If you want to quickly prepare delicious tea, coffee, cocoa or any other hot drink, then the review of kitchen gadgets is especially for you.
If you want to quickly make delicious tea, coffee, cocoa or any other hot drink, then our review of kitchen gadgets is just for you.
Capsule coffee machines, home water centers, cappuccino makers, teapots that have evolved beyond recognition - these exotic devices for many can not only simplify, but also significantly speed up the process of preparing your favorite drink.
From the Editor: The price in the material is based on the results of monitoring of Russian online stores in October 2013. Depending on the region, the cost of the device may vary. Information about the advantages and disadvantages of the devices mentioned in the text is the subjective opinion of the observer.
Teapots of the XXI century
This chapter is about devices that can be called the result of the evolution of an ordinary electric kettle.
Stadler Form QuickUp One (Model SFQ.010)
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A device that does not look like a classic kettle not only in shape, but also in the way of heating water. The fact that water can be heated to the desired temperature - from 60 to 100 ° C, in steps of a degree - is not surprising, many teapots can boast of this. The kettle, however, always heats up all the water, but here you can heat just as much water as you need for a mug of tea. There are two buttons for this - pressing one activates the heating of 100 ml of water, the other - 200. This speeds up the process of obtaining hot water (200 or 100 ml heats up faster than, for example, a liter), and saves electricity. The user selects the water temperature with a rotary knob. There is a button for locking the control panel (if the device is inactive for several minutes, it is automatically locked).
The volume of the removable container for water is 1, 7 liters. Ready hot water enters the cup, which is installed on a removable drip tray. There is a mode of water supply without heating. The power of the device is 2200 W (which is quite comparable with the power of a modern electric kettle). The cost is about 5 thousand rubles.
Bosch Filtrino
A serious competitor to the Stadler Form QuickUp is devices with similar functionality - Bosch Filtrino.
There are now two models for sale, THD2021 and THD2023, differing only in color. True, they have less power than SFQ.010 - 1600 W, but the volume of a removable water container is larger - 2 liters.
There is also a built-in Brita MAXTRA water filter. Available with Bosch Filtrino and adjustable water portion size: 120 ml, 150 ml, 200 ml, 250 ml, 300 ml. There are five temperature settings: 70 ° C, 80 ° C, 90 ° C, boiling point and room temperature. There is a "Self-cleaning" mode (descaling mode, which implies the use of special cleaning tablets, which will have to be purchased when the supplied items run out). The control panel has a light indication that visualizes the control process itself. In total, there are 9 LED indicators of the device status: the heating process, the activated control panel lock function ("child protection"), the selected temperature, the need to replace the filter, the active descaling program, the need to add water to the removable container. The cost of Bosch Filtrino is about 4 thousand rubles.
Home aquatic center
Home aquacenter or purifier is a separate type of "drink" gadgets. Its main difference from the devices presented above is the ability to connect to the water supply. That is, there is no need to monitor the filling level of the respective water container. Naturally, tap water is purified by a purifier (translated from English as purifier). The principle of operation is simple: cold tap water is purified by a filter system, then, after purification, the water enters the storage tank. From there, it is distributed into special tanks for supplying cold and hot water (there are models where the main storage tank is the tank from which cold water is supplied, just for hot water - separate). The device maintains a constant set water temperature (hot and cold). Typically, the temperature norm for cold water is 9-13 C °, hot - 85-95 C °.
Purifiers can be tabletop or floor-standing. There are even models that can carbonate running water.
AquaBar Smart
Several brands of purifiers are available for sale in Russia. For example, "AquaBar Smart". This is a desktop cooler capable of heating and maintaining the temperature of water within 85-100 ° C, providing up to 75 cups of hot water per hour (suitable for an office as well). Water cooling - up to 2-8 ° С, provides up to 50 cups per hour. Multi-stage filtration system: to remove sand, rust and large particles from water. The charcoal filter is designed to purify water from chlorine and organic harmful substances. An ultraviolet emitter disinfects water. Finally, special Slowfos balls reduce the likelihood of scale formation and protect internal structural elements from corrosion. We also note the button for a quick boil - Extra Hot. Such devices are not cheap.
"AquaBar Smart" will cost 27 thousand rubles. It is also desirable (but, nevertheless, not necessary) to pay 5 thousand rubles once a year for the maintenance of the device (replacement of filters, ultraviolet emitter, general check of the device's systems). The company that sells and services this purifier in Russia emphasizes that if the owner wants, he can be trained to independently carry out maintenance of the purifier.
TrioBar
AquaBar Smart has competitors. For example, the TrioBar purifier. It is, however, much more expensive - it will cost about 40 thousand rubles. Functionally, the models are similar, like any purifier, this one has water purification and heating and cooling. The cleaning is done here with the OmnipureBlock absorption filter. Water is purified from chlorine, rust, silt, and impurities of heavy metals (mercury, lead) are also removed from it. Ultraviolet disinfection of water allows you to achieve a high level of disinfection. It is capable of producing up to 16 liters of hot water (temperature 92 ° C - 96 ° C) per hour. Cold water "TrioBar" is able to "cook" up to 8 liters (4 ° C - 16 ° C). Available in 12 colors.
The dimensions of both desktop purifiers are roughly the same as a small classic coffee machine.
Capsule coffee machines
Another "beverage" segment is the so-called capsule coffee machines (coffee makers), which are no longer only coffee makers. Many of them can, if needed, also make "capsule tea" or simply pour a cup of hot water.
Nescafé Dolce Gusto Flow Stop
Consider the Nescafé Dolce Gusto Flow Stop family of beverage gadgets from Krups and Nestle. This is really a whole family of capsule coffee machines, there are several models, each of which has several colors. The most compact version is the Mini Me model series (4500 rubles).
Capsule coffee machines Genio similar to penguins (4600 rubles). Melody3 series (6000 rubles) - slightly larger models. Finally, the futuristic Circolo coffee machines (8,000 rubles) are the most sophisticated of the entire line.
The machines are equipped with a thermoblock for quick heating of the required amount of water; manual dosage of water, supply of hot or cold water (room temperature) is possible. For cups, there is a height-adjustable stand with a drip tray.
Niche for cups - with LED lighting (looks pretty impressive in the twilight). After 20 minutes of “inactivity”, the coffee machine switches off automatically. Power - 1500 W. The maximum possible pump pressure is 15 bar (manufacturers usually indicate in the characteristics of coffee machines exactly the maximum that the pump is capable of, in fact, drinks are usually prepared at a pressure of 2 times less). The volume of the water container is 1.5 liters.
One cannot fail to mention the coffee (and not only) capsules available to users of Nescafé Dolce Gusto Flow Stop. There are 6 types of espresso (including ristretto, milk espresso, caramel), lungo, americano, latte and cappuccino. Iced coffee - cappuccino ice. Tea drink Chaï Tea Latte (oriental herbs and milk foam). In general, the manufacturer (coffee capsules in this case are produced by the world food giant Nestle) is trying to minimize the consequences of one of the main disadvantages when using capsule coffee machines - limited choice.
Other capsules are not suitable for these coffee makers.
Another disadvantage is frequent expenses. The price of a package with capsules costs about 300 rubles. And you can't buy them in any supermarket.
If the drink is one-part (just coffee) - there are 16 capsules in the package. If "coffee with milk" - 8 coffee and milk (milk powder). Calculating the cost of a cup of a drink is not difficult. Note that this "coffee arithmetic" is also relevant for capsule coffee machines of other brands - prices for various "beverage" capsules are approximately the same.
Bosch Tassimo
Similar arithmetic is also relevant for Bosch Tassimo capsule coffee machines. Here, the capsules are called T-discs, but they also cost about 300 rubles per pack with the same amount.
The technology of making drinks, "releasing" them from capsules and transferring them to the cup of Bosch Tassimo ointments is slightly different from the classic one for capsule coffee machines. But still, the main principle is the same - hot water under pressure is passed through the coffee or herbal tea mixture. Just because of the special design of the T-discs, a pump pressure of no more than 3.3 bar is sufficient for high-quality cooking.
There are several models in the family of "Bosch Tassimo devices for making hot drinks" (as the manufacturer officially calls them), the most advanced of those currently available in our country is the Tassimo TAS55 series. The machines of this series - TAS5543EE and TAS5542EE (differ in color: red and black, respectively) - are capable of preparing a hot drink (various types of coffee, herbal teas) in automatic mode, just one press of a button. If you need to add milk, you will also need to change the coffee capsule to the milk one. There is an instantaneous heater that quickly heats up the required amount of water to the optimal temperature and minimal breaks between making drinks. The strength of the drinks can be changed. For cups there is a drip stand, adjustable in height. There is a self-cleaning mode. On the control panel there is a light indication of the operating modes and the need to add clean water (the capacity of the removable container is 1.4 liters). Power - 1300 W. The cost is about 6 thousand rubles.
Milk frother MF2500 / OR
At the end of the review, there is a simple and inexpensive device that will delight all coffee lovers, such as cappuccino or latte. For those lovers who prefer to make coffee on their own, without any coffee machines. At the same time, there are no additional costs, except for milk. It's about the MF2500 / OR milk frother. This bright orange "drink gadget" can cheer you up with its looks. Still, the main function is to prepare high-quality milk foam. Which can then be used for a variety of culinary purposes.
The Oursson frother has three operating modes: milk frothing and warming, just warming up, cold milk frothing. All modes are automatic (the device turns itself off when everything is ready). A magnetic whisk is used for whipping (driven by electromagnetic induction). Foamer-heater working bowl - with non-stick coating and graduation for user convenience. Stirring is provided when heating milk (automatic mode). There is a light indication of the selected operating mode. Power -500 watts. The cost is 1, 9 thousand rubles. The main competitors are Lattemento frothers (they are also called cappuccinators), models LA 150, LM 145.
