Coffee machine

[Dirtbreath]

 

 

Nespresso. Bought a Pixie with a seperate frother as the Citiz was too bulky and I ocassionally use the frother. For me its perfect as I leave home early in the morning and in less than a minute I have a decent cup of coffee. My favourites are Indrya and Arpeggio and Roma.

 

You can order original pods online from nespresso-sa.co.za

[GBguy]

Been a while.... I can get a really good deal on a Delonghi Icona machine. Does anybody have any personal experience using these machines? Pros and cons?

Don't know the machine, but there are user reviews here: http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/kitchen/reviews/coffee-machines/delonghi-eco-310-b-icona/customer-views/

[Grebel]

So I ended up buying the Delonghi Icona. I took somebody's advice here and had a look on Gumtree. Retails for R2k. Picked it up for R900! (5 months old with the balance of the Hirsch guarantee) Tried it out this weekend. Seems fine so far.

 

How much difference will the grind of the bean make? Metal filter grind for a Moka vs Espresso grind? Will the difference in taste be that noticeable?

 

I need to purchase a grinder next.

 

 

[V12man]

@Grebel - Grinder is the key difference between ok and terrible.... using the same bean it can make a huge difference.

[GBguy]

@Grebel - Grinder is the key difference between ok and terrible.... using the same bean it can make a huge difference.

Just like V12man said. Buy the best burr-grinder you can afford.

 

Adjust the grind so the coffee coming out of the spouts is a thin stream - the Italians call it a "rat's tail" - and takes about 30 seconds to give you 30ml (equivalent to one of those little espresso cups). If the coffee gushes out, it will be watery and acidic. If it just drips out, it will have a bitter, burned taste. Whatever you do, don't extract more than 30ml from each "dose" of coffee-grounds - after that point the coffee coming out tastes like p1ss. If you want a longer drink - like an Americano - add hot water. All espresso drinks (cappuccino, etc) all start with the same 30ml of espresso.

 

Use freshly roasted beans. It's more important that they were roasted no more than a couple of weeks ago than their origin (Ethiopia, Guatemala or wherever). Also, it's a bit of a fallacy that espresso should be made from full-roast beans (which are shiny) - a slightly shorter roast, so the beans don't produce oil, tastes better. Don't expect much from pre-packaged beans sold in supermarkets.

 

Put it together, and you should get a pretty good coffee! Let us know how it goes.

[Grebel]

Just like V12man said. Buy the best burr-grinder you can afford.

 

Adjust the grind so the coffee coming out of the spouts is a thin stream - the Italians call it a "rat's tail" - and takes about 30 seconds to give you 30ml (equivalent to one of those little espresso cups). If the coffee gushes out, it will be watery and acidic. If it just drips out, it will have a bitter, burned taste. Whatever you do, don't extract more than 30ml from each "dose" of coffee-grounds - after that point the coffee coming out tastes like p1ss. If you want a longer drink - like an Americano - add hot water. All espresso drinks (cappuccino, etc) all start with the same 30ml of espresso.

 

Use freshly roasted beans. It's more important that they were roasted no more than a couple of weeks ago than their origin (Ethiopia, Guatemala or wherever). Also, it's a bit of a fallacy that espresso should be made from full-roast beans (which are shiny) - a slightly shorter roast, so the beans don't produce oil, tastes better. Don't expect much from pre-packaged beans sold in supermarkets.

 

Put it together, and you should get a pretty good coffee! Let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks guys. I have a batch of beans that have been ground for a metal filter (Coarser than the fine espresso grind) that I have been using purely because that is what I had. I must admit that I wasn't blown away by the taste... I am more of an Americano/occassional espresso drinker as opposed to a cappuccino/latte drinker. Straight off the bat, the coffe that I was making on my moka tastes better than the machine coffee at the moment.... It is going to be a bit of a learning curve I think to get the ideal espresso shot though.

 

I will be working on the 30 second rule for a double shot of espresso (the machine came with a single serving and a double shot insert. I am using the bigger of the two inserts) and see how things go.

[MTB_Roadie]

I got a Russel Hobs one, with the bean grinder it worked out to about R1200 at Makro, works prefect

[D-Mike]

So my wife organised me this one for my birthday

 

She is the best!!! :clap:

 

[Cois]

While on the topic. Coffee.co.za has a sale on at the moment...

[Scooterza]

I drink Nescafe gold. SERIOUSLY better than Ricoffy and gulp...frisco! (Exits rapidly)

[Grebel]

So things with the Delonghi are getting better. The grind makes a HUGE difference to the taste for obvious reasons. I have been getting a much finer grind and the taste is coming along. Next step will be to buy a burr grinder and then each cup will be an experiment until I get it just right

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Just on another point I see in the newspaper Checkers is advertising a sort of generic Nespresso machine, basically it uses a similar Pod and they say also pumps to 19 bar, just at a far reduced price.

 

I guess it had to happen sooner or later someone would copy the Nespresso principle but I wondered if anyone had used one or tasted the coffee.?

 

Unlike my Nespresso machine it appears to be just a basic coffee maker, no frother etc, but for 800 bucks or something (I think) and only R3.50 odd for the individual pods I think I can see it finding a good market for someone just wanting a basic coffee machine.

[DaLoCo]

It took me a few months and a lot of research to get my coffee up to standard, I had a Russell Hobbs. That has now broken, and all I could afford was a R180 low pressure Sunbeam from Game. With all i have learnt re grind and draw time etc. I still manage to get something acceptable from it.

 

Proper skill and a good grind with fresh coffee almost makes up 50% of the taste in my opinion.

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I drink Nescafe gold. SERIOUSLY better than Ricoffy and gulp...frisco! (Exits rapidly)

 

- Ha, Ha, I have to admit to drinking the odd instant coffee as well, sometimes even firing up the Nespresso is an issue - but I dont like the Nescafe brand, it seems a little weak to me and I need to heap two teaspoons in a cup to actually taste anything,.......... have you tried the Douwe Egberts brand? To me its the only fairly strong instant coffee around.

[cruiser]

nespresso is the business, if you dont want the pods russel hobs makes a cheapie that is compact and works great and you chose your own coffee from any ground coffee brand.

[Octavian]

I heard that the Nespresso patent has expired, therefore much cheaper versions will come on the market.

 

To bad if you just bought a Nespresso though....