Italian coffee giants Lavazza have thrown their hat in the coffee pod ring to compete with the likes of Tassimo and the current champions Nespresso, but will the A Moda Mio serve up a quality crema or just leave a bitter taste in the mouth?

At just 20.5cm wide the Mio is pretty dinky for a fully featured espresso maker, especially as it features a steam arm for milk heating, 1-litre water tank and decent size used pod holder and drip tray.

As for styling the Mio is undoubtedly retro, but the cute curves, high-gloss two-tone finish in silver with red, black or white mean it will sit happily in the sleekest of modern kitchens. The plastic body construction isn’t the best – the Nespresso models we’ve tried feel substantially more robust – but it's sturdy enough not to look cheap.

Once filled with water and turned on it takes about 40 seconds to heat up ready for use. Pop your chosen coffee flavour in the flip-top slot, pull down the silver lever and push the button. A double espresso will take around 35 seconds, longer than both the Tassimo and Nespresso systems, and be warned, we only wanted a single shot, but the espresso button is manual, so it’s up to you how much coffee you want in the cup.

Sluggish speed aside the espresso tastes fantastic; rich, smooth, and equally as good as the Nespresso and on a par with the best restaurants have to offer.

While Tassimo and Nespresso both boast an impressive range of drinks and coffee flavours, the Lavazza has only four basic blends to choose from – light, medium, dark and decaf - all 100% Arabica beans.

But there’s more to the Moda than just espresso, you can also knock up a macchiato or cappuccino using the handy steamer. Usually the Achilles heel of budget coffee makers this steam arm was surprisingly simple to use and heated/frothed milk with a satisfying whoosh and gurgle. Our only niggle with the steamer is that the arm is about 2 inches too short and as a result most standard mugs were awkward to use, while the classic espresso cup fitted perfectly it didn’t hold enough milk for a latte or cappuccino.

The steam is controlled via a dial on the side of the machine, that can also be used to produce hot water for tea, but the water flow comes through such a narrow opening it’d be far quicker just to boil the kettle.

The Mio is easy to keep clean, the used pods fall automatically into a container and the excess water drains through into a separate drip tray. The whole unit pulls out as one making trips to the sink drip proof.

Coffee pods cost £3.59 for 16 from Waitrose, Tesco or www.lavazzamodomio.co.uk, that’s 22p per cup and, while not as cheap as a vat of Mellow Birds, you really do get what you pay for.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets Coffee machines Lavazza Lavazza A Modo Mio

Lavazza A Modo Mio coffee machine originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

The appliance brand has absolutely nothing to do with super cars, but is the Casa Bugatti kettle the Veyron of the kitchen or just another overpriced worktop ornament?

Kettles have been getting technical of late – rapid boiling elements, clever water saving devices, Brita filters to name a few – but the Casa Bugatti takes water boiling high tech. We’re talking digital water level readers, adjustable temperature settings, programmable timers and one of the slickest LED displays we’ve ever seen, on anything.

But let’s start with the design – according to the product blurb the 1.7 litre conical stainless steel body has been engineered to speed up the boiling process and reduce energy consumption by an eco-friendly 25%. Clever stuff, but the real action happens in the handle. Plug the kettle in and LEDs spark into life showing the time, how much water (in ml) and how hot the water is.

Yes people, this kettle has a full-on digital interface and it’s not just for show; the three buttons at the base of the handle let you to programme the kettle to boil as a specific time and select a temperature between 45 and 98°C to reduce unnecessary boiling when making herbal teas and instant coffee.

Programming is easy, if not a bit fiddly. If you’ve ever owned a digital watch or set a VCR you’ll know what we mean; lots of button pushing and menu searching but you get there in the end.

But can it boil water? Firstly, the elongated conical shape and small opening meant it was a tight fit getting under the tap, and those with smaller faucets might struggle. Secondly you can’t judge the water level inside until you’ve put the kettle back on the base and the LED gauge lights up. We love the idea of being given a digital readout but as the minimum level is 800ml, far more than your average cup, we can’t help but think the 25% energy saving design will be cancelled out by needless over-filling at the tap.

Gripes aside, we can’t argue with the Bugatti’s ability to boil. The 2.4kW concealed element is lightening fast and a (self measured) cup of water took less than 30sec to boil. We also loved watching the temperature level rise on the LED display.

We’re smitten with the design, how couldn’t you be? But like a trophy bride we’ve got a nasty feeling the novelty will wear off, long after the credit card bill comes in.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets Kettles Casa Bugatti Casa Bugatti Vera

Casa Bugatti Vera Kettle originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:07:29 +0000

Can this top of the line citrus juicer help Pocket-lint squeeze its way to five-a-day, or will it be another waste of worktop?

First up, the ZX7000 is a citrus press not a full-on juicer, so it won’t squish your apples, carrots and wheatgrass into a worthy mush. It will however blitz the juice from oranges, limes, lemons and grapefruit.

Straight from the box it’s pretty obvious the Krups is built tough – the dye cast metal base is unflinchingly hefty and the bowls, juicer heads, fruit press and handle all fit together with reassuring ease.

Measuring 34 x 26cm it isn’t small, but the sleek industrial design will look great on display – essential if you ask us; once a kitchen gadgets get stowed away they tend to get forgotten about.

There’s nothing complicated on show – the juice head spins automatically as you either use your hand (needlessly laborious) or the handle, to press fruit onto it. Juice then flows through the stainless steel filter and out the spout. But boy does it do a good job – this reviewer has sworn by an old school manual juicer for years, but the Krups did a better job in half the time with zero effort.

OK so it isn’t hard to squeeze an orange, but the true measure of a quality juicer is all in the cleaning. The whole base of the Krups lifts away so all the sticky parts can be moved to the sink in one go which is handy. Once there each section comes apart easily and can be rinsed. Be warned the pulp gets everywhere and even though all the parts are dishwasher safe if you don’t rinse well before stacking them, everything will come out covered.

Three average sized oranges produced half a pint of juice … with each rind being completely emptied of pulp. OK so for £99 it isn’t cheap and you can buy a lot of pre-squeezed juice for that, but as long as the fruit and veg man on the market is selling five oranges for a quid it’ll save this reviewer a packet on his Tropicana.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets Krups Krups Citrus Expert ZX 7000 Krups Citrus Expert ZX 7000

Krups Citrus Expert ZX 7000 juicer originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Whether you’re scaling K2 or just negotiating Knightsbridge can Timex’s "wrist-top adventure instrument" keep you safely on track? We strapped ourselves in to find out.

The WS4 serves up an altimeter, barometer, compass and thermometer, it's waterproof to 50m, has 100 hour chronograph for serious timings, has a tough rubber casing, INDIGLO night light and all the daily/weekly alarms you could need. It also squeezes in time telling (digital and analogue) and date.

Impressive, but nothing terribly exciting; the likes of Garmin and Suunto (and Timex) have been knocking out adventure specific watches for years. What makes the WS4 stand out is the screen (WS = Widescreen) and the effortless functionality. For once you can navigate your way around all the functions with ease, even in zero visibility with huge great mittens on.

The 3.7cm wide screen is split into four sections; there’s a clear analogue dial (shows time at a glance and also compass direction), large bitmapped area that displays names, time, modes, graphs, while a smaller segments displays numbers, lap times, the date, barometric pressure, etc, depending on the menu. Finally a small graphic in the bottom left gives you the temperature and a current weather graphic.

Lots to take in on one display, but there’s an ocean of space between each graphic making it easy to decipher all the info at a glance.

Finding and using each feature is also a breeze. The chunky mode button gets you to the altimeter, barometer, etc, and once there the on-screen prompts guide you through each. For example to set-up the compass the top right display asks you to rotate the watch twice before pushing mode to calibrate.

It’s up to you if you’d find an altimeter/barometer/compass useful but rest assured each worked a treat. The altimeter was accurate (standing on a desk even registered) and the progression graph a great touch. You can set altitude alarms, useful for keeping on track and hitting goals and record how long you’re at a certain height – essential if the oxygen’s getting thin.

The compass did as it should and was spot on with accuracy while the barometer proved a handy tool. Ignore the sunny/rainy symbols, you can look out the window for that info, but the Hg pressure display and history graphs can really help predict the weather – watch the numbers drop and you know you’ve got bad weather on the way, essential if you’re half way up Ben Nevis or on Bond Street without a brolly.

We were disappointed by the temperature gauge. It was too influenced by the heat of this reviewer’s wrist to be totally accurate. We had to take it off to get a proper read out.

In darkness the silver INDIGLO button illuminates the display in easy-reading neon green for about 3 seconds. We found it worked superbly in dark conditions but at half light the original display was often clearer.

It’s also available in black, blue, yellow, orange, and white for the fashion conscious.

Tags: Sports Fitness Timex Watches Timex WS4

Timex WS4 adventure watch originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:00:00 +0100

James Dyson doesn’t do things by half, but does the promise of a vacuum cleaner powered with the fastest motor on earth make doing the housework any less of a chore?

The new Dyson DC31 handheld has a switched reluctance motor ten times quicker than the engine of a Boeing 747 aircraft - that’s 104,000rpm of cat hair sucking greatness. He’s stuck all this revolutionary technology into a cordless vacuum weighing just over 1kg that’s designed to be used for quick clean-ups in the car and around the home.

The DC31 is cooler than your average vacuum. Actually it’s cooler than most tech, period. The gloss grey and brilliant blue casing is robust but light, the handle and trigger feel meaty and well balanced and the nozzles for getting down the side of sofas have a satisfying clunk-click to them.

Fire it up and the super tech motor comes into its own – at only the volume of a hair dryer it went to work on this reviewer’s dusty skirting board with impressive ease. In the kitchen it made quick work of toaster crumbs and didn’t choke even when we cleared up a toppled pot plant and piles of soil.

There’s a choice of two power levels, the standard gives you 10 min of perfectly good suction (the original DC16 only managed 6 min), but if you push the 65AW button on the back you get around 6 min of unbelievable power for a compact vacuum.

10 (or even 6) min battery life seems pretty pathetic, but the DC31 isn’t designed for a full on deep clean. For a once-over in the car, the odd spill and a quick dusting the battery life is more than capable, and because it doesn’t lose suction at all you get maximum effort for the power available. And besides, a 10 minute time limit on vacuuming doesn’t strike us as a bad thing.

Downsides? There isn’t much to dislike, it’s macho, does the job and looks the business, but we weren’t completely convinced by the emptying system. It’s simple enough – a trapdoor opens and spills the contents into the bin – but we found it fairly messy unless held right inside the bin liner and the big red catch was quite easy to open by mistake.

Pet owners might want to consider the DC31 Animal (£149.99) that comes with a powerful rotating brush head to get deep into carpets to remove hairs.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Vacuum cleaners Dyson Dyson DC31

Dyson DC31 handheld vacuum originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:03:41 +0100

Bosch and Tassimo promise freshly brewed hot drinks - from Twinings green tea and Milka hot chocolate to Starbucks filter and Kenco cappuccinos - but can this table top vending machine deliver designer drinks tastier than the office canteen?

At 20cm wide the Bosch is mercifully compact and nestled nicely on our worktop. It’s also a handsome devil, with just enough tech detailing - LCD screen, bright LEDs - to keep us interested without looking like a hi-fi. It's also superbly built - the rear mounted water tank is robust and features a BRITA filter, the buttons are solid and the lid mechanism closes with a satisfying thud.

Turn it on and the LCD display lights up and helps you through the options. Once the 1.8ltr water tank is full you’ll be prompted to insert a T-Disc (T stands for Tassimo), stick a cup under the spout and push the big green button. Thanks to a pump and heating element inside there’s no waiting, it’s ready to go instantly.

The T-Discs sit neatly in the slot and a built-in reader scans the disc's bar code to discover what flavour drink it is and adjusts the amount of water/pressure to suit.

The Bosch is a simple, well designed machine and takes no effort at all to use. The big button does all the work, the indicator symbols are clear and the LCD screen shows how long before drinks are ready and even offers top-ups. It’s just a shame they’ve wasted a great machine on such a disappointing drinks system.

As a basic coffee maker the Tassimo does an OK job; it has the big brands - Starbucks, Kenco, Carte Noire - and can knock out an acceptable espresso or filter coffee in just 20 seconds. But if you want a cappuccino you have to use a concentrated milk disc to provide the froth. It’s convenient, but the results make an in-flight coffee taste somewhat sophisticated.

But Tassimo isn’t just about coffee; they also offer a variety of tea and hot chocolate delights. The chocolate actually scored points for being thick, creamy and super sweet, but the tea was nothing more than vending machine fodder.

Our other big bugbear with Tassimo is all the waste. After making two cappuccinos and two hot chocolates we were left with eight landfill clogging plastic discs. We might live in a disposable society, but the amount of plastic used with the T-Discs just seems unnecessary.

As for pricing, a box of 16 discs cost £1.99 to £3.49 from the Tassimo website. They are also available in supermarkets and discounts are pretty common. In total we counted 37 different drinks, so you’re spoilt for choice. If you like that sort of thing.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Coffee machines Bosch Bosch Tassimo TAS8520GB

Bosch Tassimo TAS8520GB coffee machine originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0100

Brits are being knocked out of SW19 by the hour and by our reckoning that makes it summertime. What better way to celebrate the arrival of intermittent sunny days than by giving the latest ice cream maker from Cuisinart a thorough tasting. Sorry testing.

There’s nothing complicated about ice cream - sugar, double cream, milk and flavouring (a vanilla pod, or some chopped strawberries will do) are all you need for a delicious, artery clogging desert, and while you can spend hours churning, whisking and freezing without one, most ice cream makers can do the lot for you in a fraction of the time.

The Cuisinart Duo is essentially two basic ice cream makers in one. It has two identical freezer bowls, churning paddles and covers. To get started you need to put the bowls (which are filled with the stuff you get inside cool blocks) in the freezer overnight. Once the coolant has set solid you’re ready to go.

The Duo comes with a great recipe book with clear ingredient lists and step-by-step instructions. First up we tried the classic vanilla recipe and much to our annoyance (after all, isn’t the gadget is supposed to do the work?) we had to hand whisk the ingredients for a good 10 minutes before the sugar dissolved. Once done we grabbed one bowl from the freezer, put it in place, inserted the paddle and covered with the big plastic lid. In went the ingredients and on went the motor.

That’s it. There are no timers (slightly annoying), no complicated controls, just an on/off button and a choice of one or two bowls.

After 15 minutes the ingredients were starting to firm up nicely, and by 25 it was the consistency of a good thick Mr Whippy. It won’t give you super firm Haagen Dazs style straight away, but if you put it back in the freezer for an hour or so it will firm-up perfectly.

And it’s delicious. Thick, creamy (that’ll be the double cream) and equally as good as shop bought, just a fraction of the price.

We experimented with both bowls, knocking up a batch of strawberry - we put a handful of mushed-up fruit in half way through the churning - and more vanilla, and the machine worked just fine. This reviewer however felt a bit sick after 2 pints of cream and sugar.

On a practical note, the plastic paddle and lid are dishwasher safe and the whole thing is easy to wipe clean.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets Cuisinart Cuisinart Ice Cream Duo

Cuisinart Ice Cream Duo ice cream maker originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Can a pumped up laptop battery really tackle the lawn? We’ve put Bosch’s cordless rotary mower to the test to see if it’ll serve up centre court stripes in the Pocket-lint garden.

The Rotak 34Li looks the business. The chunky plastic styling and streamlined dragster design stands it apart from the army of boxy electric mowers out there. The wheels look robust (although they’re not rubber), the grass collector hooks up seamlessly and the handle and power arm both feel solid.

At 12.8kg it isn’t the heftiest machine on the market, but the lack of bulk makes it surprisingly easy to carry and manoeuvre across the lawn. Thanks to the solidly built 40-litre grass collector though it isn’t a compact machine; you’ll need a shed or garage to store it, rather than an under stairs cupboard.

The all-important battery and docking system looks as if it has been swiped from Doc Brown’s DeLorean. To fit it you have to slide open a plastic cover and insert the brick of a battery into place. No dry ice effects, but it’s about as far removed from the usual hover, or sweat inducing two-stroke petrol mower, as you can get.

The 36V 20-cell lithium-ion battery takes 60min to fully charge, and although bulky, the charging base unit is idiot proof and works easily. There’s a status indicator button on the battery itself to check on charge level which is a nice touch.

In our test we got at least 20min mowing time from a full charge. Perfectly acceptable for the Pocket-lint postage stamp lawn, but a second battery would be a worthwhile investment for anywhere much bigger than a tennis court, or if you’re cutting very long grass (Bosch says it’ll do 150-300m2).

So it looks good, has a quality battery and moves easily, but what about the grass cutting? Well we were pretty impressed with the result all round. The motor fired up in a second and despite sounding like a hairdryer had enough power to scythe through a few weeks of lawn growth. The main body can be raised and lowered using a single lever (the handle is a faff, but hardly a deal breaker) to cope with long and short grass and it handled both with ease.

We made quick work of the lawn and really enjoyed not having to think about extension cables, petrol and electrocution. On the shortest setting we were able to achieve a really close finish and the roller, although pretty lightweight did leave us with a neat finish. It didn’t give us Wembley stripes, but we were impressed with the end result.

At first glance the natty red fins behind the front wheels looked, to us, like go-faster decorations, but as it turned out they do a great job guiding longer grass direct into the blades. It’s a bit of a gimmick, but one that impressed us none the less.

The grass collector did exactly as it should, but we did get a little frustrated as it had a nasty habit of falling off and spilling grass as we lifted the mower onto its back wheels to turn corners.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Garden gadgets Lawnmowers Bosch Bosch Rotak 34LI

Bosch Rotak 34LI lawnmower originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0100

It’s time consuming, tedious and at the bottom of Pocket-lint’s list of fun things to do, but can the latest high pressure steam generator from Bosch blast through the ironing before the boredom kicks in?

Built for serious bouts of ironing, steam generators are designed to produce large quantities of high pressure steam to blast through creases. Steam needs plenty of water, so unlike a standard design that can only hold enough for the odd spray or blast of steam they come with a separate water tank steam generator.

As a result steam generators are usually double, or even triple the size of a standard iron giving them a bulky footprint that’s often difficult to store away.

The Bosch is no different; the base measures a chunky 44 x 23 x 19cm and has a 1-litre removable water tank for easy filling. Controls are simple - there’s a big red on/off button, green steam ready indicator, water indicator and steam level control. This makes set-up very easy - fill with water, turn on and let the pump suck up water for heating. When the green light turns on you’re ready to go.

It took around 2.5min to heat up, which wasn’t quick, but did give this reviewer time to turn on the TV, pick something from the Sky+ and pour a drink.

The iron itself feels solid in the hand thanks to the tough rubber grip. Because there’s no water tank inside it felt lightweight and manoeuvrable. The soleplate is made from ultra smooth easy gliding ceramic and has just 12 steam holes at the tip.

On a good day it’ll take this reviewer at least 5 or 6 minutes to iron a shirt, but after he got used to the steam trigger he was, well, um, steaming through the ironing. The constant pressure cut effortlessly through even the most crumpled sections and while the tip isn’t as button friendly as some we’ve tried, it almost halved our ironing time and doubled the quality.

Even our oldest shirts got a new lease of life thanks to the steam, but be aware the high water content will leave your shirt feeling slightly damp, so if you’ve really had to work at the creases, hang it up for 5 minutes before wearing or storing.

One small complaint; even our old £20 iron has wool, silk, cotton, synthetic written helpfully on the temperature controls. The Bosch just has black blobs, so you’ll need to memorise the settings from the instructions (or keep them handy).

Your average iron will have a steam output of around 20-40g/min output, but the Bosch manages a constant 120g/min at 5.0 bar pressure and thanks to refill water tank you can refill at any time, even when the system is hot - many similar models need turning off and cooling down before refilling.

We also loved the vertical steaming that let us refresh a couple of suits and hard to iron dresses without resorting to dry cleaning. It’s no substitute, but helped knock a good few of the elbow and knee creases out of a cotton suit.

Added safety features include and auto shut off system which switches the iron off after 30 seconds if it is left face down or after 8 minutes if left standing.

The Bosch Sensixx B25L irons like a dream, but for the price we expected a bit more flash. The casing lacks the luxurious finish we’d expect for the price which is disappointing, especially if you haven’t any cupboards big enough to store it away.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets Bosch Bosch TDS2556GB Sensixx B25L

Bosch TDS2556GB Sensixx B25L steam iron originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:30:00 +0100

Wedges, French fries, chunky or crinkle cut we love our unhealthy potato dishes, so the promise of a kitchen gadget that’d churn out proper deep-fried style chips using only a drop of oil seemed too good to be true. We put it, and our cholesterol level, to the test to find out.

Straight out of the box the Actifry looks and feels impressive - the plastic feels solid as does the flip-up handle on the non-stick bowl. Set up is also remarkably simple - just plug in, set the digital timer and push the go button.

It isn’t small though and measuring 32 x 26 x 32cm it will take up more space than your toaster and kettle combined, but if it’ll make healthy chips who needs toast and tea?

The key to the fryer’s success is the non-stick mixing bowl and paddle (rather like the inside of a washing machine drum) which rotates slowly during cooking. The paddle keeps the food moving and helps to coat each chip with oil and ensure everything is evenly cooked. Heat is generated using a fan blower, which gets hot instantly so there’s no need to pre-heat.

And so to the chips; included with the Actifry is an excellent recipe book with detailed instructions on how to create the perfect French fry or potato wedge as well as hints on stir-frying and even rustling up a sausage and bean cassoulet. Not that we really cared, this test was all about the chips.

First we tried the classic English chip - not to thin, not quite a wedge - we chopped 1kg of potatoes into the perfect shape, dried on kitchen roll as directed and then put them into the Actifry. There’s a handy green measuring spoon included so we knew how much oil to use (50ml to be precise). We poured olive oil over the potato, closed the lid and set the timer for 35min.

The hot air heating had the oil bubbling in a few seconds and after a minute amazingly the chips had all started to brown a little. The paddle keeps the food moving constantly and we were amazed by the even level of cooking.

But we were bored. Even frozen oven chips don’t take 35min, and a deep fat fryer takes less than 5 minutes, so we weren’t happy having to wait.

Luckily the results were worth waiting for because our chips were close to perfect. They were steaming hot, crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle. You could tell they hadn’t been deep fried, but only just. In other words, they still tasted sufficiently unhealthy to feel like a treat.

There are a few niggles though; the timer is so quiet we couldn’t hear it above the noise of the fan and it doesn’t turn itself off when the timer pings. We know this isn’t essential, but it’d be a nice touch. We’re also not convinced it can feed a family of four. Now this could just be us being greedy, but after dishing out two reasonable adult portions there would only be one smallish portion for the kids to fight over.

It’s also very easy to clean, just lift out the non-stock bowl and rinse, and thanks to the air filters the house didn’t stink like a chip shop after cooking.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets Tefal

Tefal Actifry electric fryer originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:44:00 +0100

It’ll cost you more than a return trip to a coffee plantation in Columbia, but can the all-singing Star Trek inspiring Siemens deliver a truly memorable macchiato?

With its blue neon LEDs and piano black finish it would be a cold heart that didn’t lust after the EQ.7. Its stunning looks are more top-end tech than kitchen appliance - which is just as well, because at 30cm wide it’s going to take pride of place wherever you put it in the kitchen.

Turn it on and a host of neon blue LEDs light up the machine like it’s the Tate Modern. Sounds cheesy but trust us, it looks fantastic and while it has no bearing on the quality of the coffee, this reviewer doesn’t mind a bit of a show … especially for £1300.

The crisp LCD screen and simple horizontal scrolling menu holds your hand and guides you through set-up. It prompts to fill with water, beans or coffee grounds before automatically rinsing the system and offering a choice of espresso, white coffee, macchiato, cappuccino, hot water, hot milk and your own pre-programmable choice.

For black coffee the dispenser arm stays central, while for milky drinks it cleverly flips 180º to the right so both coffee and milk can be poured into the same cup. Both milk and coffee arms also slide up and down to accommodate different sized cups.

As you’d expect from a top of the range machine the espresso was rich, smooth and came with a luscious crema. The grinder does a fantastic job as we didn’t notice a huge difference between beans and pre-ground coffee … apart from the extra noise.

We’ve tried dozens of milk frothers, and almost all have been fiddly or disappointing. Not so the EQ.7. It comes with a separate insulated milk container (keep it in the fridge until you need it) and two tubes connecting it all together. Choose a cappuccino and the pump will suck up milk, blast with steam, froth, heat and dispense in less than 20 seconds. Fancy a white coffee, then the machine will give you a splash of piping hot milk before filling with espresso and hot water.

There’s always a danger with fully automatic machines that the coffee tastes like it’s straight from a vending machine. Thankfully the EQ.7 produces top notch froth that keeps its shape right to the bottom of the cup and makes the very best of the espresso.

If you’ve not guessed, we love this coffee machine … but it isn’t perfect. We appreciate the automatic cleaning system, but by squirting water through the system every time you use it the drip tray fills up extremely quickly. And it isn’t the easiest thing to remove - you have to take the whole base of the machine out and it’s pretty cumbersome to clean in the sink.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets Coffee makers Siemens

Siemens EQ.7 bean-to-cup coffee machine originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 27 May 2009 16:02:10 +0100

The Q from Weber has been mauling all-comers in the portable grilling stakes (or should that be steaks?) for years now, but can this fashionable young upstart deliver go-anywhere cooking in time for the great British BBQ season? We got grilling to find out.

Our review sample, in a rather fetching metallic green, certainly looks quite unlike anything on the market. The low profile clam shell design, chunky handle and fold away legs makes the entire barbecue skinny enough to hide out the way when not needed or tucked into the boot if you’re off camping/picnicking. It also comes in metallic blue or matt orange if you fancy something different.

The O-Grill measures 525 x 215 x 580mm and weighs 10kg so while you wouldn’t want to go hiking with it, it is more than light enough to move at will. Inside you get 1450cm sq of grilling surface which we think provides more than enough space for a hungry family of four if not more - we got a half a dozen burgers grilling nicely with room left over for a couple of veggie kebabs.

Set-up couldn't be easier - fold out the legs, open the grill, place the porcelain enameled cast iron cooking grill on the supports, connect the rubber hose to the gas tank, turn the big orange control knob and push the Piezo ignition. Our grill fired up first time, but if ignition does fail there’s a nifty match holder attached to a chain that makes lighting quick and above all safe.

The 3.2kW gas burner gives out roughly the same amount of heat as a large hob ring - more than hot enough for most cooking tasks. The grill took no more than 10 minutes to reach cooking temperature (enough to give us lovely griddle marks on our burgers) but we did find that the very middle and edges were cooler as they weren’t heated directly from the burners. This didn’t really hamper the O-Grill’s performance and once we worked out the differences we could shuffle food around to prevent anything from burning.

Charcoal purists may argue that using the O-Grill is no different to using a gas hob in the garden, but we’re begging to differ; the controllable heat and excellent porcelain cooking area was a real pleasure to use. Ok so the food lacked the flame-cooked smoky flavour of charcoal, but after a little fat dripped onto the burners and into the drip tray it started to smell like the real deal - and all minus the fuss, unpredictable heat and caveman-like guess work.

As for cleaning - the porcelain coating on the grill plate is super tough and scrubbed up easily. The drip tray that fits under the gas burners ring slides out easily and can simply be chucked in the dishwasher.

What’s not to like? Not much in fairness, but if we had to gripe, the construction could be beefier, especially for the price - the plastic casing, handles and controls feel too plasticy. The feet also feel a bit flimsy and while they did a sterling job we’d always make double sure the BBQ was on firm flat ground.

Related links:

• Link - Bbq.co.uk

Tags: Home And Kitchen Garden gadgets Kitchen gadgets Kingsford BBQs Kingsford O-Grill 3000

Kingsford O-Grill 3000 portable BBQ originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 21 May 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Hand crankable bike lights, torches, radios and phone chargers are one thing, but a wind-up electric shaver? We have, quite literally, put our neck on the line to see if the Piranha from PowerPlus can really cut it.

With two flexible rotary heads, a pop-up beard trimmer and a solid comfortable feel, the Piranha is a simple, no-frills, shaver that just happens to have a small pull-out hand crank on the back. It reminds us of an old school 1980s shaver, so we guess that makes it a bit retro, although we’re not sure the manufacturer designed it that way.

In the box you get a USB to Mini-USB cable for charging from a computer, a mains adapter and a little brush for cleaning. Handily the shaver comes charged so we could put the 3.7V 3-phase brushless generator through its paces at full power.

When we first fired it up we didn’t think the shaver was fully charged as the motor sounded decidedly sluggish, as if the battery was about to run out. Sadly this wasn’t the case; the motor just lacked any sort of reassuring buzz and made an unnervingly pedestrian grrrrrr.

It’s worth remembering that this shaver only costs £25, so we weren’t expecting results like the Panasonic ES8249, and on the easy areas around the cheek and jaw it did a pretty good job getting rid of 2 days of stubble. When it came to the neck and upper lip it was hopeless.

The heads do flex nicely, but the lack of oomph from the motor meant we had to hold the shaver still and move it very, very slowly over the skin to avoid it pulling at the hair. It was slow uncomfortable progress to say the least. For quality of shave we’d give it a generous 4/10.

Could the dynamo and its promise of charger-free shaving redeem the Piranha’s poor performance? We let the battery run flat before cranking and, following the instructions, wound the handle for 1 minute to see if we got 2 minutes of shaving. It did just that which wasn’t all that bad, especially as the motor ran at full speed straight from the off.

You’ll have a sore wrist trying to get a full shave’s worth of power, but if you charge up the shaver via the mains and give the battery a regular boost with the winder there’s no reason why you couldn’t keep it chugging along indefinitely.

You’ll need to keep it topped up as a mains charge takes a whopping 8 hours for 1 hour of shaving.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Bathroom gadgets Shavers Eco PowerPlus Piranha

PowerPlus Piranha wind-up electric shaver originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 13 May 2009 12:00:00 +0100

When we think high-tech shavers we generally imagine a Braun or Philips, but can Panasonic’s top of the range wet and dry, the ES8249, cut it with the big boys?

From a design point of view the ES8249 ticks many of the right boxes; it’s silver and black, comes with a bright orange LED display has ergonomic detailing and a large head mounted on twin directional springs. It looks good, but for a £200 shaver we think it lacks a cutting edge designer finish and the casing, although tough, looks a little plasticy.

In the hand however the shaver feels weighty and dependable, the rubber grips and handle fit the hand well and make it easy to use whichever part of the face you’re tackling.

Cutting is handled by four blades each with multi-arc foils that offer uniform contact to the skin whatever the angle, and a 13,000rpm motor - the fastest in the world. In practice this motor sounds like the world’s biggest mosquito, but the overall effect is superb. It is also a sealed unit so can be used wet or dry which is a practical touch.

The four blades compress even under the lightest pressure so working around the jaw and chin doesn’t pull at the beard. As with every electric shaver this reviewer has ever used it struggled to get all the annoying hairs on the neck but did a better job than many and we didn’t feel the need to push down to get a closer shave. This also left our neck without the tell-tale red marks that can cause razor rash.

The Panasonic ES8249 removed 3 days worth of stubble in less than 5 minutes, and left our face feeling smooth with only a few rogue hairs missed around the neck and under the chin.

At the back of the shaver is a pop out beard trimmer for tidying side burns etc, but we found it an aggressive little blade that did an OK job, but did pull at the skin.

After shaving the ES8249 can be returned to its docking station for cleaning and charging - insert it head first and choose to charge, clean or dry. The cleaning unit comes with a replaceable cartridge and needs filling with water, with a 30min cleaning cycle, or 90 minutes to clean and dry. But after all that gurgling, whirling and blow-drying the shaver looked as good as new even under the foils. It takes up plenty of space in the bathroom, but is well worth it for keeping the blades in box-fresh condition.

As for battery life, 1 hour charging gives 45 minutes use and the LCD status indicator displays minutes used, charge percentage and cleaning status.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Bathroom gadgets Shavers Panasonic Panasonic ES8249 Pro-Curve

Panasonic ES8249 Pro-Curve shaver originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 08 May 2009 16:00:00 +0100

We’ll take any excuse to scoff pizza - but would the Stonebake Grill’s promise of authentic pizza in just a few minutes live up to our expectations, or were the results going to be more half than stone baked?

Measuring 35cm in diameter, sporting chunky dial controls and a robust feel, the Stonebake Grill looks every bit the kitchen professional; which is just as well because it’s going to take up a good chunk of your worktop. Great if you’re a pizza nut, but if space is short you might have to live without a toaster to make room.

With a simple hinge, two electric grill elements and a rotating 12-inch stone hot plate there’s nothing complicated about the grill. The timer and grill controls are clearly laid out and there are two safety lights showing when the grill is switched on.

To make either frozen, pre-baked base or fresh dough pizza, just pre-heat the grill for 10 minutes using the timer, then place the pizza on the stone plate and choose top or bottom (or both) heat, set the timer and close the lid. The hot stone rotates to ensure even cooking, and you can watch the cheese melt and base crisp through the viewing window.

Timings vary, but a frozen pizza will be ready in 8 minutes, while fresh dough and pre-baked take a little longer (10-15min) as you need to cook the base for a couple of minutes first before the topping. We didn’t follow the instructions first time out and ended up with crispy cheese and a soggy bottom.

Sadly you can’t just set and forget the grill - depending on the type of pizza and how you like it you’ll need to experiment with the heat settings before you get it just right, but it’s worth persevering. Upping the heat on the hot stone gave our bases an authentic pizzeria flavour - that included a couple of cheapos from the freezer - and thanks to the rotation, the toppings were cooked to perfection, and considerably better than our standard oven could manage.

A quick word of warning if you have small kids - the red metal casing gets very hot during cooking, and steam will billow out as you open it up. Nothing too dangerous if you’re careful, but worth remembering if there are little fingers about.

The grill also comes with a non-stick dish for cooking deep-pan pizzas as well as rustling up omelettes.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets Giles and Posner Giles and Posner Stonebake Pizza Grill

Giles and Posner Stonebake Pizza Grill originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 07 May 2009 12:42:52 +0100

The fully automatic Magimix M190 CitiZ & Milk Nespresso machine promises delicious mess-free espresso, but does the addition of a unique milk heater and frother finally mean proper cappuccinos for all?

Using the Nespresso coffee pod system the Magimix, unlike so many coffee makers on the market, is a mercifully simple. Fill with water, choose your coffee flavour (16 in the basic range), pop the foil pod in the slot, pull down the lever and choose large or small espresso and that’s it - no coffee grounds to spill, handles to pull, pressure to set or mess to clear up.

Measuring 27.7 x 23.7 x 37.2cm the M190 isn’t much bigger than a kettle, so it won’t swamp your worktop but has a solid weight to it and looks built to last, which is just as well, as £180 is too steep for something that ends up in the back of the drawer after a month.

You can customise the size of your coffee which is a useful extra, especially if you want a longer Americano style drink rather than a full on espresso shot. But that’s about it for clever features: a multi-tasker this isn’t, but if you’re after a no hassle quality coffee this is going to be hard to beat.

The standout feature for us though is the milk frother. Unlike the steam-spewing third degree burn issuing metal arms on most machines it effortlessly heats and froths milk in less than 30 seconds. You just pour a little milk in the stainless steel jug and push the button - a small whisk and hidden heating element takes care of the rest.

Coffee snobs will scoff at the lack of steam, and if we’re being picky the milk could have done with being a touch hotter, but the results are delicious and as close to a restaurant quality cappuccino we’ve ever managed at home.

But is it worth £180? For the quality of the machine, the ease of use and the great results we think its well worth it, but be prepared for the cost of the coffee. Nespresso pods cost 25p each, which isn’t so bad for occasional use, but if you have a couple of cups every day the cost will sky rocket compared to buying beans or grounds.

You’ll also need to join the Nespresso Club (www.nespresso.com) and order your coffee online (there is a flagship store in Knightsbridge, London, if you’re in the neighbourhood). Oh and you can only order in multiples of 50, and postage is £4.95.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets Coffee machines Magimix Magimix M190 CitiZ Nespresso

Magimix M190 CitiZ & Milk Nespresso machine originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 05 May 2009 12:00:00 +0100

With the price of a pint soaring over £3 and our credit well and truly crunched can this dinky home brew kit really produce cheap drinkable booze in just 14 days? We couldn’t resist finding out.

In the Brewzer box you get everything - apart from water - to produce 10 pints of Lager, IPA, Stout or our chosen tipple Bitter. The beer ingredients come ready mixed in a 1-litre plastic bottle which doubles as a measuring jug, there’s also a simple plastic pump and hose, sterilised plastic liner and a beach ball sized plastic container to brew it all in. Compared to all the buckets, bottles, tubes and equipment this reviewer remembers from his Grandfather’s attic, the Brewzer is practically pocket sized.

Set up took barely 5 minutes - the ready sterilised plastic bag fits neatly inside the base, the beer ingredients are poured inside and topped up with yeast followed by six full bottles of tap water and five gentle swirls to mix it all together. This is followed by the split ring, valve, hose and cap that are simply screwed into place.

And that’s it for a few weeks: no turning, no siphoning, and mercifully no musty brewery smells, just keep it still to avoid clouding and between 15°C and 25°C.

Thanks to the pre-mixed ingredients and disposable pre-sterilised liner, valve and hose there is no real art to this sort of home brewing - in fact each time you buy a refill pack you get a new set of sterilised parts to use as well as ready mixed ingredients.

This is undeniably convenient and ideal for the first timer, but if you’re anything more than a rank amateur we suspect you’ll get bored of the lack of options available with the pre-packaged refills.

Although the ideal fermentation time is actually 21 days, rather than the advertised 14, we couldn’t resist taking a sip after 2 weeks – a quick pump to build pressure and a turn of the tap and we’re faced with half a pint of surprisingly authentic looking brown flat bitter.

Described as being “strong, rich, full flavoured English Ale modelled on the classic pub pint” we are pleased to say that the Brewzer wasn’t half bad and while not the smoothest tipple it’s very drinkable and similar to a traditional cask, rather than pub style pump ale. We’re not sure if it’s quite up to the advertised 4.5% ABV, but after a couple of pints we weren’t complaining.

Is it worth the wait? We were really surprised by the quality of the finished beer, especially for the complete lack of effort put into the brewing, but as a one-off home brewing experiment it’s just too expensive per pint, especially compared to the off license over the road. Get hooked on the first 10 pints and the refills will start to work out much cheaper - as low as £0.40 per pint.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets The Miracle Beer Company Brewzer 10 pint home brewing system

Brewzer 10 pint home brewing system originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 04 May 2009 12:00:00 +0100

It’s the slimmest bean-to-cup machine on the planet and promises unbeatable coffee at the touch of a button, but can the Jura ENA5 justify its price tag?

At 23.8cm wide the ENA5 is surprisingly slender for a fully featured bean-to-cup machine, but at 44cm deep and 36 high we can’t describe it as a compact appliance. That said, for £750 we’re happy for it to take pride and place in our kitchen, and thanks to the supermodel looks it was never really going to blend into the background.

The ENA5 is gorgeous - we tested the "ristretto black" and loved the minimalist one button click wheel design and angular body. It’s also available in white, blue, brown, red, green and cream so whatever colour your kitchen there’s something to suit.

Set-up was nice and simple - switch it on and the clear LED display tells you just what to do - fill water tank, fill beans, push centre button. The onboard computer monitors water and coffee levels, tells you when it’s heating, ready to use, in need of descaling and even how to change from one setting to the next (the click wheel scrolls easily through coffee strength, hot water, steam, etc).

Our first espresso took less than 25 seconds to brew, including grinding and the results were astounding. The coffee was as good as any we’d ever tasted - luxuriously dark with a rich creamy top and no bitter after taste. We’ve tested dozens of machines over the years, but nothing has come close to this for quality. For £750 we were confident of good results but never expected such a huge step up even from some of the best £200-300 machines on the market.

We were disappointed by the steam and hot water nozzle however. We found it small and fiddly and although the one dial control was easy enough to use it was awkward and we found it hard to get enough air into the milk to make really frothy cappuccinos. The results were still pretty good, but not a patch on the espresso. We also didn’t think the hot water was quite hot enough for a good cup of tea or long black coffee.

Aside from emptying the used coffee grounds and drip tray maintenance is almost all automatic - there is a built in water filter for descaling, the machine cleans itself and flushes the system each time you turn on and it comes with a blister pack of cleaning tablets for occasional use - pop one in the water tank and the machine does the rest.

Accessories include a filter cartridge, cleaning tablets, measuring spoon, funnel water test strips, and grinder key.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets Coffee machines Jura Jura ENA5

Jura ENA5 coffee machine originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0100

Boil water at the touch of a button - can the new Breville Hot Cup really deliver a proper cuppa in an instant while saving energy and shrinking your carbon footprint?

Here’s the deal, if everyone in the UK gave up hot drinks we’d instantly save a quarter of our total electricity consumption: that’s 229 million drinks a day. Ok so that’s just not going to happen, but if we only boiled the right amount of water instead of filling the kettle to the brim we’d save enough power to light every street light in the UK.

And that’s where the Breville Hot Cup comes in: fill the main 1.5 litre compartment just like a regular kettle, slot into the base, place your mug under the spout, push the button and in a couple of seconds you’ve got 250ml of piping hot water.

The Hot Cup uses a small pump and 3000W electric heating element in the base to rapidly boil the water. It isn’t quite instant, taking just under 30 seconds to boil and pump out 250ml, but it’s still significantly quicker than a regular kettle.

We love the concept, especially for tea addicts and small offices where the kettle is constantly on the boil, but it’s not without niggles. We hate being limited to exactly 250ml. There is no way to stop or extend the flow so if you only have small mugs you’ll be overflowing and you won’t be able to use it easily to boil water for cooking.
The Hot Cup isn’t very stylish, and just doesn’t compare to many other kettles, especially in the £60 price bracket.

This kettle is designed to save the planet by reducing the amount of electricity we use, but Breville have included a garish blue LED that illuminates the water as it boils. Very funky if you like that sort of thing, and only uses very little energy, but we can’t help thinking it’s sending mixed messages. The pump and boiling element makes one hell of a racket, far noisier than a standard kettle, or small mower for that matter.

Niggles aside this reviewer was really impressed by how hot the water got, especially compared to the Tefal Quick Cup (the first of its kind to market) which only manages around 80ºC. It’s more than hot enough to brew a good cup of tea.

Tags: Home And Kitchen Kitchen gadgets Breville Breville Hot Cup

Breville Hot Cup originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:24:42 +0100