I work as a rep for a coffee company over here, and though I have access to some pretty nice machines, I still miss the simplicity and taste of our old aldi pod machine we had at our old business. Just really nice double shot espressos, with a lovely crema. Easy peasy. And we had a Saeco semi-auto at home, which was substantially more expensive, but not that much better considering the price difference.
Outside of that, coffee snobs website seemed to recommend the one below as a great, simple espresso brewer. Almost bought one, but got sucked into the relative straightforwardness of the semi auto for doing 5.30am brews
That ^ was my first espresso machine - albeit mine was the Via Venezia Combi model with the grinder attached.
Theyāre brilliant - so easy to use and they have a stainless steel boiler and pretty robust components. The only weakness is the seals for the steam wand, which need replacement every 12-24 months. Mine gave around 6-7 years of daily use until I replaced it with a fancy E61 set up. Iāve now passed it on to my daughter and son in law where it continues to give sterling service. They are much closer to the home prosumer machines than the usual Harvey Norman specials such as Sunbeam, Breville ets. And the pressurised portafilter makes it a breeze to produce excellent coffee consistently with no drama what so ever.
I donāt think theyāre made anymore, but if you can find one, I highly recommend these.
@barnz is probably the best person to answer as he has been a barista.
He is a fan of AeroPress but not of French Press.
It appears from the tutorials Iāve watched, that the time the grounds loiter around in the water (steeping) is a fair bit shorter for AeroPress before getting plunged thru the filter.
french press and aero press, i canāt stand either, im caffeine sensitive so i get the jitters and a bit anxious when i have coffee thats has had the beans and water sit a while. pour overs are my tolerance, but espressos my jam because its 30s at most.
This is a good point usually overlooked. French press, aero press and similar methods produce WAY higher doses of caffeine. Which may or may not be the required outcome. But something to keep in mind.
Wife complained that whenever she used the aeropress it tasted way worse. Observed her use, and she was leaving the coffee in the water while stuffing around elsewhere. I reckon you really shouldnāt be leaving the coffee in the water for long.
The aeropress instructions say 10 seconds, whereas other places on the we are āleave steep for a minuteā. Iām firmly in the 10 seconds camp.
Not really similar methods though in my opinion. The key with the aeropress is that itās the pressure, not the time in the water, thatās doing the job.
Not machine related, but considering that Italians bred Melbourneās, and by extension, Australiaās, coffee culture, i thought the standard coffee supplied in Italy was pretty crap.
And to my mind, anyone selling an Americano should be horse-whipped on the steps of their trattoria. Itās just the standard seppo brewed coffee.
And nowhere near hot enough. I donāt buy coffees āextra hot pleaseā, but these were just on the hot side of tepid.
A month ago I bought a hand grinder from ALDI for $15 as a trial to see if I could be bothered. Turns out I can, and IMO the coffee tastes better than with previous electric grinder.
The cones are only ceramic, so interesting to see how long it lasts - but I am now converted to hand grinding just before making the coffee.
Likewise, ā¦ except I took the handle off my Old handgrinder (Cast cone & burr ) & apply the DeWalt cordless to it & knock out a days worth first thing in the Morning.
I should also make clear, that I havenāt bothered screwing around with methods with the aeropress, no inverted method or anything like that, just a pretty fine grind, and water thatās been boiled and let stand for as long as I can be bothered waiting to bring the temperature down to something in (Iām guessing) the 80s.
I find it pretty fool proof for making an approximation of an espresso thatās pretty smooth, and easily drinkable (and for milk coffee, the aldi frother for like $20 works) .
Itās not as good as the big manual machine in the kitchen at work, but itās plenty close enough for say the 2nd or 3rd or 4th coffee of the day on weekends.
I think I must be a caffeine non responder. The stronger the better taste wise, and I donāt have any adverse physiological response to caffeine, at least so far as I have titrated it.
