Serious Question: Coffee Machines

Ahbengdriver

Ahbengdriver

Well-Known Member
Legendary 10 Years
Due to the ever rising inflation, I can no longer afford a decent cup of starbucks cuppacino or latte. In order not to suffer silently without a cup of expensive coffee, I am thinking of getting a 'high tech' coffee machine at home:chinese: to brew my own cuppa every morning.

Ah and the smell of coffee aroma in the morning in your kitchen or coffee corner is unbeatable. Like glue sniffing.

So heres the serious question: Can anyone recco any good, reliable(not like BMW but lexus), coffee maker that can brew a good cup of cuppacinonio or latteo or espressonio? And the favourite Singaporean question - how muchie $$$? Also do you brew with Arabica or Columbian coffee beans?
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

"Jura" (Swiss made) fully automatic including self-cleaning. Prices range from $1k to $2k+. Have been using a mid-range model for almos 10 years! As for which types of bean, that is rather individual and "Jura" also has their own packed beans. You can find them at Tangs and Robnsons.
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

The key is to have a fresh brew. You can get this either in capsules (which seal in the grinds and prevent them from oxidising) or fresh beans (which are naturally sealed in until they are ground).

For fresh beans, you can't go wrong with a Jura as recommended by OYG. Nothing beats freshly ground coffee in the morn. If the price is too expensive, look for a reconditioned set on sale direct from the local dealers or during clearance sales. I got mine almost half price at a sale.

For capsules, they offer you a big range of flavours and intensity. You just need to try out and see what you like. I have a nespresso and a CBTL-capsule machine. Personally I prefer the CBTL cos of the flavours.

But don't rule out the kopi tiam downstairs. Some unkers can really make a mean cuppa kopi GAO
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

It depends how hardcore you want to go.

For the price of Jura, i would go for a single cup commercial unit. Commercial unit has higher pressure.

Beside the machine, u also need really fresh beans. Not those lavazza (atas but not so fresh).

Nowadays, some of the local coffee joint has those buy 9 free 1. It depends on where u go.
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

Equally impt is the after sales servce! Really no joke. The down time must be reasonable. Avoid krups for this reason. You service or repair 2 times can cost you 1k liao and downtime could be at least 2 wks. Imagine you no kopi lim for 2 wks? Worse than gal on PMS.

I am currently using Jura micro. Good and after sales service tip top. Unfortunately, i got to send it in for repair after 6 mths as i was using very oily dark roast beans. Saw this coming but i prefer my coffee dark n oily.

I highly recommend jura. Just my 2 cents.
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

I use the one in the office ......it's free.

Later I go see what brand is it. Must be quite reliable as its used by so many people all day.
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

Red_Bean_Bun;998922 said:
I use the one in the office ......it's free.

Later I go see what brand is it. Must be quite reliable as its used by so many people all day.
Click to expand...

Last time we got some "productivity" award for a project and we used the cash to buy a Jura in the office. More than ten years ago, I heard it is still working.
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

jura anytime........... only prob is need clean up after use....
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

yeap googled JURA. Very nice coffee machines. The one I like cost $4k+. Can make Cuppacino, Latte, Machiato....maybe even Teh Halia. Cost as much as a set of KW Clubsport. Wonder whether GSS got any great deals or not.
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

Ahbengdriver;999047 said:
yeap googled JURA. Very nice coffee machines. The one I like cost $4k+. Can make Cuppacino, Latte, Machiato....maybe even Teh Halia. Cost as much as a set of KW Clubsport. Wonder whether GSS got any great deals or not.
Click to expand...

With Citibank Tangs platinum visa card, you can get 10% rebate that can be used to buy coffee beans, accessories or spare parts e.g. filter, etc. I don't think Jura gives any discount for brand new machines. The price is quite steep if you go for the top end model with all the bells and whistles that allows all coffee variants to be made with 1-touch. The Jura Impressa C50 i am using ($1305 after 10% Tangs rebate) is fully auto for making expresso and americano as well as cleaning. It can also froth the milk for making cuppacino, latte, etc. like you see at McCafe and CBTL when needed. You can easily tweak how you want your cuppa tastes like i.e. stronger, creamier, more milk, etc. and i enjoy doing it this way. You still need to empty the used coffee tray periodically whether it is a fully auto or a less smart machine though.

I used Saeco and Krupp machines before and Jura is the easiest and solid machine when it comes to cleaning and durability.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

Ahbengdriver;999047 said:
yeap googled JURA. Very nice coffee machines. The one I like cost $4k+. Can make Cuppacino, Latte, Machiato....maybe even Teh Halia. Cost as much as a set of KW Clubsport. Wonder whether GSS got any great deals or not.
Click to expand...
For 4k, i would rather buy Single cup commercial machine. For commercial machine, u might be able to get it at half the price. Somemore, u might be able to borrow 1 unit during servicing. Highlander is 1 of big player on this island. If u are hard core enough, u also can take their classes as well. Start ABD Cafe on the side :)
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

coffee machines can be generalized into 3 broad groups: 1) capsules 2) manual 3) automatic

each got its pros and cons

capsules
pros: easy, fast, small standard deviation in quality of brew, cheapest of the lot
cons: limited choices (very dependent on the brand of machine you purchase), do not make milk based coffee (need to purchase milk frother), milk quality from the frother SUCKS too much foam (like starbucks quality)

manual
pro: many variations to play with from beans to grind quality to weight of shot, makes the best brew
cons: need to buy grinder, and usually takes longer to make yourself a nice brew

fully auto:
pro: all in one solution -> store some of your beans, froth and dispenses your milk, self cleaning all at a touch of button
cons: quality of brew not as good as a manual machine but better than capsules

I started out with Nespresso but really got sick of the limited choices (and cost) so eventually after much research I got myself a Seaco fully auto. Why Seaco? becos my wife and I only drink milk based coffee (ie the cappaccino, latte and flat white) so we wanted something thats fuss free. I believe on the market only Delongi, Gaggia and Saeco got a milk dispenser module which is self cleansing after each use. So end of each week we will then rinse each part separately.
After sales support, I believe Delongi and Saeco are pretty comparable.

As for Jura, the built quality is really good and most of the more expensive models are still made in Swiss. My father got one at home which I compared. But the down side for me is their milk is fed thru the rubber tubing and needs to be washed after each use (end up waste time again).
So really you need to choose the machine by knowing what kind of coffee you will drink and also how much you wanna invest.

So take a walk around Taka B1 or Milenia Walk (havey norman) and ask for demo.. have fun choosing the right one
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

Ahbengdriver;998880 said:
Due to the ever rising inflation, I can no longer afford a decent cup of starbucks cuppacino or latte. In order not to suffer silently without a cup of expensive coffee, I am thinking of getting a 'high tech' coffee machine at home:chinese: to brew my own cuppa every morning.

Ah and the smell of coffee aroma in the morning in your kitchen or coffee corner is unbeatable. Like glue sniffing.

So heres the serious question: Can anyone recco any good, reliable(not like BMW but lexus), coffee maker that can brew a good cup of cuppacinonio or latteo or espressonio? And the favourite Singaporean question - how muchie $$$? Also do you brew with Arabica or Columbian coffee beans?
Click to expand...

I bought a Jura Ena series few yrs ago for my wife and paid close to 1800. The machine has a water filter to replace I think yearly at 20+ a pop and beans 1kg cost about 30-40+ that last 2mths or so. The aroma from freshly brewed coffee even for non drinker like me is shiok! U have to make it a point to use it. How many ppl buy and gave up as they are in a rush or find it a pain to clean after use and let it sit there like a white elephant! Then u still go back to Starbucks for a convenient cuppa!

Jura is the best for me!
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

go courts and buy

1) krups - simple to clean and cheaper at $1000,use full beans only.
2) delongi - more complex to clean and more exp at $1500, use grinded and full bean.

personally I prefer Columbian coffee beans, I think they have stronger aroma.
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

MSportTune;999083 said:
I bought a Jura Ena series few yrs ago for my wife and paid close to 1800. The machine has a water filter to replace I think yearly at 20+ a pop and beans 1kg cost about 30-40+ that last 2mths or so. The aroma from freshly brewed coffee even for non drinker like me is shiok! U have to make it a point to use it. How many ppl buy and gave up as they are in a rush or find it a pain to clean after use and let it sit there like a white elephant! Then u still go back to Starbucks for a convenient cuppa!

Jura is the best for me!
Click to expand...

I have many white elephants now... Jura, delonghi, nespresso, CBTL, etc. You are right, the key is to make it a point to use.
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

MSportTune;999083 said:
I bought a Jura Ena series few yrs ago for my wife and paid close to 1800. The machine has a water filter to replace I think yearly at 20+ a pop and beans 1kg cost about 30-40+ that last 2mths or so. The aroma from freshly brewed coffee even for non drinker like me is shiok! U have to make it a point to use it. How many ppl buy and gave up as they are in a rush or find it a pain to clean after use and let it sit there like a white elephant! Then u still go back to Starbucks for a convenient cuppa!

Jura is the best for me!
Click to expand...

Yea Starbucks way to go! Simply gave up on white elephant coffee machines, too much cleaning and maintenance for a daily morning dose of caffeine. Surprised to see there are a quite a fair bit of coffee connoisseurs in the forum. Valuable thread. Cheers!
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

try blue mountain 200 grams cost $50.

seanskye;999131 said:
I have many white elephants now... Jura, delonghi, nespresso, CBTL, etc. You are right, the key is to make it a point to use.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Serious Question: Coffee Machines

Anyone tried Kopi Luwak/Civet Coffee before?
 
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