Well, after constantly being mistaken for George Clooney, I decided to buy a Nespresso machine this week.
I have to say, it puts instant coffee at home to shame! Nice, simple, and the closest you'll get at home to proper barista coffee without the hassle or attitude! Whilst instant kills it in cost, 68c for decent coffee is alright by me!
Anyone else have one? Any preferences for the coffee?
PS. I think I spelled George Formby's name wrong again...
Last edited by Buster Hyman; 13th Jul 2012 at 09:28.
I'd always seen coffee machines as being breakdown-prone, cumbersome pains in the arse, requiring much effort to get a cup of coffee that wasn't that great anyway.
Then, a few years ago when I was working at a place that had a Nespresso machine in the crew room, I discovered the coffee pods concept, and thought to myself - that's a top idea, I want one of those! The wife agreed, we got one for a couple of hundred bucks bundled with a milk-frothing jug at Harvey Norman and have had excellent service from it ever since.
The milk-frothing device gave up the ghost a while back (would still froth but not heat), but you don't really need it - just getting the coffee out of the machine gives you a really nice texture of froth, add a dash of milk and away you go.
As far as which pods to get, we just get a box of assorted types (probably 16 or so cardboard 'tubes' of pods per order) and don't really mind which ones we have - they're all pretty good. Maybe coffee afficionados would be picking the hints of elderberries and so on, but we're happy to have a decent cup of coffee conveniently and quickly available whenever we want it.
All a waste of time and money. Quite simply, find the beans/blend of beans that you like best, sort out the amount that you want, grind them, (fresh), stick the beans and some not quite boiling water in a cafetiere pot. Leave for 4 minutes, push down cafetiere top, serve coffee with a splash of milk. Simple.
Mine's four years old now. I bought it after deciding that a 'proper' Espresso machine and grinder involved far too much faffing about, and haven't regretted it one bit since. It's very different from caffetiere coffee, but in my opinion that's no bad thing!
P.S. - Remember to get them to collect and recycle your old coffee pods (it's a free service) when they deliver the next batch.
Ah, the rise and rise of the coffee snobs. Just when you thought the wine snobs had gone away, they latch onto another beverage.
Have tried most of the machines, Senseo, Tassimo etc. and even had an expensive NEFF coffee centre fitted into a bespoke kitchen a few years ago. They were all junk and after numerous visits by the NEFF technician to fix it, he admitted they were made by Zanussi!
After trying a friends, we bought a Nespresso and having sampled various flavours we settled on the Volutto. Our machine is nearly three years old now and apart from the occasional de-scale, has been trouble free. Many restaurants are using them now, including a local Michelin 1* where the waiter offers you a choice of pods after dinner.
The previous gadget a friend had was one with a character - looked like a satellite and one needed the papers for launching satellites to operate it, too . The extra nag was that when you wanted latte (hot and foamy), it started making an orbiting noise and there was no way to predict whether it would lead to milk foam eventually.
Lots of social activity and fun indeed.
If you wanted coffee and fast, the pot-system was safer, though.
I thought about getting a Nespresso machine but didn't like the cost and restrictions of having to use pods. Found a good deal on a KRUPPS coffee maker with a free grinder and bought that instead. Now I can put what ever coffee I like into it, even the soft SENSEO pods.
The grinder makes a big difference, it's the burr kind rather than the rotating blade, you set the amount to be ground and fineness of the grind and it does it all automatically.
Results are improving after a couple of days practice, no more $6 Starbucks drinks for me unless I'm travelling.
I have managed to accumulate three Nespresso machines. I love the coffee.I dislike the having to go online and buy pods....and invariably the g*t who delivers says "sorry I missed you"....too much trouble now...gone back to my old trusty grinder and Kenwood.
If only they had a store in town.....note to self...try google
Well, after constantly being mistaken for George Clooney
And there's the problem, you see. If you look like a flaneuring poseur boulevardier......
The rest of us will go on brewing up PROPER coffee in a billican over a wood fire. Grinding our own beans between two flat stones, too. Always remember: if the spoon wan't stand up alone in the cup, it's not coffee.
Instant coffee - revolting! That stuff is second hand coffee. It's the coffee equivalent of drying out and reusing tea bags.
Can't speak for the other manufactures but the Nespresso capsules are not 'instant' coffee. Ground coffee beans sealed in an aluminium capsule. The cost here is CHF0.50~0.80 a lot less than the GBP0.65 mentioned above. Must be a VAT thing (8% vs. 20%) plus Economics 101 - supply and demand.
We had one of the first machines given to us for a wedding present 20 years ago. Still going strong, and getting even more use since I retired. Still makes the best coffee, I love it.
Much better than faffing about, and we do recycle the capsules. Here, Nestlé commits to buy back the recycled aluminium guaranteeing a market for the recyclers.
Hmm, I see that 'french press' has been replaced by 'caffatiere'. I must update my Snob Lexicon.
Seriously though, I was raised on Brazilian espresso, cooked up in a pan on the stove. And yes, the spoon did stand up, although that was due as much to the quantity of sugar than the strength of the coffee.
I dislike the having to go online and buy pods....and invariably the g*t who delivers says "sorry I missed you"
The standard French letterbox accepts the 200 pod box, which is also the carriage paid minimum
Here, you can also opt to have your order delivered to a business address, such as the presse or tabac, and you get a text message to say it is there waiting for you.
Nespresso, Tassimo, Senseo, pods, on-line ordering. What the f..k is all this? Do you need a machine to brew tea? Do you need a machine to make an omelette? Do you need a machine to boil potatoes? I rest my case.
I'm lucky that there"s a Nespresso store 1 tram stop away from where I work. I don't think I'd want them delivered though.I particularly enjoyed being served by a young lady with, what seemed to be a Swiss accent, especially as she thought I looked like George Clooney....(I made that bit up)
I'm sure the proper grinders & barista's would make a nicer cup, but in a domestic situation where all you want to do is enjoy the beverage, the Nespresso's doing the job for me.
Mrs Duke bought a Nespresso machine circa 2007. I avoided using it, as I avoid Nestle. She kindly managed to source some alternative coffee pods from a Sydney based company that seem to give slightly stronger coffee. They're also a little cheaper.
Best coffee I ever had was in the Talair crew room at Mt Hagen many years back.
Black, no sugar and scaldingly hot, made from freshly roasted and ground PNG Highlands coffee.
Killed the altitude headache I recieved on the flight up from Port Morbid.
(No O2 in that heap of ****C402.)
And to the Talair Pilot who saw me walking past, saw that I was suffering a little and literally ordered me inside for that coffee; If you' re reading this, sorry I have forgotten your name but Thanks heaps!!
Last edited by Pinky the pilot; 14th Jul 2012 at 04:37.
. The extra nag was that when you wanted latte (hot and foamy), it started making an orbiting noise and there was no way to predict whether it would lead to milk foam eventually.
