Showing posts with label cappuccino maker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cappuccino maker. Show all posts

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Alessi Moka Stovetop Espresso Maker - 3 Cups

Alessi Moka Stovetop Espresso Maker - 3 CupsThe new Alessi Moka Stovetop Espresso Maker (3 cups) is just perfect. Not only does it make a great espresso, but it looks quite elegant too. I am really enjoying this little coffee maker it is the perfect size for a nice large espresso/capuccino for one or small shots for 3 people. I use it to make decaf espresso after dinner and whenever I need a small amount of coffee. I am sure the other sizes of this exceptional moka pot work just as well for those who have more people to serve. To sum it up, I find this espresso maker to be of exceptional quality, a pleasure to use and it makes good espresso too!

It was given as a gift and the recipient loves it. A perfect size for a single person, Coffee comes out great.

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The product in general is great and I am very happy about it. the problem i got its that i purchased the medium size and they sent me the small one. i mean. how annoying is that ?

Read Best Reviews of Alessi Moka Stovetop Espresso Maker - 3 Cups Here

This is the third Moka pot I have owned of this size. The other two reliably dripped coffee down the side of the pot unless I used two hands and lifted the lid with one while I poured. This pot solves the problem by having a much wider pour spout that works perfectly as you would expect. Fit and finish is also superior.

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Friday, January 10, 2014

Forever Espresso Miss Moka 3 Cup Espresso Maker.

Forever Espresso Miss Moka 3 Cup Espresso Maker.I bought one of these at a market in Naples Italy, for 10 euros (maybe 15 bucks American). But I could have haggled him down if I'd wanted to. This was one of the best investments I've made. Everyone in Italy brews with these little Moka pots more than with espresso machines. To be fair, these "technically" aren't espresso, but to our tastebuds they are the same. The difference is that these moka pots generally do not produce the rich crema on the top--the mark of a true espresso. At a fraction of the price you can approach the quality of countertop espresso machines, and far outclass anything you'd get out of a typical america-style coffee maker. This is a simple machine to use, it brews up a nice strong cup of espresso-type coffee. Its sturdy aluminum. I use mine about every other day or so, and down the whole 3 cups myself in an iced coffee or a big cappuccino. Just know that a 3 cup, means about 5.5-6 ozs. I got a little stirring wand, a frothing pitcher, and this--total of $40--make my own cappuccinos, lattes and machiattos. It does take some practice, especially to make a cappuccino, but here's how to use this machine right on the first try.

1) Unscrew the top (the carafe) from the bottom portion (the basin).

2) Remove the brew basket from between them (its seated in the basin)

3) Fill the basin with water up to the steam nozzle (a tiny pressure release valve on the interior wall of the basin. Its hard to miss)

4) Replace the brew basket in the basin. It should rest just above the water, with none spilling into the basket.

5) Fill the brew basket to slightly overflowing with espresso ground coffee (finer than normal drip or french grind, coarser than Turkish grind). Any kind of coffee bean will do, only use the dark "espresso" beans if you don't mind a mildly burnt flavor to your coffee.

6) Do not tamp down, or just tamp lightly. This is not a full-on espresso machine and it doesn't generate the kind of pressure those do to justify a hard tamp.

7) Screw the top back on. Snug, so no water leaks out, but not so tight that you risk breaking it to open again.

8) Heat on stovetop at Medium (5-7 out of 10)

9) After 3-7 minutes you'll hear the coffee percolate up and dribble down, inside the carafe. This is normal and lets you know that it will be done brewing soon.

10) Promptly remove from burner when the Moka pot gives off steam and starts making gasping/exhaling noises. It has finished percolating (ie: no water left at the bottom).

11) Serve immediately for best flavor.

* You can also seal the espresso in an airtight jar (I use old, washed out, spaghetti sauce jars) and refrigerate (perhaps with 1 : 2.5 coffee to whole milk ratio, and 2-3tbsp sugar, 1tbsp chocolate powder). Shake to stir, refrigerating promptly afterwards. The chilling has a different, pleasant affect on the coffee, just don't let the coffee get luke warm sitting out on the counter, or overcook sitting in the hot brew-basket (even off the burner). Chilling reduces the acidity of the coffee without hurting the caffeine. Net result, a fine iced coffee that is easier on the stomach but still a great perk.

* If you heat the pot too fast, or if you leave the pot on the burner, after the coffee has finished percolating, then it will burn the coffee. Good espresso should taste strong, a little rich, maybe even sweet, but never burnt. If your coffee does taste burnt, but you've tried it my way, then you may want to invest in better (lighter) beans.

* To clean, I usually just run cool water over it to cool it down (if I can't wait), then rinse all three parts individually with warm water, no soap. Sometimes I'll wipe down any oily residue if any remains. But warm water should do the trick.

I am posting this review to balance the incorrect review of "Loki" below, who rated this product a "1" because of her misunderstanding of the product rather than the product itself. Her reason for rating it a "1" is that it is "too small." Having lived in Italy for 3 years, I can say with certainty that it is the correct size to make 3 cups of Italian coffee/espresso. One can always add hot water to make an "Americano" and fill a larger cup/mug.

Buy Forever Espresso Miss Moka 3 Cup Espresso Maker. Now

I got this as a replacement for a similar pot made by another company, that I wore out. I found the old one difficult to clean thoroughly. This one has a smoother finish, and cleans up well. It works great, is simple to use, and fits the bill for a quick morning cup of espresso

Read Best Reviews of Forever Espresso Miss Moka 3 Cup Espresso Maker. Here

Love, love, love this little pot. I was going to the coffee shop every morning and waiting 15-20 minutes for my latte. Now I have my latte in about 5 minutes. I won't even go into the savings. I now know what I will be giving for my espresso loving friends for Christmas. I'm glad I trusted the reviews on Amazon regardng this product.

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1 Take off heat straightaway. Yup gotta do that.

2 It leaks. You are overfilling the coffee holder.

3 Cleaning. Only ever rinse out with warm water. Scrub with your finger tips only. Let an oxide layer build up (patina).

Best tip brew and throw away three pots of coffee before drinking your first cup.

Monday, December 23, 2013

ESPRESSO MKR 6CUP SS

ESPRESSO MKR 6CUP SSI've had it for a few weeks and it works great so far! No complaints at all. I had a hard time finding a stainless steel pot for a reasonable price, but this has proved to be a great choice.

Wanted a stovetop model because the electric ones kept dying. Tis is stainless steel, which I wanted, and has worked great. Recommend it.

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Sunday, October 13, 2013

Philips Saeco RI9757/47 Odea Cappucino Automatic Espresso Machine, Titanium and Silver

Philips Saeco RI9757/47 Odea Cappucino Automatic Espresso Machine, Titanium and SilverAfter the initial setup (took like 15 min), tried to brew with a not so good coffee (local coffee "la lucha" in Uruapan, México...SUX! they do not have a standard, and sometimes their coffee tastes excellent, but most of the time it's over toasted), and had an average espresso shot. I imagine that if I use better beans (like illy or lavazza), the results will improve. The crema on this shot was nice, but quickly disappeared (dunno why). Tried to froth milk, but the foam is not consistent and loses height... that's why I'm giving it 4star.

I'm sorry for the colombian guy, that had problems with his saeco. I was worried that could happen to mine too! But so far, soooo good.

***

ADDED APRIL 6, 2012.

The cappucinatore makes IMPRESSIVE frothed milk. It is silky and delicious (used whole, cold milk).

If you are looking for a discret machine (as in no sound), look somewhere else. On start up, this little guy is noisy as a firecraker! I do not know if it is normal to this model, but mine makes a "brrrrrrrrrr" noise on the final part for start up.

I changed the brand for the beans, and now I'm using illy decaf. Great taste!

***

ADDED OCTOBER 9, 2012

Hello all!

I don't know why, but the 2 saeco products I've had so far, both have failed the same: main board malfunction. So it's time to move on to another (more trustable) brand.

It is not nice for a customer to pay the s&h for an item that is under guarantee.

My odea plus II with capuccinatore failed after 7 months and less than 250 coffees. When started to fail, water pump was like not receiving enough power to work. Then failed completely.

The external design is beautiful (by BMW), the brewing system is impressive and easy to clean. But the electronics completely not up to the level.

***

update March 20, 2013

One of the distinctive remarks on Philips-Saeco, is their customer support. Still having issues with my saeco espresso machine, but I'm giving up, after a lot of phone calls and some possible solutions, everything comes down to a pressure valve that is not working properly.

I already purchased "the infuser" by breville. I would recommend, if you are a serious and enthusiastic coffee drinker (a geek) or prosumer, to stay away from superautomatics. There are a lot of things that can go wrong... I understand that grinding, dosing and tamping can be messy at the beginning, but that is how the learning curve progresses. After a week or two of trying, the results get from a semiAutomatic are superb! (aim for a $450 or higher machine).

On the other hand, I you want to avoid that process, enter in superautomatics realm, on your own risk.

See you around!

After receiving this supposedly 'Certified Refurbished' Super Automatic espresso machine, we followed the instructions, and the unit still failed to get past priming the pump. Customer service was no help. Asking us to stick a turkey baster inside a 10 minute old machine is ridiculous! But in hopes of getting it to work, we followed their instructions, Force priming the supposedly 'Certified' refurbished machine. It still refused to work on its own after over an hour of FORCED priming. Clearly Seattle Coffee Gear has no business selling these machines. How can you send out $500+ machines and not even test them? HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.

After over an hour of failed priming, we decided to return the unit. Then came our next surprise. $69 to ship it back. Atleast it was FREE SHIPPING to us, right? WRONG. They decided to charge us for shipping after we returned the unit, only giving us a partial refund for this piece of crap that was their mistake to begin with.

THE WORST SHOPPING EXPERIENCE EVER.

STAY AWAY FROM SEATTLE COFFEE GEAR!

Buy Philips Saeco RI9757/47 Odea Cappucino Automatic Espresso Machine, Titanium and Silver Now

I own some high end coffee shops, but I'm not comparing this to the very costly gear we use. The big problem with this is the long, long wait between when you froth and when you pull a shot The temperature can take minutes to adjust, meaning either your espresso or milk is too cold once they unite. Without that problem, it would be a great deal.

Read Best Reviews of Philips Saeco RI9757/47 Odea Cappucino Automatic Espresso Machine, Titanium and Silver Here

The machine sent by you was leaking. I phoned Saeco Customer Service Center on the December 31 and the attendant assured me that I was going to receive an email message by the end of that day. Four days later, no hearing from them. I called them back and they promissed me to send a new one sooner than a week, what did not happen. When the new machine came, it did not work at all. On top of that, they promissed to send me a gift package, which never came. When I called them again in the USA, the man who answered my call, said he was a Saeco Customer Service Center supervisor, who was very unkind, not mentioning his rudeness. I bought a new Breville machine from a local shop here in Orlando, which was $50 more expensive than it was in Amazon, but I preferred buying it this way, so that it would give me less trouble and it would not take as long as it took (over a month) to have my money back in case I needed to get a new one. Therefore, I have no more comments. Furthermore, a part of being a more modern machine, the Breville is much better than the Saeco.

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Terrible: after $200 in taxes and shipping to Bogotá, Colombia (a small country in south america)

I received my new coffee excited and took a horrible surprise when I turned on following the user guide and did not work.

The alarm light never leave flashing and after 10 trials to fix the problem following the troubleshooting in the user guide, I decided return this beautiful but poor quality machine and lost $300 including shipping to Miami to my charge.

I had read somewhere about this same problem, but I ignored it thinking that a manufacturer like Philips would not have the same problem twice

If you like risks, buy it...

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Sunday, July 7, 2013

Ilsa - Neapolitan Coffee Maker 6 Cup Size - Stainless Steel - Made in Italy

Ilsa - Neapolitan Coffee Maker 6 Cup Size - Stainless Steel - Made in ItalyMy Ilsa 6 cup stainless pot has been used daily for about ten years. It's easy to use, no parts to replace and makes great coffee. Try boiling the water separately and pouring it into the filter basket, instead of putting the pot directly on the stove and flipping it. My Italian family has made coffee with this method for as long as I can remember. The hollow stainless handle on this pot also resists heat when warming the pot on the stove for a second cup. Find a coffee you like and enjoy!

This makes great, strong coffee. I would go as far as saying I like this better than brewed expresso. Further, it is an easier clean-up than the stove-top expresson pot. This also looks very nice sitting out. If you would like a unique coffee experience, give this a shot.

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The italian's may not know how to balance their country's budget, (neither can we), but they know how to make coffee. The flip coffee pot system makes the smoothest coffee that can be strong but not bitter. Try this pot and sit back and enjoy a cup of caffe' and life!

Read Best Reviews of Ilsa - Neapolitan Coffee Maker 6 Cup Size - Stainless Steel - Made in Italy Here

I like it, although it's a little tricky getting uased to the flip-over without any spillage. It makes GREAT black coffee.

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Good regular coffee maker. At the beginning it is a little bit tricky to use it, but after 2-3 trials you are o'kay and realice that coffee is much-much better especially if you use hand grinder.