An Analysis of Nespresso • Hacker News Board

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#221

Post by pangram » Sun, May 24, 2015, 5:41 AM UTC

keslag wrote: post #197

kaolinite wrote: post #161

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 scale…

I get my own bean, and I use a burr mill grinder, really nice one, and I use a Keurig, EZCup reusable filter holder, and ecobrew filters. Because it makes a pretty descent cup of coffee, in about a minute with no cleanup required. I've tried percolators, french press, open drip, and aeropress, and they all have uniqueness's, but to my pallet, they aren't so good that their worth the convenience. Cleaning an aeropress…

Why do you find the Aeropress inconvenient to clean? I just dump the "hockey puck" of grounds into the trash. IMHO it's easier than a french press by a long shot.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#222

Post by tripzilch » Sun, May 24, 2015, 1:53 PM UTC

kaolinite wrote: post #161

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 scale…

> and can be kept warm if you have a hotplate, although I wouldn't recommend that

I find (but my personal taste may differ to some) that in general, if you've made more coffee than you want to drink, it's better to just cover it and let it go cold, then heat it up with a microwave when you want to drink it. Of course it's not as good as a fresh cup, but I find that a microwave does little else than gently heat up the liquid for 30-60 seconds or so, while keeping it heated constantly will degrade the flavour into something burned.

I'm also a big fan of simple brewing methods. My personal method is to grind beans (from the supermarket) and use a simple €2,50 plastic filter-holder, a filter, and pour just-off-boiling water from a waterboiler on it. Straight into a (rather large) cup.

I know that doesn't make an espresso, but it does make for delicious coffee.

Re: An Analysis of Nespresso

#223

Post by keslag » Tue, May 26, 2015, 2:22 PM UTC

pangram wrote: post #221

keslag wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get my own bean, and I use a burr mill grinder, really nice one, and I use a Keurig, EZCup reusable filter holder, and ecobrew filters. Because it makes a pretty descent cup of coffee, in about a minute with no cleanup required. I've tried percolators, french press, open drip, and aeropress, and they all have uniqueness's, but to my pallet, they aren't so good that their worth the convenience. Cleaning an aeropress…

Why do you find the Aeropress inconvenient to clean? I just dump the "hockey puck" of grounds into the trash. IMHO it's easier than a french press by a long shot.

Easier, than a french press certainly. In the office, I have to take the whole setup to the kitchen to rinse and wash it it off, and dry it before the next use. With the Keurig, and the setup mentioned above, I just drop the filter in the trash, as there are no stray grounds. It's not as good as the aeropress, but it's way better than having a classic drip coffee machine. It's all about what compromises are more important.