n00b needs advice on a Walmart cappucino or latte machine

[holysmoke]

I have a 600 dollar walmart gift card.

I would love to buy a Christmas gift for myself.

I am new at this and I cannot have sugar so I need either a latte or a cappucino machine.

whichever tastes best w/o sugar.

I just want milk and coffee.

thanks much.

 

[shadow745]

To be honest you might not find anything decent at WalMart to fit the bill. I have no idea what they offer online.

Traditionally a cappuccion is 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk and 1/3 frothed milk. Lattes are an American invention because most of them couldn't handle the strength of cappuccino or straight shots and needed more milk to cut the strength. You can use the same amount of milk for lattes or cappuccinos. The key is to incorporate more air in the steaming process for thicker microfoam if you like a thicker drink. If you want the shot with heated milk and no froth then you simply steam it with the least amount of air incorporation. The taste will be no different, only the texture.

Tried Splenda yet? I personally like honey in anything coffee, but too many simple sugars there. Later!

 

[carlamoose]

Do not buy the Mr. Coffee espresso maker from Walmart. I had it for not even a full year, and the milk frother broke.

 

[keith900]

I love helping newbies out.

If you're going to buy an espresso machine at a store like Walmart, kind of like a starter machine, make sure it's a pump-based and not steam-based machine (beware of "espresso machines" that come with a little glass carafe thingie). You won't get an excellent machine at Walmart or most department stores, but if you're just starting to explore the world of good coffee, there are a few decent gateway machines out there. I had a Krups pump-based machine for a while before I got my Silvia, and it was quite able to keep me alive for a few years. If you want a machine to pull cafe-quality espresso shots, you'll want a boiler based machine from another source.

But regarding your concern on sugar - you can drink coffee prepared with any method without sugar... try fresh coffee, it has more of a 'natural sweetness' in addition to a better flavor profile than the alternative. Drink coffee within a month of roasting, and grind just before brewing. If that isn't your normal practice, you'll be probably be surprised at the difference that makes. If you don't have a good burr grinder, you'll be more likely to find a good one of these at Walmart.

 

[carlamoose]

Actually, you won't find a good burr grinder at Wal Mart. I have tried probably at least 5 grinders from different stores, but most of them don't make the grind small enough for espresso. I ended up going with the Capresso Infinity grinder. Yes, it will put you out about $100, but it's definitely worth it! I got mine at jcpenney.com, and if you time it correctly, you can get free shipping, which will save you about $15.

 

[shadow745]

Yeah Carlamoose is right.... most stores don't have anything close to a real grinder. I bought an Infinity as my first real grinder and it is a pleasure to use. It will serve you well for years. Later!

 

[keith900]

well, if nothing else, you can at least use that WalMart gift card for non-coffee related essentials while you save up cash to spend elsewhere for your gear, eh? Personally, I can't imagine life these days without my Rocky and Silvia.

 

[lachris]

Holysmoke - I know you started this thread some time ago...but,

Go to ebay - find yourself a nice Starbuks Barista Espresso machine made by Saeco, clean it up and start learning - they say don't tamp...tamp if you want. Or you can toss the Raporta filter included and get a non-pressurized version and start learning...JMO

Please tell us what you decided to do...!

 

[CCafe]

Chances of him answering this post are next to none. If you look by his name you'll see he's only posted this 1 message. If you click on his name his profile will tell you that he lasted logged in when his posted this message. So he hasn't logged in about 3 months.

 

[lachris]

Good Point!

 

[CCafe]

Sorry. I hope though it helps you the next time you post.

 

[lachris]

No biggy. It may yet help someone with the same spending delima (sp?) One of these days i'm gonna read up on how to post photos on here. I've not taken the time to search that out - yet.

Thanks,

 

[CCafe]

No biggy. It may yet help someone with the same spending delima (sp?) One of these days i'm gonna read up on how to post photos on here. I've not taken the time to search that out - yet.

Thanks,

Its easy when posting a reply you see all those buttons. Pres the Img button and it will insert the tags that look like these two here [ img ][ /img ]. Your picture has to be located some where on the Internet. You can use http://www.photobucket.com or http://www.tinypic.com to store your photo's. There a lot of other places that will allow you to do this as well. After you post the picture it should give you a URL to that file. Then paste that URL between those 2 tags.

And you the end result will look much like this. [ img ] http://www.espressoworks.com/pics/espwrkslogo.jpg [ /img ]

And it will post like this.

 

[lachris]

Great tip! Thanks!

I may give it a try soon...

 

[caffe biscotto]

Even here now... as I stumble upon an opportunity to insert a witty quip
in a thread, that has already gone a bit off track from the OPs topic...
I suddenly find myself at a loss for words... :-(