Any Coffee Lovers???

[sheepherder]

I have decided that I need a cappuccino maker. Can anyone recommend a good one???

I presently have a Mr Coffee plain Jane coffee maker. It's OK, but regular Maxwell House is just, well, OK too. I've tried Folgers, 8 O'Clock, some others I can't even remember...They're not as good as Maxwell House.

Some time back, I tried Starbucks on the NYS Thruway. Overpriced and not even as good as the corner mini-mart/gas & go.

I'm serious. It's a Crosby's chain mini-mart/gas station and their cappuccino is the best. 20 oz cup is just right. I drink it through a straw [driving mostly].

Only other coffee I've had lately that was delicious was out of a vending machine at the local hospital. Not as good as Crosby's but definitely #2.

So - Anyone have a home cappuccino maker??? If so, can you recommend the cappuccino for it???

Thank You!

[ithacaartist]

Coffee!! Now you're talkin'!

I don't have a machine, can't recommend one in particular, but suggest checking the reviews, consumer reports, etc. It's just a matter of shooting steam through a charge of grounds, or through a side pipe for foaming. It is with disdain that I look upon those machines that work with those creamer-sized pods!

Concerning the brands you've already tried, I'm not seeing much outside the traditional brands, and you didn't mention whether you've tried different brewing methods. Moreover, I'm speechless about your affinity for gas station and machine brews. In college, there was a thing we called the "hot sludge machine", which also dispensed chicken soup and tea, your choice, but seemingly all from the same nozzle into the cup.

First, get yourself a plunge pot. Don't worry they're generally inexpensive! Grounds steep in the full charge of water for three minutes, then the plunger/screen is pushed s-l-o-w-l-y down, taking all the grounds to the bottom. This method yields more of the aromatic oils than coffee run through a filter.

Next, explore the world of different roasts. I recommend whole bean, grind as you go. Try the darker, espresso and Italian roasts. If they're too demanding, throw in some 8 O'clock beans to mellow it. Hot water can turn down the strength if you've gone too far

Different lighteners have different flavors. Heavy and light cream, half and half, whole milk, simmered whole milk will all influence coffee to taste differently.

You now are presented with a plethora of combinations and options! Rich, you gotta check this out! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_coffee_beverages

[Sergio Natali]

Richard

I don't want it to look like an advert, but I could advise you the one we use at home, the make is "Bialetti" and this model is called "Mokona", it works really well, has got there different ways of making coffee, and the little pipe you see on the left is for the steam, and can be used for the cappuccino creamy foam.
I don't know if you can find it in the States.

Anyway I'll send the link in English:

http://www.bialetti.it/uk/catalogue/...asp?id_cat=423


Sergio

[Ron Wood]

Sergio,
Interesting machine! It looks like you can order it on-line. At 99.90 Euros plus shipping it is surely for a true coffee "geek"!

[John Sabato]

Originally Posted by sheepherder

"Any Coffee Lovers?"

Just hand me the coffee, slowly... ...and nobody will get hurt!


I like mine COLD... with ICE, and a touch of French Vanilla...

[GySgt1811]

"First, get yourself a plunge pot. Don't worry they're generally inexpensive! Grounds steep in the full charge of water for three minutes, then the plunger/screen is pushed s-l-o-w-l-y down, taking all the grounds to the bottom. This method yields more of the aromatic oils than coffee run through a filter."

I think they're also referred to as a "French Press." And yes, they're great. It'll take a little experimenting to get the blend and proportions to your taste but that's part of the fun. And Ithaca is right about those coffee pods; you end up drinking what THEY want you to.

You can spend hundreds of dollars on an espresso/cappuccino machine (My son-in-law did!) or you can get an el-cheapo at Wally World. I bought a "Militta" on sale at Sears a few years back for $29.95. I ain't high production - one cup at a time - but it works just as good as the Yuppie ones.

I'm going upstairs now to get me a third cuppa joe.

Gunny John

[lugerholsterrepair]

Get a Keurig. problem solved.

[Neil Young]

I agree Jerry. Living alone, the Keurig is perfect for me. I use Eight O'clock Dark Italian Roast and it makes a very nice, full flavored cup.

[lugerholsterrepair]

Neil..I LOVE coffee but only GOOD coffee and for 2 decades I have tried everything. I found that water is the key..use only pure water. I use reverse osmosis water in Arizona cause the water there has salt, chlorine and other impurities..Here in Colorado I have mountain spring water..from my artisian well. Pure as snow. Once you get the right water..anything you make will be BETTER. A keurig might not make the World's best cappuccino..I don't know as I have never tried a K cup of cappuccino in mine. I have bought the best coffee's I could find..GEVALIA is a great company offering premium coffee's but I have change almost exclusively to a Keurig and K cups. Fresh and VERY good. There are likely better coffee's and methods but for the half dozen cups I drink per day the Keurig is excellent, fast and convenient. I did try a cup of Island Coconut the other day at my stylists..she has a keurig, and it was very good. About as close to a cappuccino as I have tried. Worth a look for anyone wanting convienience.

[Ron Wood]

I keep looking for one that has an IV hook-up.

[kzullick]

I guess I'm old school, no fancy coffee for me, Folgers Classic roast. My wife makes it very strong, I refer to it as Death blend.

[nukem556]

Sheep, you're in W New York, you should be able to get Tim Horton's.....it's pretty darn good for lower priced brew.

[lew1]

I had so much bad coffee over the years thus I am not particular.

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by Ron Wood

I keep looking for one that has an IV hook-up.

A man after my own heart! Near the end of the last century, I was able to go to Negril, Jamaica for teo weeks. Anywhere in Jamaica, you can discover Blue Mountain coffee--estate grown beans from above a certain altitude only, to be certified. One can buy it there at the grocery store, in standard bagged format. There, it's not particularly more expensive than other coffee.

Upon my return, however, I found that,at the time, it was the most expensive in the world at around $40/lb.! Amazingly, it is still available at this price from a source I know. Nonetheless, I drink a blend, which is less than 1/4 the cost--for obvious reasons.

Blue Mountain coffee was beaten out as the most expensive several years ago, by the brew made from beans that had passed through the digestive system of the civet, which would eat them. The beans are gathered from the forest floor and turned into a mountain of cash! (I recall $800/lb.!) That coffee, in turn, was beaten in the "pricey" category by current offerings of coffee which undergoes a similar "conditioning"--but through an elephant--for $70/cup! You'd think it might be cheaper, in that the latter process can probably accommodate a greater number of beans pre "charge", and the results should be easier to find, collected within huge lumps v. onesy-twosies from the civet, but it's not.

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by luger.parabellum

... three different ways of making coffee...

(Sergio, I took the liberty of correcting the typo.) This looks like a handy appliance to be had. I'd not mentioned the espresso pot method of brewing, and this little machine appears to perform that, as well.

If one has more extra space than money, it's less expensive to own a filter cone, a French press, and an Italian espresso pot separately. One should also be able to find a decent percolator at a yard sale, and there's a very simple, effective, and economical little apparatus for getting steam by attaching it to the snout of a tea kettle. The benefits of economy class with the flavor of first class, whichever method you're into at the moment!

On a final note, the biggest enemy of the flavor of coffee is oxygen, which immediately degrades it in a major way. I recommend that whichever method(s) one prefers, it is always best to brew and serve in apparatus that closes things off to the air. The carafes with internal bladders do an excellent job of maintaining peak flavor for extended periods. A filter cone should have, at least, a lid while brewing The other methods limit air by their nature, except percolators--which cycle the liquid through the grounds repeatedly, and "cowboy coffee" prepared in a saucepan and then filtered or left to settle. Then again, I suppose one could put a lid over the pan while the coffee steeps. I was able to correct a server once, who, in an effort to be flamboyant, barista style, dispensed the coffee from the urn in about a 30" stream to the cup, held very low. I explained about air degradation and asked him to keep the cup up by the spout when he dispensed the refill, and it was remarkably different in how much more flavor it presented!

[Ron Wood]

After 20 years of GI mess hall and field brewed coffee, if you can pour it into a cup and don't have to use both hands to push in a spoon it meets the need.

[John Sabato]

I also experienced the GI mess hall and field brewed coffee for 20 years too. I would guess that the best coffee I ever had, was in Vilseck Germany... field brewed coffee. You put a few handfuls of grounds in a "clean" wool sock and tied it in a knot, then heated the water in a metal GI helmet, and after it boils then threw the sock in...

You just don't drink it until it looks dark enough to be coffee... and by that time you are freezing... It just doesn't get any better than that!

[Ron Wood]

Originally Posted by John Sabato

...You put a few handfuls of grounds in a "clean" wool sock and tied it in a knot...

I'm glad you put "clean" in quotes...I thought for a moment you had wimped out on me.

[sheepherder]

Interesting replies. I went online, Amazon mostly, and looked at 'cappuccino' makers. They seem to be multi-purpose machines, capable of making espresso, cappuccino, and latte.

Now the ignorance...What is this I'm getting at the corner gas & go??? I've been under the impression it was cappuccino...But it has minimal froth; in fact, it looks like a chocolate milk shake...but hot. I get the 'French Vanilla' flavor; sometimes, if they are out of that, I get the Hazel Walnut (or something like that).

Am I really getting latte or espresso???

I drink my coffee [Maxwell House] out of a 16oz plastic travel mug, with 3 heaping teaspoons of Coffee Mate [French Vanilla] and 3 level teaspoons of sugar. It's acceptable.

Best coffee I have ever had (not cappuccino) was in Panama. Coffee brought back from Colombia, in our planes, by the pallet load. $10 a case, orange 1 liter brick/box, with a pic of Juan Valdez & his mule on it. Writing in Spanish of course. Twice as strong as the 'regulated' coffee available here in the US.

There is a Tim Hortons down the street from me. The supermarket also sells the TH coffee. I've never tried it. (It's a brand new TH store).

I use tap water. I happen to love tap water, fluorine enhanced. I don't like bottled water. It has no taste. There have been mornings when I am recovering from some malady that cold tap water is just the bees knees.

I'm going to go out right now and get a mug of gas & go 'cappuccino' and ask my favorite crocodile/waitress what it is...

[GySgt1811]

Good Lawd! I love everything about coffee.

But, yeah, field/cowboy coffee is the best on a cold morning and from a "clean" canteen cup; great ritual, great coffee and it warms your innards as well as your hands.

BTW, A tanker's breakfast is a cuppa joe and a Lucky Strike.

Gunny John