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What would you like for Christmas?

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby smitch » Wed Oct 13, 2021 11:10 pm

Earthmaiden wrote:I like that, Herbi. I'd need a new kitchen too!

I'd like a posh coffee maker - but not one where disposable pods had to be used each time. Any suggestions?


We love our Aeropress. Not a posh coffee maker though, but very straightforward to use and makes a good cup

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby herbidacious » Wed Oct 13, 2021 11:24 pm

We just picked up our Russell Hobbs coffee maker in the supermarket but are very pleased with it. It makes coffee really quickly. (The old one took forever towards the end, in spite of descaling, and the newish one at work takes forever too so being quick is not a given.)
We went for this one partly because you can lift up the lid to see how it's getting along. (Although because it's so fast we don't need to.) With some types you have to swing the bit with the filter in it out to see what's going on.

But it's not that posh...

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/2443548 ... hine:1:3:1

Ha only just spotted the coffee scoop on the side!

We have various non-electric ones too but I prefer filter coffee to any other type.

A google search suggests that the Brad Pitt one might be this :o

https://www.delonghi.com/en-gb/products ... c/dinamica

You'd have to be Brad Pitt to afford one of these! (Ok maybe not Brad Pitt but they are rather pricey.)

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby Earthmaiden » Thu Oct 14, 2021 12:34 am

I don't think anyone's going to buy me that for Christmas! I haven't seen Brad Pitt promoting anything. I've got one of the Russell Hobbs sort, I tend to just use a cafetiere instead these days. Some of the cheaper De'Longhi ones look quite good.

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Oct 14, 2021 1:02 am

My problem with bean to cup is that when either function dies, the whole machine goes, great in a café where the barista has less to do and less mess to clear up. Also I think commercial ones are made to be repaired

I had a rather basic DeLonghi espresso, lasted well, would recommend as entry level, now I have a Heston/Sage (aka Breville) and it’s better, though I don’t buy the extortionate cleaning tablets and water filters, or use the razor tool to level the coffee as it is mainly a device for spraying grounds over the kitchen. I use Cafiza for cleaning and generic filters, and measure the coffee with a scoop. Cafiza has also removed the chronic coffee stains from the sink :clap

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby Rainbow » Thu Oct 14, 2021 1:31 am

Stokey Sue wrote: now I have a Heston/Sage (aka Breville) and it’s better, though I don’t buy the extortionate cleaning tablets and water filters, or use the razor tool to level the coffee as it is mainly a device for spraying grounds over the kitchen. I use Cafiza for cleaning and generic filters, and measure the coffee with a scoop. Cafiza has also removed the chronic coffee stains from the sink :clap

We recently bought a Breville (Heston/Sage in UK, I believe) to replace the one we had, which is dying!! It lasted 10 years, so we thought that was pretty good and we like the coffee it produced. This one has a bean grinder but isn't fully automatic, but OH finds it trickier to use. He is the barista in this house!!
I've given a link to it - it seems very expensive in UK. We paid about £450 ($850) but the really fancy ones are $2,000+ and a lot more for some makes!!

https://www.sageappliances.com/uk/en/pr ... es878.html

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Oct 14, 2021 1:41 am

I waited, poised like a heron, and got mine with the Black Friday discount. :D

Still using my aged DeLonghi burr grinder
LApart from anything else I think the bean2cup might be hard for me to keep clean, there’s a lot of fiddly detail on the front of some, and coffee grounds get everywhere

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby Rainbow » Thu Oct 14, 2021 4:38 am

Stokey Sue wrote:I waited, poised like a heron, and got mine with the Black Friday discount. :D

Sounds good, Sue. We got ours on sale but probably not as good as a Black Friday one!!

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby halfateabag » Thu Oct 14, 2021 7:47 am

He has the Sage/Breville one - bean to cup and loves it. Thanks for the cleaning pointer product Stokey, I did rather balk at the recommended one - quite pricy.

Just found this article..https://coffeecherish.com/cafiza-altern ... a-solution. I will try this one out first and see how it does.

Back to the main title of this thread...... I would like the Rodos villa to be ours by Crimbo ! Then we can get on with the rest of our lives.

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby herbidacious » Thu Oct 14, 2021 10:06 am

When machines are realtively expensive, you really want to try a cup of coffee from them first...

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby mistakened » Thu Oct 14, 2021 10:28 am

What I want for Christmas is an "ordinary" Christmas with no shortages or threats of shortages, all the shops and restaurants working normally. The only panic buying will be of a particularly converted toy. The only worry will be about the weather.
I can dream :roll:

Moira

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby liketocook » Thu Oct 14, 2021 11:40 am

I'm glad I'm not the only one that asks for various pans and trays as presents.
DS2 loves his aero press that Santa brought him a couple of years ago.
I have one of these on my Christmas wish list. https://jean-patrique.co.uk/products/je ... wich-maker

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby slimpersoninside » Thu Oct 14, 2021 12:01 pm

herbidacious wrote:I am fed up with my Sodastream. You have to wait 5-10 minutes before you an extract the bottle and often I just forget so feel I need to start again. This is the second one that has developed this fault.

So... I'd rather like one of these.

https://www.johnlewis.com/aarke-carbona ... r/p5552365

I know it would be an awfully generous present (doubtless to self). I still have last year's office £75 John Lewis Christmas party voucher to lessen the expense.

I'd a new kitchen to make it not look out of place, though.


That looks rather smart Herbi. I have one of the Soda Stream ones that uses the glass bottles (IIRC that's the type you have) which works fine, sorry to hear yours is giving you problems again. If it were to go wrong I'd be very tempted by one of those.

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Oct 14, 2021 12:57 pm

herbidacious wrote:When machines are realtively expensive, you really want to try a cup of coffee from them first...

You may have triggered me :twisted: :lol:

You can (or could pre-lockdown) try them in the basement of John Lewis on Oxford Street

There were 2 machines of different makes I was genuinely interested in
I tried a cup from the Sage when it was demonstrated to me, and asked for a quick walk round the other

The sales assistant couldn't help me as he was not employed by JL but by Sage and had not been trained on the other machine and was not allowed to show it to me. The person who demonstrated the other machine was only in 4 days a week

And yet the management don't understand why the Great British Public are fed up with department stores and think they might as well buy online? :roll:

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby Meganthemog » Thu Oct 14, 2021 5:22 pm

PatsyMFagan wrote:
Earthmaiden wrote:I'd like a posh coffee maker - but not one where disposable pods had to be used each time. Any suggestions?


I liked the look of the one that Brad Pitt promotes (Impresso ? ) that grinds the beans, then brews the coffee, then discovered it costs more than £400 :roll: :shock: :!:

Does Brad Pitt deliver it too!

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby Pepper Pig » Thu Oct 14, 2021 5:43 pm

Sue, I had the most negative experience in John Lewis last week, so much so I doubt if I will ever buy an appliance from then again.

The shed fridge freezer had, I thought, packed up so I took myself off to the High Wycombe branch beside the M40. The girl who served me tried to sell me a Samsung even though I had specified I needed a Beko as it would be stored in the lean-to shed. They had 2 Bekos. One was a fridge, the other was a fridge freezer which was out of stock. I asked to speak to a manager. She at least knew the Beko thing and then brought up Google and started going through models one by one, none of which were ever stocked by John Lewis. I could have done that at home!

It was a good job that in the end the defrosted freezer was down to human error (not mine).

Very unimpressed.

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby KeenCook2 » Thu Oct 14, 2021 6:06 pm

liketocook wrote:I'm glad I'm not the only one that asks for various pans and trays as presents.
DS2 loves his aero press that Santa brought him a couple of years ago.
I have one of these on my Christmas wish list. https://jean-patrique.co.uk/products/je ... wich-maker


I must say that we have used our microwave sandwich toaster (it was a Christmas present from DS2 a few years ago!) from Lakeland tons - we're very happy with it.

It doesn't seal round the sandwich, as I guess the one you've linked to does, but overall we have no complaints. Do you have gas? I can't imagine using a stovetop one with our ceramic hob :lol:

PP, bummer re JL, but glad you didn't need one in the end :thumbsup That will have saved you £££!
We've always had good and knowledgeable staff there - luck of the draw I guess - it does seem a bit pointless for the manager to go through models they wouldn't ever stock. I assume you need(ed) Beko because it's ok for keeping outside in sheds and other makes are only suitable for indoors.

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby Pepper Pig » Thu Oct 14, 2021 6:09 pm

Yes, and they sold me the last one and knew exactly what they were doing then.

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby Pepper Pig » Thu Oct 14, 2021 6:54 pm

I have just had an email from Etsy. Does anyone have a Christmas Eve Box? :shock: :shock: :shock:

https://www.etsy.com/search?q=christmas ... 7363536549

I feel I am missing something.

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby herbidacious » Thu Oct 14, 2021 7:08 pm

I have encountered that before.

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Re: What would you like for Christmas?

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Oct 14, 2021 7:29 pm

I had to look it up
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38220870

~screams~

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