Nespresso
4Primary question: What is the most superior brand of 'one-cup' coffee makers? Word on the street is that this forum already occurred in some form. If that is the case, please throw the link below. My real/secondary question follow.
Okay, so. Last week my fiance took me to lunch. Not too exciting, right? Wrong. It was perchance one of the most awe-striking experiences of my existence. Why (you might wonder)? 'Cause we went to Nespresso Boutique in Beverly Hills. (tasty sammy's salads and such)
That place is unreal.
emphasized text(it is also one of the most affordability priced places to eat in that part of B-Hills; if you find yourself down that way I suggest trying it out--or maybe whole foods--also tasty)emphasized text
Hybrid Mac Store meets Panera meets the Ritz-Carlton meets other great establishments/experiences.
I am crafting this thread so as that the citizens of Meh might provide input on the quality/necessity of owning a Nespresso machine.
I thoroughly enjoy coffee and espresso. I own a Keurig, tested a Tassimo, fondled a french press, flirted with a Flavia, I've ingested some instant coffee, and of course, dealt with my drip maker. All of these gadgets aside: The awe-inspiring experience of the Boutique has me feeling as though all of my coffee crafting devices are inferior.
Questions:
- Are their machines any good?
- Is their coffee any good?
- Where can I acquire a machine at best-cost/best deal (bundled with pods or what have you)?
- I would probably lean toward the VertuoLine b/c it crafts coffee and espresso.
**I did internet searching and found it to be not incredibly helpful. I trust the peoples of Meh to be direct, witty, and brutally honest.
- 7 comments, 18 replies
- Comment
Please forgive my excessive grammar errors. I crafted this bad-boy on the fly. Also, I was under the impression I would be able to edit it at a later time.
I don't get the obsession with these wasteful-ass pod machines. You like espresso, you want to make espresso, just get a freakin' espresso machine! Seriously, though, figuring out what makes good coffee good is a fun adventure, pulling a direct-lever is an addictive experience. Dosing coffee grounds, tamping, and dumping and rinsing out a portafilter basket really is not that time consuming.
@brhfl I worked a stint as a barista at a Peet's coffee--'twas a good time. If memory serves, direct-lever can be $1000's, yes? Any recommendations on a cost-conscious option or brand?
@brhfl The "wasteful-ass pod' situation is what turned me off from Keurig. This peaked my interest: http://www.nespresso.com/ecolaboration/us/en/article/9/3068/collecting-and-recycling-used-capsules-in-the-usa.html
@connorbush La Pavoni has been making the Europiccola for like 50 years or something. The earliest ones are kind of a mess to try to service, but you can pretty easily find working units from the 80s in the 200-300 range. Parts readily available. Other vintage units probably in a similar situation, but this was the route I took. I'll be sure to read your link later tonight!
@brhfl Maybe I will start sleuthing the thrift shops and try to find one akin to the lady who threw out her Mac.
@connorbush A La Pavoni is well worth it, but you MUST have a good grinder. No whirly blades and no cheap burr grinders. Rebuilds on a Pavoni are pretty easy, I replace the gaskets on mine about every 18 months - I use it for at least 6 shots every Saturday and Sunday
I go to a mall with a W&S about once every three years. So not a good candidate for their recycling program.
Having said that ... when it comes to recycling, I always think, how does the problem du jour compare to the big picture? I mean, we're a pretty wasteful species across the board.
Aren't Prius batteries supposed to be more toxic than all the gas they save over their forecasted lifespan?
Who's the dude at the dump cleaning the glue and labels off the mayonnaise jars before we melt them down? Oh, yeah, doesn't exist.
Aluminum cans have a plastic liner to keep beans, beer, and sweetened condensed milk from tasting metallic. No one can tell me how they separate those before melting them down.
Soylent Green is people!! Damn dirty apes!!
@saodell There is no need to separate plastic from steel/aluminum cans when they're being melted down. It just melts with the metal, then burns and what's left becomes a slag on top, which is separated naturally by density. The slag can then be scraped off, dumped off, or the metal can just be tapped from beneath the slag. I can't say how they do plastics with paper labels, but Wikipedia says that plastics are chopped up and then "These shredded fragments then undergo processes to eliminate impurities like paper labels."
@Dweezle interesting.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Aeropress. We got one as gift for Xmas and I put off using it for a while but once I did I haven't gone back to making coffee any other way besides an occasional cup of Moka.
What I love about it:
- From start to finish it takes about 5 minutes to make a cup of coffee and almost all of that is waiting for the water to heat up in my electric kettle
- Takes about 30 seconds to clean
- Tastes extremely good, smooth with very little added bitterness and no burnt flavor
- You can use a wide variety of beans
What I don't like about it:
- Nothing. It's amazing.
If you're like me in that you're lazy and you love coffee, the Aeropress is perfect for you.
@JonT I agree, Aeropress is a great little device. One thing anybody can do to up their coffee game is to home roast. With a $3 popcorn popper from a thrift store and about 10 minutes, you can roast. Check out Sweetmarias.com info/tutorials and green coffee.
@JonT Or just a simple 8 oz freedom press.
Nuke water for 1:30. Measure + grind beans whilst water is boiling. Steep for 4:00. Voila. Freakonomics has some extra tricks, none of which take extra time. Too simple.
@JonT aeropress it is. Cheers.
I have a Nespresso Vertuoline Combo (the one with the milk frother.) I got it during their anniversary sale for $220 (it's normally $349.)
Over the last ten years I've been through every type of coffee machine I can even begin to imagine, and for simplicity/convenience/laziness/etc the Nespresso has everything beat.
I'm a Sophisticated European that can't stand Hot Brown Water and Sugary Bread Company or Fartcups. The Nespresso is good, reliable, and doesn't talk back.
I'll probably buy a second one before the summer is out.
Plus the recycling program is great. I buy my capsules in the Nespresso place in Manhattan, and just take my empties with me when I go. You can also drop them at any FedEx thing.
@armchair Look at you actually answering the question! :D
I wonder how many people actually do the recycling program. Edit: and is the only reason there's a need for a program because of the spent coffee?
@brhfl I haven't really paid much attention to the details of the recycling program. I care that the capsules are being recycled (and I've seen enough non recyclable Keurig-compatible ones in my life) but not exactly what happens during the recycling process. They're pretty sturdy, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were some kind of reuse thing happening too.
@armchair I was more wondering out loud, not expecting you to have the answers, sorry! Actually only responded to you because it was nice to hear you do participate in the program. Things like this give me pause — it's obviously much better than a Keurig in that it's aluminum (which is nearly perfect in recycling terms, far better than plastic), and they have a program in place to handle said recycling. But at the same time, they're still providing a largely unnecessary convenience with all this extra packaging, and just banking on the consumer to do the right thing. At the end of the day, though, it's up to the consumer no matter what — they can choose the K-cup, or the Nespresso, or the cleaner option of just doing a small bit of work themselves. And in a world where the Keurig folks have somehow convinced everyone that they're too lazy to hold a coffee filter under a faucet for ten seconds, I will commend a company for taking that and trying to clean it up a bit. For the record, until I read @connorbush's link about the recycling program above, I was unaware of it and unaware that the pods were aluminum (I'd seen them, assumed shiny plastic). And while I largely stand by my disdain for pods, this does seem like an oasis in hell, so to speak.
@brhfl Shit, that was long.
Coffee review has reviewed them more than once. They have the top rated espresso capsules ever. No one come close. For coffee, meh, it's mediocre. Sorry but it is.
Best way to make one cup is to use your Keurig and use the fillable capsule and grind your own coffee.
There are some pretty awesome pourovers that do a slow pour, but they are pricey and do okay but not worth it my opinion.
I'm a coffee snob though. But do do shots from my daughter's nespresso and some are not so bad.
But for coffee, the rule of 15 triumphs all.
We have the Latissima. It makes incredible espresso and the recycling program is great... My biggest issue is that we live in Utah and there is nowhere in the state to purchase the pods at a store. You have to purchase online, and while the shipping is quick it frustrates me that I have to spend ~$150 to qualify for free shipping (200 pods I believe).
We go through the pods fairly quickly. Also the descaling process was confusing for me, and once I did figure it out, it's time consuming and their product for descaling is somewhat expensive and again I have to order online.
All that said, I love it enough to jump through the hurdles. A previous poster said you can purchase in Manhattan, I'll have to grab some next time I'm in town.
@therealmrsbeny I have only ever ordered and recycled them through the mail. Buying the minimum has never been a problem in my house. We went through various "manual" espresso machines in the past, but none approached the WAF of the Nespresso ones. So much that the wife now has one at work too.
You know what goes well with espresso?
@connorbush Bacon pancakes, makin' bacon pancakes Take some bacon and I'll put it in a pancake Bacon pancakes, that's what it's gonna make Bacon pancaaaaakes! Bacon pancakes, makin' bacon pancakes Take some bacon and I'll put it in a pancake Bacon pancakes, that's what it's gonna make Bacon pancaaaaakes! New York (Bacon pancakes, makin' bacon pancakes) Concrete jungle where dreams are made of (Take some bacon and I'll put it in a pancake) There's nothing you can't do (Bacon pancakes, that's what it's gonna make Bacon pancaaaaakes!) Now you're in New York, New York, New Yooooooork (Bacon pancakes, that's what it's gonna make Bacon pancaaaaakes!)
@connorbush dang holms, you right!