Reply to: Bean to cup

[RedSauce]

Blue Mountain is a great coffee – just be careful you are getting the actual thing, worldwide more coffee is sold a Jamaican Blue Mountain than is actually produced. It is best done in a cafetiere as the flavour is not suited to the high heat of machines

Coffee fraud (who would have thought) - I hadn't heard of it until last year when my mum brought me some back from Jamaica. When that ran out i bought some from whittard (very expensive) but have just got a lb of it from a friend returning from Jamaica. Unfortuantely it doesn't keep for long.

[MaryPoppins]

Sorry to hijack but any recommendations for a decent compact grinder?

try www.coffeeforums.co.uk

[MaryPoppins]

I bet 999 people in a 1000 can't tell the difference between coffee made by a fancy expensive machine, and that made from a few beans ground up and chucked in a £10 cafetiere from Sainsbury's.

I don't like to disagree with you Nickeroo, but on this occasion I do! I'm no coffee purist, but I do struggle to find a decent cup.

[DimPrawn]

Are you lot overcomplicating things?

Buy beans.

Put in this

Buy De

Then put the ground coffee into something like this:

Kenwood UK | Black Coffee Maker kMix CM024

What else is there to it?

[MaryPoppins]

We have this one, it’s a bit over your stated budget but if the other Delonghi machines are half as good then I can recommend the brand.

A few things to consider with B2C machines:

If you like your coffee hot you will be disappointed with the cappuccino / latte as the milk just doesn’t get up to the temperature you may be used to from machines with steamers (such as the Gaggia)

Get one that has a pre-ground container you can then use this for decaff: it saves having to try & empty the beans out..

Look at the milk container, be sure that the spout that goes into the base unit is not metal – if you keep the container in the fridge the metal may shrink in the cold & this can cause connection issues.

You will need to descale on a regular basis, if you don’t it can bung up the mechanism; descaling is an easy process but get the proper Delonghi fluid.

Thank you! I only drink espresso/americano [re: the hot issue]. I guess I should consider guests may want something different, but I care about that much less than the ability to make myself a very good, strong, coffee.

[amcdonald]

Is this a porn thing?

Nah I think he meant Kopi Luwak, AKA Cat Butt Coffee

[Halo Jones]

I would strongly recommend buying some Blue Mountain coffee, it is like nothing i have ever had before, it is so smooth and doesn't have that bitter taste that some coffee can have.

Blue Mountain is a great coffee – just be careful you are getting the actual thing, worldwide more coffee is sold a Jamaican Blue Mountain than is actually produced. It is best done in a cafetiere as the flavour is not suited to the high heat of machines

[DimPrawn]

Having being down the anal bean to cup route..

Is this a porn thing?

[Gibbon]

I was looking into a nespresso machine, but the pods are stupidly expensive. I would like a bean to cup machine and was looking at Jura and de Longhi, but I only drink coffee at home at the weekends, so will probably invest in a coffee grinder and stick to using a cafetiere.

I agree that Nespresso is expensive by weight, but it makes up for it by convenience, minimal cleaning and maintenance required. Also like you I only drink it on a weekend and I was forever throwing away stale coffee making it actually more expensive. Yes you can grind your own, but after doing this myself I would say it’s nugatory effort for no better coffee and again another cleaning task. I can make two decent cups and be cleaned away by the time the toast is done. Also I like strong coffees whilst the wife likes hers milder which again is easy with pods.

Having being down the anal bean to cup route, I honestly think unless you are making as much as a small coffee bar it’s not worth the extra effort.

[norrahe]

Sorry to hijack but any recommendations for a decent compact grinder?

[RedSauce]

I looked at doing the same thing, but it worked out so expensive for something I would only use at weekends. So i bought a grinder of Amazon and a Cafetiere. As long as you use decent coffee it is just as good as any machine IMO.

I would strongly recommend buying some Blue Mountain coffee, it is like nothing i have ever had before, it is so smooth and doesn't have that bitter taste that some coffee can have.

[Pondlife]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aerobie-Aero.../dp/B000GXZ2GS

I keep seeing these pop up. They seem to be v. popular at the moment. Not sure I can be bothered with the faffing about.

so will probably invest in a coffee grinder and stick to using a cafetiere.

This is pretty much it for me. Buy decent beans, whack 'em in a grinder until medium, then bung into a std filter coffee machine or cafetiere.

[norrahe]

Trying to get the perfect coffee machine is like trying to get a perfect man, impossible.

So make do with one that is dependable and easy to clean up like a pod machine (nepresso is big in Italy).

Plus both will got the job done in the time it takes to make a slice of toast.

I was looking into a nespresso machine, but the pods are stupidly expensive. I would like a bean to cup machine and was looking at Jura and de Longhi, but I only drink coffee at home at the weekends, so will probably invest in a coffee grinder and stick to using a cafetiere.

[Scrag Meister]

Reminds me I still have a bag of beans that my dad bought back from a trip to Honduras, a while ago now.

What is the sell by date on coffee beans, how long before they need chucking out?

[Gibbon]

I'm deep in the world of coffee machine reviews and completely baffled.

I know that I don't want one of those pod insertion situations - I want bean to cup.

But which ones are any good? Is it possible to get one for under £500?

Heellpppp.

Trying to get the perfect coffee machine is like trying to get a perfect man, impossible.

So make do with one that is dependable and easy to clean up like a pod machine (nepresso is big in Italy).

Plus both will got the job done in the time it takes to make a slice of toast.