Hamilton Beach Espresso Maker

This machine, with the proper grind of espresso (in other words not Folger's drip or something!) produces as good a cup as I have ever used. And I've had some fairly impressive Italian units. I especially like that the clearance from the portafilter to the base is longer and allows the use of a slightly taller cup for those times when I let it run longer for more of a cafe Americano. The pump inside is Italian, so that may be the reason for the better than average performance in this price range. Again, this is NOT a drip maker, and is NOT designed to make an 8 ounce cup of black coffee...it makes espresso!

I received this as a Christmas gift from my wife and kids. I will be the first to admit that I love a good cup of coffee and a good cappuccino, but as for the technical aspects of the art of being a barista, I am a complete novice. I knew nothing about expresso's or crema. I spent the next few days on Youtube looking at espressos being made and reading up on the subject. Afterwards, I figured I was ready to give it a try. My first attempt was embarrassing. It made a great cup of coffee but I couldn't pull an espresso for anything. I finally realized that I couldn't use my regular ground Maxwell House. I had some whole beans that were given to me so I ground them up into a very, very fine powder, like powdered sugar. Voila! I pulled 2 espressos with beautiful crema. I then steamed some milk and had one of the best cappuccinos I have ever had. This baby steams like all get out. There is a trick to pullling espressos though. The light will come on indicating that the water is hot enough, but it isn't. What I do is turn on the indicator for the steam wand. When the water is hot enough for that, I steam the milk first. Then I switch the mode to cup and wait about 30 seconds. Once I hit brew, a beautiful shot of espresso comes out with a nice head of crema. This machine is pretty good if you follow the instructions. The coffee needs to be ground to a very fine powder in order to work. One might want to get a better tamper and it would have been nice if they included a milk steaming container. For the beginner, this is a good machine to learn on. The key is that the water MUST be hot enough to build up enough pressure, don't rely on the light.

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I did not buy this from Amazon. It was cheaper at Wal Mart. It made a good brew after experimenting with the grind (The instructions say "grainy, like salt or sand"). It was too watery. A fine powder worked better.

I made a couple cappuccinos, cleaned the machine like recommended and retired for the evening. I had watched all the tutorial videos on Hamilton's website and noticed that they did a lot of "plugging in the machine" in each one. For some reason, I unplugged the machine and went to bed. Lucky for me because water leaked inside the machine overnight and ruined a cutting board and flooded my countertop. Had I left the machine plugged in, there certainly would have been an electrical short and a fire that may not have wakened me up!

I returned it the next day. I gave it three stars for the brew and the steam wand was very good. But the inherent danger was not worth any price.

Perhaps you will have better luck with this machine. If so, give it a good rating.

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Like the the person mentioned above my unit came from Walmart at a great price! It was gift from my girl friend. Excellent machine for the price. It replaced a Krups XP4025 which only lasted 2 years and cost $150 from Amazon of all places. That machine was o.k. but this machine produces a better shot with better crema. I've not experience the aforementioned leak but I will keep an eye out for that.

It should be noted that I generally only make cold drinks and use E.S.E Pods for the ease of use so I can't attest how well it steams milk or how well it froths milk.

*****UPDATE 27 August 2010*****

Still a decent machine but it's really picky about ESE Pods and the brew gasket is fragile and has had to be replaced. Hamilton Beach customer service is surprisingly prompt.

Looses one star for durability.

*****UPDATE 5 Sept 2010*****

Don't waste your money. The head group gasket blew after six weeks of use and its non-repairable. Thankfully it was gift or I would've really lost it.

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First, I work as a barista with a really good machine (rancilio). This is far from it. But it does the job as describe. You have to wait a bit for the steam and you have to wait for the machine to warm up between the shots a lot especially if you are doing a long espresso. But I've seen worse. I've had the machine for a couple of years but I don't use it much.

What I really don't like is the strong plastic smell from the reservoir! I don't trust it and it obliges me to change the water all the time and flush the machine before I use it. Lts say, i never let water over night in it.... I'll be looking for a better machine soon. But as I said, for the price, it works if you don't have high expectations.

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Half-Dozen (6-sets) Vietnamese Drip Coffee Maker, Coffee Filter Infuser Set, Slow-Drip, Single-Cup

i go this pack because it was so close in price to the single items. I have one at work and some at home, along with Trung Nguyen coffee, I LOVE THIS STUFF!

this is a cheap quality product made with press moulded from sheet metal. Holes are little too big for fine grind. I have one that

is a little more expensive ($5.00) and is a much better product. I'll just give this away for free.

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These are excellent for making genuine Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk. A dish would be good. They arrived on time.

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These are acceptable, not sure if they would work better with true vietnamese coffee, but with Cafe du Monde I end up with coffee grounds in my cup everytime.

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Keurig K75 Platinum Brewing System with Bonus 12 K-cups and Water Filter Kit -B70

Note: I purchased this ASIN: B000GTR2F6. I received this unit in its place though.

Unboxing:

Item was purchased from Amazon directly; Arrived triple boxed and in perfect condition. I was presently surprised to find a little note from Keurig stating I was amung the first to receive the new K-75 this seems to be a silent upgrade as the UPC, and printed box specs are for the current model B-70.

The unit was packaged securly with an instructional/promotional packet above the top piece of styrofoam that was 1/2 of a steady shell that surround the fully assembled unit. Packet contained a "Buy two get two free offer" for K-Cup packs if purchased from Keurig directly, the owners manual, and the surprise note mentioned above along with specials directions on how to install the included water filter.

Setup:

Setup was easy, and took less than ten minutes complete. (This includes the brewing of the first cup) I found the most difficult part of the process was installing the water filter into the unit, as it must be lowered into the units tank, and seated on an inlet hole towards the rear of the tank. I would say most people would not have an issue with this however, and fully blame my ape hands for the difficulty I encountered.

Use:

The unit was ready for its first brew about 4 minutes after turning it on. Prep is simple and consists of raising the front lever, dropping a K-cup into the hole, closing the lid, and hitting brew. Not much more to say about the possess, it just works. The one thing that did stand out is how quite this unit is from start to finish. It is not much louder that the Bunn pour over machine it replaced!

Misc:

This unit looks great with the blue LED lit tank, and matching buttons. The larger 75oz tank slightly reduces the drip try area as it extends past the base as a result of the larger size. This in no way hinders use of the unit.

The directions for the water filter say each filter pod should be changed every 60 tank fills or every two months; which seems more than reasonable as a three pod replacement pack is about $12.

Brews coffee as well as any of Keurig units I have tried, and water temp is accurate to within 1 degree of its set point measured at the very top of the stream coming out of the unit.

All in all I am very happy with this product, and as a result I just purchased another for my office.

Got this to replace an ailing Keurig B60 that got very slow and constantly displayed "descale." Several descales later, the problem remained. The brewer was less than four years old. Keurig advised that it was out of warranty, and offered $50.00 off a full price unit from their site. Took a pass.

This K75 was purchased at Costco; it came with 60 K-cups and a water filter. The water filter has a dial to set for the recommended 2 month replacement. We do use bottled water from our cooler, but did install the filter. It also came with the "my K-cup" insert that allows you to use regular coffee if you choose, which is a nice option for home use as it renders the coffee more economical. At 75 ounces, The water tank is larger than our old brewer. The K75 is very fast and the coffee is hotter than the old unit provided. There are 5 cup sizes available, from espresso to travel mug, which is a real plus. I will add that although Keurig refers to the size as "large" travel mug, it fills my travel mug 2/3 of the way. In order to brew the taller mug, you remove the bottom tray, very simple.

These brewers all have a fairly large "footprint", so you need approximately 11" of counter space.

In summary, Keurigs are great for an office environment where people drink different coffees and want to enjoy a hot, fresh cup of coffee. However, do not expect this unit to last more than 3 years. Keurig certainly doesn't.

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I just got the Keurig K75 at Costco with 60 K-Cups and My K-Cup reusable coffee filter for only 149.99. It's a great coffee maker, but if you are a Costco member, you might want to save the $30 and get the extras.

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This is my first experience with single cup serving and thus far it has been excellent. My wife and I rise in the morning at different times and we like different types of coffee. This brewing system makes those two factors non-issues. Here is my take on this product:

Documentation: Superb. This is like a throw-back to the days when excellent documentation was a given. In todays environment you either don't get any documentation or when you do get some it is on a playing card sized piece of cheapo paper and printed in an unreadable sub-miniature font size. Keurig provides booklets on quality paper with an easily read font size. The illustrations are clear and helpful. Information is clearly presented in an amazingly lucid format to provide maximum clarity. This is some of the best, if not the absolute best, doccumentation ever provided.

Set-up: The set-up guide provides 14 illustrated steps that are perfectly presented. The steps include unpacking the brewer, cleaning it, adding water, readig the screen and disposing the initial brewed water. These first 10 steps are labeled "Set-up preparation". The last four steps are labeled "Brew infusion" and cover the actual simplicity of brewing a cup of coffee.

Ownwer's Manual: This is a well illustrated document as well. It covers the various settings that are available such as setting the clock as well as programming brew temperature and brew size. Instructions are provided for brewing iced beverages and for brewing hot water for use in cooking, making cocoa and making soup. There is information for de-scaling and cleaning the brewer. There is a trouble shooting section as well. Everything is well written and easy to understand.

Shopping Guide: This in the same format and size as the previous two documents and provides a registration card and information about some offers and products from Keurig.

Brewer: I cannot in all honesty evaluate the quality of the material used to make this brewer because I am not a materials expert. I can, however, provide information on the performance. Adding water is a very simple task. There is a lid that can be raised and water poured into the canister very easily. I use bottled water which is a cinch to pour. Using bottled water eliminates the need for a filter, IMHO, so I don't iuse one. I am not suggesting that others do the same just that it is my personal preference. Brewing a cup of coffee is the epitome of simplicity. You raise a lever, place in a K-cup, lower the lever and push the BREW button. In less than a minute you have a cup of coffee of your choice in the size and temperature that you have preselected or have changed just prior to pushing the BREW button.

Summary: My wife and I are completely satisfied with this brewing system. It is easy to use, brews quickly, and provides for making the type of coffee that each of us prefers at the time we prefer. I have praised the documentation already but it is worth another kudo. This has proven to be an excellent product.

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My boyfriend got this for me as a gift and I absolutely love it! I hate having to make whole pots of coffee because I only like drinking one cup and it is such a waste. This is the perfect solution! It is super quick and easy to use. I also love the style of it. He got me the mocha color and it looks great! My favorite part of the whole model is the blue LED lights that light up the screen but they also light up the reserve tank. Love how it looks and works!!

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Alessi 9095/3 B La Cupola Espresso Coffee Maker 3 Cups

We bought this coffee pot (correctly called a Moka) in Sicily 9 years ago. Since then we have used it regularly to make what we think is great coffee (although I'm no expert). The 3 cup size is perfect for a large 12oz. cappuccino or for two 8oz cappuccinos (yes I know the maths don't add up!). Once made the mistake of putting part of the pot in the dishwasher which dulled the aluminium. Since then we've followed the instructions and only rinsed the pot in warm water, leaving the coffee residue to coat the insides of the pot. The rubber seal(gasket) needs to be changed every year or so. Try to buy a few when you get buy the pot then your retailer should be able to give you the correct ones, otherwise look on-line for Bialetti replacement gaskets they sell a 3 pack with a new aluminium sieve.

Makes good espresso, but take care with gas stoves as the modern ones have a large ring of fire, much larger than the base of the coffee pot,. Not only is the fire-ring waaay bigger than the pot, but the gap in the center of the iron stove-top ring is much bigger too. Therefore you need to precariously place the pot at the edge of the ring of fire, and take care not to let the whole thing tip into the gap of the iron ring on your stove (that iron thing that sits on top of the ring of fire that holds up your pots.)

Aside for the above challenge, it's a good little thing. Pretty, and makes a good cuppa joe. Easy to clean, and makes a fast cuppa (6 minutes).

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