Phil wrote:

> Hi, I'm in the UK and looking to get a half decent coffee machine to
> make cappucino and Espresso.
>
> Just wondering if anyone had an opinion on AEG machines, specifically
> this one;
>
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...tem=4426987023
>
> It will be my first 'proper' coffee machine, I'm not very experienced (I
> have a drip machine at the moment...), so the 'automatic' part is going
> to be a bonus as far as my needs go. Just wondering if this thing
> actually looks any good to you coffee conneiseurs.
>
> Any help gratefully received !

You might want to post this on "alt.coffee"--it's a much, much more active
group and you're more likely to get good answers there.

The machine appears to be in the general category of "super auto"
machines--whether that particular model is decent or not I have no idea
myself. Upside of that general class of machine is that once you get it
adjusted it will give you fairly repeatable results, downside is that its
best isn't as good as you can learn to do by hand.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Phil wrote:

>> You might want to post this on "alt.coffee"--it's a much, much more
>> active group and you're more likely to get good answers there.
>
> Cheers, done. Just thought there might be a few more UK people in here
> with it being a .rec group. Plus alt.coffee seems to be full of stuck up
> idiots who prattle on about how only one cup of coffee they've made in
> the last decade has been excellent, the rest have just been good :/
>
>> The machine appears to be in the general category of "super auto"
>> machines--whether that particular model is decent or not I have no
>> idea myself.
>
> Can't seem to find many reviews of it either.
>
>> Upside of that general class of machine is that once you get it
>> adjusted it will give you fairly repeatable results, downside is
>> that its best isn't as good as you can learn to do by hand.
>
> But I'm assuming its 'best' would still be far better than that
> acheivable with instant coffee or a drip filter machine...

Let's start out with what you're really looking for. Do you _like_
espresso? Some people do, some don't. Personally I didn't at first but it
grew on me.


--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Phil wrote:

>> Let's start out with what you're really looking for.
>> Do you _like_ espresso? Some people do, some don't.
>> Personally I didn't at first but it grew on me.
>
>
> Heh, do you know what, in all honesty I don't know

You might want to find out before you spend a lot of money on a machine.

> I'm not sure what the difference is offhand. I'm just one of those
> common idiots who likes the coffee I buy from Starbucks (which would
> appear to make me a heretic in the coffee newsgroups and am looking
> to improve my home efforts a little bit.

I liked starbucks too. Then I made my first really good shot. The thing is
they roast the beans very dark so you are tasting the roast and not the
bean, and they're working a production line so they don't have time to
tweak the parameters for every shot.

> The machine in question does cappucino, latté and espresso.

While it can do them don't assume that it can do latte and cappucino well.
It's a thermoblock machine, which means that its ability to produce steam
is limited and for milk drinks you need lots of steam--if you like latte
and cappucino you'll be a lot happier with a boiler machine that won't run
out of steam half way through frothing.

There's also skill involved in frothing--the machine does not froth
automatically, it just makes espresso automatically and gives you a steam
want for frothing.

> I'd not
> really put any thought into whether I don't like one or the other, and
> because it does all three I don't think it's really going to be a
> deciding factor of any kind.

Well, now, the real question is whether you like espresso better than you
like drip or vac pot or french press or whatever.

> Basically I'll be wanting to play with lots of different flavoured beans
> (which again may make me an outcast in the coffee groups ?).
> There's a little place near me that sells lots of coffee beans of
> varying flavours...

Nothing wrong with flavored beans, but make sure that they're aware that
you're going to be using an espresso machine and not a drip
machine--espresso machines extract differently from drip and the results
may not be quite what you expect.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Phil wrote:

>> I liked starbucks too. Then I made my first really good shot.
>> The thing is they roast the beans very dark so you are tasting the
>> roast and not the bean, and they're working a production line so
>> they don't have time to tweak the parameters for every shot.
>
> Yup, obviously it's mass produced, but it's still nice mass production
> in the opinion of my taste buds
>
> I particularly like the 'gingerbread' latté they are doing at the
> moment...
>
>> > The machine in question does cappucino, latté and espresso.
>>
>> While it can do them don't assume that it can do latte and cappucino
>> well. It's a thermoblock machine, which means that its ability to produce
>> steam is limited and for milk drinks you need lots of steam--if you like
>> latte and cappucino you'll be a lot happier with a boiler machine that
>> won't run out of steam half way through frothing.
>
> Hmmm, I've heard 'thermoblock' mentioned on a few machine, didn't
> realise there were different types of machine. Actually, I seem to
> recall something about problems with it, is the thermoblock thing
> generally reliable or trouble prone ?

A thermoblock heats the water as it flows through the machine, a boiler
machine heats it in a batch.

It's not a matter of reliability so much as of suitability for particular
purposes--a thermoblock machine has two weaknesses--low steam volume and
poor temperature regulation. Running out of steam before you finish
frothing the milk pretty much ruins the batch and poor temperature
regulation affects taste.

> I'm assuming it would be fine for occasional use tho, just a couple of
> cups - it's not like I'm going to be making them all night or anything
> (or maybe I will, depends how good it is, heh).
>
>> Nothing wrong with flavored beans
>
> Oh, that's a surprise.
> Thought it would spoil the purity or something for the coffee lovers

Matter of taste. Personally I used to like flavored coffees then I had my
first taste of Kona.
>
>

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Sat, 17 Dec 2005 15:57:41 -0500, J. Clarke
> wrote:

> Phil wrote:
>
>>> Let's start out with what you're really looking for.
>>> Do you _like_ espresso? Some people do, some don't.
>>> Personally I didn't at first but it grew on me.
>>
>>
>> Heh, do you know what, in all honesty I don't know
>
> You might want to find out before you spend a lot of money on a machine.
>
>> I'm not sure what the difference is offhand. I'm just one of those
>> common idiots who likes the coffee I buy from Starbucks (which would
>> appear to make me a heretic in the coffee newsgroups and am looking
>> to improve my home efforts a little bit.
>
> I liked starbucks too.

THAT IS SO COOL I love that tuff

> Then I made my first really good shot. The thing is
> they roast the beans very dark so you are tasting the roast and not the
> bean, and they're working a production line so they don't have time to
> tweak the parameters for every shot.
>
>> The machine in question does cappucino, latté and espresso.
>
> While it can do them don't assume that it can do latte and cappucino
> well.
> It's a thermoblock machine, which means that its ability to produce steam
> is limited and for milk drinks you need lots of steam--if you like latte
> and cappucino you'll be a lot happier with a boiler machine that won't
> run
> out of steam half way through frothing.
>
> There's also skill involved in frothing--the machine does not froth
> automatically, it just makes espresso automatically and gives you a steam
> want for frothing.
>
>> I'd not
>> really put any thought into whether I don't like one or the other, and
>> because it does all three I don't think it's really going to be a
>> deciding factor of any kind.
>
> Well, now, the real question is whether you like espresso better than you
> like drip or vac pot or french press or whatever.
>
>> Basically I'll be wanting to play with lots of different flavoured beans
>> (which again may make me an outcast in the coffee groups ?).
>> There's a little place near me that sells lots of coffee beans of
>> varying flavours...
>
> Nothing wrong with flavored beans, but make sure that they're aware that
> you're going to be using an espresso machine and not a drip
> machine--espresso machines extract differently from drip and the results
> may not be quite what you expect.
>