Coffee Appreciation

Jacob, put yourself in that poor bastard's shoes for a moment, having a cheap old robusta boiled for ages being spat into your gob by an old trout. Not pleasant.

To get the appetite back

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rq5aUnpHXM&fmt=18

That machine is fucking awesome. I'd seen that video (are you on TMC?). That Speedster has PID for both boilers, pre-heated autofill, rising rate pre-infusion and optional footswitch operated steam. And it's really shiney.

I would prefer the KVdW Lever machine personally...

i got to monmouth coffee today, desperate for a machiato, at 1:59 today. the poor barrista who was waiting at the door put his arm across the frame, bouncer-style and told me that they'd just stopped serving coffees cuz they were closing at 2, but i could still buy beans. i glared at him in disbelief for a few moments (i'd raced to get there, singing to myself all the way, really looking forward to a coffee). i think i shot something at him like, "merry fucking christmas" as i turned my back and walked away.

yes, i do feel bad about it now. thanks for asking.

That's not as bad as Condor tonight.. I called "closing time 4:30" he said.
I arrived at 4:15 and they were sitting around, locked up. Doh! Arse buckets.
I could've pleaded a bit but I couldn't be arsed.

On topic, what are those little wasteful, Kenco disc tab coffee machine thingies like?
I know it's heresy but I wonder if they're 1) fast and 2) taste like real coffee?

Tassimo, even?

Does anyone want this:

It's not working, but only about 14 months old. I believe the pump has gone on it, just wasn't working one morning. It's repairable, no doubt and is still in a nearly new condition. However I've gone and purchased a replacement machine because I found it reduced by a silly amount online (doing my bit to save the economy).

Anyhow... if you want it, let me know.

First dibs go to GreasySlag as I bumped into him today and offered it to him, but anyone else who wants to grab it can have dibs after him.

Oh, price is zero. Unless you insist on paying something (which will go into my mp3 fund)... in which case you decide what a broken but repairable coffee machine is worth to you.

Dibs

And also, where was the silly discounted machine online?

Then if Greasy says no... it's yours.

Thank God you're local... delivery would've been a pain otherwise.

Is it massive? I don't suppose you looked into servicing for these things before buying new?

Is it massive? I don't suppose you looked into servicing for these things before buying new?

It's not too big. And I didn't look into servicing. I looked at parts and found a range of options, and then found myself browsing coffee nerd websites and finally googling for a nice new machine.

I kinda fail on repairs and servicing. I've absolutely no doubt it can be fixed, and the cheapest pump I saw was the red one on this page:
http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/gaggiaspareparts.html

A mere £25.99 plus P&P

They also sell the descaler for £5, so for just over £30 you should be able to check out the two options for getting it working. Which isn't bad.

Why did I then plonk down on a new machine given this could be fixed cheaply? Because I'd found myself hardly using the machine because I wanted a nice crema on the espresso which was only partly there, and I could never make a good cappuccino as it's only got one pump for both the coffee and steam, so the pressure isn't there seconds after making coffee to get the milk ready... the new machine has separate pumps and heaters for each bit.

Anyhow, it's a £230 machine... that only needs a bit of work to get it working:
[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gaggia-Class-74830-Coffee-Stainless/dp/B000MQSJBO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1230140939&sr=1-1"]Gaggia Baby Class 74830 Coffee Maker Stainless Steel: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home[/ame]

i got to monmouth coffee today, desperate for a machiato, at 1:59 today. the poor barrista who was waiting at the door put his arm across the frame, bouncer-style and told me that they'd just stopped serving coffees cuz they were closing at 2, but i could still buy beans. i glared at him in disbelief for a few moments (i'd raced to get there, singing to myself all the way, really looking forward to a coffee). i think i shot something at him like, "merry fucking christmas" as i turned my back and walked away.

yes, i do feel bad about it now. thanks for asking.

Bunch of fucking cunts at that place. Seriously though, that was a bit rude of him to put it like that but they would have been in the middle of a full clean-down of the machine so they could get away as close to 2.00 as possible and get on with their merry fucking christmas! ;)

what machine did ya get mr VB and have toy bought a grinder?

Hippy, those Nespresso, Tassimo things are the best way to get something resembling espresso at home without big hassle and loads of kit. It pains me to say it but Nespresso is pretty drinkable. It's still wrong though. Poor quality coffee roasted months ago in loads of packaging.

Get this though, Blumenthal uses Nespresso at The Fat Duck because he cant get his staff to make consistently good espresso. WTF?

I've already got a Kitchen Aid grinder:

It's got 8 step settings which makes an ultra-fine espresso grind.

The coffee machine I've opted for kinda makes it redundant though, it's a De'longhi bean-to-cup machine:
http://www.delonghi.co.uk/product_page.php?id=259&key=Coffee%20Machines

I purchased based on the reviews of the crema and the double boiler system for coffee and froth.

However I'm quite interested in the bean-to-cup notion that the perfect amount of coffee is grinded for each and every cup you make, it can never not be freshly ground. I'm also interested in the built-in descaling system.

Anyhow, I found it for less than half price and am convinced that it's a pricing error on the website in question as no-one else is doing it for that price... so I ordered.

Bunch of fucking cunts at that place. Seriously though, that was a bit rude of him to put it like that but they would have been in the middle of a full clean-down of the machine so they could get away as close to 2.00 as possible and get on with their merry fucking christmas! ;)

naw thats the annoying thing. if they'd even started disassembling, i'd have understood. but they let the (old woman) customer who got there a minute before me in to get a coffee. there was still a li'l queue at the counter of people they were serving. bah. whatever...

The bean-cup idea appeals to me but the price tag does not. :(

@VB - I'll go for 3rd dibs on the machine, however unlikely it is that both Greasy and Hippy pull out.

Fair do on the bean to cup though - I'm a bit obsessive when it comes to being in control, so would always want to go manual, but then it's different strokes...

As for the Monmouth thing, I can understand that if they let you in they're going to have to let everyone in, and it sucks that you were the one they had to draw the line with, but yes, merry Christmas indeed.

I want nice coffee but I want it in 5min. This is a problem.

Hippy, those Nespresso, Tassimo things are the best way to get something resembling espresso at home without big hassle and loads of kit. It pains me to say it but Nespresso is pretty drinkable. It's still wrong though. Poor quality coffee roasted months ago in loads of packaging.

Get this though, Blumenthal uses Nespresso at The Fat Duck because he cant get his staff to make consistently good espresso. WTF?

I'm not a big fan of Nescafe (yes I drink instant coffee).
Have you tried any of the other brands? Anybetter or worse?

Thanks!

... are you on TMC?

Nope, I joined CG and HB less than 3 years ago.

I would prefer the KVdW Lever machine personally...

Sadly he don't think there's a marked for a one group ;-(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nuQpQLP1Po&fmt=18

Dibs

And also, where was the silly discounted machine online?

It's yours... Greasy said no.

And I missed the second part of that question, but it was here:
http://www.coopelectricalshop.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?productCode=DEL-COF-ESAM5400-BK&utm_source=google&utm_medium=basefeed

And the average kind of price can be seen here:
http://www.google.co.uk/products?q=ESAM5400&oe=utf-8&scoring=r

And the advertised RRP is £499 as you can see here:
http://www.delonghi.co.uk/product_page.php?id=259&key=Coffee%20Machines

Half price wasn't bad at all. But it was the reviews of the crema that sealed it. The bean-to-cup I'm curious about but wasn't essential.

Oh cheers Veeb.. didn't see this 'til now.

Damn good price! Let me know how it goes. I'm sure the price will be "fixed" before I find out but if it's any good I could be convinced to purchase one too. I'm gonna get some cleaning stuff for yours tomorrow (with any luck).

look at those tags.... A heathens drink?? tea is for rapists? WTF?? some of you are a little weird-o

All the anti-tea ones are mine.. and you already know I iz weird.