probrox Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 We stopped buying instant about the same time we bought a expresso machine from Lidls of all places. Works a charm and has done so now for over 2 years. We buy whatever coffee we see on offer and if its not an expresso grind we have a cheapie grinder that we run it through, otherwise we buy Lavazza rossa which in my opinion is superb. Also when I am in France I pick up several packs of decent quality coffee as it seems so much cheaper there. One of our best kitchen investments ever and for £40. At work we have gold blend and I cant bring myself to drink it anymore and stick with tea. Its strange how instant seems so rough after you get used to proper stuff. Lavazza Rossa is lovely coffee. I've got a Gaggia espresso machine i got 2nd hand for a fiver and we use it all of the time. Instant doesn't come close now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Are the little discs that you put in Tassimo / Nespresso machines et al actually just compressed, ground coffee though, or do they put other stuff in them to enhance the flavour and appearance? I've owned a couple of espresso machines and have always struggled to get a decent tasting cup out of them even when using beans that I grind myself. When the "disc" machines first hit the market a lot of the advertising focussed on how lovely and thick the crema layer was so I automatically assumed that they would put something in there to enhance it, which put me off buying one. I'm not so sure there are any aditives, I will say with a fair bit of certainty that it isn't instant that's in them as the coffee is still in the disc once the cup has been made. This would lead me to believe it's much more like a conventional espresso maker only using perfect measures & times. The machine has a decent pump in it which also means that the water isn't boiled, and therefor ruining the coffee, so it comes out lovely. On another note, we have just got a bean to cup vending machine here. Just like a normal upright vending machine, but bean to cup. £1 per cup, but its worth it Of course the milk will still be powdered, but it tastes better than the normal gut-rot vending machine stuff. Most likely the same as the ones we have, they are fantastic. As you say, £1 per cup, but very much worth it. I far prefer powdered milk to real milk anyway, well more whitener than actual powdered milk, as I hate milk and find it ruins the taste of the coffee. I just use a tiny bit of whitener to take the edge off the coffee so that it's just that bit smoother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Lavazza Rossa is lovely coffee. I've got a Gaggia espresso machine i got 2nd hand for a fiver and we use it all of the time. Instant doesn't come close now. Lavazza Rossa was the stuff I used to make, very nice but I would honestly take a tassimo columbian kenco before it. That's most likely down to my coffee maker being a steam one though rather than pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creative Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Why don't you just get a hand perculator thingy and use gound coffee? That's what I do at work..Inbetween raiding the bosses nesspresssssssooooo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Why don't you just get a hand perculator thingy and use gound coffee? That's what I do at work..Inbetween raiding the bosses nesspresssssssooooo. I can't be bothered to be honest. I have the tassimo in work and that's where I do most of my coffee drinking, very happy with that. I just like to have a jar of coffee in the house for the odd time when I do want a cup. Buying a perculator and having proper bags of coffee that need to stay in the fridge and don't last any time would be no use to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 AFAIK the Nespresso capsules are just compressed coffees of different types. The ingredients listed are just the coffee, pre ground and roasted and the alumunium of the capsule. I presume the "specials" they occasionally do like Chestnut flavours are additives, but I tried one and it was awful. Chestnut and coffee? Bad idea. Some people like it though, as I sold the others oneBay for a huge profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creative Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I can't be bothered to be honest. I have the tassimo in work and that's where I do most of my coffee drinking, very happy with that. I just like to have a jar of coffee in the house for the odd time when I do want a cup. Buying a perculator and having proper bags of coffee that need to stay in the fridge and don't last any time would be no use to me. Fairy snuff. You can't beat a proper cup though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Fairy snuff. You can't beat a proper cup though! Tassimo is better than anything I've ever made, proper stuff included. The only coffee I drink that pips it is the stuff in work from the full on bean-cup coffee maker. I would have one of those in a heartbeat but the cheapest decent one is around £600. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Opened one today after I made it, looks like proper coffee to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Had another go with the Alta Rica stuff. It has a very nice strong roast flavour to it but it also has that "you're drinking instant" tinge to it so it definitely isn't as good as the milicano. I've got 2 jars of the stuff to go through but I can't complain, it's a very very nice instant. Milicano is definitely no.1 at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian W Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Got myself am espresso machine for Xmas so no more instant for me! Now, in order for me to nudge this thread away from the current topic (while remarkably still remaining on topic?) is to ask, what's the best ground coffee I can buy for it? Worth giving Lavazza Rossa a go? What strength should I be going for? Currently got a couple of bags to go through but they're only 3 on the old strength scale! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Lavazza Rossa is imo one of the best available here if you like an all round expresso, rich roast without excess and just the right smoothness of flavour. Waitrose's own expresso in the silver and red tin is OK, but not as good. Segafredo intermezzo is nice too if you or someone you know goes to France and can pick you some up. I tend to buy multi packs of this when I am there which lasts us quite a while. EDIT: Have just seen on Amazon that you can buy 3 Kg of Segafredo expresso 10 x 250g packs for £30. Group buy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probrox Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Got myself am espresso machine for Xmas so no more instant for me! Now, in order for me to nudge this thread away from the current topic (while remarkably still remaining on topic?) is to ask, what's the best ground coffee I can buy for it? Worth giving Lavazza Rossa a go? What strength should I be going for? Currently got a couple of bags to go through but they're only 3 on the old strength scale! I only buy Lavazza for mine, but thats mainly because it was what I drank in Italy when staying with a mate over there. I haven't tried many others. The blue Lavazza is nice (not the decaf one) but the others are good as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Got myself am espresso machine for Xmas so no more instant for me! Now, in order for me to nudge this thread away from the current topic (while remarkably still remaining on topic?) is to ask, what's the best ground coffee I can buy for it? Worth giving Lavazza Rossa a go? What strength should I be going for? Currently got a couple of bags to go through but they're only 3 on the old strength scale! I tried a few of them and although I kept going back to the Lavazza I really enjoyed the Co-Ops own make stuff. It was the fairly strong one I got, 4 IIRC, and it tasted lovely. Lava Java or something like that was another one, it would really put hairs on your chest it was THAT strong, but it was amazing on the nightshift Be careful with how strong you are going for, a 3 is probably more than enough given that you are a 1 spoon milicano kind of a guy That one I had was a steam espresso maker though so I think I was missing out a bit. I doubt I'll get another one though, unless it's a bean to cup, as I just can't be bothered with the hassle of making it lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian W Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I generally make lattés and that's why I'm not quite getting the flavour with a '3'. Will try a 4 and see how I get on! If anyone else is using an espresso machine, how much do you tamp the coffee into the filter? (If at all)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probrox Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I generally make lattés and that's why I'm not quite getting the flavour with a '3'. Will try a 4 and see how I get on! If anyone else is using an espresso machine, how much do you tamp the coffee into the filter? (If at all)... I give it a good press and twist. I'm not sure if its right, but the result tastes good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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