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An Analysis of Nespresso

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Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#111

Post by DangerousPie »

jasonkester wrote: post #42
dcw303 wrote: post #11

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.

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,…

> 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)

That number definitely doesn't apply to large parts of Europe. I'd pay around 2.00£ (2.81 EUR) here. Nespresso capsules are ~0.30£.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#112

Post by caractacus »

spotman wrote: post #48

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 t…

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.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#113

Post by bambax »

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…

I see what you've done here. But, esp. being American, I doubt you can go the the coffe shop naked? Which is how I am when I get out of bed...

Also, maybe you live in LA or Phoenix, but here most of the year you really need trousers and a coat and actual shoes before you go outside; not because of style but because of the temperature.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#114

Post by jahnu »

AnthonBerg wrote: post #101
jahnu wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Cool. Didn't know that. Anyway, it's just a little more work than a nespresso, cheaper and not as involved as serious coffee making.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#115

Post by zimpenfish »

jarek wrote: post #87
stinos wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Not that I love the gold-plated set, but: "Your suspicion is likely wrong though - I have no science to back this up but am 100% sure in blind tests people with normally developed ears would pick the gold cables from the copper one. The difference in sound is just too big to ignore (or at least the difference between the gold vs copper I have here at home is). Unlike the improvements you compare them to, which can us…

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/frontal-cortex/does-all-wine-t...

Also includes the hilarious "white wine with food colouring" test -

"In one test, Brochet included fifty-four wine experts and asked them to give their impressions of what looked like two glasses of red and white wine. The wines were actually the same white wine, one of which had been tinted red with food coloring. But that didn’t stop the experts from describing the “red” wine in language typically used to describe red wines."

[edit to undo monospaced text]

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#116

Post by moron4hire »

_benedict wrote: post #32
keithpeter wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 eco…

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 g…

Flavor and taste are fundamentally linked, so if something smells better, it's pretty much the same thing as tasting better.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#117

Post by pdpi »

cmarschner wrote: post #44
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.…

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.

The way it gets evaluated is not "it costs €90/kilo for home-brewed coffee". It's "it costs €0.40 for a cup of coffee not too different from a proper espresso at a café".

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#118

Post by moron4hire »

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.

As someone who has been a home brewer for years, you don't home brew because it's cheap or convenient or even better than store bought. People home brew because they want the experience of the hobby. Which was the article's point: people want espresso at home, not a hobby. Beer can be had at home without the hobby, or it can be had with the hobby. So I think beer brewers are already there.

Though, to contradict myself, there is a very small proportion of brewers that are doing micro kegs that are supposed to bring more of a true draught flavor to the home without the hassle of installing taps and lines and a pressurization system. It is not so great (I've only had it for Heineken and Newcastle, which aren't great beers to begin with). But it's the closest thing to "on tap" at home you can get without making a hobby of running a bar.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#119

Post by lucaspiller »

pbowyer wrote: post #100
spotman wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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... Though next I want to try a Peruvian coffee,.

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