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Bean to cup coffee machines
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Penny Outskirts



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....
PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 08 8:26 pm    Post subject: Bean to cup coffee machines Reply with quote
    

Does anyone have one? Is yours one Snowball? Been looking at this type of thing....

https://www.gocoffee.co.uk/coffee-machines/saeco-odea-giro-plus-p-440.html

Flipping expensive, so I want to make sure we get the right kind. Any tips?

jema
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28100
Location: escaped from Swindon
PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 08 8:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Ours is a cheapy expresso machine, £20 from comet

But I was looking at Bean to Cup machines just last week, I really fancy one as I really like my coffee. Blinking hard to justify though

Penny Outskirts



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....
PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 08 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I know - but we drink a lot of coffee, and we do so little in the way of personal treats, that we felt me may just be able to justify a really good one that will last a very long time.

sean
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42207
Location: North Devon
PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 08 8:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I reckon you'd be better off with good separates rather than an 'all-in-one'. That may just be my innate bias against multi-function gadgetry though.

Jonnyboy



Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.
PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 08 8:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

That reminds me to dig my krups out

Nick



Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford
PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 08 8:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Home use, or work?

Work? Lease one.

dougal



Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent
PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 08 9:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

sean wrote:
I reckon you'd be better off with good separates rather than an 'all-in-one'. That may just be my innate bias against multi-function gadgetry though.

I tend to have a bit of a bias against multi-functionality all wrapped up in one impenetrable box.
It tends not to be a recipe for longevity.

But on the other hand, I know how much control/artistry is needed to get a reliably decent cup of espresso.
And espresso ground beans only stay fresh for hours after being ground. So forget grinding in quantity. And grinding in small quantities isn't really an option.
So the only way I found of getting domestic/personal quantities of decent espresso at a reasonable price was a machine that could take ESE pods. Not that its designed for them. Just that you can use them, when you don't want to roast and grind beans... And I bought pods in Calais. Barely used loose coffee afterwards.

If you don't want espresso (and rather a shaky trembly quantity of it) then don't spend lots of money on a bean-to-cup machine designed to do the hard stuff.

Oh, and unless you keep a coffee machine obsessively cleaned, the coffee tastes awful. Lord knows how you clean the robot's innards. But find out what's needed (and what's possible) before buying.
And they do use electricity if you leave them on all the time, like you really need to.

James



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 2866
Location: York
PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 08 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Why go for the single machine?
I have a bean-to-cup two machine combo. First up is the De-longhi grinder
then there's the stove top mocha pot

Its as fast as any bean to cup fresh coffee machine, arguabley tastier and cost £28 (based on the above costs).

I keep the beans in the freezer and grind enough for 3 days at a time, then keep this ground coffee in a kilner jar in the fridge.

jema
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28100
Location: escaped from Swindon
PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 08 9:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We use that grinder and it is quite good, though our son manages to make it a messy exercise

In conjunction with the cheap but 15psi expresso machine, I somehow doubt that we would get much better coffee from an all in one box.

But they are still a rather desirable item

James



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 2866
Location: York
PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 08 9:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

dougal wrote:
unless you keep a coffee machine obsessively cleaned, the coffee tastes awful.




you must not wash a mocha machine! the oils develop and enrichen the flavour (as the wiki that you, dougal, directed me to when we last had this conversation, stated).

Its like washing a skillet. You just dont do it.

I'd imagine if you've got a funny technical machine, then things may need cleaning

caveat: the machine needs daily use to keep the oils fresh. If you leave it, then the oils will go stale.

dougal



Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent
PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 08 10:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

James wrote:
dougal wrote:
unless you keep a coffee machine obsessively cleaned, the coffee tastes awful.

you must not wash a mocha machine! the oils develop and enrichen the flavour ...

I'd imagine if you've got a funny technical machine, then things may need cleaning

caveat: the machine needs daily use to keep the oils fresh. If you leave it, then the oils will go stale.

Its about removing those stale oils.

This discussion is indeed about a "funny, technical machine".
A so-called "bean to cup" machine.
Internally *very* "technical".
You can get a fully warranted "factory refurb" from www.gaggia.co.uk for *only* about £300.
The machine Penny linked from the first post is £399.
We are not talking about a £10 stove-top mocha pot...


Espresso geeks may already know https://www.espressomyespresso.com/ on which the page on "backflushing" may indicate something about my use of the word "obsessive"!
Direct link: https://home.surewest.net/frcn/Coffee/HowToBackflush.html

twoscoops



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1924
Location: Warwickshire
PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 08 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I’ve got a £2K BTC and we use excellent Lavazza beans , makes a very good cup of coffee that can only be bettered by someone using a trad espresso machine who kinows exactly what they are doing and with excellent beans. It needs cleaning every day and then decalcifying and a separate full 2hr clean about once a month. They need to be properly looked after. At home I use a stove-top, which is fine.

Northern_Lad



Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere
PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 08 10:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

..or you could just be sensible about things and drink, made with proper leaves in a tea-pot.

kevin.vinke



Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 1304
Location: Niedersachsen, Germany
PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 08 10:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

The biggest issue with all of these is the cleaning of them. 80% of issues I´ve delt with on commercial machines stem from the machines not being cleaned correctly. The hardness of your water can make a big difference to taste and longevity of the boiler. If youré in a hard water area and don´t have a softener there is a good chance the machine will scale up and won´t be covered under warranty.

Agree the Lavazza beans are really nice

Anders



Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 317

PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 08 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

"Thanks to Sensitive Touch technology, with a simple touch you can electronically regulate the ideal height of the cup tray for every type of cup or glass."

What the %$#$%%

Though I like a good cup of mocha myself, I don't really get the attraction here.

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