Coffee Pod Machines

wildebus

wildebus

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Think there are lots of coffee fans here? These look a good deal from Amazon on a "Todays Deals" (so finish at Midnight).... https://amzn.to/2MtIaFJ
 
Problem with pod machines is they don't steam milk. Have a look at the Bellman CX-25. A stovetop espresso which does steam milk too. I bought one and a mains powered good grinder over from Australia and it does a pretty good job, and on a gastop.
 
wfdTamar said:
Problem with pod machines is they don't steam milk. Have a look at the Bellman CX-25. A stovetop espresso which does steam milk too. I bought one and a mains powered good grinder over from Australia and it does a pretty good job, and on a gastop.
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I have a kettle and use instant coffee - just as good and a lot cheaper ;)
 
These coffee pod machines are damnable things that ought to be banned as they are so exceptionally damaging to the environment and in general planet earth !!!!!! :mad:

I am very much the same as @wildebus excepting for the fact that we use a saucepan to boil our water in and of course we use decaf. ;)
 
FWIW, I was an Aeropress fan, but my favourite motorhome coffee now comes courtesy of a Staresso -- a near-perfect shot of espresso without electricity. The crema from this machine is good enough to make a half-decent latte with hob-heated milk without needing frothing. OK, fifty quid and so not cheap, but it does make an excellent coffee and cheaper machines of this type are available if £50 seems too much!
 
GeoffL said:
FWIW, I was an Aeropress fan, but my favourite motorhome coffee now comes courtesy of a Staresso -- a near-perfect shot of espresso without electricity. The crema from this machine is good enough to make a half-decent latte with hob-heated milk without needing frothing. OK, fifty quid and so not cheap, but it does make an excellent coffee and cheaper machines of this type are available if £50 seems too much!
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I’m a dedicated aeropress girl too. The Staresso looks as if it works on the same principle as the aero press ... does the milk go through the same pressing to make it froth? At the moment, I either add cold milk or warm it through for a more latte coffee.
 
Aeropress just makes black coffee (without any crema). The ground coffee is mixed with hot water and the whole lot passed through the filter paper. OTOH, the Staresso holds the ground coffee in a 'portafilter' and water is forced through under pressure (15 to 25 bar), just like a regular espresso machine. The result is a beautiful crema on top of the shot -- it's proper espresso. The make a latte, I heat some millk to just below boiling on the stove, pour the milk into a preheated cup and then add the espresso. Sometimes I use a battery powered whisk to froth the milk before adding the espresso.
 
GeoffL said:
Aeropress just makes black coffee (without any crema). The ground coffee is mixed with hot water and the whole lot passed through the filter paper. OTOH, the Staresso holds the ground coffee in a 'portafilter' and water is forced through under pressure (15 to 25 bar), just like a regular espresso machine. The result is a beautiful crema on top of the shot -- it's proper espresso. The make a latte, I heat some millk to just below boiling on the stove, pour the milk into a preheated cup and then add the espresso. Sometimes I use a battery powered whisk to froth the milk before adding the espresso.
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Christmas list then. Sounds good.
 
frothy whisked milk? add into coffee machines and that really is faffy :)

If I want a real treat, with my Instant Coffee, I add in dosenmilch :love: (yup, that is just what it sounds/goggles like (y). Yummy :p )
 
wfdTamar said:
Problem with pod machines is they don't steam milk. Have a look at the Bellman CX-25. A stovetop espresso which does steam milk too. I bought one and a mains powered good grinder over from Australia and it does a pretty good job, and on a gastop.
Click to expand...

I have two Nespresso machines and both of them steam the milk.

I also have reusable capsules that you can fill yourself.
 
Instant coffee is about as far away from a properly made coffee as tea is from instant coffee. They're just different drinks. Each have their place and I do drink instant - because it's instant. I find very few coffee places and certainly most general cafes make terrible coffee. So we're not talking about which is the best coffee, but to achieve a certain type of quality, certain type of coffee, how best to do it - in a motorhome, possibly when not connected to EHU.

Yes, a very few pod machines can steam milk, but not well and they're mains powered. Though I have recently seen a kind of hybrid machine that looks like it might do a decent job as it has a manual steaming wand. Also small coffee capacity.

BTW, it's not frothing (that's BS), it's steaming, which rules out those whisking machines.

Aeropress is not bad, but gives a different result being more like a french press. Also the lack of milk steaming issue.

If the Staresso creates 15-20 bars - by hand (more than a commercial espresso machine) I'd be extremely surprised (220-290 psi!). A few bar maybe (which can still do the job). The pump mechanism (what you can see) looks a bit flimsy and only capable of low pressures. Still looks reasonable, if it's not expensive. They reckon it can foam milk (not steam though). It's coffee capacity is 5-10 grams which is piddly, also a drawback of pods (though you can always do multiple shots, but then you get too much water in the coffee). Not saying it does a rubbish job, but I do question their claims.

If you want a proper espresso with steamed milk, you really need an espresso machine. That's the problem as you're talking mains powered and quite a high power demand, so the gas powered Belman is a good option, as it is a proper espresso that does the lot (though not high pressure, only a few bars). Not instant though and you have to clean it up, that's why I drink some instant.
 
While a stovetop espresso machine might be the 'real deal', the Bellman costs well over £300. FWIW, I'm comparing the shot of espresso I get from the Staresso with the shot of espresso I get with my De Longhi home electric espresso maker; and it's pretty close.

That 'piddly' 10g is enough for a single shot and the crema is enough to get a reasonably textured latte without steaming or frothing IMO. As to the pressure, the pump has a very small area (I'll guess a few sq mm) cylinder bore and it takes up to about 10lb pressure to start the flow. Now 8 sq mm is about 0.012 sq in and 10 lb over that area equates to about 800 psi or 55 bar, so the maker's claims seem reasonable. That said, forget about using a Staresso to foam milk as a battery-powered frother does a much better job.
 
So many options, so much cost! I'm glad I am just a tea drinker 99.9% of the time! :p

Cue the debate on loose leaf vs Teabags, Ceylon vs Indian vs China and different blends now....

FWIW, I have my tea delivered to the door each month ;) . I use "Ringtons Muggables" Teabags and let the bag infuse for a whopping 6 seconds before I whip it out (and living in Scotland, it gets used for another cup a hour later :LOL: )
 
Bellman is £129, not £300. You're talking more like near 20 grams for a full strength coffee shot, so 5-10 is weak. It's whatever you're used to though.

Ok - tea. I've found UK teabags use very finely ground (chopped) tea, possibly so the tight Scots can make a 6 second cup (Scottish grandparents, so I'm allowed to say that). However I find that means they go stale quicker and the taste is lacking possibly because of that. I reckon Twinnings has gone downhill over the years. Be interested in the quality of the Ringtons.
 
Err ... it was the CX-25 that cost £300. The cheapest I could find it was £292.78 + £4.71 delivery on Amazon -- I suspect that anyone considering the Bellman would be grateful for a link to someone selling it for £129.

Edited to write: FWIW, I've just measured how much coffee my De Longhi domestic espresso maker takes in its 'double shot' portafilter: 11 g. So it's no wonder the strength of a shot from the Staresso is close to that from the De Longhi.
 
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