Super automatics coffee machines. need suggestions

[pault]

I didnt want to crash the other espresso thread, so here goes.
I just want to make a good latte or 3 every day. Just got off a cruise and again enjoyed them.
Prob will not make espresso shots, may make other milk frothed drinks.
Need to be simple and clean, no mess, no grinding and tamping and grounds all over the place , wife will not be happy.
I was looking at the breville oracle, but on amazon reviews I see they had issues, dont know how many fail, but you know, ones that do, post reviews.
Does anyone own one? or another brand with my needs in mind that they can recommend so I can look over reviews?
Thanks ..

 

[Jenks]

Cheap and easy. Aeropress manual espresso maker; mug of milk in the microwave for 1:30, combine and enjoy.

Aeropress is super easy: just loosely measure in the amount of coffee you want, add water, let sit, and press out the finished brew. The coffee grinds eject directly into the garbage as a compressed puck; you don't even need to touch it to get rid of it. Rinse out the Aeropress and its ready for the next round.

In my opinion the Aeorpress (for about $35) makes better coffee than machines costing hundreds of dollars. The only downside to this method is that you are not making a latte; just espresso with hot milk. In my case, I don't like the foam anyways so this is good for me. And as always, it is only as good as the quality of coffee you put in.

 

[TexLaw]

We love our DeLonghi Magnifica.

 

[aldomarino]

Our DeLonghi EC 155 has seen light use for 5 years. So far so good, but over the last year or so it has been supplanted by an Aeropress. Cheap, simple, nothing to go wrong, very easy to clean, and most importantly, makes good coffee. With a bit of practice, you can approach an Espresso with it.

 

[TexLaw]

Sorry about that! I meant to go into a little more detail about our DeLonghi. It's the ESAM3500.N, which was more machine than we were looking for, but a crazy deal on it got us to jump. We are glad we did. Just push a button, and you have espresso. A latte or cappucino isn't much more difficult. Put some milk in the milk thing, attach that to the machine, and push a button (be sure to clean the milk spigot after, but that's pushing another button).

It's very easy to maintain, as well. I don't know that I spend 30 minutes of hands-on time per month cleaning it.

 

[mglindo]

Sorry about that! I meant to go into a little more detail about our DeLonghi. It's the ESAM3500.N, which was more machine than we were looking for, but a crazy deal on it got us to jump. We are glad we did. Just push a button, and you have espresso. A latte or cappucino isn't much more difficult. Put some milk in the milk thing, attach that to the machine, and push a button (be sure to clean the milk spigot after, but that's pushing another button).

It's very easy to maintain, as well. I don't know that I spend 30 minutes of hands-on time per month cleaning it.

There's the rub then. You don't do the necessary maintenance and soon it won't work like it should. Sounds like you need an Aeropress! I have a Rancillio Espresso machine but I still have an Aeropress. Really two. One is a spare!

Mike

 

[TexLaw]

@mglindo, I meant that it doesn't require me to do any more maintenance than that. It's very easy to clean. Everything is easy to reach.

The brewing unit just pulls right out and goes back in. I take it out about every two weeks and rinse it off thoroughly under hot water. I use a $10 set of detail brushes to brush out all the ground coffee that accumulates in there. There is one spot that needs a moist cloth or towel to wipe off, but it's easy to reach. All that takes 10 minutes at the most. I probably clean it more than I need to, but I don't expect that I am doing any harm by that. The big thing to remember is that you can take out the brewing unit ONLY when the machine is off, or you can mess up some stuff. You don't really want to take it out when the machine is on, anyhow, because it's hot.

The drip tray also just needs a bit of rinsing and, maybe, a little wiping--a few minutes' work. I take care of that when needed, which also happens to be about every two weeks or so. We keep a little cup underneath the spigot when we aren't making coffee, so emptying the tray isn't a concern (not that it was when we didn't keep a cup there).

We dump the spent pucks when prompted by the machine, and I usually give the container a quick rinse with the sink sprayer while I have it out. That requires a negligible amount of time.

Descaling takes about 30 minutes, total, but the hands-on time is only a few minutes. It would be even quicker if bought the pre-measured solution packets, but it's too easy to measure the solution myself. I descale once per month. That's more often than I need to do it, but it's an easy routine to remember and an easy thing to do.

 

[FarmerTan]

@mglindo, I meant that it doesn't require me to do any more maintenance than that. It's very easy to clean. Everything is easy to reach.

The brewing unit just pulls right out and goes back in. I take it out about every two weeks and rinse it off thoroughly under hot water. I use a $10 set of detail brushes to brush out all the ground coffee that accumulates in there. There is one spot that needs a moist cloth or towel to wipe off, but it's easy to reach. All that takes 10 minutes at the most. I probably clean it more than I need to, but I don't expect that I am doing any harm by that. The big thing to remember is that you can take out the brewing unit ONLY when the machine is off, or you can mess up some stuff. You don't really want to take it out when the machine is on, anyhow, because it's hot.

The drip tray also just needs a bit of rinsing and, maybe, a little wiping--a few minutes' work. I take care of that when needed, which also happens to be about every two weeks or so. We keep a little cup underneath the spigot when we aren't making coffee, so emptying the tray isn't a concern (not that it was when we didn't keep a cup there).

We dump the spent pucks when prompted by the machine, and I usually give the container a quick rinse with the sink sprayer while I have it out. That requires a negligible amount of time.

Descaling takes about 30 minutes, total, but the hands-on time is only a few minutes. It would be even quicker if bought the pre-measured solution packets, but it's too easy to measure the solution myself. I descale once per month. That's more often than I need to do it, but it's an easy routine to remember and an easy thing to do.

Sounds like you got it down!

 

[mglindo]

@mglindo, I meant that it doesn't require me to do any more maintenance than that. It's very easy to clean. Everything is easy to reach.

The brewing unit just pulls right out and goes back in. I take it out about every two weeks and rinse it off thoroughly under hot water. I use a $10 set of detail brushes to brush out all the ground coffee that accumulates in there. There is one spot that needs a moist cloth or towel to wipe off, but it's easy to reach. All that takes 10 minutes at the most. I probably clean it more than I need to, but I don't expect that I am doing any harm by that. The big thing to remember is that you can take out the brewing unit ONLY when the machine is off, or you can mess up some stuff. You don't really want to take it out when the machine is on, anyhow, because it's hot.

The drip tray also just needs a bit of rinsing and, maybe, a little wiping--a few minutes' work. I take care of that when needed, which also happens to be about every two weeks or so. We keep a little cup underneath the spigot when we aren't making coffee, so emptying the tray isn't a concern (not that it was when we didn't keep a cup there).

We dump the spent pucks when prompted by the machine, and I usually give the container a quick rinse with the sink sprayer while I have it out. That requires a negligible amount of time.

Descaling takes about 30 minutes, total, but the hands-on time is only a few minutes. It would be even quicker if bought the pre-measured solution packets, but it's too easy to measure the solution myself. I descale once per month. That's more often than I need to do it, but it's an easy routine to remember and an easy thing to do.

Then you are good to go! Most do not take too much time to clean and de-scale. Just gotta take the time to do it. In saying that, I need to clean mine!

Mike

 

[pault]

This is what i went with, breville oracle.
Still learning, but enjoying it so far.

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