CoffeeForums Coffee Facts

Q: I have a Mr. Coffee es/cap machine. I know, I know, I got it 'cause it was only $30 and it was my birthday. I'm more a coffee person, than a es/cap drinker, so I'm not too sure how bad my cafe mochas are (though to me they're not all that bad). It is a steam machine, and as I have been watching this newsgroup for awhile, have found that I've committed a grave sin. I got the new DAMARK catalog the other day and was looking through it (I know, I know, it's not a specialty catalog, but I'm only a student, and would like a decent cuppa for the amount of money I can spend). Their are 2 in here that caught my eye, but the descriptions confuse me. 1. KRUPS Cafe Trio Combo French Press Maker With Espresso "...Offers you pressurized coffee, cappuccino and espresso...also has a Perfect Froth attachment...." has a stainless steel filter holder, like a espresso machine, but has baskets for coffee AND espresso. Also comes with a tamper. $45 Is this good??? Is this the "press" style machine I hear about, or are they playing with words to make me think this, and I'll wind up with horrible cappuccino??? 2. SALTON Cappuccino/Espresso/Coffee Maker It doesn't say if it's steam or press style. Anybody know??? It's $54. Is it better than the KRUPS??? Are either of these worth getting to replace my Mr. Coffee??? This machine has seperate areas (coffee - cap) while the other (krups) uses all the same mechanism. Can someone plese get back to me ASAP!!! Please give me your HONEST opinion!!! I don't want to waste money. Also, I know it's up to me whether I should replace my machine or not (why replace it if I don't mind it, or find anything wrong with it). The fact is, I'm sure the rest of you know ALOT more than I do about these things, so I'd like to put my faith in your hands. TELL ME what I should do, I'm too young to have a real idea!!!

A: The Trio was one of Krups silly marketing goofs... It is a steam machine which makes press style coffee, not realy press coffee. And the espresso or cappuccinos you get out of it will only be marginally better than what you get from your Mr. Coffee. Is it a better machine? Yeah, it's made better and would probably last longer, but the brew is about the same. Keep your current machine until you can afford to drop a couple hundred $$ for a good pump machine. Learn how to use your boiler machine to its fullest... It probably says it's a "4-cup" machine... Forget that. The most it can brew is two shots of espresso at once. It probably has a nifty glass carafe that fits under the brew spout. Don't use it. The "cup" markings are WAY too generous, and the large surface area almost guarantees you won't ever get any cream on your espresso. Get a couple of 1.5 oz shot glasses to brew into. If you want to brew one shot of espresso, fill the coffee basket up to the "2 cup" marking, and then brew into your shot glass, brewing no more than 1 to 1.25 oz of espresso. To brew two shots, fill the coffee basket to the "4 cup" line and brew into two shot glasses. If you think this is a waste of coffee, brew like you normally do, but catch the first 1.25 oz in a shot glass, and brew the rest into the carafe. After you're finished brewing, taste the espresso in the shot glass; then taste the espresso in the carafe. The espresso in the shot glass will taste like... espresso. The espresso in the carafe will taste like burnt rubber. Get a couple of books on the subject, and learn about the theory of espresso and cappuccino production and you'll be able to coax all you can out of your machine.