Bad Coffee Blech Gotta vent

C

CathydsRNA

Cathlete
Hi,
I just bought one of those Home Cafe single cup coffee 'brewers" from Black and Decker. It has single packets of Folgers coffee. Blech...the temperature was tepid and it tasted no different than the coffee you make using those coffee bags that that you just let seep in hot water (lousy). At least with the bags I can get the water as hot as I want it. Any way, this machine reminds me of the gizmo on one of those fake commercials from an old Saturday Night live that Father Guido Sarducci was selling. It was called Mr. Tea. It was just a funnel that you placed in a cup that had a tea bag in it. You had to boil water in a pan and then pour it into the cup through the funnel, Mr. Tea. This machine is just as hokey. It just heats the water to tepid only, and dumps it into your cup and in the process passes thru a coffeee bag . I bought it because I thought it would be like the single cup brewers we have at work which make really good coffee. Of course those machines are more expensive. Anyway, I am a coffee addioct and am majorly annoyed with myself and this lousy machine. If you are thinking of buying one......don't.x(
 
I love my coffee and thought about one of those... thanks for the heads up. I think I'll stick to my regular coffee maker. Can you take it back?
 
The only coffee maker worth buying and which has proven its weight in gold for me is an Italian expresso maker that fits neatly on the stove top. I have a 2 cup version and it maakes fabulous coffee in only 2-3 minutes. Easy to use, easy to clean and I take it with me on all our camping trips and in my suitcase when I go back home to London.

I will never go back to either a drip coffee maker nor a French press style. These make inferior coffee, they take longer and are hell to clean.

The Italian expresso maker is not expensive. Why not try one?

Clare
 
What does an Italian espresso maker look like? Can you steam milk with it? I once had a Turkish espresso maker (stove top) and it did not turn out a consumable product.;-)

How does it work? Where can I buy or look at one? Edited to add, is there a technique to work it right? Does it come with directions? I think I did have one, although I called it Turkish. And I must not have done it right.

-Connie
 
Yuck!!! there is "nothing" worse for a coffee addick than a "bad" coffee

I have a Breville 2 cup Expresso with the milk attachment ( although being able to froth the milk is a technique in it self, and Im still learning to do that), but the expresso machine I have is worth its weight in gold to me.

Absolutely detest coffee bags, drip machine coffee, and will drink instant only if there is no alternative.

I think the Breville is Italian also - and we know how good their "shoes" are, so their coffee products are supreme.

It also helps to use good quolity coffee beans though

Marion


:)
 
Hi Connie, you probably didn't do anything wrong. I worked with a fellow from Turkey and their coffee and espresso are very different. Its very very thick and takes getting used to but once you get used to the consistency its very good. If you can't get used to it you should try the Italian espresso make that Clare recommended.
Clare and Marion- thanks for the tips on the Italian coffee machine. I will investigate.
 
I feel your pain - nothing can ruin my day like a bad cup of coffee! Being an addict myself I have a Capresso C1000 (I think the company is called Jura now?) - I love that machine. I will take a look at the others mentioned here, because I am an addict! Oh my favorite place for beans Peets or Mayorga.
 
Cathy~thanks for the heads-up. I have seen this at our BJ's and Sam's Clubs and been tempted. I cannot stand warm coffee. It has to be hot! Your description reminds me of how coffee tastes from those lil' 4-cup makers in hotel rooms where you use styrofoam cups. YUCK! I would definitely take it back and explain your disappointment. Clare, I am assuming your machine is NOT electric?? Could you give us more details? TIA!
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
Connie, Debbie:

Hi ladies and thanks for your enquiries, which I will do my best to answer. The Italian expresso maker looks like this:

http://www.shopping.com/xPF-VillaWare_270_03

and you can buy it at:

http://www.espressozone.com/bialetti-7857.html.

I did a google search under "Italian espresso maker" and loads of sites came up. You can probably get a better price than this. I bought my small one for $13.95 at a local kitchenware shop, you know those shops that sell all sorts of stuff for the kitchen, plates, casseroles, napkins, and coffee makers!

It is sooooooo easy to use. It has three parts, one you cannot see from any picture because it is inside, in the middle section. it unscrews at the join in the middle that you can see. You fill the botton section with water, and you can vary the amount to vary the strength of your finished cup of coffee. You place the inner section, like a little cup into the bottom section: it rests nicely on top, it does not fall in to the water. You then fill this midddle section with coffee that you have (had) ground as if for a filter machine. You then screw the top on, then sit the whole cafetiere on top of a low flame on the stove top. If you use too high a flame, you simply melt the handle off. I have had this happen to me!

The water heats in the bottom section, it boils and presses up through the coffee in the middle section into the top section, which collects the coffee as it is forced up through a spout in the middle of the top cup section. You can hear when it is ready because it makes a final rushing, percalator coffee noise and then you should turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove.

Never let the actual coffee made in a cafetiere boil. As my French friends used to say :"cafe buille, cafe foutu", "boiled coffee is f**ked coffee" is the literal translation. And they are quite right.

Connie, it is so easy to use I can do it in my sleep-fogged, comatose, early morning state and you can learn it in seconds!

So, no, Debbie, the machine is not electric. But it is so portable that you can take it with you on vacation and camping, as I do. My family are quite used to meeting me at Heathrow airport, coffee pot in tow! And I have been in Glacier National Park and backpacking throughout the US national parks with it safely esconced in my 45 pound backpack.

Connie: no, it does not make frothy milk for you. What I do is put some milk in a saucepan and put it on to boil at the same time as i ignite the flame beneath the cafetiere. The two take the same time to heat. I let the milk boil right up the sides of the pan and pour it over the coffee so it has a little bit of froth.

This cafetiere makes an espresso to equal that of any commercial coffee chain and way better than the weak shite that Starbucks sells by the gallon.

Give it a go!

Clare:7
 
My husband and I are stationed in Italy right now and I have that exact same expresso maker! That is a good price too! From what people have told me here that brand you recommended is very good...buono! Another thing I do to get frothy milk is I warm up the milk in the microwave then I take a mini whisk and whip up the milk until it gets frothy. It works pretty well! In love my little expresso maker...it really is simple and the small size makes the perfect amount! mmmmmmm! :9 I love my cappucino!
Cathy
 
Hey I have 3 of these babies! Actually grew up with them in my mom's house. They make great coffee when I just want one cup at night.
 
Can you use these on a smooth top range? I have no open flames & its not electrical coils. I forget what its called but I think its a porcelain stove top.

Marla
 
Cathy,

So sorry about your bad coffee experience. As a coffee snob, bad coffee makes me really mad. I would bring the machine back to the store ASAP and get my money back.

Mr. Tea was one of the most hysterical bits on Saturday Night Live, in my opinion. :7 I thought I was the only one who remembered it. You obviously have a stellar sense of humor. :+
 
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