coffee gadgets...
Jan 13, 2010 at 7:13 PM Post #421 of 668
Here's my old school eco-friendly coffee sock drip gear made from ceramic, wood & naturally with a reusable cotton filter ...

IMG_0671.jpg

 
Jan 13, 2010 at 7:22 PM Post #422 of 668
Quote:

Originally Posted by kwkarth /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Depends upon what your needs are. I just made this decision for myself a week ago. I decided to go with Nespresso.

My thought process:
I wanted a very convenient way to make one outstanding cup of espresso or coffee. I thought I also wanted the ability to use my own roasted coffee to feed the machine.

The Keurig K-cup design allows you to use your own coffee if you desire, but of course you then have the muss and fuss of packing your own coffee into the Keurig "My-cup" mini filter basket and all the concomitant clean up.

After consideration, I decided I already had the ability to make the best cup of conventional coffee, one cup at a time, wit perfect control of coffee quantity, water temperature, grind fineness, and brewing time, but I still lacked the ability to turn out outstanding espressos. Since there was no substantial way to improve my single coffee process, I turned my attention to the perfect espresso.

I have a fairly expensive semi-auto espresso machine with double boilers, etc, and I have never really ben satisfied with the quality of the espressos from it. (it's probably my lack of skill as a barista rather than a lack in the machine itself.)

None of the single serve machines/systems make real espresso except Nespresso. I read every review I could find on all the single cup machines on the market and then I went to the stores to look at all of them.

WRT fresh coffee, Nespresso grinds and hermetically seals their coffees in the capsules, all while in an oxygen free environment so the coffee keeps its fresh character much longer than otherwise possible. I didn't believe the efficacy of their process until I sampled it for myself.

At one of the stores, I was offered a sample from a Nespresso machine and that pushed me over the edge. The espresso was excellent! I went with a Nespresso CitiZ&Milk. It is a superb system. If you're after quality and convenience, get Nespresso, if quality and convenience aren't at the top of your objectives list, get whatever else appeals to you.

With the Nespresso system, I get the near perfect espresso or cappuccino every time with no effort of skill required on my part @ $0.55 per shot. On top of all this, I can stock over 16 different varieties of coffee blends and roasts simultaneously, with no worries of freshness, and choose what suits my fancy any time.



I hope you have better luck than me with Nespresso, and I certainly do not mean to rain on your new toy but what brought me to this thread is 2 broken Nespresso Machines in 3 years. When the second one broke (it started dispensing the coffee somewhere internally rather than the intended spout) I contacted Nespresso by phone and email and got nowhere. It did make a nice cup while it lasted, but all in all I found (beyond the broken machines) the coffee was too expensive and too limiting. Admittedly I am more of a Venti guy.
 
Jan 13, 2010 at 7:48 PM Post #423 of 668
Quote:

Originally Posted by WalkGood /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Here's my old school eco-friendly coffee sock drip gear made from ceramic, wood & naturally with a reusable cotton filter ...

IMG_0671.jpg




Fancy!

Here's me in my wife beater shirt making coffee with a REAL sock. Adidas, I believe.
wink_face.gif

how-to-make-coffee-uncle.jpg
 
Jan 13, 2010 at 8:26 PM Post #424 of 668
Quote:

Originally Posted by SiBurning /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Fancy!

Here's me in my wife beater shirt making coffee with a REAL sock. Adidas, I believe.
wink_face.gif

how-to-make-coffee-uncle.jpg



nice slacks.
 
Jan 13, 2010 at 8:40 PM Post #425 of 668
Quote:

Originally Posted by Pangaea /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I hope you have better luck than me with Nespresso, and I certainly do not mean to rain on your new toy but what brought me to this thread is 2 broken Nespresso Machines in 3 years. When the second one broke (it started dispensing the coffee somewhere internally rather than the intended spout) I contacted Nespresso by phone and email and got nowhere. It did make a nice cup while it lasted, but all in all I found (beyond the broken machines) the coffee was too expensive and too limiting. Admittedly I am more of a Venti guy.


Wow! Thanks for the heads up. I bought my machine from SurLaTable, so hopefully, both the store and the manufacturer will stand behind the product. Up until your post I've not seen hardly a thing negative about Nespresso yet.

keepin' my fingers crossed!
wink_face.gif
 
Jan 13, 2010 at 9:00 PM Post #426 of 668
Quote:

Originally Posted by WalkGood /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Here's my old school eco-friendly coffee sock drip gear made from ceramic, wood & naturally with a reusable cotton filter ...

IMG_0671.jpg




That's pretty sweet where did you find that?
 
Feb 2, 2010 at 1:52 AM Post #429 of 668
Quote:

Originally Posted by doubtfulbroom /img/forum/go_quote.gif
heres my setup
wink.gif


Attachment 25606



Nice. I'm gradually building my coffee gadget collection - I've got the wife persuaded to let me buy a roaster, so as soon as they are back in stock at Sweet Maria's, I'm getting one of these:

genecafeanglemed.sm.jpg


I've been roasting with a heatgun and bowl for almost two years, and already have a good stash of green beans on hand (and another 16 lbs due in next week. I ordered my first Kona beans, but I'm not touching them until I get the roaster and have it figured out. Also, SM ships the GC roaster with an 8 lb. sampler.) I need to make my roasts more repeatable. I'm definitely not getting the most out of my coffees, and the beans I buy are too good for haphazard roasting techniques. I live in Western NY, and have to roast in the garage in the winter. The ambient temperature has a huge effect on my roasting times, and it shows in the cup flavors.

I'm still doing manual drip for most of our coffee, but we also have two Moka pots and a couple French presses. I figure my next item will be a Tecnivorm drip pot, then maybe a Rancio Silvia. (Of course, that means a grinder upgrade, the Baratza Virtuoso probably won't cut it for a real espresso machine.) I may also throw in a vacuum pot at some point, just so all coffee making methods will be represented. (African coffees are supposed to do very well in vacuum pots, and I buy mostly Ethiopian coffees. I especially love the funky DP coffees.)
 
Feb 16, 2010 at 12:25 PM Post #432 of 668
Quote:

Originally Posted by beerguy0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

genecafeanglemed.sm.jpg




Finally got my GC roaster yesterday. Already did two batches, 1/2 lb. each of Ethiopia FTO Oromia Yirga Cheffe (City roast) and El Salvador Finca Matalapa (City+). Loving it so far, much more fun to roast indoors.
 
Feb 19, 2010 at 12:54 PM Post #435 of 668
Quote:

Originally Posted by beerguy0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Nice. I'm gradually building my coffee gadget collection - I've got the wife persuaded to let me buy a roaster, so as soon as they are back in stock at Sweet Maria's, I'm getting one of these:

genecafeanglemed.sm.jpg


I've been roasting with a heatgun and bowl for almost two years, and already have a good stash of green beans on hand (and another 16 lbs due in next week. I ordered my first Kona beans, but I'm not touching them until I get the roaster and have it figured out. Also, SM ships the GC roaster with an 8 lb. sampler.) I need to make my roasts more repeatable. I'm definitely not getting the most out of my coffees, and the beans I buy are too good for haphazard roasting techniques. I live in Western NY, and have to roast in the garage in the winter. The ambient temperature has a huge effect on my roasting times, and it shows in the cup flavors.

I'm still doing manual drip for most of our coffee, but we also have two Moka pots and a couple French presses. I figure my next item will be a Tecnivorm drip pot, then maybe a Rancio Silvia. (Of course, that means a grinder upgrade, the Baratza Virtuoso probably won't cut it for a real espresso machine.) I may also throw in a vacuum pot at some point, just so all coffee making methods will be represented. (African coffees are supposed to do very well in vacuum pots, and I buy mostly Ethiopian coffees. I especially love the funky DP coffees.)



I tried the GeneCafe, but in the end, I chose the Behmor. Quite a bit cheaper, double the capacity [very nice when making gifts of roasted coffee], low noise and nearly smokeless [so now I roast in my kitchen with my family], and very reliable and repeatable. BTW, the Sweet Maria's folks are very close by in Oakland and great to do business with.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top