
An Analysis of Nespresso - sobbybutter
http://www.jimseven.com/2015/05/21/an-analysis-of-nespresso-part-i/
======
cdcarter
"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.

~~~
keithpeter
I take the OA's point, however most of us (I assume) will be using a cafetiere
or a paper filter based coffee maker at home rather than doing the full
artisan roast and grind.

In my case, I'm using pre-ground coffee in foil bags from the local
supermarket at around £3 to £4 per 227g standard pack. I make myself a large
diluted coffee each morning using a 3-cup mokapot. The 5 minute prep time
isn't onerous and the economics are much better than buying a machine of the
kind in the OA along with all the capsules.

Coffee hacking question: If I got a grinder capable of grinding beans to the
fineness needed for a moka pot, would I notice a significant difference in
taste?

~~~
_benedict
My personal experience is freshly ground coffee has a much better taste.
Although not much better than when you first open a bag of store-bought ground
coffee.

If you don't notice the coffee get less flavourful over the course of a couple
of weeks, and then tastier when you open a new bag, then there's a reasonable
chance you won't notice a sufficient difference in freshly ground coffee.

One thing you unequivocally get each morning is the smell of freshly ground
coffee. It's possible this is what makes me believe I taste more flavour;
either way, it's enjoyable.

~~~
saalaa
> freshly ground coffee

This is actually the single most determining factor for a good coffee.

~~~
kazinator
No, it isn't. Freshly _roasted_ is.

The aroma and flavor of coffee degrades rapidly after roasting, whether you
grind it or not. Grinding it accelerates the process, but you can easily get
coffee in unground form, and the difference between ground and unground is
visually obviously: a vendor can't sneak you ground coffee if you want
unground.

How long ago beans were roasted isn't visually obvious.

~~~
theCodeStig
No, again ;-). Its freshly roasted, freshly ground, AND freshly brewed (at the
right parameters). That's the gist of it, but of course the quality of the
greens before roasting, the roast quality, and grind consistency all come into
play. Also don't forget to use good water.

In short: quality in, quality out. Any discrepancy of the above will lead to a
sub-par result.

~~~
kazinator
But freshly ground and freshly brewed is something _you_ easily control as the
consumer, which makes them taken for granted and irrelevant. The other
parameters are the object of the coffee drinker's desperate search. :)

------
kaolinite
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/](http://liminicoffee.co.uk/) once a month. I used
to buy it weekly from [http://pactcoffee.com/](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.

~~~
mrestko
I think one scale is enough...

~~~
kaolinite
Heh, you're right. That is a weird expression when applied to digital scales:
a pair of scales makes sense for the old style[1], but doesn't really apply
with digital.

[1]
[https://mundabor.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/scales.gif](https://mundabor.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/scales.gif)

------
bshimmin
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.

~~~
caractacus
I'm with you on this. There's some great coffee in London - some wonderful
nutty and bitter tastes in places around Soho that Nespresso doesn't seem able
to replicate - but I'm perfectly happy with a pod or two in the morning at the
cost of 30p instead of the £3 I'd pay at Soho Grind or the interminable wait
for the laid-back bearded chaps at Carpo to stop chatting up the black-clad
chocolate servers and make my damn drink.

------
bambax
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.

~~~
cmarschner
Interesting. So French people are ok buying coffee for €90 a kilo to get this
convenience? I can understand this only because traditionally, the French
"Expresso" was guaranteed to be a watery, bitter, creama-less wish-wash.

~~~
bambax
Expressos you get in _Cafés_ are usually good, if a little bitter (and not
comparable to what you can get in Italy).

But coffee people made at home used to be, in my own experience and opinion,
an abomination. Never hot enough, never strong enough.

The truth is, everyone wants something different (decaf, strong, stronger,
lighter...)

The miracle of Nespresso is that you can serve different cups to different
people, at the same time, which is impossible with most other means of
producing coffee at home (or very difficult, complex and expensive).

~~~
toothbrush
> Expressos you get in Cafés are usually good, if a little bitter (and not
> comparable to what you can get in Italy).

That's _really_ not my experience. I've found it consistently hard to find
proper espresso in cafés in France; one usually needs to find the one place
teeming with bearded hipsters (unfortunately), and you might be lucky to get
an acceptable (not excellent) espresso.

------
lhnz
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.

~~~
bobbles
Eh if it means im replacing a $3-$4 cup of coffee with a 50 cent cup of coffee
+ convenience, sounds good to me.

~~~
Daneel_
This is exactly why I use a Nespresso machine. At $5 and ~10 minutes per cup
of coffee from the coffee shop, with varying outcomes depending on the
barista, vs 70¢ + milk per cup and almost perfectly identical every time, it
just makes sense to use one.

Even at one cup per working day, that's a saving of over $20 per week for me.
Even one of the top end machines would pay for itself in months.

~~~
pbowyer
You could replace it with... instant coffee, y'know? I've found the more
expensive ones taste good, and it's only cents per mug.

Sure, it's not the coffee-shop mouth-experience (I put a lot of that down to
the frothed milk), but a Nespresso doesn't provide that either?

~~~
spotman
Where I live, Nespresso makes a superior experience than I can find within a 3
mile radius. (fwiw, Los Angeles)

Yes, if I go to my absolute favorite coffee shop in town, it is superior to
Nespresso.

But, in comparison to instant coffee (in my humble opinion), it is night and
day, and its miles and miles ahead taste wise than coffee bean or star bucks.

~~~
pbowyer
I need to try a Nespresso somewhere (not sure where/how).

At the moment I'm reduced to decaf, and I'm finding Percol Decaf Colombia
excellent: [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Percol-Fairtrade-Decaffeinated-
Colom...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Percol-Fairtrade-Decaffeinated-Colombia-
Instant/dp/B0043PS12M)

Though next I want to try a Peruvian coffee,.

~~~
lucaspiller
Find one of their stores. If you can handle overly pretentious staff for 5
minutes they'll let you try them for free.

------
xroche
I bought a "real" coffee machine for me and my colleagues (Jura impressa F50
--
[https://us.jura.com/en/homeproducts/machines/IMPRESSA-F50-Cl...](https://us.jura.com/en/homeproducts/machines/IMPRESSA-F50-Classic-
UL-13684)) 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.

~~~
jschulenklopper
Best advice on this page. Instead of buying the Nespresso, and enjoying the
comfort and consistency of that, buy a grinder and an espresso machine... and
enjoy the craft of making espresso, cappuccino of whetever you like.

I have the classic Quick Mill 820 (around $600) and buy quality beans from a
local coffee roaster: $30-35 for a pound of their best kinds. Using 7 gr. for
a standard espresso yields 70 cups, thus 50 cents per cup.

Nespresso capsules are at least 75 cents. The flavor might be the same, the
comfort might be higher... but it's more expensive, and you'll never learn how
to make a cup of coffee yourself.

Bonus track of buying beans and grinding them yourself: you can make a pour-
over filter coffee, a cold brew, a cafetiere, Moka pot coffee with the same
ingredients: water and freshly-ground coffee, and enjoy the variety of flavors
because of the differences in making the drink. Try that with Nespresso...

~~~
Rainymood
>"Speciality coffee doesn’t offer anything to the consumer who wants to drink
great espresso at home, but doesn’t want a new hobby."

~~~
jschulenklopper
I don't have a new hobby :-) although I like the ritual of serving (myself or
friends) a nice cup of cappuccino. For a small additional effort, with a
grinder and a machine, you'll get a excellent cup of coffee for a third of the
price of a cup of Nespresso. Your priorities may vary though...

------
camillomiller
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.

~~~
tabio
Why is multinational bad food?

~~~
Fede_V
It's not multinationals in general, it's that Nestle has a horrendous ethical
track record. For example, they pushed for powdered milk in Africa with
absolutely tragic consequences.

[http://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/may/15/medicineandh...](http://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/may/15/medicineandhealth.lifeandhealth)

This is not like Microsoft using their market position to push their products.
This is poisoning children for money.

------
robin_reala
Site’s gone down, so here’s Google’s cache:
[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.jimseven.com/2015/05/21/an-
analysis-of-nespresso-part-i/&strip=1)

------
nness
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.

~~~
maudineormsby
Quick explanation:

Fines are the very small coffee particles created by the grinding or crushing
of the bean. They are generally undesirable as for even extraction of the
coffee you want uniformly sized coffee particles. Fines also tend to end up in
your cup and can make the brew gritty.

Extractions can mean a few things but in a nutshell, it's the amount of flavor
compounds in the bean that end up in your brew. If you say '20%' extracted you
mean that 20% of the weight of the coffee ended up taken out by the brewing
process (I believe you brew then dry the grounds and weigh before/after).

Slight differences could be the difference between bold flavor and over-brewed
bitterness. Also different coffees will want different extraction amounts
depending on their flavor profile and such; as a general rule most people use
too little coffee and overextract it, thus getting all the bitter compounds
from the coffee and thinking it tastes bad.

------
torrance
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.

~~~
eps
They are compost only if you put them there. Nespresso has a pod recycling
program in place as does pretty much every developed country (not for pods, of
course, but the aluminum).

~~~
austinjp
While this is true, it's worth noting that recycling is not the preferred step
in eco consumerism. Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, compost. Nespresso pods
cannot be reused, unless someone has hacked a kludge for that, and I doubt the
recycling process composts the grounds (more info on that would be great).
Extracting aluminium from its ore is hugely energy-consuming. So the most
sensible thing to do is simply not use Nespresso, and avoid contributing to
the aluminium problem.

There are Nespresso-compatible pods made by third parties, but they tend to be
plastic. I'm unconvinced that these can be effectively recycled.

FWIW, before my landlord bought a fancy-pants bean grinding espresso machine,
I'd use a stove-top espresso maker. A mokka/mukka, spelling varies. 3 mins to
make a perfect espresso from grounds, and I could compost the grounds.

~~~
dpark
In the US, at least, Nespresso's recycling program extract the aluminum and
composts the grounds.
[http://www.nespresso.com/ecolaboration/us/en/article/9/3068/...](http://www.nespresso.com/ecolaboration/us/en/article/9/3068/collecting-
and-recycling-used-capsules-in-the-usa.html)

Also, a Moka pot is definitely not the same. I like what comes out of a Moka
pot if it's brewed well, but it isn't really espresso.

------
pbowyer
The site's down for me; here's Google's webcache:
[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:XXtPHag...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:XXtPHagIaPMJ:www.jimseven.com/2015/05/21/an-
analysis-of-nespresso-part-i/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk)

------
jimseven
OA here - there's a mirror here:
[https://archive.is/P9IYd](https://archive.is/P9IYd)

Yes, bluehost sucks.

Happy to answer any other questions.

------
dcw303
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.

~~~
jasonkester
A real espresso pulled by a professional will run you €0.90 in Europe (unless
you live in a the center of Paris, in which case you might get to spend as
much as €1.50). There's usually one of those professionals within 50 yards of
your home, possibly even on your walking route to work.

So it's not always even saving you money. Certainly compared to driving out of
your way to a Starbucks and paying US (or god forbid, UK) prices. But like
everything, it depends.

On the other hand, coffee brewed in your $10 stovetop espresso machine will
run you $2.50 for a bag that lasts 2 weeks, and will add roughly four minutes
to your morning coffee ritual.

I'm curious about these machines, but the thing that keeps me on the fence is
that it would suddenly make coffee drinking expensive.

~~~
bambax
> _unless you live in a the center of Paris, in which case you might get to
> spend as much as €1.50_

Or €2. Or €2.50...

But I don't really get why people are comparing Nespresso to having coffee
outside the house. I need an expresso the moment I wake up, before I wash,
before I dress.

It's really not about the money; it's about convenience, reliability. Peace of
mind. Nespresso makes uncertainty go away. Your morning coffee becomes one
less thing to worry about. It's going to be perfect. Every time.

Nespresso doesn't try to hide the fact that they're ridiculously expensive;
their stores look like jewelry shops and are tended by weirdly handsome
individuals with perfectly manicured hands, and one or two guards at the front
will open the door for you.

Or if you prefer, you can have capsules delivered at home, in a 2-hour window,
by a special messenger on a scooter... for free!! (nobody else does this, not
Amazon, not anyone).

They can afford all this and more, and people pay for it, and can't get enough
of it. It's like iPhones.

~~~
jasonkester
Well said. I get something of a free pass on this by being American (Edit: In
France, in case that wasn't clear).

I can roll out of bed and walk down to said cafe without showering, perfectly
coiffing myself, or even wrapping a scarf around my neck (seriously! leaving
the house with no scarf!!!) and know that I won't actually lose any more
status in anybody's eyes for my shabbiness. When you've got nothin' you've got
nothin' to lose, and all that.

I think you're right in this though. Check back with me in a few months and I
bet I'll have one of these machines in my house.

~~~
jules
When I wake up I really don't feel like dressing, going outside, walking to
the nearest coffee shop, ordering and waiting, paying 5x as much as for
Nespresso, walking back home, drinking the coffee, undressing, showering,
dressing properly this time, then walking to the coffee shop again to order a
second one.

No, I'll take the device in my home which instantly produces a cup of coffee
at the press of a button.

------
contergan
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.

------
kropotkinlives
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.

------
xenu420
What is wrong with just using these:
[https://imgur.com/kXtDUnV](https://imgur.com/kXtDUnV)

~~~
bambax
Here's what's wrong:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9586941](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9586941)

~~~
rconti
Are you familiar with Moka Pots? According to Wikipedia, they are sold in
1,3,6,9,12 shot sizes -- but I think the 3 is the most common. I rarely see
large Mokas. You're not really throwing much out.

~~~
bambax
> _Are you familiar with Moka Pots?_

Not very familiar, no. I have seen them, my grandmother used to have one --
but I don't think I ever used it myself.

Many people here (who try to resist the Nespresso tsunami) use a thing that I
just found out is called a "French press":

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_press](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_press)

or for a better picture:

[http://www.crateandbarrel.com/bodum-chambord-34-ounce-
french...](http://www.crateandbarrel.com/bodum-chambord-34-ounce-french-
press/s202525)

It's quite popular and makes decent coffee (my wife uses one) but it's still
more complex than pressing the button on a Nespresso!

~~~
masklinn
FWIW the aeropress is a very good alternative to french presses, significantly
simpler cleaning (just pop the coffee plug in the compost/trash and rinse the
components), almost no fines (if you use paper filters). Though the rest of
the operations (grinding coffee, pouring boiling water in the press and
pressing down) are the same.

~~~
timrichard
I've had really good experiences too. Although I'm normally wary of kitchen
gadgets that depend on consumables.

I switched to this steel filter, which is pretty good :

[http://www.amazon.com/Filter-AeroPress-Ultra-Stainless-
Coffe...](http://www.amazon.com/Filter-AeroPress-Ultra-Stainless-
Coffee/dp/B00A1GVVMY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432291948&sr=8-1&keywords=aeropress+s-filter)

~~~
aidenn0
We have the steel filter, but find it only works for coarser grinds.

------
caseyf7
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.

~~~
Ellipsis753
You can adjust the amount made from a single pod. You can actually make a full
mug from a single pod and it still tastes great (and not watery).

~~~
true_religion
Well more water in the cup isn't the issue. It's that there's not enough
caffine in each pod.

I tend to agree. I only get two shots of expresso and I'm usually fine with
that, but with Nessprso's machine I couldn't get enough caffeine unless I put
4 shots in it.

------
rizumu
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](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.

~~~
jimseven
I'd be genuinely astounded if they manage to build that machine and it works,
let alone works well.

~~~
jms703
I'm a backer of that project and plan to write a review when it's released.

------
stolsvik
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.

~~~
buro9
This is addressed in the article, and the author limits the article to the
technical feat of producing consistency in espresso production from a cold-
start in 50 seconds.

To quote:

> What I haven’t really talked about here is how it tasted. I didn’t really
> like how the shots tasted, but I have a very different preference for many
> aspects of coffee and espresso compared to the typical (Nespresso) consumer.
> I’ve repeatedly tried to make the point that thinking we are somehow safe
> from the dominance of Nespresso, because we can make coffee taste better, is
> not a smart way to think.

Taste isn't the argument (and that argument has been had and is being had many
times per day on countless other sites).

------
gdubs
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.

~~~
zschallz
Which machine did you buy?

~~~
gdubs
It's called the Dedica. [1]

I'm very happy with it. I'm enough of a coffee person that I sometimes think I
could have gone for a more "prosumer" machine, but for the price point this is
a solid machine.

The barista grade beast at the office is certainly superior, but this home
machine can hold its own.

1: [http://www.wholelattelove.com/products/delonghi-dedica-
ec680...](http://www.wholelattelove.com/products/delonghi-dedica-
ec680-espresso-machine)

------
whatok
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.

------
gadders
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.

------
peapicker
The "fines" that result are so few that I wonder if most of the pod contents
are basically 'instant coffee' espresso powder.

------
pseud0r
With an Aeropress and a coffee grinder you can make much better tasting coffe,
much cheaper, and almost as fast.

------
kbd
The font is so huge on mobile. I get about three words to a line, which makes
the site very hard to read.

~~~
jimseven
Noted - will fix once the site is back up.

------
spotman
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.

~~~
caractacus
Wow. The pods are 70c a go in the US? Amazing to find a product that is
substantially cheaper in the UK. It's 30p a go here - 45c or thereabouts.

------
coin
"Error establishing a database connection"

------
rilita
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.

