Coffee machine recommendations?

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#2617843 7-Dec-2020 22:15

turtleattacks:
Can't you just buy the beans pre-grinded?

No. Not if you like fresh coffee. Think buying wine or beer pre-opened, like that.

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elpenguino

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#2617845 7-Dec-2020 22:35

For that same reason don't go stockpiling beans either.

I heard someone say grind your beans within 6 weeks of roasting, recently.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

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#2617858 7-Dec-2020 23:27

We got a second hand one of these just before first lock down (less than half of retail price).

https://www.harveynorman.co.nz/home-appliances/coffee-and-beverages/coffee-machines/delonghi-semi-automatic-espresso-machine.html

Beans in the top, water in the tank on the side, and push button convenience for making coffee (milk frothing is with a manual steam wand), empty the drip tray and grind bin every week or two, descale every three months or so, and that is about it.

Has been going strong so far. I don't drink coffee, but wife quite happy with this and she is fussy enough to give up on nespresso & go back to exclusively drinking barista coffee. So this machine is a big gain in convenience and reduction in costs for us. Gets packed up into the car when we visit family out of town.

Good beans are important. Supermarket beans didn't cut the grade for us. Need good fresh roasting stuff.

lxsw20

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#2617869 8-Dec-2020 01:21

fearandloathing: I’ve got a rocket, that’s been going strong for 16 odd years with daily use. It’s been repaired a few times though.

The very fact you've been able to get it repaired speaks to its quality. I would think most sub 1000 or so machines are disposable units.

jonathan18

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#2617873 8-Dec-2020 05:28

1024kb:
turtleattacks:

Can't you just buy the beans pre-grinded?

No. Not if you like fresh coffee. Think buying wine or beer pre-opened, like that.

Yeah, even if you end up buying a fully automatic machine, I think the consensus will be always buy fresh, unground beans - even though some auto machines do let you use pre-ground coffee.

Many - including me - will also say but directly from a roaster as opposed to a supermarket, as often you’ve got little control over the age of the beans. (One of my bugbears is that so few roasters provide a ‘roasted on’ date, and each company seems to have a different idea of how long their beans stay fresh, so it’s difficult to determine age.)

That said, the ‘unground’ advice is more important than the ‘non-supermarket’, ie makes a bigger difference. If you do buy from supermarkets, I suggest you work out your prefer supplier’s best before calculations so you can check to ensure you’re buying relatively fresh beans.

Handle9

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#2617874 8-Dec-2020 05:36

I think there's two ways to look at the pre-ground topic. There's a lot of snobbery in coffee - if you enjoy nescafe that's great. I don't but it's a personal choice.

Everyone who says that buying freshly roasted beans and grinding yourself produces better coffee is 100% correct. You'll get a significantly better cup of coffee from freshly roasted, freshly ground coffee.

On the other hand you can get ok results from pre-ground beans when you are first starting out and figuring out if an espresso machine is for you. It definitely won't be as good as freshly roasted beans ground at home but it'll be drinkable. You can often buy beans from your local cafe/roaster and have them grind them for you on the spot so at least you are maximising the lifespan of the coffee.

I think it's completely valid to buy a Sunbeam mini and have a go with small batches of pre-ground coffee. Just don't buy it 5kg at a time and experiment with different brands.

If it's good enough for you great, if you'd like to try something better you can always go and buy a burr grinder.

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#2617916 8-Dec-2020 09:09

I think you see a number of cheap coffee machines on trademe because people buy them expecting "cafe quality" coffee, then proceed to buy whatever blend from the supermarket that is preground for "espresso", use the twin wall filter that creates "crema", have no clue about shot time / size of shot etc and then steam the milk to searing hot with big bubbles for that cappuccino look, ultimately ending up disappointed that all their efforts didn't result in the promised product.

A good coffee is the sum of all the little things added up, the more attention paid to the fine details, the better the cup, but even just getting a few basics right can result in great at home coffee (grind fresh for the cup, 30 or 60ml of espresso in 20-30 secs, milk at +/- 65deg).

Warm up time can be easily solved with turning on the machine first thing in the morning (before morning shower / getting dressed), this will give most machines plenty of time to get up to temp (leave the portafilter in the group head and it too will heat up nicely). I also use a wifi plug on my machine (Astoria HX) so its on at least 30 mins before we get up, but this isn't an option on many domestic appliance machines where there isn't an on/off rocker switch but a digital switch.

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#2617918 8-Dec-2020 09:12

jonathan18:

Many - including me - will also say but directly from a roaster as opposed to a supermarket, as often you’ve got little control over the age of the beans. (One of my bugbears is that so few roasters provide a ‘roasted on’ date, and each company seems to have a different idea of how long their beans stay fresh, so it’s difficult to determine age.)

We live in Kapiti and order our beans online directly from Peoples Coffee in Wellington. link here

Their coffee does state the roast date which is typically only a few days before delivery.

They have a regular subscription service which is lower price, but we just order a single purchase each time when required.

And they don't charge for courier (for Wellington region, not sure about further out).

frankv

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#2617919 8-Dec-2020 09:16

Handle9:

Right, time to make my first coffee of the morning...

Wow! You can make coherent comments before your first coffee!

Handsomedan

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#2617920 8-Dec-2020 09:19

qwertee:

Handsomedan:

I've had a Breville Barista Express for a number of years and find it to be excellent - it's not the flashest, most expensive or newest model on the block, but it makes me a damn good coffee...in fact it makes me several damn good coffees every day.

https://www.breville.com/nz/en/products/espresso/bes870.html

Can be had for as low as $600 on sale, but according to Breville, full retail is $1200.00

When I say "a number of years" I mean somewhere in the region of 5-6 years without a single failure.

Edit: Spelling

Hi

I am Nespresso capsule user. I have been eyeing this Breville unit for a long time. Kitchen bench space is limited and using grounds also creates a mess!

Do you leave it on standby during the night and how quickly does it start up for you to brew a coffee in the morning?

cheers

It's always plugged in, but rarely on unless I am about to make a coffee.

It takes about 30sec to get ready to rock and the Thermoblock does its thing while you're grinding the beans and tamping your dose anyway.

I have limited bench space and it sits out permanently in our small kitchen.

Now that I work from home it gets a real workout and hasn't once let me down. Having the grinder in-built is awesome too, although I rarely fill the hopper with more beans than I need for the next hour or so.

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frankv

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#2617924 8-Dec-2020 09:28

qwertee:

Do you leave it on standby during the night and how quickly does it start up for you to brew a coffee in the morning?

The Breville uses some power when on, I guess keeping the thermablock warm (and warming cups on top of the machine), so I turn it off overnight (on the machine, not at the wall). In the morning, I put the kettle on to boil (my wife is a tea drinker, I prefer Americano, and the Breville's water tank is small), push button to turn the Breville on, grind a puck of coffee, insert puck in the outlet thing, put the cup in place, and then there's maybe 20 seconds while I get muesli etc organised before the machine is up to temperature. Press the go button and it's ready about the same time as the kettle.

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frankv

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#2617927 8-Dec-2020 09:34

elpenguino:

For that same reason don't go stockpiling beans either.

I heard someone say grind your beans within 6 weeks of roasting, recently.

Keep spare beans in the freezer. Dunno why coffee beans aren't in the freezer at the supermarket.

elpenguino

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#2617931 8-Dec-2020 09:44

frankv:

elpenguino:

For that same reason don't go stockpiling beans either.

I heard someone say grind your beans within 6 weeks of roasting, recently.

Keep spare beans in the freezer. Dunno why coffee beans aren't in the freezer at the supermarket.

I have heard to use the freezer over the years but I heard a coffee roaster say NO! to that (moisture?).

Apparently, an air tight jar is fine.

If you work on the idea like, say ham, that fresh is best then you'd only buy enough for immediate needs and therefore not have to freeze/store your beans.

We go through about 200g a week at home so no long-term storage required.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

1024kb

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#2617932 8-Dec-2020 09:44

This thread is evidence that GZers are hooked on IT & addicted to coffee. Just as there are hard-core followers of the various flavours of IT, be it hardware or software, so there are arguments for coffee too.

Years ago, in a past life, NZ's first Master of Wine, Michael Brajkovich came into a bar I owned. I did not know him, he tricked me by ordering a bottle of his own Kumeu River then asking me what I thought of it, then introduced himself. Fortunately my comments were largely complimentary. We continued talking about wine, as you would.

His comment that has stayed with me & relates very well to this conversation today - "Do you know what a good wine is? It's one that you like."

For wine, read coffee.

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jonathan18

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#2617933 8-Dec-2020 09:47

I'm a stickler for coffee at the right temperature, so will always heat the cups (double-walled glass retain their temperature fantastically) with boiled water, plus like others here run got water through the filter while in the handle.

Overheating the milk to compensate for the drop in temperature when using room-temperature cups isn't a solution, as over-heated milk loses its sweetness.

I've read many different things about storing beans, including many not recommending the fridge or freezer. I go for kept in the dark of a cupboard, and importantly not buying too much at a time...

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