Patf Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Can someone recommend a simple coffee maker, in one piece. I've seen a cheap one in Champion in two parts, you put the filter and coffee in the top and water in the bottom. I've also seen an expresso machine which is too complicated and expensive. I want to be able able to offer something other than Nescafe to french people when they visit ( also brits. ) Pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 I always use and italian cafetiere. They go on the gas or electric and personally I find that they make the best coffee. Easy to use too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 I always seem to be using a Bodum cafetiere. Just as easy as instant. put coffee in the pot (I warm the pot first, like a teapot), add hot water and when you're ready after a few minutes, PLUNGE. Works very well. I have a small one for just me and a big one for guests, or when I'm thirsty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 [quote user="Teamedup"]I always use and italian cafetiere. They go on the gas or electric and personally I find that they make the best coffee. Easy to use too.[/quote] I have one of those and love them but I haven't used it in France partly because I have forgotten about it [:$] and secondly because I have a ceramic hob and I am not quite sure if I can use it on that. I am not certain what the metal is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayJay Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 We have a Senseo machine, it's really easy to use & the coffee is good. The coffee comes in little t-bag like things & there are several different types of coffee to choose from. The price is from about €70 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 [quote user="Pierre ZFP"]I always seem to be using a Bodum cafetiere. Just as easy as instant. put coffee in the pot (I warm the pot first, like a teapot), add hot water and when you're ready after a few minutes, PLUNGE. Works very well. I have a small one for just me and a big one for guests, or when I'm thirsty![/quote] I have seen these, but not working, so what do you do with the coffee? itsn't it hard to get get the coffee out of the plunger? does it block the sink?And these are the reasons I have never bought one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 I am wary of putting them down the sink, as I once read that coffee grounds can block septic tanks. So I always tip them into the compost bin or directly onto the garden. Remove the plunger for a quick rinse under the tap. Add a bit of water to the grounds left in the glass, to help swish them out. Otherwise it's a picking-out-with-the-fingers job, which is (a) messy and (b) difficult in the smaller-sized pot!AngelaPS I like the Italian screw-together pots too, but I have found that you need to heat them v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y otherwise the coffee seems to acquire a burnt taste. Maybe I should get a "diffuseur". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanche Neige Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Good advice Angela. You can actually unscrew the plunger and really rinse it thoroughly but that isn't usually necessary.The Italian coffee pots look great and if used with care do work well. Using a diffuseur is a good idea. We did this when I au-paired in Brussels (long time ago[:(]). We used the Italian pot to make after dinner coffee but always filtered the coffee for breakfast using a china pot and a filter plus filter papers. Old habits seem to die hard and I find I still do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hastobe Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 We use the Italian screw together coffee pots too. We've tried the push down cafetiere types and the pod machines and, imho, the italian coffee pots makes the best coffee - good flavour and nice and hot. We have one in UK and one in France.Kathie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 [quote user="Patf"]Can someone recommend a simple coffee maker, in one piece. I've seen a cheap one in Champion in two parts, you put the filter and coffee in the top and water in the bottom. I've also seen an expresso machine which is too complicated and expensive. I want to be able able to offer something other than Nescafe to french people when they visit ( also brits. ) Pat.[/quote]Do you mean a percolater? The water boil and bubbles up a tube into the coffee holder, and then drains back down into the bottom, boils and is sent up again? If so, it is what my mother always used, and they make excellent coffee.I use a Senseo (choose from 3!), and always buy my coffee in France - better selection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan le Fey Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 [quote user="Dick Smith"]I use a Senseo (choose from 3!), and always buy my coffee in France - better selection.[/quote]Blanche Porte are offering one free, and in a choice of 4 colours. You may have to buy a tee shirt or something, not sure but it has to beat plus/minus Euros 70.[:P] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanche Neige Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 http://www.espressozone.com/espresso-makers.html"Do you mean a percolater? The water boil and bubbles up a tube into the coffee holder, and then drains back down into the bottom, boils and is sent up again? If so, it is what my mother always used, and they make excellent coffee."Dick see the link above, the bialetti is the one I use but there are more contemporary versions available now. The water is put in the bottom section, after it has been forced through the ground coffee section in the middle the prepared brew stays in the top section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted February 19, 2007 Author Share Posted February 19, 2007 Dick, I remember those coffee percolaters now. I think I even had one at one time, made of aluminium. The discussion of what to do with the grounds bring it all back. Also a memory of my first experience of that wonderful smell of roasting coffee beans, from a shop in St. John's Wood where I first lived when I went to work in London. Nothing exotic like that where I came from.Pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted February 19, 2007 Author Share Posted February 19, 2007 Dick, I remember those coffee percolaters now. I think I even had one at one time, made of aluminium. The discussion of what to do with the grounds brought it all back. Also a memory of my first experience of that wonderful smell of roasting coffee beans, from a shop in St. John's Wood where I first lived when I went to work in London. Nothing exotic like that where I came from.Pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJT Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 [quote user="Blanche Neige"] http://www.espressozone.com/espresso-makers.html"Do you mean a percolator? The water boil and bubbles up a tube into the coffee holder, and then drains back down into the bottom, boils and is sent up again? If so, it is what my mother always used, and they make excellent coffee."Dick see the link above, the bialetti is the one I use but there are more contemporary versions available now. The water is put in the bottom section, after it has been forced through the ground coffee section in the middle the prepared brew stays in the top section.[/quote]I have one of those bialetti espresso makers that is in your link Blanche Niege. I actually won it at a charity raffle a few months back and I have never used it. I like several cups of coffee in the morning and it is so small it looks a lot of trouble to make one cup of coffee at a time. I am using a cafatierre at the moment and I agree about the mess, I usually dump it in the garden but it is very hard to get all of the coffee grinds and some inevitably goes down the drain.Percolator coffee is meant to be one of the best methods of making coffee because I think it is meant to kind of roast it, but beware, it is also meant to be one of the strongest. I think the caffeine in a cup of coffee that has been percolated is almost double other ordinary methods such a drip machine or using a cafatierre. That reminds me, I think I will look out for an electric peculator now. [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Am I the only one who thinks that you can make perfectly good coffee in a coffee pot, just the same as you make tea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 You gotta have toys!We have ended up with two of everything, one in England, one in France (and in the case of Senseos, one in my office). Two filter machines, two espresso machine and so on.I like the Senseo best because it is completely fuss-free (try finding somewhere to throw the grounds in your office!). In England, though, we can only get Douwe Egberts coffee, whereas in France there is a wide range - so I am assuming that they are more popular here?My mother always used coffee and chicory mix, which I have seen advertised in France (yesterday) but not in England. What's that all about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumziGal Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Isn't it about cheapness, Mr Smith? According to this http://www.cafedumonde.com/coffee.html the French developed it during their civil war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanche Neige Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 [quote user="Dick Smith"]You gotta have toys!Boys toys Dick!We have ended up with two of everything, one in England, one in France Me tooMy mother always used coffee and chicory mix, which I have seen advertised in France (yesterday) but not in England. What's that all about?[/quote]We always added chicory in Belgium, had two tins one for coffee one for chicory and as RumziGal said I think it was to make the coffee stronger.I do think the choice of coffee is important, different kinds fo different methods and yes the Italian coffee pot makes a strong brew which IMHO should always be served in tiny cup. For breakfast I like to use the old fashioned filter and serve the (weaker) coffee in large cups. I believe the shape of the cup is almost as important as the coffee and do hate my coffee served in paper cups![+o(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Is that what Camp Coffee is made of ? I don't like the taste of that stuff at all [+o(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 [quote user="beryl"]Is that what Camp Coffee is made of ? I don't like the taste of that stuff at all [+o(][/quote]Well,it's coffee and chicory, yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 And sugar. Boiled up and concentrated. Good in cooking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 When people are referring to Italian stove-top cafetiers, do you mean these?http://www.gallacoffee.co.uk/acatalog/Stove-top_Espresso_Makers.htmlCheap and cheerful and make great coffee IMHO. Naturally though, Mr C - having Y choromosomes don't you know - has to have a Nespresso job which costs a fortune to run as you have to buy the little capsules direct from them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJT Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Cooperlola, yes they are the same as the link Blanche Niege posted. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have the bialetti but I have never used it. After reading that Blanche Niege waters it down to make a larger cups, I may give it a try tomorrow. I agree with Blanche Niege about the cups as well, strange that it makes a difference but it does. However, after this thread, I am still going to look out for a percolator. [:)]KathyC, how do you make coffee in a pot like you would tea? [:$]On the subject of coffee, I like the coffee available in France, however, my husband doesn't like it at all. We have tried all different sorts and he insists they all have a similar flavour that he doesn't like. We have to bring Colombian coffee over from the UK. I wonder if there is a bit of chicory added in the grinds here.By the way this is the only food item we bring over. [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Sorry, Ms White, I did not spot your link.[:$] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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