly freshly ground (a couple of min old!)

for around £60 you can get the dualit grinder which is a good start, but if you can stretch to £100 happy donkey do the Iberital MC2 - the best thing below £200 from all reviews i've read :)

Try and find a local coffee supplyer that knows what they are talking about and don't keep their stock for more than a week - i'm really lucky that company called coffee charisma visit Guildford every weekend and sell very good coffee at the market, otherwise you can buy online at somewhere like hasbean - keep the beans in the freezer to extend the life slightly.

Make sure you take time to learn to dose and tamp properly and you'll get coffee starbucks can only dream of making - seriously if you think starbucks is nice go to italy and get re-educated, or if your in the area give me a call :D

oh and for a cheap solution the AeroPress is supposed to be amazing - just make sure you use decent coffee with it (nb - illy isn't decent coffee - neither is anything whittards, coffee chains or supermarkets sell)

edit: oh and for reasons a freshness etc mentioned above don't go anywhere near pod machines! please!
 
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Siliconslave said:
I also have the gaggia classic - house of fraser had it on sale for about £195 a while back so might be worth checking after christmas to see if they do an offer again :)

However you won't get decent coffee out of it unless you put decent coffee into it - and that means recently roasted (should idealy be less than a week old beans) and more importantly freshly grown (a couple of min old!)

for around £60 you can get the dualit grinder which is a good start, but if you can stretch to £100 happy donkey do the Iberital MC2 - the best thing below £200 from all reviews i've read :)

Try and find a local coffee supplyer that knows what they are talking about and don't keep their stock for more than a week - i'm really lucky that company called coffee charisma visit Guildford every weekend and sell very good coffee at the market, otherwise you can buy online at somewhere like hasbean - keep the beans in the freezer to extend the life slightly.

Make sure you take time to learn to dose and tamp properly and you'll get coffee starbucks can only dream of making - seriously if you think starbucks is nice go to italy and get re-educated, or if your in the area give me a call :D
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You speaketh the truth! Anyone who thinks good coffee requires nothing other than a good machine doesn't know coffee. You can make a spanking cup in a cafetiere if you know what you are doing and know what you are putting into it.
 
Stove top espresso maker.

Grind your own beans. A cheat to get the freshest taste is to dry fry the beans in a hot pan just for a matter of seconds - just before it starts to smoke as though you're preparing whole spices.

Experiment and find your favourite bean/blend.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
I haven't come across a single Starbucks ad on TV, Newspaper, magazine or radio...
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Did you not see Starbucks get huge mention in Austin Powers the Spywho shagged me? ;)

I also notice it a lot in other movies :)
 
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Raymond Lin said:
I haven't come across a single Starbucks ad on TV, Newspaper, magazine or radio...
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You haven't noticed one. Another facet of the successful marketing :)
 
You can't go wrong with a nespresso machine.

perfect espresso every time.

I've had the Krups 554 since 1999 and it still makes perfect coffee.

No messing around with beans. Capsules cost about 20p per cup and last about 6-9months before they are out of date. Always tastes excellent.
 
Arkanoid said:
You can't go wrong with a nespresso machine.

perfect espresso every time.

I've had the Krups 554 since 1999 and it still makes perfect coffee.

No messing around with beans. Capsules[/B] cost about 20p per cup and last about 6-9months before they are out of date. Always tastes excellent.
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:eek:

You better run before the Coffee Purist brigade gets here :eek:
 
Zip said:
:eek:

You better run before the Coffee Purist brigade gets here :eek:
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hehe - don't get me wrong - the pod systems arn't as bad as most instant coffee making stuff - but thats pretty much what they are. Still if your happy with pods and starbucks feel free to enjoy it

if you want proper coffee theres allot of good advice in this thread :)
 
Well tbh for me and the mrs aslong as it tastes better than Nescafe Instant coffee we will be onto a winner :p
 
Thought I’d drag this thread up instead of creating a new one, I’m looking to get a coffee machine for the missus and got a couple of questions.

So far everything I’ve read recommends the Gaggia machines, particular the Classic. Now whilst in House of Frasier at the weekend I spotted a Gaggia Selecta Deluxe which seems to be the same as the classic with just a different name but half the price, anyone know anything about this?

Also the other alternatives under consideration are the Gaggia Cubika, anyone used this or any other machines with the smaller heaters?

Or lastly a pod Nespresso machine which seems to bed a really simple/clean way of doing things?

Any advice/comments appreciated, Cheers.
 
GSXRMovistar said:
Thought I’d drag this thread up instead of creating a new one, I’m looking to get a coffee machine for the missus and got a couple of questions....
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hi mate,
i saw these on offer in HoF the other week, i'm really not sure what the deal with them is - there doesn't seem to be any information about them anywhere online bar a couple of auctions....

The boilersize is the main factor which determins the quality of coffee the gaggias poor - the smaller ones (Gran and the Cubika) are a hella lot worse than the larger ones they also have lower quality parts. The rest of the machines have the larger (better) alu boiler and the Classic, Baby, Tebe and Paros have the solinoid valves to release pressure from the brewhead when you turn off the pump (makes for a less messy tideyup)

As far as i can tell the Selecta has the larger boiler but not the solinoid valve while essentially useing the same houseing as the classic

edit: and see above for comments on coffee freshness, flavor and how the pod essentially kill any chance of having either - you wouldn't eat stale old food so why would you drink stale old coffee?
 
Siliconslave said:
As far as i can tell the Selecta has the larger boiler but not the solinoid valve while essentially useing the same houseing as the classic
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Is that confirmed and does it make much difference?

BTW I haven't got a clue about coffee so this is all new to me. :p
 
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