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I was gutted when I got a new gas hob and the rings were too big to balance my espresso maker. Seven months on I'm still using this ring reducer, which does exactly what it says on the tin and could not be easier to use.
Practical effective solution to the problem of small pans on rocky gas rings. First class device.
Fantastic ... Does exactly what it says on the box!
TIP: after cleaning your coffee machine re-use in your kettle! Works a treat!
Having bought a very good quality De'Longhi bean to cup coffee maker, I wanted to make sure it was kept in the best of health and decided there was no better way to do that than use the manufacturer's descaler/cleanser (as they recommended). It is possible to get cheaper descalers and they may work just as well, but I decided not to risk buying the 'wrong' sort - the brewing units and other internal parts can be damaged by unsuitable descalers, which will not only potentially void a guarantee but possibly also result in a machine no longer working ... not something I wanted to risk. On that basis, I wouldn't automatically use it if you have a different brand of coffee machine without checking suitability with the manufacturer first.
The pack contains two treatments so, depending on the hardness of your water and how many cups of coffee you consume, one pack should last between 2 and 4 months (or so). We have soft water, so a pack lasts a little longer than that, even though we have quite a bit of coffee.
De'Longhi also produce descalers in a larger bottle format - these work out a little more cost effective but not by much. I decided to use the sachets as they are measured ready for use.
Once the descaler has been through the coffee machine, someone at De'Longhi customer service helpfully suggested I put the solution into the milk jug and use it to clean through the pipes and nozzles; it works a treat.
Most of the reviews are pretty accurate. Now I have this gadget, I've reluctantly dropped my steel mini-cafetiere but still use my 'smart mug' with plunger at work. But the Aeropress is almost as quick, and better - the coffee is crystal clear (but brown - you know what I mean), no crema, but that doesn't matter too much to me, and tasty.
Here is the extra info:
[...]aerobie.com/images/AeroPress%20Instructions%20for%20Web%20L.pdf
Download the instructions from the manufacturer's website for details of how to brew, if you want to check before you buy. But it's quick, and not as complicated as they make it sound - I think there is an online video.
For people collecting greenie points: A year's filters use fewer trees than just ONE newspaper. Plus - you can quickly rinse and reuse the paper filter over and over if you wish - I use mine about 6 times each, being a grumpy old man.
The Playce I got my Aeropress from (a while ago) INCLUDED 300 filters at a low price - Amazon may be price matching by the time you read this.
Almost self-cleaning, but it's dishwashable if you prefer. VERY heavy-duty, slightly flexible (not brittle) clear plastic. UPDATE - after a year or so, this is SLIGHTLY stained near the base and the dishwasher won't bleach it. Not a prob, though.
Needs quite a bit of slow, sustained downward pressure for 15 seconds or so - weak-wristed ladies may struggle. In the interests of balance, that goes for weak-wristed gentlemen, too. A coarser grind makes things easier, but then your coffee's not as strong and you need even more.
I've just kept on using my usual 'all purpose-grind' coffees (e.g. T.....'s Lazy Sunday, or any supermarket own brands), with no problems re strength - you have to make it strong, then water it down for an 'americano' strength. Finer-ground Italian or filter-grind brands are OK, though, too.
I now never use another gadget or machine to brew coffee. So that's a waste of money on my Bodum steel plunger jugs. Cafetieres leave fine bits (sludge), but this doesn't. It's that good - and I'm usually sceptical of gadget claims. Hope all that helps.
UPDATE - MUCH quicker than the great-looking but hard-to-find Chemex glass jug/wood collar/special filter, which I received as a gift. The Aeropress is 1 minute against 4 minutes with the Chemex for a single mug and its wasteful, single-use, giant filters.
UPDATE - late November 2011 - no problems at all. Has been used twice a day for a year. Very slight scratching of the the tube by the plunger, understandably. Plenty of filters left as I make one last for about a week !
I was looking for a relatively cheap, quick and easy way to make my morning coffee. I had been using a mokka pot for many years, but life with a small baby had me looking for a quicker, simpler method.
Plus points: It really is quick.. I can make a great cup of coffee in the time it takes to make a cup of tea. So easy that my Mum had bought herself one, and she doesn't tend to like gadgets. Put filter in, screw base on, add coffee, water, stir and then plunge.
The coffee is really smooth, and there are never any grains left in the bottom of my cup when I drain it - a pet hate of mine. Its perfect for americano, or a latte (I simply microwave some milk and then "froth" it with a whisk) - which is a good way of getting extra calcium into new mums!
Minus points: If you follow the instructions, it does use alot of coffee. But I've been experimenting, and now use less coffee than stated. I use a nice, strong roast, and leave it about 20 seconds before plunging instead of the ten.
We've toyed with buying one of these coffee machines for a while having had the filter machines then falling back to a simple cafetiere. This comes over as the entry level machine and at around £55 (when on offer) it is well worth the money.
Easy to use, nice and quick and clean. It's also not much bigger than a normal kettle so takes up very little space and can be left out for easy use. I'd advise taking care with the plastic water holder on the back that you have to remove to fill as it's probably the only bit of the machine you might chance breaking. Other than that it's nice and sturdy.
You put cold water in and it heats it as it makes the drink. The coffe is nice and hot, but drinkable almost straight off so no hanging around waiting for it to cool to get your 'fix'.
If you have to make any moans it probably will be about the capsules and cost. Locally we can get 16 in a box for about £3.86 which is what? About 25p a cup, so not too bad for a pretty tasty cup of coffee - although you might need to invest in some smaller cups as some of the flavours are designed only to half fill a normal mug.
Where it comes into its own are the flavours with a milk capsule as well as the coffee capsule - but bear in mind you only get 8 cups from each box as you need to use both a coffee capsule and a milk one to get the coffee right, so around 48/50p a cup. These types, though, do fill a mug (although mostly with lovely foamy milk).
Nescafe have a very good site dedicated to the machine, and you get a sample set of capsules to start and registering the machine gets you points to get more. You need to spend about £35 to get free delivery on capsules, but to be honest, the way the wife is going, that should be no problem.
I bought this as a treat for myself as ive been looking for a coffee machine like this for a while. After doing some research to determine which machine to get (it was between the tassimo system and this) i chose the dolce gusto based on reviews and their website which to me felt more customer friendly than others.
After looking around (and waiting till the jan sales!) i found this model at only £45! Bargain! Brilliant service from Amazon meant i recieved the product much earlier than expected.
Machine: cute, quirky little machine, easy and quick to prepare, clean and use.
Pods: easy to use once you get the hang of them, great tasting drinks, lots of variety, can seem expensive but if you bulk buy on the dolce gusto website you get free delivery and bonus points to get more freebies!
My only gripe is the cup sizes, i have my fave mug which is huge so it took me longer to figure out when to stop the machine to get the right taste. However this is a small issue which can be rectified by testing and tasting!
Fully reccomend the piccolo as a stylish addition to any kitchen.
Bought this for my partners birthday (who has a passion for gadgets ; wanted a coffee machine!). I must admit i thought that it would possibly be another one of those kitchen items that never really gets used BUT, having had it now for just over two months, i can safely say that our kettle is redundant We use it for every hot drink we do! Which brings me to the fabulous selection of tassimo drinks you can get! The hot chocolate ; the Twinings tea! Lovely I personally am not a huge coffee drinker but due to the wide selection of drink you can use with this machine i would still recommend it ; he, who does love coffee, never bores of all the different variaties ; it is very quick ; simple to use.
My only gripe would be that it doesnt make a huge cup..you either need two discs or to make sure you add more water (which there is an option to do)OR you could just used smaller mugs!
We have a large kitchen so space wasnt a concern but this machine is quite slimline ; im sure would fit nicely in most kitchens. A very good design.
very impressed ; would definately recommend.
My husband and I bought this after watching videos online, we were going to buy the T40 but this one is far better.
It has a water filter on the back which comes in very handy if you live in a hard water area like we do.
And we especially like the digital display on the front.
It's not big like we thought it would be which is a good thing and it looks really stylish in our kitchen.
For that little bit extra we are glad we invested in this model and not the T40.
If you want one...buy it now...it's just dropped £22 since last week
The coffee maker is a nice looking piece of kit with a good pack of accessories and some Lille ESE coffee pods included also. I have found the machine very easy to use and easy to keep clean with nice touches such as a thumb clip to stop the filter dropping out when you tap out the coffee grounds after use.
There is a quick guide to making espresso and cappuccino and the initial results were good. With some fine ground Lavazza coffee I got a lovely crema on the espresso and the milk frother does a fine job too. Both the boilers get up to heat very quickly and the warming plate on the top works very well.
My only "complaint" is the milk frother steam arm that is too far over to allow a cup to sit underneath it and catch the drips once the milk has been heated but can't swing back over the drip tray...so it drips milk down the side of the drip tray and it makes a bit of a mess. You just need to be careful and wipe up afterwards. Keep it on a tray if you'll be using it on a porous surface.
Other than that...for the price I think it is a great little machine and is producing really lovely cups of coffee!
I have had more basic espresso machines before, and thought them great... but never up to Costa or Nero. Finally my old machine erupted spurts of hot water though the kitchen and gave its last puff of smoke, so I decided to spend some decent money on a machine.... people may rate this as a 'good value' machine but anything over £100 in my book is not a cheap machine, its a thing of quality!
Anyway, I was not disappointed, my first espresso from it had a lovely crema, my second was watery... not enough coffee.... each one from then on gets better and better. Its true that the milk frother is left to drip milk on your work surface but thats minor compared to ease of use, the ability to put in cold water and have hot coffee in seconds, making coffee again and again for however many people want it, just like in a coffee shop!
This is a fantastic piece of kit. The machine is well built and easy to use, the milk frother is great and very easy to keep clean, unlike the more complicated milk steamers that other machines have. The coffee produced by all Nespresso machines (at least the 5 I have encountered) is always good.
Things that differentiate and make this machine better than other Nespresso machines I've used:
1 The water tank is very accessible and visible on the back of the machine so you can very easily see how much water is left.
2 It's size. This version is small and neat, but if you go for the one without the frother it's absolutely tiny.
3 Milk Frother is a cleverly designed, non-stick container that can easily be cleaned. Other machines have a milk tank, or a Steamer. Steamers get really hot and the milk burns on to them making them hard to clean. Anything with an integrated milk tank is going to be hard to clean, and if you forget to clean it before you go on holiday, rendered useless.
4 It's nice looking. Some of the older machines were a bit clunky looking, this one is very stylish.
Can't recommend it highly enough.
This is the third Nespresso machine I have purchased, friends like the coffee so much I end up buying them one for Wedding or Christmas presents!
This system must be one of the cleverest marketing themes ever. Nespresso supply great fresh coffee in the form of aluminium capsules. These simply pop into the machine, press the button and Hey Presto...coffee made. No hassle, good coffee, no mess!
Only possible downside is you end up drinking much,much more coffee
There are around 16 regular blends of varying strengths to choose from and they also come up with limited editions...and a glossy magazine if you join the 'Espresso club'
Capsules mostly available from Nespresso direct and cost of each order is a bit of a hit if compared to beans or ground coffee. 27p - 31p per capsule, a large cup needs two. I usually end up buying three hundred at a time...2 -3 times a year. Over three years it would probably be more economical to buy one of the all singing all dancing bean to cup machines which also make great coffee.
Conclusion: For a modest initial outlay, a neat clean system which makes a good coffee.
