Can the coffee geeks be trusted?

[Dida]

I wanted to make latte at home, so I went on Coffee Geek's forum and asked the geeks what I can get for $300-500. The responses looked something like this:

- you want coffee gear for $500? LOLz, talk to me when you are willing to pony up $1000+ for an "entry level" machine

- $500 is tight, I suggest you buy [product] for a price of $500+X, better yet, buy [more expensive product] for [a sum that far exceeds my stated budget]

- spend your entire $500 on a quality grinder and take out some $$$ from your 401k to get a real machine

- I am a PhD student, oh so poor. I just spent $[huge sum] on a real machine, oh it's so good, I suggest you do the same

Are these people crazy? Talk about misplaced priority. LOLz

 

[Save_Ferris]

When in doubt, follow Lord Alton.

 

[emzie]

Who are you to judge someone's priorities as misplaced?

 

[Dida]

Who are you to judge someone's priorities as misplaced?

Who are you to judge that I shall not judge somone's priorities as misplaced?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

There's only one flavour of coffee, and that's coffee flavoured coffee. Isn't latte simply made by ruining a nice cup of coffee with loads of milk? What machine would you need for this?

I'm a coffee addict and coffee freak. My machine costs about 20,- and it makes coffee very well thank you

 

[CivCube]

Once upon a time, I looked at the Vitamix as an option for getting good beverages. Then I found out on the top of the required Costco subscription (the only place that sells it), I had to pay $6000.

I bought a Ninja blender for $50 instead. Works like a charm.

 

[Samez]

Well I think they might be right (but didn't point out why)
The good quality automated espresso makers start at about ~1k €.
The main issue is that the difference between a 500 $ and a 10$ is close to zero (worst case: Coffee quality and time/cup are worse than the manual brewing while there is plenty of maintenance necessary.
The fully automated espresso makers are especially made for higher throughput and come often with a maintenance contract, so your question should be: do I really need an automated espresso maker?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Cripes! Many of the cars I bought were less than 1k Euros

I must be getting old

 

[Murky]

I just heat water in a tea kettle and poor it over organic, free-trade coffee, then filter it. There's no need to waste money on an expensive machine for coffee.

 

[Tecknojock]

Guys I'm pretty sure he's talking about espresso, not drip coffee.

I only have experience with the very low dollar and high dollar espresso machines. The $40 machine I own makes fairly low quality espresso. It comes out harsh and bitter. It frothss well, but it will take 15 minutes to get the milk frothed and espresso made. Its nothing compared to the high dollar machine I work with, but it's not so bad that I refuse to drink it.
Amazon had decent reviews on some machines in the 100-200 Dollar range, but I haven't tried them. Even on these you probably will be able to taste the difference.

 

[bhsup]

You want some good coffee?

$26.99 - http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-14-Cu...UQI2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329762603&sr=8-1

$20.86 (FOR 480 FILTERS!) - http://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Coffe...I7FM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329762670&sr=8-1

$108.75 (5lb, sure you can find cheaper elsewhere) - http://www.amazon.com/Millstone-Cof...r_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1329762834&sr=1-1

$160.55 - http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-Li...r_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1329762927&sr=1-1


There. Grand total? $317.15 and you've got 5lbs of coffee and all the filters you need. You don't even need a plug-in, just a stovetop.

EDIT: Dur, guess you do need a plugin for the grinder...

 

[Zelig]

There's only one flavour of coffee, and that's coffee flavoured coffee. Isn't latte simply made by ruining a nice cup of coffee with loads of milk? What machine would you need for this?

Yeah, all I make is French press coffee - you can get a fantastic grinder for $300 and a press pot for $30.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

I generally just pimp my flat mate out to the coffee shop on the basis that I pay

 

[bombshoo]

When in doubt, follow Lord Alton.

This. See what Alton Brown has to say. Look for what he has to say in the Good Eats episodes True Brew and Espress Yourself. Just Google it.

$1,000 dollars seems very extreme. Especially the $500 for the grinder. Most really good espresso grinders seem to be in the $300 dollar range, while my coffee grinder only cost about $50 and gets a like five levels of grind that are all very even and range from coarse to extremely fine (I use one of the same model for spices, where it's easier to tell). I'm not saying use a coffee grinder, but if that only cost $50, I have a difficult time imagining what a $500 would do that is so special.

Either these coffee geeks pretentious jerks of the highest level, or are trolling. Either way I wouldn't listen to them.

 

[Rashiminos]

Machines are for those who have the option of hiring baristas and serving morning crowds.

 

[Ayn Rand]

There's only one flavour of coffee, and that's coffee flavoured coffee. Isn't latte simply made by ruining a nice cup of coffee with loads of milk? What machine would you need for this?

I'm a coffee addict and coffee freak. My machine costs about 20,- and it makes coffee very well thank you

This. Every time I have coffee from an expensive machine, it sucks. The best coffee is the coffee I make for myself, using coffee, milk, sugar, water and a kettle.

Edit: Dam now I need a coffee

 

[Glassfan]

I have a top-of-the-line Melitta funnel ($1.69) with filters from the Dollar Store. The secret to fine coffee is to use about 4 ounces of Maxwell House with a sprinkle of salt.

When I do have $1000.00, it goes to my family needs.

 

[Zelig]

I have a top-of-the-line Melitta funnel ($1.69) with filters from the Dollar Store. The secret to fine coffee is to use about 4 ounces of Maxwell House with a sprinkle of salt.

When I do have $1000.00, it goes to my family needs.

You can't be serious about "fine coffee" using pre-ground mass-produced coffee.

 

[woody60707]

WHAT THE %&^*^&% (*&^^& *(*^&*0 HELL!!!!11111+2=13

How is coffee like this to some people?

 

[CaptainF]

All you need to make awesome coffee:

Mug
Kettle
Water
Drip filtering apparatus
Paper filters
Grinder
Beans

Add sugar or milk if ya like. Drip filtering apparatus can be subbed with a nice French press. No expensive machines necessary.