Espresso Machine

Post by **Xouqoa** » July 8, 2006, 3:29 pm

Are there any espresso/coffee/Starbucks experts out there who can make a recommendation for a reasonably priced Espresso/Coffee machine that would allow somebody to make drinks like they have at Starbucks if they had all the ingredients?

mmm caramel macchiato...

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » July 8, 2006, 5:15 pm

Gaaaaaay

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 8, 2006, 5:19 pm

Zaelath wrote:Gaaaaaay

so mean!

Phuggs · Post by **Phuggs** » July 8, 2006, 6:30 pm

do you know where my Pen Is ??

Post by **Xouqoa** » July 8, 2006, 7:09 pm

It's for a gift idea, you less-than-helpful bastards.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » July 8, 2006, 8:12 pm

Xouqoa wrote:It's for a gift idea, you less-than-helpful bastards.

For some reason that made me el oh el eye-arr-ell

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » July 8, 2006, 8:18 pm

Ok, ok, more helpful.. unless you're dropping $1,000+ on the type of machine that grinds the beans and fills the hopper itself, the machine isn't really as important as getting a good grinder. If you're thinking of buying pre-ground coffee then skip the rest of this post, philistine! (grinding your own beans is probably *the* biggest jump in coffee quality you can get, it starts loosing flavour after roasting slowly, and after grinding rapidly)

Good espresso requires a super-fine grind that cheap grinders just won't do (and neither will the magic bullet.. lying fucking infomercial bastards)

Funnily enough, googling for "quality coffee grinder" turns up this screed on how to sell them http://www.gourmetretailer.com/gourmetr ... id=1940801 The interesting part being much of what they say is true.

Then there's price, Amazon has a good one, and it's by far the lowest "You save" figure I've ever seen.. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006 ... e&n=284507 So you're looking at $180 for a good grinder.

The espresso machine itself you can get for half that, Delonghi is a good brand http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-EC140B-E ... 41?ie=UTF8 and the "add to cart to see the price" is $89.99

The rest is technique and practice; foaming milk is artful, and you will at the very least need a *metal* container to do it in. A good book would be a wise investment.. maybe http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/051758 ... e&n=283155 but I don't know much about the book.

Oh, and by preference don't buy any of this shit from Amazon, I don't schill for them, they're just a handy reference

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » July 8, 2006, 11:21 pm

if your friend likes coffee- try a french press

Truant · Post by **Truant** » July 8, 2006, 11:35 pm

I owned one of these in a previous life:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005 ... &s=kitchen

It's not the cheapest one out there but pretty damn close! It worked well enough though.

But you also didn't mention a budget, so if you could afford to go the next step up in product, I would.

However, the secret to making a caramel machiatto is about half a can of whipped cream, and squirting a bunch of caramel on it.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » July 9, 2006, 12:01 am

Xouqoa wrote:It's for a gift idea, you less-than-helpful bastards.

Next you'll be threating to leave and never come back!

Aevian Dreaklear · Post by **Aevian Dreaklear** » July 9, 2006, 2:02 am

Zaelath wrote:(and neither will the magic bullet.. lying fucking infomercial bastards)

Do you own the magic bullet? Is it nice to have except the coffee bean grinding abilities?

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » July 9, 2006, 2:21 am

Go Delonghi if you can afford it

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » July 9, 2006, 10:44 am

Aevian Dreaklear wrote:
Zaelath wrote:(and neither will the magic bullet.. lying fucking infomercial bastards)
Do you own the magic bullet? Is it nice to have except the coffee bean grinding abilities?

Ummm, no, actually

I won't buy anything from spam, over the telephone, or from an infomercial.

Neost · Post by **Neost** » July 10, 2006, 2:38 am

I have this grinder, which I really like:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr ... B0001O2X0A

and this espresso machine:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr ... B0001O2VP2

Not expensive, works very well. I use the grinder for my regular drip coffee maker and the espresso machine.

Ghiradelli supposedly makes syrups you can buy that are as good as, if not better than the starbucks types but i've never tried them. You can get starbucks syrups off ebay, but I wouldn't necessarily trust the sources.

Alternative flavor syrups:

http://www.cw-usa.com/supplies-condimen ... 2pack.html

Cartalas · Post by **Cartalas** » July 10, 2006, 8:13 am

Starbucks Gift Cards!!!!