From the day we were married, till now, we were given 3 fancy coffee machines, and except for the last one, all were used, and yes they made a good cup of coffee, the last unit, is a $2200 wonder, that I will never know how to use, so is still packed in it's 3 boxes. The best coffee we get at home now , Is the Moccona latte, coffee tubes, 30 serves per pack. The fancy coffee machines can't match them. Their are a few coffee's we buy when in a town, Maccas are OK, but they rarely can do the sugars right, that is sometimes you get it, sometimes you get 4 teaspoons, when you only ask for one, but most of the time, you don't get any. Their are maybe 2 others in our shopping town that can do a good coffee, but our home Mocconas, I think are better then them all.
-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Monday 25th of October 2021 01:06:04 PM
I'm not and never have been a coffee drinker but love the smell of freshly brewing coffee. I have a Chai Latte if out and about or a good old hot chocolate.
__________________
Live Life On Your Terms
DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
Ditto Doug, If they could make coffee as good as it smells - But alas it all tastes like galley slops. Can't stand the taste of it. Yet tea - I make with leaves in a pot - Ceylon blends and their derivatives, African Rooibos, Chinese Green - I literally drink 6/8 litres of it per day.
__________________
Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan
Sent from my imperial66 typewriter using carrier pigeon, message sticks and smoke signals.
I'm a tea drinker too Possum. I have a few different ones including green tea and my every morning tea is Nerada tea leaves I use in a coffee plunger as a tea pot.
__________________
Live Life On Your Terms
DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
If you mean the type of coffee served from a glass jug, often called a "pour-over" and which used to be common in smaller cafes and most restaurants, you're probably getting a lower quality coffee than from a pod machine. If you mean from an espresso machine, they all require practice and a fair amount if coin for the machine and accessories. If you want it for travelling, I suggest you invest in a Nanopresso and you will get crema if you use a decent coffee with a suitable grind. It's a hand-operated gadget and a cheap way to start. Another option is something like a Bellman but in the end the coffee age, quality and grind size are just as important as the device used. After there, you're really headed in the $1000+ market. Most sub-$1000 coffee machines don't produce true crema btw as they use a pressurized filter baskets to physically produce a foaming layer. True crema from an espresso machine is a chemical combination of CO2 and coffee oils & fats.
If you mean the type of coffee served from a glass jug, often called a "pour-over" and which used to be common in smaller cafes and most restaurants, you're probably getting a lower quality coffee than from a pod machine. If you mean from an espresso machine, they all require practice and a fair amount if coin for the machine and accessories. If you want it for travelling, I suggest you invest in a Nanopresso and you will get crema if you use a decent coffee with a suitable grind. It's a hand-operated gadget and a cheap way to start. Another option is something like a Bellman but in the end the coffee age, quality and grind size are just as important as the device used. After there, you're really headed in the $1000+ market. Most sub-$1000 coffee machines don't produce true crema btw as they use a pressurized filter baskets to physically produce a foaming layer. True crema from an espresso machine is a chemical combination of CO2 and coffee oils & fats.
Pretty well nailed it Dabbler, good coffee is all about the quality of your beans (if you buy them from a supermarket they are rubbish) and then how you grind them, thereafter how you brew your coffee is a personal preference thing.
I spent most of my younger days in search of the perfect brew, tried everything from Turkish to French press, about 20 years ago the penny dropped, I kept going back to Italian style espresso, and that where I have remained to this day, I have a good grinder and a very good espresso machine, use them daily with quality beans and never regret the investment, life's too short to drink rubbish coffee.
My expresso machine is about 25 years old now.... probally served up 40,000 shots or so..... with a bit of frothing along the way. I roast my own beans every 3 weeks or so since retiring 11 years ago. The machine is a bit fussy to use.... but results are good (it's a Pavoni lever machine.... paid about $900 for it back then).
I no longer drink coffee since I found out that it contributed to my sinus problems. However, when I did drink coffee, I used a simple coffee espresso machine with finely ground, roasted, coffee beans.
The stainless steel machine came in three parts. The bottom part held the cold water, the middle part held the ground coffee and the upper part held the brewed coffee. The water would boil, come up through the ground coffee, then up through a tube into the top reserve. It worked on gas, electric, metho stove, induction and possibly camp fire, but I never tested it on that. It cost about $20 in 80's and I used it for decades.
Yep, Santa - Italian style espresso is my best bet so far - but in bags.
And only a slurp of milk.
That gives me a full cup of drink and no wastage of froth and bubble.
But the retail stores are selling mini machines at a great rate - I am beginning
to think that there's an element of self delusion with the acceptance of
the brew. (Capsule models excluded - they have the opportunity to add
all sorts of extras to modify).
I certainly have not found the excuse to "upgrade" to a machine to take
in the van along with the mods required to power it.
Have you?
ps - I have a good taste for the good old Bushell's Instant ESSENCE
in the tall bottle. Basic as you like, but it has good flavour so long as
you don't make a milkshake out of it. Chickory is mentioned on the label.
I must admit that I don't like most coffee drinks, though I like coffee chocolates. But I wouldn't go caravanning without my Delonghi Nespresso machine which works with pods. This is because we use cocoa pods instead of coffee pods. We love the mint cocoa, caramel cocoa, hazelnut cocoa and plain chocolate cocoa flavours. Sure beats the taste of coffee!
It's worth noting that an espresso machine requires cleaning routinely. Typically to achieve optimum temperatures, you often need flush water through the system at various stages of the process. If you're steaming/texturing milk, that part the system needs flushing and cleaning after each use. What this all means is if you want to take a cafe quality espresso machine on your travels, the limiting factor is water not power. Even handheld and stovetop options like Nanopresso, Aeropress or Bellman need extra water. A cafe uses minimum 3x to 4x the amount of water to produce a cup than the volume in the cup.
It's worth noting that an espresso machine requires cleaning routinely......
Not so with the one I previously mentioned (something like the image below). Tip out the coffee grinds, give that part a rinse and wash it along with the other two bits at the end. Or, put it in the dish washer, but I imagine not many people have one of those in their caravan.
You have a Moka Pot Buzz. It's not an espresso machine and doesn't make espresso. They ideally should be rinsed thoroughly after every use and done properly will still use more water than the volume if coffee produced. Still handy gadgets if you can master them.
Oh and don't clean a Moka pot on a dishwasher. It's a high pressure device and weaken metal just leads to fatigue. Most manufacturers specifically say '"no dishwasher".
It's worth noting that an espresso machine requires cleaning routinely. Typically to achieve optimum temperatures, you often need flush water through the system at various stages of the process. If you're steaming/texturing milk, that part the system needs flushing and cleaning after each use. What this all means is if you want to take a cafe quality espresso machine on your travels, the limiting factor is water not power. Even handheld and stovetop options like Nanopresso, Aeropress or Bellman need extra water. A cafe uses minimum 3x to 4x the amount of water to produce a cup than the volume in the cup.
No Contest..........having a Coffee is more important than having a Shower........(so you should have plenty of water...!)
