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[Pattergen]

Alright, so you have to brew cups individually. Sucks.

But its the best cup of coffee I've ever had come out of the comfort of my own home. And this shit packs a real caffeine punch. Rocks.

+

Awesome design & good craftsmanship
Very little clean up
Coffee Pods are easy to use
Fast Brewing
Awesome coffee ~ rich taste
Hyper Caffinated

-

Expensive
One coffee pod to one cup of coffee = PIA
Not mainstream yet, so it may be hard to find coffee pods (can order them online though)

Bottom line: it rules, buy it.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

I don't like coffee

 

[ballhog]

I don't want to buy coffee in "pod" form, they will stop making those pods in a few months. And there I'll be, trying to wrap chock full o nuts in toilet paper. No thanks.

 

[gofreak]

Gaggia.

edit - though i've never tried coffee pods..i'll give em a whirl sometime.

 

[Falch]

They're quite populair here in The Netherlands, you can find those pods in every supermarket. They're selling like crazy. Some supermarkets are even making their own brand coffee pods now. I haven't had a chance to try them out though.

 

[sc0la]

haha It looks like it is supposed to stand up straight and that is some lame animation from a comecial (at first).

 

[Saint Cornelius]

Yeah, I've been seeing these on BBC TV a lot... they do look interesting, and lord knows I love me some coffee!

But the one-hitter aspect is kinda annoying, and like someone else says, what happens when they stop making those pods?

 

[Pattergen]

Its really starting to catch on over here. It will definitly stick around for longer than three months.

 

[RobotChant]

I've seen these before and like others have mentioned, I'm concerned about the whole pod aspect of it. I would hate to only be able to use coffee from one company.

 

[thomaser]

Ha! I have these bad boys (or girl, in Silvia's case) in my kitchen!

Rancilio Silvia espressomachine:

Rancilio Rocky grinder:

Ok, so they take up way too much space, are expensive both to buy and maintain, can be very messy if you're not careful about what you're doing, and take a couple of years to learn to use really well, but they're able to make PERFECT espresso in the right hands and with the right coffee. Silvia is a beast when it comes to steaming milk too, and it's pretty easy to create authentic micro-foam with her when you get the routine into your fingers.

I still want to upgrade, though... maybe to one of these:

La Valentina:

 

[way more]

I've heard that the coffee is great but I don't want to be tied to the pods.

 

[Pattergen]

Walmart now carries the coffee pods, and foldgers has started thier own line. It is my dad's coffee maker, and I haven't yet decided if I am going to get one for my house or not. The coffee kicks ass, but the pod selection just isn't there yet. Though, I'm pretty sure it will get there.

 

[Vgamer]

Check out Keurig single cup Brewers. They are great! My father works for them so we have a free machine. Some of the best coffee I have had. It Even has big name coffee makers like Gloria Jeans and Green Mountain using their K-cups and making tons of flavors for it. http://www.keurig.com/two/index.asp

 

[Hooker]

Like Falch already said, they're immensly popular here in the Netherlands. And we're known as a coffee drinking country so it has to be good (I don't like coffee)

They introduced it here 3 years ago as a collaboration of Phillips and Holland's number 1 coffee seller DE (Douwe Egberts). First thing to come to my mind as well was the pods availability. But nowadays you see them as much as regular coffee packs. Differents brands and everything.

It supposedly is very fast and tastes quite good. Also looks better than most other coffee machines (The black and beige one are beter looking than this one IMO) It is quite expensive though, but I've never seen anyone who regret buying one, they're all quite happy about it actually

 

[Slurpy]

Ok, I still don't fucking get it. What does it do other than brew coffee?

 

[GG-Duo]

That reminds me of the Fruit Fucker.

 

[Matlock]

Now this is what I like.

 

[SystemShark]

This is the best coffee maker ever. Not only does it brew coffee, but it also grinds the beans for you and puts the ground<sic> coffee into it's filter.

If you don't believe me, read this testimonial:

Cuisinart Rules!

 

[cubanb]

wtf is a coffee pod and what does it do

 

[smirkrevenge]

oh man that la valentina machine is sure nice...but suuuuuuure expensive.

thomaser: what's the learning curve on your rancilio machines?

 

[aoi tsuki]

wtf is a coffee pod and what does it do

A coffee pod is to espresso what tea bags are to tea. It's basically preground espresso in a small bag that's brewed as you would if you .This is an oversimplified explanation, but you basically put it in your machine, hit the brew button, and your espresso is brewed. This is a lot easier and quicker than grinding the espresso, tamping it, and then brewing it (and later cleaning the machine). The disadvantage is that pods aren't nearly as fresh as the espresso you grind yourself, and there's not nearly as many coffees available in pod form as there are in bean/grind form.

The design looks good, but if this is a pod-only solution it's not for me. i'd also be interested in finding out how much pressure this puts out (i'd assume not much).

My recommendation for a good cup of coffee is a French press. No electricity needed. Just coffee (preferably ground for a press) and hot water. Bodum pretty much owns all (at least in the US) in terms of presses. Available at Targets, Starbucks (they're rebadged Bodums), TJ Maxx, and a few other places that sell coffee wares.

 

[thomaser]

smirkrevenge: I had absolutely no experience when I bought the Silvia three years ago (the Rocky followed after three or four months), and I probably spent a good six months of experimenting by myself before I was able to make nice cappuccinos once in a while. Luckily, there are a couple of very good coffee-bars around here that arrange barista-courses, and I've been on several of them over the last couple of years, so I've learned a lot from them. I can make good coffee regularly now, but after three years of almost daily use I still have a good way to go!

If you have experience from other machines, I think it would be fairly easy to get used to a Silvia. The steaming might take some adjustment, though, but when it falls into place, it's very easy.

By the way... Tim Wendelboe, the new barista world champion, uses a Silvia at home, and he's on a totally different level than I am. It's incredible how small differences in technique and routines can alter the coffee! Making espresso seems so easy, but getting it right is a science in itself

 

[Deg]

Alright, so you have to brew cups individually. Sucks.

But its the best cup of coffee I've ever had come out of the comfort of my own home. And this shit packs a real caffeine punch. Rocks.

+

Awesome design & good craftsmanship
Very little clean up
Coffee Pods are easy to use
Fast Brewing
Awesome coffee ~ rich taste
Hyper Caffinated

-

Expensive
One coffee pod to one cup of coffee = PIA
Not mainstream yet, so it may be hard to find coffee pods (can order them online though)

Bottom line: it rules, buy it.

They are advertising these in the UK supposedly its the best or something for the home.