You need to put a filter in it and it makes only one cup. I find it better than owning a drip machine.

Yeah, the drip machines are essentially this. They heat the water and run it through a larger version of the same filter, and heat the pot as well.

The Melitta is nice if you have an air pot or electric kettle...

BTW, the air pot is on all the time and it's well insulated. Since it's completely sealed, it doesn't lose water. My electric kettle had to be turned on when you wanted hot water.

Woah! That's an even bigger problem than I thought!


Well, it's not that funny in our household, I just find it amusing that these kettles seem to be designed to boil water to drink, not to heat up our water before boiling it. But like I said, that's how I use it. Sorry it wasn't amusing


My parents, when they redid their kitchen about 7 years ago, installed an "insta-hot." It was just a spigot to the side of the sink that gave filtered water at temps of either room temperature or near-boiling hot. It was pretty nice to have very hot water at any time, but sadly the device was a little more troublesome than it was worth. For starters, apparently the way the filter let you know that it needed to be changed was to completely back up and leak absolutely everywhere. This happened twice. Then after a while, the device its self decided to leak, so we had to have it replaced. Hopefully the new homeowners haven't had any challenges from it...

If you're in a hurry...

tanstaafl.

At work we've got a Zip Hydroboil which certainly does the job -- the water's hot enough for tea -- but in a way it's almost too good. Having, essentially, a button I can press any time to get a proper cup of tea makes me feel a bit like I'm in some sort of scientific study of tea addiction, like one of those lab rats with push-button access to cocaine...

Peter

I have a Gaggia Titanium, which I think TayM will recognise as being in the top of the home ranges, it grinds the beans and does everything else except drink it for you, it's on a level with reataurant or coffee bar machines, to my taste.
However, one of the mysteries of life is why French coffee made in a cafetiere (A british invention, incidentally!) in France tastes absolutely cosmic: You can bring the coffee back with you, but it just doesn't taste the same at home.
I regret that I can't agree that cafetiere coffee is any better or worse than espresso, it's just different and suits many people's tastes.
Anybody want to get in to the mysteries of good tea making?
I don't get the criticism of Italian wines, which cover just as broad a spectrum as those from other countries: I probably do equal French, Italian, Spanish and Chilean and enjoy them all equally - if there's anything I don't like, it's American or Australian and, in particular, oaked wines: Maybe they just keep the best for themselves.

Indeed. Gaggia is usually considered an excellend coffee machine manufacturer, and yours in particular is actually well known to be a star among coffee machines


I hope I did not start a food/drink competition among EU countries. I was just being funny, purpose being exactly the opposite!


I agree. I've been to Paris 2 or 3 times a year in the last 4 years, for work, and I definitely enjoy French coffee from any Cafeterie around. It is a similar way to drink it to the Italian, incidentally: small cup, you can have it in cafeterie round the corner pretty much anywhere, they make it quickly and you usually drink it while standing at the bar.
It is not as strong and concentrated as the Italian version, and you will find more of it in the cup. Still very good!

Incidentally, "espresso" means "quick, fast". So, "Caffè espresso", here in Italy where the expression originated, simply meant - and still means - a "quick coffee", and it refers to bar coffee, which, given the power and pressure of the machines, is prepared in 1 minute or so, as opposed to the traditional caffettiera ("macchinetta") at home, which takes longer - you need to wait that the water boils and then filters up through the coffee powder tank.
The idea is that you may just step in a bar for 5 minutes during the work day, get a coffee, in 1 minute, leave.



Yes, I find that a mysterious phenomenon that actually happens with every bar here. No matter how good your home coffee machine is, you can only hope to get close to what they make at the bar. I can't explain why. It must be some coffee magic law.


I'd love too . Will I need some dedicated device?

My grandmother always swore that tea only tasted at its best at, or near, sea level and she never washed her tea(or coffee) pot, throughout her married life.
Common wisdom is: It should be made with freshly drawn, freshly boiled water and left to brew for at least 6 minutes. It used to be said that tea bags were made out of the dust and residue, but I think that those days are past, I held on to leaf tea and a strainer until about five years ago.
However my tea making is very straightforward

Speaking of which, I love these types of devices for looseleaf tea. We have two in our home that get used regularly.

This is certainly the case. Even a few degrees' difference in the boiling point of water, caused by the lower atmospheric pressure at altitude, changes the extraction of flavour chemicals from the tea-leaves. Which is a shame, as just after climbing a mountain is exactly when you most want a cup of tea.

Peter

So all we need is a device that boils water cocooned within a vessel that creates the atmospheric pressure of sea level, is cheap and portable, patent it and sit back with the proceeds!
My grandparents retired to Seaford, I don't know whether you've ever been, but, from my very bored childhood experience, it seems a heck of a high price to pay for a perfect cup of tea!

Um, how about a lid? I'm sure that steam pressing against the weight of a lid can compensate for several thousand feet of altitude.

Okay, after some calculation, I'm totally wrong. A lid couldn't compensate for more than a few hundred feet, unless the vessel was quite small.

Still, a pressure cooker would work. Pressure cookers for canning even already have a pressure gauge attached.

The poor souls, what a way to go.

You can just put something heavy on top of the lid.

The air pots have a boil button that will freshly boil the contents just prior to use. It's temp controlled to go to something like 102°c.

Hold on to your Gaggia, I understand it's now a division of Philips, and the Dutch, although an admirable nation in many respects, are not, to my knowledge, noted coffee makers!

The biggest headline, and greatest excitement in the town, I can remember was when the waves swept an old dear on a bicycle of the front in mid-winter: I think that the geriatrics were putting the constabulary under pressure to arrest the wave for manslaughter - as you say: What a way to go - and what a place to go to, I've only once been back in recent years, and nothing's improved!

Off to the local hostelry now, for a couple of pints of Adnams, and a fine bottle of Italian wine!

We have friends who moved to Seaford to be near an ageing parent. The town council appear to make a deliberate attempt to make the place as grim and as unwelcoming as possible to keep tourists away.

They had their first carnival for years the other year. The "parade" consisted of half a dozen private cars, one 12 piece marching band and dozen bikers on Harleys. It took a full 120 seconds to pass us.

The whole carnival parade is visible in this shot:




Still at least there is some stunning countryside around it.

Philips won't necessarily trash Gaggia's know how. If so, there are other brands you may consider. Besides the Illy ones, this one is usually very recommended, even though I never tried one or tasted coffee made with it: http://www.lapavoni.it/ .
Unfortunately, and expectedly, inacceptably expensive. But still, Gaggia is not cheap.
La Pavoni is, in fact, producer of several bar-type coffee machine. With one of those you would definitely have a great coffee at home. But you may need a coffee room as well, given their size.

I can get the aged parents moving there, but to take yet another generation in to the pit is above and beyond the call of family loyalty.
An appaling anecdote:
I went to a heritage railway and the guy showing us round said: This is one of the original Highland railway Pullman cars from 1872.
I said, yes, but from the late 20's to the 50's it was part of a bungalow in Seaford and it's only because my Uncle Roger found it that you now have it!

lol

Back to the subject:
My grandmother, made great coffee in a milk saucepan on the stove, by simmering Lyons ground coffee, I'm not sure for how long, she then tranferred it to the coffee jug, which she never washed, as previously mentioned, but added a substantial pinch of Colemans powdered mustard - which she regarded as her secret ingredient.

N.B. We didn't have Italian, they had a deal on South African which filled the spot, more than adequately.

Huh. That is a strange ingredient. The heat will alter the mustard so that its not actually hot. I wonder what particular flavour it contributes to the tea.

Sure they do. Right now, the best wines we've ever tasted were all made in Italy, from Italian grapes. Totally excellent stuff for our palettes, and 100% organic too.

Edit: We're not wine snobs, but we do select and consume a fair bit of the stuff, from most regions around the planet.

Cheers

That is a very recent change to the electrical code. As little as perhaps 10 years ago, only 15A was required for kitchen outlets, with no more than two single-plug receptacles per 15A breaker.

That rule was extremely onerous, requiring typically about six circuit breakers for just the countertop outlets in a modest kitchen. Which is probably why the code got changed.

Cheers

One Canadian empeg bbs user (I forget who) bought a cheapo UK kettle (probably a Tesco Value jobby) and had a 220V outlet wired into their kitchen so they could use it at full speed.

Man that would be sweet. All my outlets are on a single 20a breaker, including the clothes washer and drier, and bathroom.
We definitely have to manage what's on.

Pretty sure that was Mark.

Yeah, that was SWMBO & I. The five quid kettle we purchased was pretty darned similar to the one you linked, too! We also picked up a 240V UK outlet for it, and wired it into our kitchen over here. Sein later helped us out with a nicer looking version of the outlet.

That looks to be the exact same kettle I had in Singapore. It was like 8 usd there.

And it's not just you, taym and I:
"Just ourselves and a flask of Italian wine"
-a dinner invitation from Oscar Wilde, amongst a collection of letters published for the first time today!