Coffee

[Someone-Else]

AJ - far from using too little coffee, Mrs k_e has the habit of using far too much! She uses one table spoon (heaped!) per cup plus 'one for the pot' I'd be able to stand the spoon up in the coffee if the metal hadn't corroded away. I end up having to dilute half a cup with additional hot water

[fin]

i do like a cafe nero or starbucks or whatever if im passing by.

if im at work ill have either tea or coffee though i always have a bottle of water with me too.

ive had coffee out of those tassimo machines and its good like. ill probs get one one day

[ayjay]

We use a simple coffee machine already and have half a dozen packets of coffee grounds part-used in an attempt to get a decent cup! but still can't get anywhere close to even the McDonald's type coffee for flavour, never mind the Costa type.

MSG?

[kellys_eye]

Yeah, that'll work

I've got some here at home but whenever I use it (very rarely) I get strange coloured wiggly lines in my vision! I'm allergic to it!

The stuff has a reputation it doesn't deserve as it's a simple extract of seaweed and no where as dangerous as it is made out to be.

[ayjay]

I'm not into spending large wodges of cash on things that I can produce equally well myself and so my experiences of the large coffee franchises are very limited................... but, a few weeks back I had my car cleaned and valeted prior to selling it, this left me with a half hour or so to fill, it wasn't worth walking home so I went into Tesco (the carwash is in their car park) and had a Costa coffee (and a cake of course) the coffee was an Americano - I can make better myself - I wasn't impressed.

I'm not sure what you're after in the way of a coffee, but the whole process is so very straightforward there must be something we're missing in the search. I can't believe it's down to fancy machines, I can use two or three simple methods and get what I want with the right coffee, I usually stick to South or Central American coffee, I can't abide African coffee, as for manufacturers (or named brands if you prefer) I find Taylors coffee very weak, but there's not much to choose between the rest of them, Cafe Direct is probably my favourite, I go for a 4 or 5 in strength.

[kellys_eye]

You're quite right - it's more the 'method' than the 'material'. But there are parts of the 'method' that will be either ridiculously convoluted or - to put it plainly, niggly, that I'd rather leave it to a machine to get right - and get right time after time after time. That's why the machines were invented, repeatability.

I still can't get Mrs k_e to stop boiling the @rse out of the kettle when she makes instant coffee - the 'scalded' taste is awful - yet even showing her a properly made coffee, which she acknowledges tastes much better, still doesn't stop her boiling the water! We considered purchasing one of those dual-temperature kettles but since the issue was just 'coffee' we thought getting a machine to do the job instead.

I could, of course, make ALL the coffees myself but even Mrs k_e likes a Costa-type coffee when we're in town and considers a machine to do that as an excuse for her to purchase a McDonalds Milkshake machine in 'revenge'......

[PavelB]

I love a decent coffee - who doesn't?

But I have no experience of the usual suspects when to comes to coffee MACHINES. They come in all shapes, sizes, makes, models and functionality. From the basic 'capsule' type all the way up to restaurant-equivalents all-singing all-dancing.

We've spotted a basic 'Tasimo-type' machine that's going for around £40 with capsules that are priced at £10-ish for 48.

It's not as if I can get to try-before-I-buy so I'm asking for feedback from those that own them.

Any comments, good or bad, along with info on the types of capsule (or beans) that you find are irresistible!

TIA

Pod machines are really a curse, don't do that. You can get great compact machines for £100 and have any kind of coffee you want. On the other hand, if the budget doesn't allow you, you should stick to a french press.

[toolbox]

Just got one of these brilliant! Says it will take capsules too, but I find ground coffee great and a lot cheaper.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... ee+Machine+

[cakesreznor]

A french press or Aeropress is good; you can use any coffee you want to any strength. They can be quite cheap too. Whittards do nice coffee; their Guatemalan Elephant coffee & Old Brown Java are good if the stronger ones.

[dewaltdisney]

I do not have coffee that often but when I do I want a strong taste. I bought a pack of Rombouts filters and I enjoy that black and it is very strong for my palate. I preheat the cup before filling the filter so it is still nice and hot after the filter brewing process is finished. The only thing I would like is a proper Rombouts coffee cup and saucer as they are sized to fit the filter. I have seen them on Ebay but never bothered to get one yet

DWD