Illy coffee - machines?

[NDA]

Another coffee machine thread....... sorry.


I've been experimenting with various coffees, coffee machines, grinds etc for years. It's a long road.

Finally settled on Illy medium roast ground coffee. Suits my taste perfectly and I drink a lot of it.

Some will argue (please don't) that there's better coffee - of course there may be, but I've tried them all and this suits me best. I'm not looking to change.

The question.....

I'm now seriously considering a decent expresso machine (I currently use a single cup 'gold filter' thing) but there is such a bewildering variety.

Thought of this (Francis Francis X1):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Francis-X1-Ground-Coffee-M...

But the reviews have put me off.

Anyone else drink Illy? What machine do you have?

I'd be comfortable up to £500 for a machine. Could go further, happy with less.

[LordGrover]

No idea, but for a lick of paint the orange one is way cheaper: click.

[anonymous-user]

I tried Illy coffee and found it good, but with my Espresso machine LaVazza Rosa beans produced as good a result but at half the cost.

The coffee machine you are looking at is probably a bit style over substance. £500 will get you a very good Espresso machine, but you also need to be budgeting a minimum of £300 for a decent grinder to go with it. Freshly ground beans make a huge difference.

That kind of budget will get you something like this

http://www.coffeebuyer.co.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/...

http://www.a1coffee.co.uk/index.php?app=gbu0&n...

[jagracer]

Serious question, what's the difference between a £500 coffee machine and a Cafetiere and a bag of Illy coffee? Apart from about £490

[Shaw Tarse]

I've got a Delonghi bean to cup machine, as recommended on PH.
Not sure if anything here would suit what you want?
Or save money & use one of the stove top pots

[anonymous-user]

jagracer said:

Serious question, what's the difference between a £500 coffee machine and a Cafetiere and a bag of Illy coffee? Apart from about £490

Espresso and Filter coffee are two entirely different things. It's like asking the difference between Cheese and Yogurt, they start with the same base ingredient but that's where the similarity ends.

[insurance_jon]

for espresso in a morning I use one of these

http://www.lecafeshop.co.uk/coffee-makers/products...

awesome piece of kit, and very satisfying (in a man toys way) to use

[NDA]

Lots of choices there........

The Gaggia Classic on Amazon looks a good buy. Anyone use one?

[Flibble]

I have a Gaggia classic, definitely recommended. Way better than the cheapo machine it replaced.

[sherman]

NDA said:

Another coffee machine thread....... sorry.


I've been experimenting with various coffees, coffee machines, grinds etc for years. It's a long road.

Finally settled on Illy medium roast ground coffee. Suits my taste perfectly and I drink a lot of it.

Some will argue (please don't) that there's better coffee - of course there may be, but I've tried them all and this suits me best. I'm not looking to change.

The question.....

I'm now seriously considering a decent expresso machine (I currently use a single cup 'gold filter' thing) but there is such a bewildering variety.

Thought of this (Francis Francis X1):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Francis-X1-Ground-Coffee-M...

But the reviews have put me off.

Anyone else drink Illy? What machine do you have?

I'd be comfortable up to £500 for a machine. Could go further, happy with less.

I have a francisfrancis X1 machine.

The crema layer on top of the coffee is a nice rich colour and quite thick. You can also use E.S.E pods in the machine. It comes in a variety of colours and in my opinion looks alot better than most of the plasticky machines. It also has a steam nozzle which actually makes high pressure steam for frothing milk to make cappuccinos etc


If nothing else it has toggle switches on the front that make it work.

If you shop around you can get the machine for about £300 in one of about 9 different colours. Just beware that if you want the stainless steel one it is usally about £100 more than a painted one.

Edited by sherman on Wednesday 27th June 01:44

[XJSJohn]

as always on these threads, i recommend JURA coffee machines,

Not that cheap, but they do excellent bean to cup all in one, make lovely espresso but also have the add ons for frothy coffees etc too,

Mine is nearly 10 years old now and still doing its 3 or 4 cups a day perfectly!

[Cheib]

XJSJohn said:

as always on these threads, i recommend JURA coffee machines,

Not that cheap, but they do excellent bean to cup all in one, make lovely espresso but also have the add ons for frothy coffees etc too,

Mine is nearly 10 years old now and still doing its 3 or 4 cups a day perfectly!

+1 We've got a Jura. It's excellent.

[cqueen]

insurance_jon said:

for espresso in a morning I use one of these

http://www.lecafeshop.co.uk/coffee-makers/products...

awesome piece of kit, and very satisfying (in a man toys way) to use

Are you able to pre-heat that?

[uncinqsix]

sherman said:

I have a francisfrancis X1 machine.

The crema layer on top of the coffee is a nice rich colour and quite thick. You can also use E.S.E pods in the machine. It comes in a variety of colours and in my opinion looks alot better than most of the plasticky machines. It also has a steam nozzle which actually makes high pressure steam for frothing milk to make cappuccinos etc


If nothing else it has toggle switches on the front that make it work.

If you shop around you can get the machine for about £300 in one of about 9 different colours. Just beware that if you want the stainless steel one it is usally about £100 more than a painted one.

Edited by sherman on Wednesday 27th June 01:44

I have one too. About 9 years old now, but still going strong. It's not the best thing out there, but it's better than the reviews would suggest (although not as good as the price would suggest). It's on par with a Gaggia classic, not as good as a Rancilio Silvia IMO. I get very good results out of mine, but I suspect that's more down to my grinder.

[Dr G]

NDA said:

Lots of choices there........

The Gaggia Classic on Amazon looks a good buy. Anyone use one?

Yes, have had mine for a few years and very happy with it indeed. Reliable, easy to clean and should anything fail they're easy to work on too (purchase price of mine was £0. It died as a result of never being cleaned in 5 years of regular use).

[FLGirl]

Cheib said:

+1 We've got a Jura. It's excellent.

+2

Fantastic bit of kit and certainly better than a Gaggia.

Plus, I'm certain it's the main reason my OH moved in with me, so on that basis you have to get one

[Arun_D]

FLGirl said:

Plus, I'm certain it's the main reason my OH moved in with me, so on that basis you have to get one

dmitsi on here? Yeah, he pretty much said that to me when we were discussing coffee machines at worth the other week.

[FLGirl]

Arun. Was behind your Exige the other day as you pulled in to work (Had the pleasure of driving an S as well way back when, stonking machine!)

I was introduced to some friends of his not long after we started going out, to be greeted with "Oh, you're the girl with Jura!" Says it all really!

Makes great coffee, ultimate pulling machine.... Maybe I should work for their PR department

[NDA]

Dr G said:

Yes, have had mine for a few years and very happy with it indeed. Reliable, easy to clean and should anything fail they're easy to work on too (purchase price of mine was £0. It died as a result of never being cleaned in 5 years of regular use).

will they make a mug of coffee? I tend not to drink the dinkie little espressos.

[anonymous-user]

NDA said:

Dr G said:

Yes, have had mine for a few years and very happy with it indeed. Reliable, easy to clean and should anything fail they're easy to work on too (purchase price of mine was £0. It died as a result of never being cleaned in 5 years of regular use).

will they make a mug of coffee? I tend not to drink the dinkie little espressos.

What kind of coffee are you after?

Espresso
Americano (Espresso with hot water)
Cappucino (Espresso with frothy milk)
Latte (Espresso with slight less frothy milk)
Flat White (Espresso with even less forthy milk!!)
Filter (coffee coffee beans brewed in water)

Most espresso machines can do all but filter coffee, although an Americano is similar