[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by kalpeshc

Wanted to gift a coffee machine to someone who loves their McDonalds cappuccino. Any help would be appreciated

Best Value for Money I found after some research are espresso machines form Tecnora. Their entry level model costs ~ Rs. 11,000. User will have to buy Ground coffee separately (available online as well as offline). Do not use Instant coffee powder.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by kalpeshc

Wanted to gift a coffee machine to someone who loves their McDonalds cappuccino. Am a noob when it comes to coffee machines and it's recurring costs. Saw a few on Amazon around 15K having specs as 15 bars (not sure what it is though). Am not even aware if one needs pods or roasted beans for these machines. Any help would be appreciated

Brewing espresso needs experience and patience in terms of finding the right bean, grind setting etc. Also you will need to invest in grinder for good espersso.

Cheaper machines itself may be frustrating. I had a Morphy Richard's 15 bar machine about 5 years back. It never produced good coffee. It is lying unused now and I upgraded.

If the person you are gifting is experienced in brewing espresso then it's OK. Otherwise my suggestion would be to gift a Aeropress.

Search YouTube for Aero press to get an idea.

[akshaymahajan]

No sub 75k-100k machine will make you a cappuccino automatically. So if you want to make a cappuccino, this is what you need

Cappuccino is milk and espresso. So you need a milk frother and an espresso machine.

Espresso is about the machine, beans (+roast+freshness) + grind. You can just get the espresso machine and buy pre ground coffee, or go further and buy a good burr grinder as well.

Each individual component has a huge range and sky is the limit while spending. And one can upgrade with time

Espresso machine: Look up the DeLonghi EC685 or the Flair (manual espresso) or the Nespresso (pods)

Grinder: Manual burr grinders work well for starters

Frother: Dont have experience, but the nespresso frother seems to do the job

If its not just cappuccino, but they enjoy coffee generally, Aeropress or the Hario drip are good options to start with.

Disclaimer: If this person likes coffee but won't enjoy experimenting and cleaning up every time, the equipment may not be used a lot.

Weighing scale and a Gooseneck kettle can come in much much later.

[kalpeshc]

The friend is definitely not into all the hassles and would rather go to a cafe to have a good cup of cappuccino. Thanks for all the advice.

[ajayc123]

For me, coffee is the #2 addiction after tbhp.

I watch James Hoffman videos on YouTube to increase my understanding of the world of coffee, find them quite engaging. What do you guys think about him?
https://youtube.com/channel/UCMb0O2CdPBNi-QqPk5T3gsQ

[Swarup5]

Cars and coffee have been integral part of my life , needless to say I can’t think of a day without either of them😅

So finally here is my latest setup after using Moka pots for a good amount of time . Espresso is an art in itself and requires a lot of patience and ability to try out various combinations to find the perfect recipe. In many ways it’s like taking a perfect photograph which is no simple task .So traded my unused DSLR with a Gaggia espresso machine .

Gaggia classic pro was an obvious choice in the starting budget of espresso machines . Known for its legendary Toyota like reliability and the sheer number of fellow gaggia communities and fan clubs , I took the plunge .Additionally Gaggia has insane number of options to modify it , which was a reason enough to tame the espresso game.

Also , an important player in this setup is the grinder which is as crucial as the espresso machine itself . Got a hand grinder (1Zpresso J Max ) which had fairly good reviews on espresso communities across YouTube and Other forums . Commandante C40 was another option but got this(1Z) cheap from a friend (used).

Results have been great so far with few widely available beans from Amazon ( Lavazza , Coffee day etc). I’m yet to explore the specialty coffee completely ( more for coming days ).

My workflow timings are below
1. Grinding 19g beans - ~1min
2. Puck prep and warmup - 3min
3. Dialing in espresso - ~30 sec
4. Cappuccino/ Latte foaming - ~ 3min.

Total approx : ~ 8 mins


Cheers !

Here is my setup :

Gaggia classic pro
1Zpresso J max
Tamper
Leveller
WDT(3D printed)
Dosing funnel.( 3D printed)
Weighing Scale and timer .






Learning the art ( not even close to baristas)

[Caffeinated]

Staying in Bangalore, filter coffee at roadside Darshini's had developed into a habit. I tried to replace with instant coffee at home, but there was a big difference in taste and smell.

Recently, I thought of trying the same at home, and bought a filter coffee set and Cothas's ground coffee pack, for a grand total of Rs 400. Combined with a full-fat milk and jugglery with two tumblers,I was able to replicate a near Darshini-style experience, which was far better than instant coffee. The smell after pouring the hot water in the filter is an added bonus.

[ajayc123]

Originally Posted by Caffeinated

Recently, I thought of trying the same at home, and bought a filter coffee set and Cothas's ground coffee pack, for a grand total of Rs 400.

Can you tell a bit more about it? Is this available online ?

[Caffeinated]

Originally Posted by ajayc123

Can you tell a bit more about it? Is this available online ?

I bought it from a store, but there are similar ones available online as well(see below). Takes ~30 mins for making brew for 2 cups.

https://amzn.eu/d/6iiTvLN

[ajayc123]

Originally Posted by Caffeinated

I bought it from a store, but there are similar ones available online as well(see below). Takes ~30 mins for making brew for 2 cups.

https://amzn.eu/d/6iiTvLN

Thanks, I have a similar one of Jayanthi brand. I have Jayanthi ground filter coffee, but I have not been using it of late. Let me try to motivate myself to start using it.

[arijitkanrar]

Hello all,
My wife gifted me an AeroPress Go coffee maker for my birthday.
I have procured appropriately ground coffee from Third Wave Coffee for AeroPress.
But I'm finding myself to be quite inconsistent using the AeroPress. Some days the coffee is just amazing, but some times its just too bitter and tastes burnt.

Requesting esteemed forum members who have used AeroPress before, please suggest good brewing tips and tricks. For e.g. how long to stir, how much coffee poweder to use etc. Would be really helpful.

Here is my AeroPress Go at Pangong lake on a recent trip to Ladakh.
Thankfully the brew that day came out good so was able to enjoy a beautiful brew in a beautiful setting.
'Heavenly' doesn't even begin to describe the feeling of enjoying a nice coffee while looking at a beautifully blue Pangong.

[archat68]

I use inverted Aeropress method. Add about 10 - 15 gm of Aeropress ground level coffee according to the roast level (I use less for darker roasts), boil water and then cool off for about 45 sec, pour water, stir 10 sec, cover, let it sip for about 5 min, invert and press. Usually gives a decent coffee. You can try variations to this.
I use Aeropress at office, so I do not bother with weight etc, just use a spoon to measure the coffee. Add water to the fill mark and that's all.

[Swarup5]

Originally Posted by arijitkanrar

But I'm finding myself to be quite inconsistent using the AeroPress. Some days the coffee is just amazing, but sometimes its just too bitter and tastes burnt.

Attachment 2347754

Looks like you are over-extracting it which is resulting in bitterness and burnt taste. Given that you are buying pre-ground coffee and not using a grinder, you can play around with the extraction quantity. For a given amount of ground coffee and hot water with approximately the same temperature, you should be able to replicate the results . A lot of the coffee extraction process is about following a set formula and repeating it consistently. Also, I highly recommend buying a decent conical burr hand grinder to pair with the Aeropress which would give you hugely improved flavours and consistency.

Happy brewing !

[AltoLXI]

A few months back, when I went to Bali, I bought a packet of Luwak coffee. We had tasted the coffee in the garden provided by the people there and found it to be good. Now that we have brought the powder here, is there any specific way to prepare it?

[chaitanyakrish]

VS Mani coffee is good. Its a newly launched company and the coffee aroma is very distinctive !!