Single brew coffee makers

[red-beard]

Noah,

Get her one of these. For the price of a K-cup and the coffee for a few months, you canhave a Super Automatic. I own this same machine. I bought my father this machine. It makes a fresh cup from beans everytime.

Wholelattelove.com: Jura: Refurbished: Refurbished Jura-Capresso Impressa F7: Espresso Machines: Super Automatic

I've owned a refurb unit for 4 years and 10,000 cups later...

[billybek]

We have had a Keurig for 3 years and it is pretty nice. You can get a screen type filter and housing for them that allows you to use fine grind coffee from what ever source you like.
I found that my home grinder is too fine for this so I just use a good grade of store bought coffee.
It is always handy to have some of the K cups around for when you have company.

[sailchef]

After reading this thread I feel a little barbaric in telling you that Mr. Coffee has a system that uses the Keurig technology but costs less than $100.

[billybek]

The screen and housing can be found here.
K-Cup Accessories for Keurig Home Brewers - Keurig.com

[Seahawk]

First of all, I like my coffee like Sniper likes his women...

My son shares this, but wife and daughter do not, they prefer flavored stuff.

Also, I am of a certain age so I limit myself to one cup of hi-test per day.

The Keurig has been an excellent compromise. Everyone gets to drink the coffee they like, and I can have a cup of decaf or two without making a pot.

Winner, winner.

[944Larry]

We have a Keurig and like it. In addition to coffee (various flavors) you can have hot chocolate and hot tea. The coffee can be ordered online for a lot less.

[schwarz633]

I use this AeroPress a couple of times a day. It take a few minutes to use and clean up, but it's inexpensive and uses regular ground coffee. You can use each filter at least 25 times if you're careful cleaning and drying it. Having a hot water dispenser in my kitchen does make it easier to use.

AeroPress® | AEROBIE® High Performance Sport Toys

[ben parrish]

What about the old standard, a French Press? We use ours a good bit and the coffee is GREAT.

[red-beard]

Well, the advantage of the SuperAutomatic:

You load your primary beans in the hopper and load water in a tank on the other side. When you turn it on, it heats up a metal block which in turn heats the water when you activate the machine.

Normal operation:

You select how much water (1-8oz) and then press the start button. For mild coffee, press once, regular coffee, press twice, strong coffee, press three times. Fresh coffee in 30-40 seconds.

The mild-normal-strong sets how much coffee is ground, the dial tells the machine how much water to run through those grounds. A mild 1oz shot will still be quite strong. A strong 8oz cup is also quote strong.

Next to the machine is a hot water/steam wand. If you want to make tea, put the cup under and open the tap. If you want to steam milk, press the steam button and then open the tap.

If you want decaf and regular beans are in the machine, you can put in powdered coffee in the top. If someone prefers a different powdered coffee, again it is easy to make.

I know $699 seems like a lot, but it makes better coffee than Starbucks. If you buy 10 cups from Starbucks a week, you'll pay for it in less than a year. At $50/month in K cups, it pays for itself in about 1 year.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Yikes!

I might just buy her the local Starbucks, instead.

A true push-button coffee machine is going to be expensive. With the Incanto you put the cup under a spout, push a button, and walk away. It grinds the beans, compresses the grounds, injects the pre-brew, and then makes you a perfect cup of coffee with just the right creme' on top.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Noah,

Get her one of these. For the price of a K-cup and the coffee for a few months, you canhave a Super Automatic. I own this same machine. I bought my father this machine. It makes a fresh cup from beans everytime.

Wholelattelove.com: Jura: Refurbished: Refurbished Jura-Capresso Impressa F7: Espresso Machines: Super Automatic

I've owned a refurb unit for 4 years and 10,000 cups later...

My experience with refurbs has not been good. The warranty is only 30 days.

BTW the Gaggia and Saeco have the same brewgroup and other innards and I wouldn't be surprised if Jura used them too. The differences are in the outer shell, display, and software.

[tabs]

After burning out a little Krups 2 cup French Press maker after 7 years I went with the above.

The Salvatore Logic:

1. After reading reviews of people who had bought high end machines, they invariably said they wish they had gone straight to the high end machine without dicking around with the cheaper machines.

2. The machine and grinder are used everyday. (2 mugs of Latte a day...)

3. Cost $1475 plus $225 for Mini Mazzer Grinder (resold by Whole Latte Love) for a cost of about $1700.00

4. Apx cost at Starbucks for a Mug $2.00 X 2 X 365 X 7.3 years = $10,658.00. Even if one had to subtracted out the cost of Milk, Splenda and Coffee..the savings are substantial. I figure the cost of material is reflected in my low cost of a mug at Starbucks.

5. By buying your own Esspresso machine there has ben a savings of nearly $9000 over going to Starbucks everyday for the same period of time. Further the machine has worked flawlessly for 7.3 years of ownership. With cheaper machines one might not have the same low cost as the longetivity of the machine might not be as long.

Question was the iniatial cost of the Salvatore worth it? The answer is yes it has because it has been used everyday, there are savings over going to Starbucks which have long ago paid for the machine and there is a certain satisfaction of owning and using such a fine piece of machinery. Would I have bought it again the answer is YES..

[cstreit]

Have a Keurig. Love it because every cuppa is fresh! But expensive but I wonder if it REALLY is compared to how much old coffee I threw away.

[imcarthur]

On the cheap, I use a Melitta cone filter 4-cup brewer. 4 cups = 2 mugs. I use Starbuck's French Roast beans with a #3 grind. Strong but very good. You can easily halve it for 1 cup.

Ian

[jsmithcds]

Originally Posted by madmmac

We have a Nespresso...love it. Easy as there is. Turn it on, drop in a capsule, close it, push a button. Takes a total of about a minute. Get the frother and it heats and froths your milk or flavoring in about the same time. A very intelligent design in all aspects.

Nespresso Limo Black Citiz & Milk Espresso Machine - D120

+1

just sat down with a cup from this machine. Worth every penny for us. If you are the kind of guy who takes a big mug to work in the morning do not get this machine. You will have to use two little cups per mug.

[jeffgrant]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

This baby is the tits. I've had three similar coffee machines in the past two years and this one is hands down the best. It's a bit spendy, but it makes the best cup of coffee you can get anywhere.
Saeco Incanto Classic Espresso Machine

Similar to this, I have a Saeco Odea Giro Plus, and love it.

odea-giro-plus

Got one for the folks a year ago for Christmas and they love it too.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

My experience with refurbs has not been good. The warranty is only 30 days.

BTW the Gaggia and Saeco have the same brewgroup and other innards and I wouldn't be surprised if Jura used them too. The differences are in the outer shell, display, and software.

My experience with reburished Jura Capresso machines is 3 different machines all working 4 years later.

[mjohnson]

We chipped in and got a refurb Jura at work back when I worked with detonators. 5 years and 20k shots later it's going strong. Only one refurb at 16k for ~$300. Cheapish coffee put us at $0.20/shot and we charged $0.25. Raked in the profits to be spent on prime rib and turkey for the thanksgiving and xmas potlucks.

(can't find a joke about caffeinated explosives engineers...)

Tabs' setup will of course give a better shot of espresso with practice, but ours gives a 85% solution with a push of the button. At work, early in the morning, when you just gotta have something - it's something to consider. Sometimes you put chemical needs above "art"...

The lower priced Juras at wholelattelove are worth a look, especially if you're not really into the steamed milk action. I'm pretty sure they will throw the same espresso shot as the multi-k$ ones. And will run like a toyota corolla (not great but always...)

Or a teapot and a Melitta filter cone for $25, including the teapot

[azasadny]

My friend has the Keurig and loves it. It's expensive, when you add the cost of the pods, but it's cheaper than Starbucks, etc...

[madmmac]

Originally Posted by Noah930

That's what Liz commented. She had tried one and noted that there was an odd taste to it.

This is one of the reason Nespresso is proprietary, they want to make sure you get the best cup as possible. They put the date of manufacture/roasting on their boxes and if they reach a certain date they pull them before a consumer can purchase them. They are in all foil. The simplicity and thought that went into the machine and accessories is what ALL companies should strive for.

I have heard their patent for their pods is over after this year, which would allow other coffee brewers into their market.