Pod coffee machines - opinions?

Polly101

Polly101

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I have been looking at the Delonghi Lattissima as a gift for the SO.

What I like is the POD idea (no mess / no fuss) and the fact that it makes lattes (for me :) )

Anyone got one or something similar or better? would appreciate any input....
 
Nope, the coffee is makes is simply rubbish. The only one of the pod ones that actually make decent coffee are the Nespresso ones.
Otherwise, to get proper coffee, you will need to get rid of the pod idea, and crank up your price range
 
I've thought about this before and the reasons I rejected pod machines are:
(bearing in mind I haven't looked at the one you specifically mentioned)

1) You're tied to a specific brand. If for any reason the brand fails or leaves the country getting pods would be difficult and the machine becomes useless
2) Pods are expensive compared to buying plain coffee beans
3) The extra packaging per pod irritates me - I hate packaging
 
The pods from first hand experience was great. Good flavors, wife like it, etc. Cost of pods was a major issue and the fact that massmart stopped stocking the pods for that particular make and moved onto others made it a useless paperweight.

Decent bean to coffee makers (with own grinder) is the best, initial outlay costly but yet worth it in the long run!
 
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Its the hassle factor of grinding beans etc that I am so not keen on

Jstrike, if you looked at the link you will see this is designed for the Nespresso range :P
 
Polly101 said:
Its the hassle factor of grinding beans etc that I am so not keen on

Jstrike, if you looked at the link you will see this is designed for the Nespresso range :P
Click to expand...

If have not drank freshly ground/roasted coffee you never had any decent coffee. As for the grinding, that's not a hassle at all! Pour in beans, press start, coffee is made fully automatically. Get one of the latest versions which makes it's own froth from milk in container and you are set for the best. Only clean now and then.
 
Polly101 said:
Its the hassle factor of grinding beans etc that I am so not keen on

Jstrike, if you looked at the link you will see this is designed for the Nespresso range :P
Click to expand...

Then how about something like http://www.dionwired.co.za/applianc...-makers/delonghi-espresso-coffee-machine.html ?

I've got a similar machine - the only difference between mine and the one above is that you have to froth your own milk, which isnt exactly a chore. ;)

Bonus - you get to use freshly ground beans of your own. ;)
 
Polly101 said:
Its the hassle factor of grinding beans etc that I am so not keen on

Jstrike, if you looked at the link you will see this is designed for the Nespresso range :P
Click to expand...

Wow, that was pretty stupid of me.
I own a (Siemens) Nespresso machine, and the Nespresso machines are good (Far better than any one of the other systems) producing decent coffee. A lot of quality lies in producing the correct pressure for the steam, and then the quality of the coffee in the pods
 
I've been through a ton of coffee machines. Nothing beats Nespresso in terms of ease of use, cleaning and most importantly, quality of coffee for the price. Also, the range is of coffee is fantastic.

If anyone gets it, make sure its the model where you have to froth your own milk. It makes the best foam!
 
bwana said:
Then how about something like http://www.dionwired.co.za/applianc...-makers/delonghi-espresso-coffee-machine.html ?

I've got a similar machine - the only difference between mine and the one above is that you have to froth your own milk, which isnt exactly a chore. ;)

Bonus - you get to use freshly ground beans of your own. ;)
Click to expand...

That's the one, I saw a demo and that's the one I want. The coffee result was better than what I can do with my current machine. The steam base self frothing is my Achilles' heel.

Are you roasting raw beans?
 
Polly101 said:
Its the hassle factor of grinding beans etc that I am so not keen on

:P
Click to expand...

Mate of mine has the http://www.delonghi.com/za_en/products/esam-6600/ awesome machine, and cause it uses beans, coffee is damn good and you can play around with your own blends.

They really are no mess no fuss, poor in the beans and done... grinds for you, and the cleaning is really simple. But a little on the steep side
 
The best coffee is from beans freshly roasted.
So get a bean to cup machine.
Cheapest ones are delonghi ecam 210.. At 4k at hirsch, check their website
 
Just DON"T waste your money on one of these - strongest coffee is mild & temp is not very hot.
ccb-podbrewers.jpg


With the nespresso machines/pods i tried the strongest one in the V&A demo shop & it was looking like needing 2 of them to make a decent mug of coffee for my taste,which isn't THAT strong.

Just last week bought a Jura F70 & whilst i'm still in learning curve mode with it, it deliver's nicely,probably on the expensive side if your not a caffeine addict tho.
 
RandomGRK said:
I've been through a ton of coffee machines. Nothing beats Nespresso in terms of ease of use, cleaning and most importantly, quality of coffee for the price. Also, the range is of coffee is fantastic.

If anyone gets it, make sure its the model where you have to froth your own milk. It makes the best foam!
Click to expand...
Price? [-]Wiki says there are 6g of coffee in each pod, 6 pods goes for R53 according to this site so if my math is correct thats close to R0.88 per gram of coffee or R880 per kg.

To put things into perspective[/-] I pay R150 per kg of freshly roasted beans.

EDIT - I'm going to have to check my maths - R880/kg cannot possibly be correct.

JStrike said:
The Delonghi ESAM3500 only achieves 15 bar of pressure
Click to expand...
So? You only need 10 bars to make expresso.
 
bwana said:
EDIT - I'm going to have to check my maths - R880/kg cannot possibly be correct.
Click to expand...

Was interested also
Looking beside the "intensity" in the "more" part of that link it says 10 pods per sleeve
60g/R53 = R880/kg
[shrug]
 
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bwana said:
Price? [-]Wiki says there are 6g of coffee in each pod, 6 pods goes for R53 according to this site so if my math is correct thats close to R0.88 per gram of coffee or R880 per kg.

To put things into perspective[/-] I pay R150 per kg of freshly roasted beans.

EDIT - I'm going to have to check my maths - R880/kg cannot possibly be correct.

So? You only need 10 bars to make expresso.
Click to expand...

I'm talking about pods, not beans. You can't compare the two on price.
 
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