Espresso Machine

[Crono]

Another recommendation for grinder and french press.

Cheap, easy to find and buy, easy to clean, works well for any roast of coffee as well.

 

[jpeyton]

I have this one:

http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-ESAM3...3243314&sr=1-1

Great reviews on Amazon led me to purchase it. It's full auto; dump the whole beans into it, put water in the reservoir, and it does the rest. Works awesome so far, and it's extremely easy to maintain.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Another recommendation for grinder and french press.

Cheap, easy to find and buy, easy to clean, works well for any roast of coffee as well.

French Press is the delicious!
Can pick a cheap one up at target or whatever store you go to, and the coffee is about as strong as espresso... That said, it doesn't taste quite like espresso.... Both are delicious though

 

[KeithTalent]

Get a Nespresso. A friend of mine has one and it is amazing.

The biggest problem with espresso machines is the prepwork and the cleaning. It becomes too much of a hassle. With Nespresso, it's just one fucking button and their is no mess.

They have steam cup-thingies can steam and froth milk. It's a great system.

Yep, plus Clooney and Malkovich endorse them, so they must be good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23j1B4-lroM

A tad expensive for what they are though.

KT

 

[Martin]

When I was looking for one, I brought a $100 one and had to return it after two days. It was a total piece of trash.

I brought this one for $200 and it has served me very well for 2.5 years and running. http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/consumer/brevillecaferoma


- very little clean-up required
- using the right grind will give you a very good, consistent cup of coffee with excellent creama
- using the right grind, again, and you won't have problems with plugging up the filter
- steamer can be a bit inconsistent
- reliable - I use it once every day (at a minimum) and so far it hasn't showed any signs of trouble

Overall, its a great way to spend $200, I recommend it.

 

[Jzero]

I'm currently interested in this one.

http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-EC155...0781617&sr=1-1

I have this one since December. This one and the Hamilton Beach (http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach.../dp/B0006FU8AG) are probably the only readily-available pump-driven espresso machines you can get for under $100.

The DeLonghi actually replaced the Hamilton Beach for me...I had used the H-B for a year or two.

The Hamilton Beach has a standard portafilter in terms of both size and not having any gadgetry inside to help make faux-crema. If you get the grind/tamp right, you get crema. If not....you get nothing.

The DeLonghi, OTOH, has a samller-than-usual portafilter with components for faux-crema. You get some kind of froth pretty much every time, but it's not necessarily crema. I do not care about this, but coffee snobs find it bothersome.

Other than this, I feel the DeLonghi is better in every way
it is a little bit smaller overall
the dial control is more intuitive to use than the push-buttons on the H-B
larger reservoir that is easier to tell when it's approaching empty
easier to disassemble and clean/descale

I started using ESE pods and sold my grinder which was not quite adequate anyway. You really need a good grinder.

The ESE pods are fine for me.

 

[bobdole369]

I'm also going to recommend you go burrmill grinder/French Press. I'm rid of my drip pot, and my brief foray into "pressure" "espresso" machines, that actually makes somewhat strongish coffee-like mud, ended when my office sprung for a pump machine. I actually threw the POS away.

Espresso usually has less caffeine than drip-brewed coffee. French press lets you meter coffee/water contact time yourself, the largest factor in caffeine content of your cuppa.

 

[bobdole369]

French Press is the delicious!
Can pick a cheap one up at target or whatever store you go to, and the coffee is about as strong as espresso... That said, it doesn't taste quite like espresso.... Both are delicious though

Thats because Espresso isn't technically "coffee" in the usual sense (I'm sure there is a more technical term but the point I'm trying to make is that the process that makes them is totally different, leading to a different end product). Espresso is made with forced steam which condenses in the coffee, while french press/drip/perc coffee is hot water in contact with grounds.

 

[mundane]

..

 

[PricklyPete]

We have an UNBELIEVABLE espresso machine at one of our German Offices. But I think it cost over 10K euros. None of the other offices got anything close to this...but it is always a treat when I'm there.

 

[Muse]

Get one of these:

About $20 and makes a decent espresso. I don't make a tonne of espresso at home, so I use one of these. Easy to clean and does not take up counter space either.

KT

I have something like that. Absolutely same basic design. It's Italian made, stainless steel, cost me $10 about 20 years ago. Got it at Whole Earth Access Company in Berkeley, since gone out of business. It had a little problem -- a little round stainless perforated sheet metal gizmo with a knob meant to act as a filter to keep the grounds from getting in the coffee. It was stuck in there and I removed it. Because of the _defect_, they reduced the price to $10. I just tossed the metal filter, it didn't do the job adequately. Instead, I use little round filters (two of them, stacked) I cut myself from those approximately 6" diameter paper filters they sell everywhere (make around 100 at a time once in a while, cutting with a special cutting compass I made). I've made over 20,000 16 oz. cups of coffee with this bad boy and it still works perfectly. I buy quality organic French or Italian roast and make gourmet coffee for a dime a 16 ounce cup! :awe:

It's not actually an espresso machine. If you use a lot of coffee and not so much water, though, it will come out very strong indeed. I don't like my coffee nearly that strong, though.

I don't mess with a coffee grinder. People who grind coffee beans every time they make coffee should have their head (and ears) examined. If the coffee I bring home (and freeze) isn't ground or ground finely enough, I use my blender to "grind" it fine, about a quart at a time and keep it at room temperature. It does not deteriorate before I use it up and "grind" more.

 

[L00PY]

I don't mess with a coffee grinder. People who grind coffee beans every time they make coffee should have their head (and ears) examined. If the coffee I bring home (and freeze) isn't ground or ground finely enough, I use my blender to "grind" it fine, about a quart at a time and keep it at room temperature. It does not deteriorate before I use it up and "grind" more.

One of the keys for good espresso is the crema. It's a foam emulsion involving coffee oils and proteins. Once you grind coffee, the increase in surface area goes up tremendously and oxidation begins to degrade those essential ingredients. If your coffee wasn't roasted and ground fairly recently, you wont get a very good shot of espresso. I can guarantee Muse isn't getting shots like this out of his coffee pot. You just can't get that with preground, frozen, reblended grinds.

And using a blender or blade grinder for espresso making is also a recipe for disaster in making real espresso. As pressurized water is being forced through a tightly tamped coffee puck, consistency in grind size is necessary to avoid channeling. When the majority of water follows the path of least resistance, much if the coffee is left unextracted and the result is a weak shot.

Bottom line, a good grinder is as important (if not more so) as a good espresso machine. Of course if you're using a drip or perc, it's a lot less important. Definitely go to coffee oriented sites for better info. Home-barista and coffeegeek are probably some of the better ones.

 

[destrekor]

One of the keys for good espresso is the crema. It's a foam emulsion involving coffee oils and proteins. Once you grind coffee, the increase in surface area goes up tremendously and oxidation begins to degrade those essential ingredients. If your coffee wasn't roasted and ground fairly recently, you wont get a very good shot of espresso. I can guarantee Muse isn't getting shots like this out of his coffee pot. You just can't get that with preground, frozen, reblended grinds.

And using a blender or blade grinder for espresso making is also a recipe for disaster in making real espresso. As pressurized water is being forced through a tightly tamped coffee puck, consistency in grind size is necessary to avoid channeling. When the majority of water follows the path of least resistance, much if the coffee is left unextracted and the result is a weak shot.

Bottom line, a good grinder is as important (if not more so) as a good espresso machine. Of course if you're using a drip or perc, it's a lot less important. Definitely go to coffee oriented sites for better info. Home-barista and coffeegeek are probably some of the better ones.

This.

But as he mentioned, it looks like he is using a Moka, and doesn't care for strong coffee.

The Moka won't make true espresso, but it does a fairly good job of impersonating it.
Personally, I use a Bodum French Press when not making espresso.

If one is using an espresso machine, the grinder is a very, very important part of the overall package. How consistent and finely-ground the result is will depend entirely on the cost of the grinder. Burr grinders, in general, are consistent, but not all can be adjusted to get the optimum grind, though optimum grind can very between machines, especially at the sub-$150 level of espresso machines.

For coffee methods that aren't espresso, the beans don't need to be as cared for. Though the result can still bring a far more tastier beverage if one does indeed grind the beans and store them properly.

Oxidation, as L00PY stated, is a big enemy. The oils have a significant impact on flavor, even in other brewing methods, but most significantly in espresso where they are critical, often the difference between "uck, where's the sugar and milk?!" and "ooo, this doubleshot is tasty!".
Again, diluting it with milk, reduces the necessity for quality brew prep, but the espresso still shines in dilution, and the absence of crucial oils will bring down the quality of a cappuccino or latte.

Oh, and coffeegeek is an amazing site. Where I learned all my little tricks, especially the popcorn popper coffee-roasting technique.