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Cate in NZ

Coffee machines, any recommendations?

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I'm a bit of a caffeine addict, love my coffee and I've been thinking about buying a coffee machine for some time.

 

Anyway, recently I sorted out a minor dispute with the electricity company and they finally agreed to refund me £490 of my money, so I decided to splurge on a coffee machine. Bought a fairly bacsc, fairly inexpensive (reduced in the sales) one and was delighted with it........until I switched it on. The noise was unbelievable, I swear I've heard planes coming in to land at a lower decibel level :shock: I thought maybe the noise would just last whilst the water was being heated and pumped through the filter, but no, even once it was all brewed and sitting on the hot plate keeping warm this unbearable racket continued and drowned out all conversation :evil: . So it's going to have to go back :(

 

Can anyone recommend a good coffee making machine? I don't mind a few gurgles and hisses, but I don't want noisy, I want a steam attatchment thingy for making frothy milk and I don't want to be tied into buying pods etc as I'm keen on avoiding excessive packaging and of course with moving overseas there's no guarantee that I'd be able to get the right pods over there. Oh, and I don't want poky, fiddly corners that are difficult to clean.

 

I can't afford to spend a fortune, so would prefer less than £100, but possibly could stretch to a little bit more for something really good.

 

So have any of you got a machine that you'd recommend?

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It will work in New Zealand, they are 230/240 volt same as us. The only thing you may have to do is swap the plug.

 

Coffee machines are unlikely to be a great deal cheaper over there. Most of that soert of thing is imported, It's easy to do a quick google to see.

 

If you want a proper espresso/cappucino machine then it probably will be noisy, unless you're going to buy a £400+al in one machine. That's because it needs to build up a lot of pressure in order to deliver an authentic espresso.

 

Whittard used ot be a good place to go and look, as they do demos so you can hear the nachines.

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It will work in New Zealand, they are 230/240 volt same as us. The only thing you may have to do is swap the plug.

 

 

Thanks WitchHazel, that's a really helpful post :D

 

I was going to give the answer about the voltage but you beat me to it :D

 

Hubby is already in NZ and he's checked the prices of coffee machines for me, and they're very expensive, hence the decision to get one now so I can put it in the container and take it with us.

 

I never thought about Whittards, they have a shop in Bluewater so I might try and pop there later, I don't remember seeing much by way of coffee machines in there, several cafetiere's & stove top espresso jugs but no machines last time I looked :? Perhaps I wasn't looking properly. Definitely worth a trip though.

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I'd skip Whittards and head straight for John Lewis - they have a few and the staff can be so helpful.

 

Can I come to Bluewater too? Coffee, Bluewater - 2 of my favourite things!

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:P We have a Gaggia Classic, which so far has lasted 7yrs without a hitch. There is the usual espresso making, and milk frothing, so ideal - mostly used for making hot choc for the boys now :roll::wink: . Small enogh to sit nicely on the countertop, and stainless steel, so looks good too.

 

We got ours Online - worked out cheaper than John Lewis.

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We have a Gaggia classic too and we use it every day.

 

We have had our for a number of years and my only piece of advice would be to get one with a solonoid valve which stops it dripping.

 

I think ours cost just over £100.

 

You may also need to invest in a coffee grinder that will grind the coffee finely enough to get a creme(sp) on top of the coffee. We bought a cheap Haden one for about £15 which does various grades for different coffee making methods

 

I only drink one cup of coffee a day but it is always real coffee I haven't drunk instant coffee for several years :D

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