Coffee Newbie

Radharc na Sleibhte

Ok, here's the deal. I love my coffee.
I've had two morphy richards machines which were both useless and gaggia caffitaly pod machine which is great but expensive and doesn't really give you the thrill of making the coffee yourself.

Looking at reactors coffee porn thread I was amazed at the stuff he is creating.

Could someone recommend a good "starter" machine so I can make my own "proper" coffee. I know these guys aren't cheap and technically, it would be my fourth machine but any help would be appreciated. Nothing too mad, just a very good machine that gives very good results at a reasonable price......

RE*AC*TOR

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for the kind words.

There are several threads regarding these types of questions, but:

I'll say to you what I say to most people - first and foremost is the grinder.
Then comes the coffee machine. Many people would advocate spending as much on the grinder as the machine, but in truth for STG£100, you can get a good grinder in the Iberital MC2 (happydonkey.co.uk).

With regards to the machine, a Gaggia Classic is a good starter machine (€250-300 i think), a little bit up from that (in price and features) would be the Rancilio Silvia (€450ish).

alastair

I've just gone through the same decision process in getting a coffee xmas pressie for my better half.

Opted for the Rancilio Silvia and Iberital MC2 after reading up a fair bit. Seemed like the base level for decent results, but with a bit of jiggery pokery required. If it turns out to need too much messing about, I'll consider getting a PID temperature controller for the Silvia down the road. Been using french presses and moka pots with a krupps blade grinder for years, so it'll be a bit of a culture change in the kitchen.

Also bought a Hot Top coffee roaster - so hopefully the theme to this recession will be caffeine.

Ironically - I don't really drink coffee myself (unless it's iced).

Mr Magnolia

What type of coffee are you interested in?

TMoreno

If you really like coffee, why don't try the original Italian coffee maker? Like the Bialetti Coffee maker? It does not cost more than 30 euros and it tastes great.