How Do You Make Your Coffee?

My wife and I have had a Saeco Vienna Deluxe coffee maker for years.  Back in the late 1990’s we got one when we saw how much we were paying to go out for espresso and lattes.  It was awesome to be able to make a latte and sit in our pajamas.  It was easy to clean.  It was consistent.  Push a button and boom, you were drinking espresso.

That machine lasted a long time.  In around 2006, we bought a Gaggia ultra fancy, ultra expensive machine.  Because if spending a little money is good, then spending a lot of money on “the best” is better right?  Wrong.  That machine was a total pain and was in the shop more than an Italian sports car.  In around 2008 we bought another Saeco Vienna Deluxe.

It’s now the end of 2014, and our Saeco is having trouble.  We’d buy a new one, but Saeco was acquired by Phillips and they discontinued it!  I refuse to spend an arm and a leg for a coffee machine.

I also dislike the machines with pods.  I feel like I am getting ripped off by the old razor/razor blade theory of marketing.  I prefer beans.  Fresh ground beans just taste better-especially if you splurge and use Illy beans.

We are back to square one.  I have tried coffee press, and like it.  My problems have been keeping the coffee hot for an extended period of time and clean up.  I might have to buy a coffee grinder for beans and that will be an extra expense.  There are other ways to do it-I have looked on Kickstarter at the various contraptions people are using to make coffee.  I also love pour over coffee, but I am not going to take the time and effort to make it every day.  I have tried the traditional espresso pots that sit on a burner, but they don’t make reliably consistent coffee.

We might be able to refurbish the Saeco we have; but if we can’t we are going to have to figure out something different.