When people decide they want to start making good coffee, they often go and spend the best part of $500, or more, on an expensive espresso machine. I did, anyway. I've found though that the two biggest ways to improve your coffee are really simple and really cheap. Anything else above this - an expensive grinder or coffee machine - may help, but nowhere near as much as these two things:
1. Get a pair of digital scales (learn to use the tare button) and spend half an hour making coffee of different strengths. Decide which you prefer and then always use that coffee to water ratio when you make it.
2. Get some decent coffee. You can get a grinder if you want, but it won't make as much of a difference as just getting it from a good source. It can be freshly roasted, freshly ground, whatever - just get it from a good place, not from a supermarket. Personally, I buy a kilogram of coffee beans from http://liminicoffee.co.uk/ once a month. I used to buy it weekly from http://pactcoffee.com/ but I found it's more convenient and just as tasty to get it delivered monthly.
Optional third improvement:
3. Get an Aeropress or a Chemex (my preference is a Chemex - even easier to clean up than an Aeropress, can make multiple cups and can be kept warm if you have a hotplate, although I wouldn't recommend that). This is a good step but won't make as much of a difference as picking good coffee and measuring the amounts you're using.
There are so many optimisations you can do. Most of them won't have too much of an effect. I do them anyway - I have all of the equipment, have a fairly expensive grinder, spend time letting the coffee bloom (I swear that's rubbish) and am planning to roast my own beans soon - but they're by no means necessary. Do those two things first and then stop to see if you're satisfied.
My parents bought a Nespresso machine recently, and we have a Lavazza one at home now (which also uses pods). The coffee from both machines tastes good, and the process is ridiculously simple. We used to have a Gaggia machine too, but we ended up relocating it to the garage, in a cardboard box, because making coffee using it was really just too much effort - buying the appropriate coffee, storing it, tamping it, and so on, just didn't really seem like all that much fun to us, and often the results were quite unpredictable (sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker). The Nespresso and Lavazza machines seem to produce identical cups of coffee every time, which I generally view as a positive. (All three machines were roughly the same price, ~£100.)
Sometimes I drink expensive coffee in fancy coffee places in London, where it's £3+ for a cup. The coffee definitely has different flavours from the cups I have at home, but I can't honestly say I very often think it's much, much better.
The site is unavailable so I don't know what's in the article, but from the comments I gather it's looking at the benefits of owning a Nespresso machine at home?
Here in France everyone has a Nespresso machine or two (I have three); you can buy Nespresso capsules from Nespresso shops, or alternative capsules in any supermarket, anywhere.
What Nespresso sells is simplicity and consistency, and an above-average taste.
I remember vividly the time before the Nespresso: when you went to have dinner at a friend's and they offered coffee at the end of the meal, you were terrified of what they might bring. I absolutely cannot drink the clear lukewarm water that some people (used to) call coffee.
Today you simply ask for your favorite Nespresso color, or choose among the ones available, and you're almost certain you're going to get something at least acceptable.
My feeling last time I saw one in person:
Convincing the public to install a coffee vending machine in their house at cost to themselves by marketing it as a coffee machine was an impressive feat.
They're very small, stylish, and low-priced.
Until you start to buy the pods for your vending machine.
I bought a "real" coffee machine for me and my colleagues (Jura impressa F50 -- https://us.jura.com/en/homeproducts/machines/IMPRESSA-F50-Cl...) and, despite being a bit more complicated than a nespresso one, it cost less (despite buying pretty good coffee beans, freshly roasted, and despite the high cost of the machine), and the taste is IMHO better (but this is only a personal opinion).
The only cons: cleaning a bit the machine the morning, filling coffee beans time to time (the machine is almost entirely automatic otherwise, with an embedded grinder, etc.), filling water (water can be connected to a water pipe, however), and changing the water filter time to time.
Oh, and we can choose the quality/origin of the coffee, and (one more time) it is freshly roasted - yes, call me hipster, but I really like good coffee.
I would have expected at least a comment pointing out that Nespresso is a Nestlè brand. I'm no treehugger boycotter, but I at least try to avoid the products of tentacular food multinationals as much as I could. I'm not saying that everybody should and I won't ever disregard those who buy their products, but I think that the real origin of the food-based products is always a much neglected point when we talk about them in broader terms. A piece that poses itself as an Analysis of Nespresso should probably tackle this angle, too.
Site’s gone down, so here’s Google’s cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...
There is a lot of assumed knowledge here, which hasn't really gone explained. What are "fines" and what are "extractions?" Why is the percentage important, and why are the slight differences in grams important? Without an explanation, it is quite hard to really follow the conclusions of the article.
I would be on board with these if it wasn't for their terrible environmental impact. I'd be interested in an analysis on that - but until these capsules can basically compost I'll be sticking to loose grounds thank you.
The site's down for me; here's Google's webcache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:XXtPHag...
OA here - there's a mirror here: https://archive.is/P9IYd
Yes, bluehost sucks.
Happy to answer any other questions.
I don't think the pods are expensive. At 70-80 cents each, that's under a fourth the cost of having an espresso of comparable quality made for you outside of your home.
I have a Nespresso and like it very much. As an occasional coffee drinker it's just way more convenient.
"Real" coffee is of course better, but the grinding & brewing process is a pain in the ass and after a week or two I have to throw the beans into the trash anyway, since they lose their flavor so quickly after being exposed to air. Even putting them into air-sealed containers and into the fridge doesn't seem to help much.
So in the end, the Nespresso might even be cheaper for me, since the capsules last months without noticeably losing flavor. Also, at least in Germany Nespresso's patent on capsules is expired and there are now many cheaper alternatives available. A coffee capsule from a local supermarket costs me about 18 cent, half the price of the original ones.
Got a Tassimo here which is a barista in a box I.e. similar.
The killer for me isn't the quality which is 90% as good as my local shop but the lack of hassle - it requires virtually no maintenance or cleaning unlike a grinder/machine setup, no trips down the road, 1/4 of the cost, no fighting for a table, not having to queue up and no horrible paper cup that you have to buy in case there isn't a table.
Its a great concept and selling well here in the UK.
What is wrong with just using these: https://imgur.com/kXtDUnV
I had a higher end Nespresso. The killer was how little espresso it makes. I don't consider myself a heavy coffee drinker because I only drink one cup in the morning. However it took 4 Nespresso pods (black ones) to get a decent amount of caffeine and not get headaches. And I usually order single shots when I go out.
I been keeping an eye on this Roast-grind-brew coffee machine startup and still can't make up my mind if it is worth it:(https://www.bonaverde.com/en).
I'm still happy grinding my own beans and slow brewing them in a vacuum press. Seems though that the all-in-one roast to cup would be tastier for a cup of coffee (not an espresso).
I drank Nespresso for a few years at work. Always went for the dark/espresso roast but it never compared to a decent cup of coffee or espresso. I could tolerate it, but it was barely a step up from a gas station, vending machine joe.
Interesting! Please author, pull through all the types of pods, and give us a tasting-analysis and subjective rating! You did not like the one you tried, but each type do taste quite differently.
I invested in a mid-level DeLonghi machine. It's semi-automatic, and although it works with standardized pods, I use ground coffee.
It's a fantastic little machine. You can make a high-quality latte in under three minutes with it. I just can't get passed the amount of waste involved in the nespresso process. That, and when compared to an authentic espresso, I find the nespresso to be bitter and watery.
Haven't used one of these and only used to Keurig plasticity but find that a French Press is a reasonable compromise between convenience and taste. Not a huge factor in my decision but the French Press option is also a hell of a lot cheaper too.
I got one of these last year, and it gets an awful lot of use. I think if you're a coffee gourmet, then it's not for you. If you're someone that wants a latte at home then (together with the milk heater) they are great for that.
The "fines" that result are so few that I wonder if most of the pod contents are basically 'instant coffee' espresso powder.
With an Aeropress and a coffee grinder you can make much better tasting coffe, much cheaper, and almost as fast.
The font is so huge on mobile. I get about three words to a line, which makes the site very hard to read.
This was a great read, really enjoyed it.
I am a big fan of Nespresso. It saves me a lot of time, a little money, and consistently provides (for my tastebuds) better coffee than I can get within a 3 mile radius of where I live. (somewhere in los angeles).
I buy capsules 50 at a time, for .70c a capsule + 7 dollars shipping, no tax. So that comes to about 42 dollars total, or $0.84 per cup of coffee.
That enables me to consume 2 capsules per day for $1.68 per day, or $11.76 per week, and usually I drink less on weekends.
Coffee sold locally in the stores of high quality here tends to be a minimum of 10 dollars per pound, and normally to really "select" one I prefer, would cost around $13.00. I like to brew my coffee strong, and still would drink 2 cups of coffee per day, so this tends to run out for me about 6 days of my 7 day week.
So while its slightly cheaper for me to drink nespresso, its almost the same price.
But, with nespresso, I go from rolling out of bed to the kitchen, and within 30 seconds I have really good tasting coffee, no mess, and I can easily select the type of pour I want, capsule I want, etc. It is truly extremely convenient.
Furthermore they are an example of outstanding customer service. My machine had a malfunction once. Called them on first day, they over-nighted me a replacement machine while I sent my in for free repair. Got the original back a few days later. Hardly any downtime w/o a machine. Total cost: $0.00, and the machine wasn't even under warranty. Obviously they want to keep selling me coffee. I have no issue with that.
Finally, they offer recycling programs which work good, so I don't feel like I'm being a bad citizen of the earth by supporting them.
I see it as sort of a Spotify of coffee. You pay repeatedly one company for good service, and if it meets your needs, it is going to save you time and money if its something you do a lot. For those that are into coffee on a deeper level, is sort of those who are into music on a deeper level.
For me with regards to music, I am a bit of a control freak, I like to know what bit rate file I am playing, I like to back them up carefully and managing my music collection I invest time and have lots of pride about - so Spotify (While I generally like their service), is not for me.
The same can be said of Nespresso. If you love the entire process of making espresso, getting into the gear, and the execution of how its made and putting that kind of time into it and getting a specific kind of joy out of it, Nespresso would probably not be the right choice.
I guess I have enough hobbies, but I still really like well made espresso at home. Nespresso is right there in that intersection.
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I have used many varieties of coffee machines. I do have a nespresso machine amongst them, and it seems to work quite well. The volume of espresso/coffee it produces is low per unit time of water running through the coffee though.
When I use a normal espresso machine, with my own tamped grind, it puts out espresso/coffee at a higher rate, and I find it is smoother/less bitter due to that.
I do tend to prefer a less strong cup, so for me it is nicer to use my own grind as I can vary: 1. The quantity of ground beans 2. The fineness of the grind 3. How much coffee I get by how long I pull it. ( I realize running it too long will make it bitter )
In the article I am gathering he is measuring what percentage of the "grind" is removed in the process of brewing?? It would have been nice to see this compared amongst a variety of machines, not just 1 nespresso machine and 1 manual drip. Also an acidity test of the resultant coffee would be neat.
For the interested, here are the various machines / methods I have used:
1. Standard junky drip machine ( yuck... )
2. Bodum dual glass bowl vacuum I find this to be the strongest method of brewing, but it also makes the coffee way too bitter for my tastes.
3. Keurig machines Have used 5 or so different ones of these. The higher end commerical ones tend to be a little better but mostly they produce weaker coffee and let a lot of grounds through into the coffee. I don't think the water is hot enough from these, nor is the pressure high enough to get crema of any worth.
4. Tassimo machine This is my favorite taste thus far. The programmed t-discs allow the setting to be varied ( heat and brew amount ), and has produced the smoothest coffee I've had of all the machines I have used. I own 2 of these machines. My only complaint is I cannot use my own grind.
5. Senseo This is my favorite machine overall. The pods are small cloth bags, and the pressure seems to be high enough to produce good crema. Also; I can use my own grind in reusable filters that go in it. Great consistent taste and very easy to use. Also; very easy to clean the whole machine. I own 4 of these. ( for extra parts )
6. Starbucks "instant" machine. One company I worked at had a huge automatic like starbucks branded machine. This thing tasted horrible. The coffee was the most bitter I have tasted from any machine. It also tasted like it was never cleaned and had a high amount of grinds left in the coffee.
7. Super automatic espresso machine. Another company I worked at had one of the various $5000 automatic espresso machines. Unfortunately I forget the brand at the moment. It worked well, auto grinding etc. I used my own grind with it also. This was nearly equal to the taste/quality of using my own espresso machine, but I could not vary the tamp pressure. The auto internal tamping seemed too loose so the coffee seemed to have a bit less crema. It was convenient as it had less cleanup though.
8. Capresso EC100 This is my go-to machine that I use for my daily coffee. It is just a basic espresso machine. No real thrills here, but it has adequate pressure and heat. I grind my own beans to my desired fineness, add my own amount of beans to my taste at the moment, and typically brew like 4 shots worth out of the same tamped unit. This would seem to cause it to be more bitter but it does not and produces lots of crema. I also often rip open free keurig pods from work and use them in this machine. It improves their taste over keurig machines by far.
9. Old style large reservoir steamer with huge spring/lever. I picked one of these up from a yard sale. Takes forever to heat up. Needs to be cleaned constantly. Feels very finicky. I am way too lazy to be able to get anything consistent out of this. Far too much effort for little gains.
"Speciality coffee doesn’t offer anything to the consumer who wants to drink great espresso at home, but doesn’t want a new hobby."
This is an amazing take away, and I think many coffee roasters, gin distillers and beer Brewers ought remember it.