Bean to Cup Machines?

[Dockhead]

Anyone using a bean-to-cup machine on board?

I have been using three different means of making coffee on board -- Nespresso, Aeropress, and a stainless french press (cafeteria). Each has its own plusses and minuses.

The Aeropress is (or was, until I lost the bottom cap) great for single cups of coffee when there's no hurry. Rather laborious grinding the beans and so forth, but excellent results. No good for serving coffee to a whole crew.

Nespresso makes the best coffee of these, with the least effort, but at the highest cost.

French press is better since I started grinding my own coffee with one of those manual ceramic bur Japanese grinders recommended on here, and storing the coffee carefully, but the coffee is still worse than either Nespresso or Aeropress. Big downside is it is hard to clean up the grounds on board, especially underway in conditions making it inadvisable to go to the rail, or in a harbor where you don't really want to dump anything overboard. Main plus is that you can make four or five cups at once.

I used to have a bean-to-cup machine at home, and as far as I can remember, it made the best coffee I've ever had, even better than Nespresso, when I fed it really good beans.

I never considered it for the boat because of cost (at the time, $2000+ -- it was a present) and bulk. But they have become cheaper and more compact.

Maybe worth considering again? Anyone using one?

[belizesailor]

We used to have a Cuisinart machine that did everything but bring your coffee to you.

Cool machine, but of course a power hog, we only used it when living aboard and on shore power.

It could be programmed as well...the grinder whirring up early in the AM made a nice alarm clock.

[Stumble]

We don't have one on the boat, but if we did any distance cruising I absolutely would bring one along. Best cup of coffee around, and frankly after getting spoiled with it at home I couldn't imagine living without it now. Ours ran a little shy of $1,000 but my sister recently got one for ~$400. Take a look at WholeLatteLove.com for their refurbished machines. No ties to the company, but they automatically double the manufacturer's warranty on any machine bought from them.

[Sailmonkey]

A friend of mine used to have a much less expensive version of one of these ($200 ish) and it was miserable fail. The steam clogged up the works many times, meaning when you where ready for coffee you were greeted by a brown pasty powder in the grinder and some light brown coffee water in the carafe.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[SausalitoDave]

I have had several at our house. The boat has a Nespresso, which as you say is good, but not great. We have a DeLonghi now and like it a lot. Great coffee and very reliable. Only problem with bean-to-cup machines is they do use a lot of coffee beans.

Dave
Festina Lente
Hanse 505

[Kenomac]

I drink instant cappuccino, just add water.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I drink instant cappuccino, just add water.

Infidel !!!

[belizesailor]

We had a Cuisinart similar to the one below. Worked great. Had one at home too which developed a problem long after the official warranty period. Called just looking for parts and Cuisinart sent us a whole new machine at no charge. Great customer service.

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DGB-.../dp/B000VTP45Q

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I drink instant cappuccino, just add water.

We drink instant underway in rough weather. In vast quantities. When no one feels like doing anything in the galley, even making real coffee.

That being said, Nespresso is damned good for coffee underway, too. No work at all; just throw in the capsule.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

We had a Cuisinart similar to the one below. Worked great. Had one at home too which developed a problem long after the official warranty period. Called just looking for parts and Cuisinart sent us a whole new machine at no charge. Great customer service.

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DGB-.../dp/B000VTP45Q

That's a rather different proposition from what I was writing about. That's a normal drip coffeemaker combined with a grinder.

A bean-to-cup machine will make cups of espresso. All you do is put beans in one end, and compressed waste and waste water comes out the other end.

Like this: Talea Super-automatic espresso machine RI9828/47 | Saeco

Which is what I had at home.

[mrm]

For a low space, I would suggest Jura ENA Micro 1 https://www.jura.com/en/homeproducts...fications#tabs

At home I have a bigger unit from the ENA line and have no complaints at all.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by mrm

For a low space, I would suggest Jura ENA Micro 1 https://www.jura.com/en/homeproducts...fications#tabs

At home I have a bigger unit from the ENA line and have no complaints at all.

Hot tip; that looks perfect. Thanks very much.

[weavis]

If the vessel you are piloting had the electrical power, then putting in a good quality coffee machine and grinder is not a problem. I personally would not have a bean to cup machine because when one part goes down, its all down.Having a love affair with roasting my own coffee and an association with a UK coffee roastery, Ive tried a lot of different machines and have favourites.

Not a lover of Nespresso type machines. There is no doubt that they are easy to use and produce an acceptable product for most people. However Expensive and with an inability to play with the nuances of flavour in a pour. (AKA an experimenter with the machine)

Boating introduces a whole new element to making coffee. Heel, power, space, ease of use etc. On my next boat I will put a single group dual fuel machine. LPG and electric. I have a number of grinders. grind enough coffee for the day (average 13 grms a shot) and its good to go.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by weavis

If the vessel you are piloting had the electrical power, then putting in a good quality coffee machine and grinder is not a problem. I personally would not have a bean to cup machine because when one part goes down, its all down.Having a love affair with roasting my own coffee and an association with a UK coffee roastery, Ive tried a lot of different machines and have favourites.

Not a lover of Nespresso type machines. There is no doubt that they are easy to use and produce an acceptable product for most people. However Expensive and with an inability to play with the nuances of flavour in a pour. (AKA an experimenter with the machine)

Boating introduces a whole new element to making coffee. Heel, power, space, ease of use etc. On my next boat I will put a single group dual fuel machine. LPG and electric. I have a number of grinders. grind enough coffee for the day (average 13 grms a shot) and its good to go.

I bet I am not the only sailor who has grown to care more about good coffee as time goes on, and is looking for ways to improve it further.

I used to laugh at my little brother for fussing about with coffee, roasting his own, etc., but now I'm starting to think I was wrong to do so. Because lately I have not been happy with my coffee.

The best was my Saeco bean to cup machine (over $2000 in those days; it was a present), which unfortunately broke last year, when fed with really good fresh beans.

Second best in terms of coffee quality for me is Nespresso, with other pluses and minuses we have discussed.

I cannot make really good coffee with a french press, although I've tried hard, and despite using a good burr grinder and fresh beans. Maybe better beans would help.

Maybe Weavis would start a thread on how to make really good coffee on board? Introduce us to home roasting?

[weavis]

Home roasting is easy.

You can carry the equipment with you and it does not take much room.
Sample roasting can be done using an old breadmaker and using a hot air gun. I often did this for home coffee in small batches and connected the computer to get a roast profile for the 15 kilo machine.

You can carry a bag of green beans with you on the boat. Keep dry and will last years.

When you get to a marina....... fire it up on the side and roast coffee enough for the next trip.

Here is the principle.... heatgun is 1-2kw power--breadmaker is just a rotor. You can do this in a stainless steel bowl and keep stirring. Takes 15 mins in total with pre heating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovWFE7siNCo