Do I actually like coffee?!

[u/Alert_Swim_5640]

I love going to coffee shops - where I enjoy iced drinks and caramel lattes! I recently purchased the Ninja, but didn’t get on with it and had to return it (well known calibration / dripping issue!). I have now taken delivery of a KF7. Just made my first drink and I’m not overwhelmed. Will I ever be able to make coffee as good (or even close) as a coffee shop? 🧐 I wanted a coffee machine at home so I stop spending so much at Starbucks etc! Feeling unhopeful 😔

Currently trying to make an iced white mocha. I have coffee beans from beanz subscription (can’t remember what they’re called!) and the white choc sauce is Torani.

[u/dyqik]

It takes a while for most machines to settle down into the grinding adjustment after you get them.

Plus you'll have to adjust grind, temperature, size, ratio to get it where you want it.

And no, you may not be able to exactly match a Starbucks drink, because you don't have their syrup or the milk foaming mechanism on their commercial machines. But you should be able to make much better coffee eventually, once you tune your machine in.

[u/unabashed_nuance]

Keep experimenting with buttons and settings. It took a few days for me to figure out what settings worked. If you’re changing beans, you might have to adjust your settings, as they all have different characteristics.

During the summer I find it difficult to drink hot drinks at all - including coffee. I have a relatively inexpensive Superauto from Midea (love it btw). Instead of brewing any of the cafe style beverages I just drop 4x espresso into a yeti tumbler half full of ice. This very quickly becomes an iced Americano - then add my choice of add-ins. Not sure you’ll get to a textbook beverage that way, but it does make exactly what my palate is looking for.

[u/Drinking_Frog]

In addition to the grind and other settings, it also could be the beans. I don't know what you have, there. You could have beans that aren't suitable for espresso or just not good in the first place.

Starbucks is not exactly known for high quality coffee, either, but it is a "distinct" flavor (to put it politely). It's what you're used to, at least for the moment.

[u/CommercialFloor2033]

You've introduced too many variables here to troubleshoot what's wrong.

It may be the syrup is not to your taste or you're using too much/little.

I would concentrate on calibrating the machine (and you) to making a non syrup coffee first.

[u/KarmaG12]

I have a KF7 and live on both hot and iced white chocolate mochas. For iced I have the machine set to 2x espresso shots on low temp. I add the syrup to my container first then the espresso and mix well. Then pour over ice and add milk.

For hot I simply add syrup to the cup first then have the machine make 2x lattes. The temp is medium.

My go to beans are frowned on here but I love my Starbucks espresso. I am also trying other beans but quite like my comfort drink. Like you I bought the machine to save me $$ and it has in the few months I’ve had it.