[moose]

my tuppenny's worth (from several years of trying to avoid biting the bullet and buying a proper coffee machine)

- aeropress: nice clean tasting brew but very inefficient on the coffee - costs a fortune to make submicron amounts .

- stovetop old skool thingys: a bit love/hate - sometimes the burned, bitterness is dead satisfying - but occassionally I want to drink without grimacing....

- cafetiere: good for quantities but I generally find the results a bit muddy tasting - the steeping seems to accentuate the bitter, earthy notes... bugger to clean too.

These days, unless I'm desperate for an espresso, I go for the lazy man's option: a low-tech bit of filtering.  I bought a spare-part mesh filter thingy for an electric coffee maker from Lakeland Plastics and now just line it with a paper filter, balance it in the mouth of a jug (a cafetiere jug with the press removed) and gradually pour in hot water from the kettle.  Definitely the best way to get lots of "long" coffee: a much cleaner drink than from a french press but, because you're not using a hot plate, it doesn't stew (just microwave it if it gets cold) - my staple way of filling the thermos for a day's bouldering.

By the way.. recommend hasbean for getting lots of novel coffees - not too pricey and its always nice to try something a bit different.

[Fultonius]

Are you lazy?


I am, especially when it come to coffee.  I want it in one minute.  Which is the beauty of the pad machines - plus - no mess, imagine that!  No endless slooshing the grounds or knocking the bowl on the bin.

Those old skool coffee pot things make coffee taste bitter, I think.  Some people like bitter coffee though ...

They only make it bitter if you don't stop it before it starts steaming - the steam ruins the coffee. Stop it when you get the first hint of steam coming through and it'll taste waaay better.

I've got the gaggia espresso pure - I genereally get pretty decent espresso. Got my dad a 2nd hand classic of ebay and it's much higher quality than mine (build/noise etc) but the espresso isn't noticably better -  I'd still reather have one!

[tommytwotone]

I highly rate these:

http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress_story.htm

it is quick simple, portable, piss to clean and does not result in the slightly burnt taste you can get from the stove top jobs if they are left on a few seconds too long.

o, and its cheap. (£20-25 i think) so worth getting as a portable alternative.

I don't sell them BTW!

Have seen one of them in the gourmet coffee place in York, always been tempted. Might have to treat myself.

[Paul B]

i'm with paul b; simple, iconic and as strong a liquor as you want

I wonder how many of us will end up with Parkinson's from using these.....

Dolly is on the money.  We have had the Gaggia classic for 4 years now and its still going strong

They do them in Stainless steel so you can stop worrying about it. I have one as you can't use the Aluminium ones on a ceramic hob for some reason. Strange thing is, it doesn't seem to have a large thermal mass and the coffee it produces always seems tepid.

[underground]

I have one as you can't use the Aluminium ones on a ceramic hob for some reason.

It's not that you can't, just that it leaves a bit of a barely visible grey residue 'pon ting when it's done. I suppose eventually it would become a big grey residue - but in my case, the hob gets cleaned quite regular with proper cleaning stuff, so it don't vex me...

[Paul B]

fairy nuff

[bigd942]

I've a standard coffee press and one of these



works well and I've never had any regrets over it

[robertostallioni]

looks good. where do you put your knob in?



Seriously, how does that work?

[bigd942]

www.presso.co.uk

[lagerstarfish]

I've a standard coffee press and one of these

works well and I've never had any regrets over it

Given the amount that I forget about my hob top coffee maker and make loads of stinky mess and burned rubber, this looks like a very sensible solution if the taste is right. Anyone in Sheffield got one that I can have a go with?

[Mr Cat]

I've got one of these - Gaggia classic - which might cost a little more, but looks great.
I'm not sure how they compare with more modern new fangled machines but it makes pretty good tasting coffee and a nice buzzing noise.

yeah, I bought the older version of this from fleabay - 40 quid...

needed a good clean but a bit of a bargain imo...

[SpanishJuan]

[/quote]

I wonder how many of us will end up with Parkinson's from using these.....

Dolly is on the money.  We have had the Gaggia classic for 4 years now and its still going strong
[/quote]

Parkinsons and Alzheimer's disease..... There was I going around saying the only thing that aluminium has in common with Alzheimer's disease  is that they both start with 'Al' but that doesn't work with Parkinsons disease.......

I have a nice st st inox18/10 GAT pot that has been going forever. It also makes a more pleasing splutter than Bialetti pots. Plus you can take it camping and have coffee in about 30 seconds on an MSR whisperlite
 

[casa]

I assume this guy is an advert/seller type thing is it?   

[SA Chris]

Do you think? The cunt has been trying it on for a couple of weeks now.