Delonghi Bean to Cup coffee machine £199

keith_d99

Do ya need an espresso bean? Or can any type of bean be used to make an espresso/cappuccino?

Also what's the verdict illdoittomorrow?

illdoit2morrow

keith_d99 wrote: »

Do ya need an espresso bean? Or can any type of bean be used to make an espresso/cappuccino?

Also what's the verdict illdoittomorrow?

It's still in the box, I won't get a chance to play with till Saturday. It comes with a two free descalers.

cruhoortwunk

Most of the 1kg bags on discount coffee are gone. Anywhere in Dublin I can pick up some good beans at a reasonable price?

Bawnmore

cruhoortwunk wrote: »

Most of the 1kg bags on discount coffee are gone. Anywhere in Dublin I can pick up some good beans at a reasonable price?

Nicks in Ranelagh does 250g bags for 5 euro - they'll even throw in a free coffee while you're there. It's lovely too.

vibe666

podgeandrodge wrote: »

So is the coffee out of these hot or does it need microwave help like others? Do you add water for an Americano or is that an automated option?

they are (more or less) all the same, but it is by design as the water needs to be pushed through the coffee grinds at a certain temperature for optimal coffee extraction.

i'm a bit of a coffee monster myself, so my morning brew is an 10 shot americano (using java republic munkey beans) in a 1L mug, but what I do is boil the kettle whilst I'm making the coffee (into my 330ml milk jug) and fill the mug with boiling water first to heat up the mug so the heat in the coffee isn't just being dissipated into the mug, then pour that water back into the kettle and let it boil again (which only takes about 20 seconds).

step two is pouring the coffee into the hot mug and topping up with milk and boiled water and i'm done. nice and hot as well as wicked strong.

Paranoid Mandroid

vibe666 wrote: »

my morning brew is an 10 shot americano

Holy crap, that is something else. You must be wired to the moon after that.

Zimmerframe

10 shots, Jesus wept.
Do the beans come in a bulk tanker

2smiggy

dam you bargain alerts ! another thing i probably don't need bought !!

vibe666

Paranoid Mandroid wrote: »

Holy crap, that is something else. You must be wired to the moon after that.

I've spent last 6 months on heavy medication for back problems and that only just gets me going in morning, sometimes I'll go back for another one.

I don't have coffee after 12 though and it's all out of my system by 4 when i finish working and i usually crash out then.

I'm grinding about 2 boxes of ten bags a month on average.

illdoit2morrow

keith_d99 wrote: »

Do ya need an espresso bean? Or can any type of bean be used to make an espresso/cappuccino?

Also what's the verdict illdoittomorrow?

Plugged it in last night for the first time, there is a bit of 'on your first use' instructions which needed to be gone through.

Once setup it is very easy to use. It is quite noisy when doing its thing. There are a lof of tweaks that can be done to get your coffee the way you want. I didn't get to use the steamwand as i had no reason to be drinking cappuchinos and 11pm.

Overall i'm happy with it, i just need to make more coffee to get it 'just right'.

Do-more

I went ahead and bought the machine in the OP and it was delivered this morning.

I have just set it up and will give a mini review comparing it to the ESAM4200 which I have had for the last 5 or 6 years.

As you can see from the photo the machines are very close in size the new machine being fractionally bigger. The only major difference is in the size of the drip tray which adds about 5cm to the overall depth.

The new machine is a bit sleeker looking. The drip tray is now stainless steel rather than the black plastic of the older model which makes it look a little more upmarket but that doesn't last for long as it is a fingerprint magnet and after only a few uses it looks a bit grubby. It would have been better if it had been designed with as many cut outs as the older model, the marks would then be far less noticeable.

The mills of the two machines are identical and the grinds bucket is almost so.

The water tank is also very similar in design but for some reason when you take out the tank of the new machine it does not stand up straight on a flat surface. I always filled the old machine by taking out the tank and resting it on the ridge between the kitchen sinks. Doing that with the new machine the tank tilts backwards and it is not possible to fill the tank to the max line. Now I have to hold the tank balanced as it fills and it is a little more awkward, nothing major but just a difference to get used to.

Noise wise the two machines are pretty similar. If anything the new machine is slightly quieter than the old, but it's not a huge difference.

As I would have expected there is no noticeable difference in the taste of the coffee from the new machine.

I have had a problem with the temperature of the coffee from my old machine right since it was new, being just about hot enough to drink black but needing to be microwaved if cold milk was added.

The new machine even on the factory setting of level 2 gives warmer coffee so it is still warm enough to drink when cold milk is added. I have increased the temperature to level 4 and to be honest I haven't noticed any difference from level 2, but I am satisfied that it is much better than my old machine.

Still only early days, I have only made two coffees with the new machine but it seems promising so far.

Glebee

Really tempted to pull the trigger on this and buy...
Somebody say something bad about it to put me off it....:D

onform

Thanks op, ordered one last night. Any good tips for coffee beans suitable for this in the dublin area? Are the java republic roastery beans nice?

Zimmerframe

Glebee wrote: »

Really tempted to pull the trigger on this and buy...
Somebody say something bad about it to put me off it....:D

Nope, not a chance, click yer mouse Now.

Glebee

Zimmerframe wrote: »

Nope, not a chance, click yer mouse Now.

Ordered. Question is now will I have it for the weekend??

illdoit2morrow

Glebee wrote: »

Ordered. Question is now will I have it for the weekend??

Most likely, i had mine after three days, go tit delivered to work to save the hassle of picking it up from post office.

SeanyMc22

Still trying to bring myself to pull the trigger. With the 15bar pressure is the taste of the coffee comparable to coffee shops? I have a Lavazza pod machine but have got into my coffee beans a lot lately.

vibe666

onform wrote: »

Thanks op, ordered one last night. Any good tips for coffee beans suitable for this in the dublin area? Are the java republic roastery beans nice?

I get the java republic munkey beans and find them great.

I order 2 boxes of 10 bags at a time for about €60, so it's 3 quid a bag, but I do go through quite a lot of coffee, so you might not need to order that much in one go. it suits me anyway as the bean hopper in my compact B2C machine takes a small bag (afaik 227g) perfectly.

I think they deliver as well, but i live locally to their roastery in D15, so i just go and collect it off them myself.

onform

vibe666 wrote: »

I get the java republic munkey beans and find them great.

I order 2 boxes of 10 bags at a time for about €60, so it's 3 quid a bag, but I do go through quite a lot of coffee, so you might not need to order that much in one go. it suits me anyway as the bean hopper in my compact B2C machine takes a small bag (afaik 227g) perfectly.

I think they deliver as well, but i live locally to their roastery in D15, so i just go and collect it off them myself.

Cheers, I'll drop in and check them out.

keith_d99

Had first cup this morning from it ... my first bean to bean to cup machine.
Set it up (water hardness, temp of water (set to highest), eco mode etc.) - all want per instruction.

Used Lavazza Caffe Qualita Rossa Beans to make a Cappaccino - strength and volume was too low first time round.
Turned strength up to max - and upped the volume and it was much nicer.
Have a feeling I will be trying a lot of varieties of beans ... will go for a darker bean next.

Have a feeling it will take a few attempts to get it right.
Did anybody have to adjust the grinder setting??

vibe666

onform wrote: »

Cheers, I'll drop in and check them out.

i *think* they might even give tours of the roastery from time to time, but there's a cafe there anyway, so you can give the coffee a try before you buy.

JustMac

I have mine a few days at this stage. I'm not a coffee expert by any stretch but I must say I do enjoy the espressos that I have been making with it.

I sourced beans in a local deli/store. They said it is the same beans that they use instore. In my opinion there is no difference between the espressos I buy there and the ones I now make at home at the touch of a button. I have some 'Lavazza Grande Ristorazione Coffee Beans (1kg)' on the way from Amazon.

I haven't messed around with the settings too much. I changed the grinder to grind more finely. Everything else is pretty much at the mid-point, strength and amount of water.

I've only made 1 cappuccino so far and the drinker was very impressed with it. I gather there is a knack to getting the milk right, even when using a thermometer.

I would highly recommend the machine.

phog

Just ordered this for our canteen.

Where is the best spot for ordering the coffee beans?

illdoit2morrow

phog wrote: »

Just ordered this for our canteen.

Where is the best spot for ordering the coffee beans?

I got some from discountcoffee.ie as mentioned earlier in the thread.

illdoit2morrow

When i did the hard water test, it says in the manual that red squares appear on the piece of paper used to test, but i got four green squares, did anyone get similar? I'm in a hard water area so it should have got the four red squares, I'm just wondering if i did something wrong.

Also when using the nozzle to froth milk, i find it hard to get the jug at an angle to get a 'whirl' going', what kinda jug are you using to do this?

vibe666

illdoit2morrow wrote: »

Also when using the nozzle to froth milk, i find it hard to get the jug at an angle to get a 'whirl' going', what kinda jug are you using to do this?

I got this one. It's not too big and fits in under the frother nicely. Also got the Andrew James thermometer as well to go with it and both are working perfectly.

They also do a 600ml one as well if you want a bigger one.

Barr

Do-more wrote: »

They still have that model on Amazon and its more expensive than the one in the op:eek:

From what I gather this machine seems better than the WSAM4200

JustMac

illdoit2morrow wrote: »

When i did the hard water test, it says in the manual that red squares appear on the piece of paper used to test, but i got four green squares, did anyone get similar? I'm in a hard water area so it should have got the four red squares, I'm just wondering if i did something wrong.

Also when using the nozzle to froth milk, i find it hard to get the jug at an angle to get a 'whirl' going', what kinda jug are you using to do this?

Same 2 issues here. The water hardness test just resulted in 4 green squares. Not a bit of red to be seen despite the instructions saying that at least 1 should turn red. Not sure of the hardness of the water in the area so I just set the machine at Level 2 in terms of water hardness to avoid being advised to descale too often.

With regards the frothing I had the same issue. I got this package of Milk Thermometer, 600 ml milk Jug and a Chocolate shaker from Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BS9E1SO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) Anyway, when the thermometer is in the jug there is not a whole lot of room to move around the nozzle. It seems to get the job done but as I don't normally drink cappuccinos I can't really tell.

BofaDeezNuhtz

So this is the best bargain B2C out there at the moment yeah?

Do-more

Suzuki_TL1000R wrote: »

So this is the best bargain B2C out there at the moment yeah?

Yes, by a long shot!

All blocks of my hardness test thingy also just stayed green, they must be a faulty batch. If you are concerned about warranty issues it might be an idea to contact Delonghi.