This is actually what I currently have. The design is great, but I’m just not so sure about drinking out of a little hole on the lid. Have yet to have a spill though!
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Wasn’t sure where to put this as it’s not specifcally about coffee.
(As a British Indian) It blew my mind that an ad like this would run in India.
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Saw this yesterday, thought it was very heartwarming.
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Heartwarming story until the point where I saw a name spelled right on a Starbucks cup, that completely broke immersion for me
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?
The Dad obviously gave - despite his inner feelings - the preferred/intended name to the Starbucks baristas so the preferred name was on the cup and ‘shouted’. To make his child smile and feel comforted and accepted.
It’s what Dad’s do. Great ad.
It’s just a joke about the fact Starbucks never spells a name right 
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a take on the classic ‘Phteven’ gag 
My AeroPress has fallen out of favour, second place to simply ordering coffee. I’m that bone idol.
Nespresso machine suggestions? At my current rate, it would have paid for itself in a couple weeks.
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Have you tried a V60 - Always found that a bit less faffy than Aeropress?
That said though if you’re just after black coffee - the most very basic nespresso machine should do the job.
I’ve had a model similar to this for maybe 7 years and does espresso just fine still. Fine for nespresso anyway. My go to would be the sage bambino but when I’m lazy this one does this job.
I’d say go for the older style with the smaller pods - the machines are cheaper, the pods are cheaper, and the pods are not locked into nespresso.
To be honest I would get a bean to cup machine. So simple each morning and you just fill the hopper every week to two.
It was one the best presents we got ourselves.
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I haven’t! It’s still another “get everything out, wait a while, give everything a rinse, pack away” sort of system that I think my bone idolness can no longer cope with 
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Are there any that you would reccommend/avoid? Just filling the fluids, hopper and pressing a button would be bliss.
If it helps, I’m a sucker for a latte, flat white or cappuccino. Not sure if the concensus would be to have a standalone frother/steamer or have it baked in but I’m open to ideas and suggestions.
When it comes to looking for coffee information/recommendations, always worth putting “[coffee search phrase] James hoffmann” into Google
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Thank you! I wouldn’t know where to start, or who carries merit.
Less about the coffee and more about spending habits for a minute: is going from a £30 press to something 30/40/50x more expensive a logical step? Is this a situation where heading straight to the end game makes sense?
In terms of spending habits for me, it was:
- Recorded how much I was spending at Starbucks over a week or two
- extrapolated the results over a year
- asked myself “if I replace Starbucks with a machine, will I be spending more, less, or about the same?”
Pulled the trigger when the answer was ‘less’.
The important thing is to use whatever machine you buy. If you slip out of using in and going back to takeaway coffees, you’ve managed the worst of all worlds 
Also don’t forget to factor in cost of buying beans regularly on top of the cost of the machine.
I wouldn’t say there’s an ‘end game’ as such. There are a number of solutions, and it’s finding the one that’s right for you. For me it was a drip machine (Technivorn Moccamaster) and grinder rather than bean-to-cup. For others their end game is outrageously expensive espresso setups. If you watch James Hoffmann’s videos though, you’ll learn that when it comes to machines you do get what you pay for.
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I bought a (not-bean-to-cup) coffee machine which is the Sage Barista Pro, I was reluctant to spend that on it. I have a coffee once, or twice a day.
Is it the best coffee ever, probably not, is it a pretty damned good coffee in the morning? Yes.
Is it worth it, hell yes.
If you can afford to buy one, buy one. If you want to buy an entry level one, then do that & assess the quality etc.
Nespresso isn’t bad, but the coffee is expensive per cup - I think - compared to buying a bag of beans etc. 
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Melitta is good (we have one and it’s been superb) as are Sage. I think the others are somewhere in the middle.
It all depends on you use case and how much you like coffee. It’s nearly impossible to get a Starbucks like Mocha at home short of spending £’s but for decent black coffee, the Melitta CI we have has been one of the best investments ever.
WFH each day a one off cost of £500 and I must’ve made well over 1000 coffees with it, still tastes as good as it did on day one.
All I need to do is refill the bean hopper from time to time, empty the drip tray and clean in periodically.
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I just have a standard nespresso machine and I swear by it. Pods from Grind, makes outstanding espresso every time at a button press.
Then again I’m an espresso drinker, if you like a latte it’s probably not a good option as there’s no way to froth milk.
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I got my one during Black Friday from Amazon warehouse with extra TCB. I think I was £320 for the machine that was originally £500 and at the time I thought it was a lot but now I wouldn’t be without it.
We used to make pots of coffee but it was always a waste when it was only me drinking it and really I wouldn’t be arsed but the whole bean to cup cured it.
I have had a pod based years ago and didn’t mind it but the pods became harder to get and expensive so beans are far more controllable as a cost as well as being easier.
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Thanks so much for chiming in, everybody! There’s certainly some research that I’ll need to go and do. I appreciate the dialogue about the different devices available. Still, happy to take suggestions and referrals for machines that:
- You can dial in, set and forget
- Require minimal prep and make minimal mess
- Froth/steam milk (primarily a latte drinker)
There’re some features here I really like, again, at the justifiable £500 price. Double cup, one touch, easy clean. Do you bother with the filter cartridges?