Coffee connoisseurs

[ushills]

Well, coffee from HappyDonkey or RedMonkey, beans are best but if you can't afford a burr grinder get ground from them as they grind fresh.

Having had a few cheaper coffee machines I would recommend a Gaggia Classic or Coffee. A stove top is also okay but the gaggia will froth the milk for a cappuccino.

Avoid the Bilaletti Muka stove-top that froths the milk as its crap for more than one cup as its too small and it mixes the milk and coffee in the top.

I never drink instant anymore as it triggers migraine, however, proper coffee has become my fix. Instant doesn't really tastes like coffee.

Finally in a pinch a swissgold drip filter will give a good result, less bitter than a cafetiere and almost as good as a machine.

http://www.anothercoffee.co.uk/products/item110310.aspx

 

[ushills]

100% aribica for smooth taste, 10% robusta as an addition for the caffine kick and added crema.

There is a forum for this you know, coffeegeeks. You can then mod your machine and up-spec it like a bike with different nozzles etc.

 

[ianrauk]

I like Starbucks Latte's though...........

 

[amasidlover]

Convenience and freshly ground... this is what I have (Delonghi Magnifica ESAM4200), having been through; ground + cafetiere, ground + filter, pods + espresso machine, separate burr grinder + espresso machine. Its expensive and not (in my opinion) quite as good as adjusting the grind and tamping yourself to suit the coffee beans, but its extremely convenient and the next best thing in terms of taste/mouth feel.

Have one at home and at work; the one at work does about 2000 cups a year and is 3 years old - I've just had to replace the steam generator in it, but I did it myself and the part cost £20...

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Nooooo!

Get a coffee grinder and grind beans so that you are drinking the freshest coffee with no loss of the volatiles. The next bit is simply to pass boiling water through the ground coffee as slowly as possible, for which one of these does a perfect job:

Boil up half a mug of milk, mix and enjoy. Simples.

A wee bit less milk

 

[Fab Foodie]

There's a lot of Coffe info over on yacf where I was inspired to buy these which travel with me:

For grinding, the Porlex mini travel grinder:
http://www.gallacoffee.co.uk/acatalog/porlex-mini-hand-grinder.html
And for the brewing, the amazing Aeropress:
http://hasbean.co.uk/products/Aerobie-AeroPress-Coffee-&-Espresso-Maker.html

Just add fave beans for stonkingly good sstrong coffee at home, office, or hotel room.....

 

[Janeyb]

Nespresso every time. Beats everything else for taste and convenience. Couldn't be without mine. Had it about 7 years now and it still works like a dream. No mess, no fuss and quick convenient fresh coffee every time.

 

[slowmotion]

I guess it's rather like admitting to liking Stella Artois, but we have one of these...Phillips Senseo.

http://www.onecupcoffeemakers.com/phillips_senseo.html

Great tasting coffee and no faffing about or cleaning up the grounds that refuse to disappear down the plughole.

 

[simon.r]

Definitely worth getting an espresso machine. Not a lot of hassle to clean and look after and the coffee is infinitely superior to instant.

Things to look out for IMO:

Temperature - if you like HOT coffee be aware that some machines produce coffee that isn't as hot as others.
Warm up time - if you're in a rush.
Measured 'dose' - not a big issue but if you can get one where you set the amount of coffee produed you can leave it burbling away while you do something else (useful in the mornings if you're in a rush and need to do something else).
Size of cup that will fit - many are designed for tiny espresso cups. If you use a 'normal' size mug it's worth checking it will physically fit in!

They do produce quite different styles of coffee (even on the standard setting). My limited experience over the last few years:

Gaggia - great coffee, but takes an age to warm up. Coffee not hot enough for my taste. Not reliable.
Magimix - very good coffee, measured 'dose', quick to warm up.
De-Longhi - very good coffee, tends to produce a froth rather than a crema.

I currently have one of these. It's very good for the price, the main drawback being the size of the water reservoir - I wouldn't recommend it for more than one person. It even makes half decent cappuccino!

I've more or less settled on Lavazza Red as a good compromise between quality and cost (cheapest in Sainsbury's at moment, £5.69 for a twin pack), but it's obviously a matter of personal taste.

Right, just off to make my second cup of the day

 

[ASC1951]

I had palpitations the first few times I drank it.

I still do. I really like coffee, but if I drink it at home - made in a pan, water to the boil, ground coffee in, simmer a minute then cool, add warmed milk - I just drink more and more until after four or five mugs a day it sends me completely loopy. So now I only drink it on holiday, and not after mid afternoon.

 

[Globalti]

Go on a business trip to Turkey or anywhere Arabic and you'll be served a cup of this dilute tar at every appointment. Every house and office has its own blend, some containing cardamon, which they are keen for visitors to appreciate. After five meetings you will be flying a couple of feet above the ground:

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I like mellow birds...

 

[AnythingButVanilla]

I drank so much Turkish coffee in Istanbul that I barely slept the whole weekend and I couldn't figure out why I was awake a good couple of hours before the first call to prayer.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I like mellow birds...

I'd heard you preferred a rich roasting ....

 

[rich p]

Cafetier? Insipid filth. Stovetop espresso pot or a pump espresso machine for me. Fresh ground beans are best, but Lavazza red label (qualita rossa) kept in an airtight container in the fridge is acceptable. At work I use Millicano or Alta Rica, two spoons with full cream UHT milk, a hangover from when I lived in Italy and every bar used it for coffee.

Only insipid if you make it too weak but it also is the easiest to make anywhere there isn't a machine. Albeit you may have to use ground coffee.
Why use decent coffee if you're going to taint it with the worst milk imaginable? You might as well use Nescafé