Bellman SS Stove Top Espresso/Cappuccino Maker

At first I just wanted to have a stove top milk steamer. When I found out that this product also makes espresso I was sold. The product is built well and does what it is made for. There is a slight learning curve to get the right espresso and steam pressure. The nice thing is that you can tweak the pressure of the espresso and steamer. I would give this product 5 stars, however there are three slight flaws: 1. the length of the espresso spout needs to be 1 inch longer because when the pot is on the center of a gas burner I can barely place a mug under it to catch the drip. To account for this, I use a tall mug that allows the spout to fit within the rim, this is important because the espresso often sputters. 2. the main spindle (that functions to deliver the steam and tighten the lid) goes straight through the middle of the espresso basket, this makes packing the espresso tedious, the company should provide a doughnut like packer with the device. 3. The base is quite narrow, on a gas burner a medium to high flame licks up the side of the base. This is a problem because it reduces the heating efficiency and because the handle and knobs are made of plastic there is the potential to melt the parts and you can also burn your hand. to account for this I center the pot over the flame and keep the flame around medium.

If you like tinkering and make espresso occasionally this is a great product.

I found this item at a thrift store but wouldn't hesitate to purchase a new one at full price should the need arise. Until I found the worn box with the weird-looking coffee apparatus inside, I had never even heard of such a thing!

This unit is simple to use and clean with a little bit of research and common sense. The main thing to remember is that this is a pressurized vessel that must be handled with the same level of care you would give a pressure cooker. Other than that, it is sturdily built and has an automatic pressure release valve should you wait too long to open up the coffee or frother valves. Additionally, it would take a great deal of negligence to allow this thing to boil dry, as a lot of water is left in the reservoir even after brewing and frothing a full load of drinks. And, like another reviewer mentioned, a home-made stem cap works wonders in simplifying the loading/tamping process (I smiled in kinship when reading that comment thanks!) For me, I like to use a narrow spray bottle cap. A cut section of a large gauge straw will work too!

The coffee or espresso (depends on when you turn the coffee flow on/off) is fantastic, but the real clincher for me was the milk steamer/frother. LOVE IT and will use it to steam milk for hot chocolate too. I have a collection of presses, drip cups, percolators and moka pots, and this is by far my favorite. For regular coffee I use a large porcelain drip cup over an insulated thermal carafe. I suppose my goal is to have my coffee anywhere, anytime regardless of power and heat source. This baby is coming camping with me next summer!!! Ha ha my hubby and friends are quite pleased about that :-)

BTW I also wasn't pleased with the base's narrow bottom on my big gas stove burners, so I always use a cast-iron trivet to evenly disperse the heat. Lodge sells one here on Amazon.com that works excellently for very little money. Also, I use a large stainless steel frothing cup to catch the coffee, which I them distribute to waiting cups while the pressure builds up for steaming/frothing the milk. With my setup, the steamer knob gets a little hot so I'm careful with that. No problems with melting though the knobs are tough!!! After I'm done, I remove the unit from the stove, set it on a dishcloth on my heat-safe countertop, and open up the coffee and steamer valves. This clears them out very well and safely depressurizes the unit for cleaning or another go-around. Every few weeks, I run it through an espresso/steamer cycle using just water for a good steam flush.

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We with my wife both love good coffee. We buy only gourmet brands and grind beans shortly before brew. Over years we went through several coffee makers. The coffee was never bad, but I was still craving for having at home machine reasonably priced and able to reproduce the best espresso Italian coffee. Started to google and found this one. I use this machine on daily basis, several months already and will never look back. The coffee is delicious and thanks to fact that machine is fully manual, I can make adjustments to what the final product will be. Frothing milk/cream works extremely well too. By adjusting waiting time for proper pressure/temperature amount to built up, the best results can be achieved easily. One warning only this machine is for mature persons only. All warnings about not opening under pressure should be taken very seriously. Unscrew the main cover only when both valves are open and they show no presence of pressure inside.

P.S.1 This machine is not getting clogged under proper operation. However, when not properly managed, coffee grounds can sneak through and clog dispensing valve. The blow back using bike pump will clear valve on first blow.

P.S.2 The little improvement I am using: before filling up the coffee basket with ground coffee, I put a little (home made) cap on center tube. This makes filling the basket a real snap. Users having this machine already, will know very well what tube I am talking about.

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I had one of these for many years and in my last move it disappeared. I was looking for it for a long time on line and finally came across it here and ordered. I am as happy with this as I was with my old one. Makes the best Cappuccino, closest to a Cafe` kind as you're gonna get.

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Like some others have said, this one takes a bit of practice.

1--Do not start the heating with the espresso spigot open as the instructions say. The espresso comes out too soon and you get tepid (not even warm) and weak espresso that way. I am still perfecting it, but it seems to work to keep the value closed until you hear the water inside the machine starting to burble.

2--I have been surprised that the water left in the machine after making espresso/cappuccino is tainted with the coffee grounds (looks like weak coffee). I had expected the machine to not let the coffee grounds interact with the water in the machine (aside from the water that brews the espresso, of course). Doesn't seem to cause a problem as long as you clean the machine soon after use.

3--The grind of the coffee really affects the results--a finer grind (though not powdery) makes much better espresso. And I agree with the comments that the machine should come with a custom tamper to pack the coffee with. Ideally it would look just like the reducer plate (the piece you use if you want smaller quantities of espresso) but without the brew holes.

After a few tries and a little experimentation, it seems to work well overall. Stove-top is the only way to go for off-grid living!

Starbrand Products Gevalia 12-Cup Coffeemaker

I got this free from a Gevalia offer bought 2 pounds of coffee, didn't even have to pay s/h. I liked the looks of it we got the black with stainless steel.

That said, I would never have paid any amount of money for this. The first one broke within a week. It worked for a few days. Then, the coffee came out cold. Then, it stopped working completely.

Gevalia sent a free replacement (the guy on the phone admitted, off the record, that these things break often). They didn't need the old one back, so I opened it up to see if it could be repaired (a hobby of mine).

No surprise that ALL the parts came from Asia. I also discovered that BOTH the pump and the heating element broke, separately. So even if I fixed/replaced the pump, the coffee would still come out cold. This is quite amazing to me, since my previous coffee maker still works after nearly 20 years, and after having been dropped many times. Oddly, the wiring was sturdy & just fine (side note: a high percent of appliance problems/failures are simply frayed wires, which can be easily mended with electrical tape, even by a novice, in under 5 minutes).

The replacement unit came & works (almost 2 years old now). But I still have major problems with it:

Pros:

* Stainless/black steel looks sleek

* Digital clock

* Auto-shutoff

* Reservoir float indicator is nice

Cons:

* "Pause & pour" does NOT work well. Only works 50% of the time, again, due to bad design. The rest of the time it makes a huge mess. This was the case on both my units.

* The stainless finish gets dirty easily

* There is no backup battery, so the clock resets every time you unplug the unit.

* The pump will definitely not last long it's overworked due to poor design/layout.

* Because it's a top-load pump & filter, the steam comes up through the top. You cannot change the filter for 20 minutes, without risk of scalding yourself. It would be very difficult to make 2 consecutive pots of coffee (i.e., if you have guests). Plus, the excessive steam warped the cabinets above the unit.

* The worst problem the reservoir is only about 1" in diameter. It's impossible to load it without spilling.

-> Bottom line: Looks nice, but I've never heard of such a difficult, problematic coffee maker. This almost seems like a practical joke by some engineers, or perhaps designed by someone who has never used a coffee maker before. Avoid this one.

This is your basic coffee maker.

Things you should know:

The "stainless" finish is actually grey paint. That's fine; it doesn't look bad. I would actually describe the color as "aluminum".

It uses cone filters. This is a plus, and what separates this maker from, say, a Mr. Coffee. The rest of it is basically the same thing. Ancient technology.

If you pull the carafe out while coffee's dripping, it'll stop -a "pause" feature. Don't they all do that nowadays?

I never use the timer/programmability feature. As stated elsewhere, the clock has no battery, so, if you unplug it, you have to reset the time. My stove and microwave both have much bigger/brighter/better clocks, so those are my main ones. The main advantage of the electronic on/off switch is that it will switch itself off after some time, in case you forget. Not having the house burn down is always welcome.

There is a water tank float gauge on the side, so you can tell exactly what the water level is. This is nice, especially if you can reach the maker using your sink sprayer, to fill it. (I can't, but wish I could.)

My main complaint? The carafe dribbles when pouring coffee. You have to do it slowly. It's kind of annoying -but not enough to make me buy another one; I'm just going to wait until this one dies. (I've been waiting a while now. Murphy's Law.)

A friend of mine gave me her Cuisinart grind and brew, real stainless, $200 coffee maker. It turned out to be ridiculously complicated and hard to clean and missing some basic feature this one had, so I went back to this simple Gevalia. Simple + reliable = good.

As stated elsewhere, this is the kind of machine you get when you sign up for Gevalia's coffee club. (I didn't do this. I think I bought it used on a leading auction website.)

Would I buy again? Probably. I'd want one that has all the same features, minimum.

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I got this coffeemaker for $14.95 from the Gevalia website with a stainless steel scoop and pound of coffee included. Not sure why anyone would pay $100+ dollars for it when they offer it on their site for next to nothing. That aside this is a great coffeemaker. It has pause and serve feature, so you don't have to wait for it to finish brewing a full pot to pour a cup of coffee. The stainless steel look is perfect for kitchens with or without stainless appliances. All the functions work perfectly and the coffee they offer is GREAT coffee!

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Over 3 months ago in early January, 2009, I ordered a replacement carafe for the "free" coffee maker they sent me. The wrong one was sent. I called and was assured they would send me a return address label. After a month, I called again and was told the same thing. The third time I asked for a supervisor and was told it would be handled. The forth time, I threatened to put up a youtube video and promised results. This was Andy employee number 643113 on April 2. Still nothing in the mail. On April 20 I called again and was told that my credit card had been refunded, but to get the proper carafe I had to re-order and be charged. I said, "You have got to be kidding. After 3 months of hell?" I still have not heard from them, nor do I expect to. I am stuck with the wrong carafe cluttering my house. I sent this review to Gevalia and they simply repeated their new song: your account was refunded to get the correct carafe, re-order. Fat chance!

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I'd been looking for this coffemaker for about a year; makes great coffee in about 5-6 minutes! Went to the Gevalia website first and they wanted $40(+/s&h) and coffee membership. Amazon had it for only $25, still in the box! Very please with the service-right on time!

BUNN® 10-Cup Pour-O-Matic® Coffee Brewer

I am very pleased with this Bunn Coffee Maker. This nice thing about it is....Hmmmm...Everything. Instead of the water just dripping straight down, the Bunn has a sprayer which sprays all of the coffee equally. There is a long spring that comes with the unit which is used to keep it from becoming clogged from water impurities. Simply unscrew the sprayer head which screws off without any problem, push the spring in the opening of the dripper and it is all cleared out. then of course, run some water through it to get the loose deposits out. The pot for this is nice because as we all know that most of the pots that have been on the market for twenty-thirty years, spill all over when trying to pour into a cup....Not so with the Bunn, it pours very nicely. Also, the one thing that nobody mentioned in their review of this product is THE REPLACEMENT POT. I have already broke a pot on the sink when I was half awake. I had to guess at which backup pot to buy for this unit. The BUNN NCD 10-Cup Black Coffee Decanter is the proper one which is just like the one which comes with the unit. If you are a coffee addict like me, you will appreciate this coffee make. I can't say enough about it. The heck with the 5 stars, I give it 10 stars. By the way, order a backup decanter when you order your coffee maker as I did. That way you will be prepared. I have already purchased 2 more additional decanters.....I hope this helped you.

When I left college, I managed restaurants that had outstanding coffee made with Bunn Brewers. Well, after buying this unit I will never use anything else! It's so much better than any other expensive brands I have owned. I'm sure it's attributed to the heat of the water coming from the pre-warmed tank and the spray head.

The only problem I had was the water came through the original head too quickly, (causing it to overflow), so I had to order the reduced flow head. I was shipped free and quickly from Bunn. Great customer service! Works great now.

Get this and a pump top thermal pot to keep your coffee warm and enjoy!

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These are the best coffee makes out! I think every home should have one! I wouldn't know what to do if they would ever stop making them! You have coffee in 3 mins. & it makes great tasting coffee! You can't go wrong with one of these! I do think the price is high cause when they first came out I only paid $32.00 for mine.

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I bought this Bunn to replace an older one I had for years. I love this model, but the water heater is very noisy. I've just learned to accept it...at least it doesn't last very long (the noise, that is)!

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Worsk very good. I was originally concerned about it being "on" all the time, but that issue was quickly resolved pour water in, replace the Decanter, close the lid and BAM, you have coffee/tea/hot water in 3 minutes just as it claims. Great product .. this one was bought as a gift for my parents, but I'm over there and use it almost daily too. Probably will be buying one for myself ... or maybe someone will gift one for me (hint! hint!)

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Capresso 10-Cup Coffee/Cappuccino Makers

After spending a few weeks researching various coffee makers and reading numerous reviews and online user reports, I settled on the Capresso CoffeeTEC due to its features and the theory behind how it brews coffee reduced aeration to hold flavor (vacuum sealed carafe), no burner to bake the bean and increase acidity, and 190+ degree water dispensed into the brewing basket, which is very hot for a coffee maker!

I have to admit, I was nervous. I saw two general complaints that were common from online user reports. 1) The carafe did not maintain the water temperature, and 2) the frother ceased to work. A few comments on these:

Thermal carafe: I have no clue how anyone can be having a problem with this carafe, unless there's a problem with the heat of the water entering the carafe or in how they're storing the coffee after it brews (like, in the refrigerator, perhaps).

I did some tests on the carafe after getting my CoffeeTEC. The carafe was at room temperature (not pre-heated, as some suggest) when doing this test. Immediately after brewing straight water with the carafe in the closed position, I measured the water temperature at 189.3f using a digital thermometer. I closed the carafe and let it sit for exactly one hour then measured the water at 182.1f, a drop of only about 7f, which is fantastic! Now, I also brewed a full pot of straight water on my now-replaced Mr. Coffee, which sat on a hot burner during the brew process. After brewing, the water temperature was exactly 178f. So, after one hour in the thermal carafe with no burner contact, the Capresso water was hotter than the Mr. Coffee immediately after brewing. Very impressive results!

Frothing problem: I have noticed that the plastic pieces that connect the milk container to the frother do have to be sealed properly for frothing to work. Also, it is necessary to clean the items after frothing; a very simple and quick process. Occasionally my unit will not froth immediately even though the steam would blast in an attempt to froth. This has been very easy to solve. After turning the steam on, I simply press the milk container tightly against the plastic piece that connects it to the frothing nipple. Don't worry if you don't understand this description. You have to own the unit to know the pieces I'm discussing. Just understand that with some minor manual jostling, the milk will flow and froth wonderfully!

Now, as for my assessment of this coffee maker... it is the best coffee maker I have ever owned! I'm knocked-out by the quality of brew I'm getting. Just as good if not better than commercial coffee houses, because I can make it to my specifications!

A few comments on this though... it took a few weeks for me to figure out exactly how to use this coffee maker so it brews to my liking. When I brewed my first cup, I didn't care for it. Keep in mind, this unit brews water quickly through the grind. It extracts flavor and aroma through heat, not prolonged water contact with the bean. As a result, you will have to use more coffee than most coffee makers.

As an example, I used to measure one rounded tablespoon of beans (pre-ground) for every two 5oz cups, then I'd add one extra tablespoon for added body. So, for 20oz of coffee, I'd use three tablespoons of beans. With this coffee maker, I've learned I need to use one tablespoon for each 5oz cup plus one extra for added body. So, for the same 20oz pot of coffee, I use five tablespoons of beans.

Also, the other detail I discovered is, it was necessary to grind the beans finer than I had before. I've started grinding the beans on the Espresso setting of my grinder rather than the automatic drip setting. This made a huge difference on the strength and flavor of the coffee.

So, keep in mind you'll want to play with the quantity and fineness of grind. If you use canned grinds, you have much less leeway. You'll just have to add much more grind, but be careful! Don't add too much or it will overflow the basket. Always adhere to the maximum grind amount Capresso recommends in the documentation.

The coffee maker comes with a gold filter. You may or may not like using the filter; I elected not to use it. The gold filter allows more oil and particulates into the coffee. Some like this; others don't. It makes for an oilier, cloudier brew. Using paper filters, more of the fine particles are filtered out and much of the oil is kept from leaching into the carafe. The coffee is cleaner, clearer and not murky. I prefer using paper, but the preference is highly individualistic. I'd suggest running some tests and decide for yourself.

In the end, I find the coffee to be superb! This coffee maker is a fine-tuned piece of equipment that responds to the subtlest of changes you impart on the brewing process. Change the fineness of the grind or the quantity of beans used and you'll experience a noticeable difference in the outcome of the brew. After I determined the right balance that suits my pallet, all I can say is, "Wow!" The flavor and body is nutty, winy and full, the aftertaste smooth and non-acidic, and the aroma outstanding! I highly recommend this coffee maker.

But, plan to make a number of pots when you first get it with the understanding that many of those pots will probably go down the drain. It'll take some test runs to determine the quantity of coffee you'll want to use, the fineness of grind, and which filter to use. With due diligence, you'll have a splendid coffee maker from which you'll enjoy each day's coffee for years to come, custom made specifically towards your taste.

So, read the other reviews for what they are and keep in mind some of my comments. In my experience, many of the complaints reflect a user who hasn't experimented with the grind quantity and fineness, and hasn't been adventurous enough to work the "piping" when frothing.

I've been impressed with the well-thought out products coming from this relatively small company in the small appliance industry. Their Swiss designers have the leading edge technology in coffee makers and the CoffeeTEC is the latest innovation. Coffee is brewed 10 cups in under 8 minutes, and that's fast. The idea is to have the fresh coffee exposed to hot water for the minimum amount of time, so flavor is extracted without extracting the bitter parts of coffee flavor. CoffeeTEC does this really well. A special 3-5 cup brewing selector makes it possible to brew a perfect small pot of coffee. The coffee goes directly into a stainless steel vacuum carafe, and after removing and sealing the pot the coffee stays hot for hours but never gets heated over and over again as in a traditional hot plate coffee maker. The Auto Cappuccino feature is a genuine plus for those of us who want some frothy milk with our coffee, it turns cold milk into hot milk and froth in seconds. Since all the works are outside of the coffee maker, it's easy to clean and to remove the milk container for refrigerator storage. This is a winner in the category of latest coffee technology.

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This is the second review I have written for this product (Please see the review directly below this one by "bookdeep"). I am pleased to report that we now LOVE this machine, ever since we discovered the "trick," and I am writing again to try and rectify the embarrasingly harsh review that I sent before. As I said in the first review, the coffee machine works fine: it makes a great cup of coffee quickly and efficiently, and it is easy to clean. Initially, we had some difficulty with the frothing mechanism; however, the solution turned out to be very simple. In order to start the steaming/frothing mechanism, there is a large dial that must be turned one-quarter turn from "Twelve O'Clock" (Steam Off) to "Three O'Clock" (Steam On). We discovered that when you turn the dial to the Steam On position you have to bear down on the dial a tiny, tiny bit: maybe the dial would actually go to 3:01 on the clock face, maybe even less. When we do that, the frothing starts immediately, every time. It seems that our trouble was that we were a little too delicate turning the dial. Note that this "overturning" is very slight: we wouldn't want anyone to damage the machine. I wish that I could take back the previous review because that low rating will have an affect on the average for this product, but I cannot. I hope that writing to correct our error will help others who may consider this machine. Please note, that in spite of the brand name "Capresso" this is not an Espresso machine; it is a coffee maker with a frothing mechanism, which works amazingly well now that we know the trick. If this is the combination that you are looking for, then we cannot recommend this machine highly enough--it does do both of these jobs very well. And now that you know the trick, maybe there will be fewer frustrated, and more happy, coffee drinkers like us.

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This is a fine, easy to use, machine that I'm really enjoying having in my kitchen. I had never used a milk-steamer before, and found the idea a little intimidating. But the process is really quite painless, and now I'm wondering why I did without it so long (even my java-phobic bride is enjoying homemade hot chocolate thanks to the steamer).

Anyone who enjoys having a pot of coffee on-call throughout a morning should avoid glass pots like a cliché and instead use a thermal carafe like this one. Not only does it keep coffee steaming hot without constant re-heating, but the wide top and easy-off lid make for easy clean up when you're done.

The coffeemaker is elegantly designed, seems relatively sturdy, and looks nice on a countertop. Plus, it's fast, fairly quiet, and -as I said -easy to clean.

For someone like me who just wants to enjoy coffee without trying to become a home barista ('professional maker of complex espresso drinks'), this is as much machine as I think I'll need ... at least until the one with the built-in burr grinder arrives.

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It makes the best coffee I've ever had. The carafe works perfectly and keeps the coffee hot, and at nearly peak flavor, for hours. Those few reviewers who say that it doesn't keep the coffee hot simply have a carafe with a broken vaccuum seal.

I'm bothering to write a review because I had a problem with the machine, as some others have: the steamer stopped working properly, and the water tank was leaking. But at that point my experience was totally different from that of other posters who have complained about problems with the equipment and Capresso customer service. Get this: we had no warranty information on the machine, having received it 2nd-hand. Still, when my wife called their customer service, with no questions asked we were sent a pre-paid UPS label to return the unit. I put it in a UPS box on a Monday morning. On Wednesday afternoon---two days later---I received a new machine via UPS. (I know that they first received the machine I sent before sending the replacement because they replaced exactly what I sent, no more, no less; i.e., I sent the machine with just the water tank, none of the other parts, and I got back just a machine with a water tank.) I'm as pleasantly astonished by UPS getting it back and forth so quickly as am by Capresso simply and immediately fixing the problem at no charge.

Maybe Capresso "got the message" about customer service and made some changes. I could be bothered that the machine developed problems in the first place, but hey, things break. The bottom line for me is that it makes PERFECT coffee and, when there was a problem, Capresso took care of it astonishingly well.

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