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A Good Cup of Coffee

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Heinzster Jan 2021 5:28pm, 8 Jan 2021 1,692 posts	Quote Pin Heinzster Hive mind: i have a significant birthday coming up and my lovely wife is keen to buy me a bean to cup espresso machine. I would like something which can use both whole beans and ground coffee. Nobody in the house takes milk in their coffees (urgh!) so there is no need to have a milk frother/latte/cappucino function. Does anyone have any good suggestions?
rhb Jan 2021 5:42pm, 8 Jan 2021 1,559 posts	Quote Pin rhb ^ for no milk you'd likely get more bang for buck buying a very good grinder, a v60 or aeropress and maybe a Robot Espresso maker. cafelatstore.com Link not an endorsement.
sallykate Jan 2021 6:13pm, 8 Jan 2021 7,343 posts	Quote Pin sallykate Which? rates the Melitta Purista as its top choice for bean-to-cup: it doesn't have a frother - but it can't take ground coffee. Others that it rates and that take ground coffee (all have milk frothers): Delonghi La Specialista Melitta Barista Smart DeLonghi ECAM Eletta Plus Sage The Barista Pro - you have to tamp your own coffee so not quite at the push of a button but that might appeal to you. I have a Delonghi bean-to-cup which has served me well (it failed in the summer after 3.5 years and had to be sent back a couple of times before they finally fixed it but it's good as new now); it does take ground coffee but only one scoop at a time, so it could be a faff if you wanted to use ground coffee regularly. Most bean-to-cups are pretty pricey. I'd say mine was entry level at £250 and most are £500+. That said, I won't hesitate to buy another when mine finally bites the dust. Just a few ideas to kick off research!
Heinzster Jan 2021 12:04pm, 10 Jan 2021 1,693 posts	Quote Pin Heinzster Thanks, guys, those are a few good directions to look 😊
Hanneke Jan 2021 9:17pm, 25 Jan 2021 70,638 posts	Quote Pin Hanneke I decided against bean to cup, as I actually really love the ritual of grinding and tamping before making coffee. That whole process for me is as good as the actual drinking. This gives great flexibility as you can grind the way you like each type of beans you use, different for me, and you can also use ground coffee if you wished. I have a DeLonghi Dedica, like Steff, Derby Tups wife. It does come with a frother which is handy for turmeric lattes and chai and my guests love their proper Barista coffee. I had people queing up during the first lockdown last year, then they kept coming back...
Hanneke Jan 2021 9:19pm, 25 Jan 2021 70,639 posts	Quote Pin Hanneke Oh, reason for popping in: I had already had 2 cups of coffee this morning, usually my max, then I popped into some friends in the afternoon and they were having coffee. It smelt so good, I had a cup too. It was a coffee with reishi mushrooms, anyone tried this? Apparently very expensive but good for you. I am now too wired and even several litres of calming herbal tea later, I doubt I will sleep tonight...
Dvorak Jan 2021 11:30pm, 25 Jan 2021 21,871 posts	Quote Pin Dvorak Of course you won't sleep, you'll be pissing like a Coffee with mushrooms? No, and scepticism on all fronts. I had a mug of filter coffee before running this afternoon, and another cup on return. Things are expected to be ... normal.
Red Squirrel Jan 2021 6:05pm, 26 Jan 2021 21,711 posts	Quote Pin Red Squirrel I'm only having one a week at the moment! No coffee in the house and I do an hour's walk pre-work every now and then for a piccolo from Hart's Bakery.
Sam Jelfs Jan 2021 6:11pm, 26 Jan 2021 875 posts	Quote Pin Sam Jelfs We have a Philips 5000 series bean-to-cup machine, which also allows you to put ground coffee in as well. I use it a lot (litres per day...) and happy with it, had it since march when we knew the work from home would be in place for a while. [I should mention that I got it refurb from the staff shop, with minimal research]
Hanneke Jan 2021 8:45pm, 26 Jan 2021 70,641 posts	Quote Pin Hanneke Dvorak, yes! I was surprised I slept... But the diuretic effect of the coffee paired with the copious amounts of herbal tea to counteract the jitters from the coffee meant I was up all night and off to the loo between sleeps I am very skeptical about the mushrooms, The coffee is excruciatingly expensive and I don't see the point? Why not drink your coffee unadulterated and take your medicinal mushrooms separately?