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An Analysis of Nespresso

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Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#101

Post by AnthonBerg »

jahnu wrote: post #73
cdcarter wrote: post #5

"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.

It's a serious and well made point. It's worth pointing out that there are a spectrum of options. For me I went with a Gaggia Classic, a not terrible grinder (less than $200) and not terrible supermarket beans. I don't wait for the machine to heat up for 30 mins (only till the light comes on) and I might even grind the beans the day before, and I always use a double shot of coffee to make a single espresso. All this…

If you didn't know, a single espresso with a double shot of coffee is called a ristretto and is usually delicious :) None of it sounds horrible at all!

Cappuccinos from ristrettos are also really good. Sometimes they taste like brown sugar.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#102

Post by carlob »

bambax wrote: post #96
carlob wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the penetration of Nespresso in the French market might also be related to the consistently bad quality of espresso in cafés. I really don't understand how that has come to be, given that most of the other souther European countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, most of former Yugoslavia…) usually have pretty good espresso and largely use the same kind of equipment and coffee blends.

I have been (many times) to Italy, Spain and Portugal, and while I have been consistently amazed and wowed by the quality of expressos in Italy, I can't say the same for Spain and Portugal...? Coffee in cafés there (to me) tastes very much like the ones we get in Paris? What I find strange in Paris (or France) is that all expressos in any café taste exactly the same. It's not absolutely bad, it's a little bitter and…

I don't know, maybe it's a matter of style. For example the coffee in Milan is not as good as the coffee in Naples. But I have to disagree with you about Spain and Portugal, I found pretty consistent good quality in Lisbon for example.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#103

Post by peteretep »

stinos wrote: post #33
peteretep wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My suspicion is you might see the same improvement that members of the high-fi community get when they switch to gold-played cables and electricity smoothers.

Your suspicion is likely wrong though - I have no science to back this up but am 100% sure in blind tetsts people with normally developped taste buds would pick the freshly ground one from the pre-ground one. The difference in taste is just too big to ignore (or at least the difference between the ground vs pre-ground I have here at home is). Unlike the improvements you compare them to, which can usually not even be…

    > Your suspicion is likely wrong though
Doubt it; I'm sure you could buy very bad capsule, which might give the game away, otherwise ... are you familiar with:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tas...

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#104

Post by pizza234 »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #35
peteretep wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My suspicion is you might see the same improvement that members of the high-fi community get when they switch to gold-played cables and electricity smoothers.

Correctly roasted and ground beans are probably the single most important factor for a good cup if you are willing to drink different styles. The correct roast with the correct grind will produce great coffee from a $20 dripolator from Kmart. The problem with pre-ground beans, is that ground beans go stale in a matter of hours. Whole beans from supermarkets are no better since you usually can't tell when they were ro…

> The problem with pre-ground beans, is that ground beans go stale in a matter of hours. Whole beans from supermarkets are no better since you usually can't tell when they were roasted and they are most likely also stale.

The point is that in a blind test, "a lot %" of the people would never distinguish a freshly opened pack and a pack opened a week before, as much as "a lot %" of the people would never distinguish gold-plated from non-plated ones.

Of course, it's easy to distinguish a "great" coffee [espresso] from a "non-great" one, but then we're talking about a much wider context (that is, many other facts weigh in).

[edit: added note]

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#105

Post by austinjp »

eps wrote: post #23
torrance wrote: post #22

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.

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).

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.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#106

Post by jules »

jasonkester wrote: post #95
bambax wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 co…

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…

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.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#107

Post by masklinn »

bambax wrote: post #82
rconti wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> 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 or for a better picture: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/bodum-chambord-34-ounce-french... It's quite popul…

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.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#108

Post by _xzu »

tabio wrote: post #51
camillomiller wrote: post #47

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 th…

Why is multinational bad food?

In the long term they will lead you to something like Finnish food market ( which is kinda duopoly ). Long supply chains without any reasonable way to check origins of ingredients. Multinationals have also much more resources and incentives to hide and mask health and environmental effects of the food.

But worst thing is that to maximize profits taste is "optimized". And optimization doesn't mean good taste but rather "doesn't taste anything so that it won't annoy you even if you eat same thing every day".

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#109

Post by conradfr »

bambax wrote: post #39

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 use Nespresso at work and a French press at home (because someone gave it to me) with "supermarket" grounded coffee.

Nespresso is marginally better and clearly more convenient (event though I drink tea and French press is mostly the same process so I don't care) but I can't shake the feeling it's too expensive, they make crazy margins and I hate the pompous stores (e.g the Opera one) with the snob employees (relax, you only sell coffee pods ...). Plus the waste, and overall bad machines (watch out for limestone).

But yes, it's good progress from those water-downed coffee people drink at home (still better than what you mostly drink in the U.S :))

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#110

Post by caractacus »

bshimmin wrote: post #14

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…

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.
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