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Coffee Machines

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 5:57 pm
by Chris Corbyn
Who's got one? I'm thinking of buying one so I can make my own half-decent lattés but hell, they're pretty expensive for all the reasonable well heard of brands. Anyone got any recommendations for something that won't cost me $1000 (by the time you factor in the cost of a grinder) but will still make me a good coffee? :) Surely there's nothing to it which warrants the pricing of them?

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 7:00 pm
by seodevhead
The best thing ever made...

http://www.keurig.com/

I bought one a couple months ago and wow... I love it. Doesn't grind fresh beans or nothing like that... but if you know the brands you like, you can buy the individual 'cups' for them. I like paul newman brand myself. You can buy craploads of all kinds of coffee, tea, cocoa, etc for cheap. Check it out for sure.

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 8:42 pm
by Christopher
I have never had much luck with espresso makers. They are expensive, don't work that well, and break.

A thing that I actually use to make poor-man's lattes is a milk frother. They are a little, high speed, hand held mixer. You just put a little cold milk in a cup and foam it -- then pour in coffee. It is really fast and almost no cleanup. You could make lattes a work. And the frothers are cheap ($20-$30).

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 10:28 pm
by Chris Corbyn
Yeah I guess the main thing I'm in need of is a steam arm to heat and froth the milk, but a frother would work. It's just not quite the same kinda froth you get :P The whole process of freshly grinding coffee, pressing it into the filter and getting a little shot of expresso out is fun (and smells great) too...

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 10:59 pm
by Christopher
Chris Corbyn wrote:Yeah I guess the main thing I'm in need of is a steam arm to heat and froth the milk, but a frother would work. It's just not quite the same kinda froth you get :P The whole process of freshly grinding coffee, pressing it into the filter and getting a little shot of expresso out is fun (and smells great) too...
Same foam, only cold. Yeah the whole experience is great ... but it gets really old pretty quickly ... especially the whole cleaning part. As I said, it is not the same but a whole lot easier.

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 9:54 pm
by Kieran Huggins
I found out today that the local starbucks is closing.... I may just move.

Seriously.

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:21 pm
by Jonah Bron
My dad has a Profi Estro.

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:24 pm
by Benjamin
Do you mean Exresso machines?

I've got this coffee machine made my Mr Coffee. It works very well and was only about $60USD if I remember correctly.

http://www.mrcoffee.com/Product.aspx?pid=4820

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:28 pm
by Chris Corbyn
Just to be clear, I was talking about something with a steam arm.

http://coffeemachine.com.au/rancilio-si ... 0aa70d4e64

We have one of these at work which has made me want one. She's (Sylvia we call her :P) older than the one in the picture, but she makes a great coffee. Shame they're like $800 just for the machine and really if you're gonna have a machine like that you want a grinder to grind your own beans.

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:34 pm
by Benjamin
We have a mini espresso maker similiar to this one: http://www.mrcoffee.com/Product.aspx?pid=4838 but we have never used it. We have a small and cheap coffee grinder that has worked wonderfully for years. It's basically just a little piece of metal that spins fast in a small cup. I noticed that coffee taste better when you don't grind it very long. I'd say you get the best taste when the you have grains about 1/3 to 1/4 the size of a piece of rice.

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:58 pm
by Kieran Huggins
A friend of mine has this:
http://www.krups.ca/All+Products/Espres ... achine.htm

...and raves about it. Apparently you want a "pump" machine, not a "steam" machine. Not sure what the difference is exactly.

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:34 pm
by Christopher
Chris Corbyn wrote:Shame they're like $800 just for the machine
Hold on Mate! If you made only a cuppa a day that is only $2.20 per cup to pay off the machine in a year. Add 50 cents per cup for coffee and milk you are still under $3.00 for a latte ... so after a year it'll be good onya. ;)

Re: Coffee Machines

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:46 pm
by Kieran Huggins
I bought a damn fine grinder (NPI) for about $30 CAD. KitchenAid I think. It's a real work horse, grinds spices, coffee... you name it.

I'd love a decent espresso machine... maybe watch craigslist for a pro model from a closing restaurant?