Home Espresso Machines: How Good is the Nespresso System?

November 29, 2006 5:45 PM

I just bought a Nespresso C100 expresso machine. I don't know much about espresso machines but find that the coffee tastes great and the machine, which uses pods, doesn't make a mess in my kitchen. I would like to know what people who know a lot about making espresso and love espresso think generally of the Nespresso system. In the few days I've had the machine it has produced reliable espresso with a beautiful crema and excellent taste.
posted by dclawyer to food & drink (9 comments total)

odd question: do you just want validation on your purchase?

coffee snobs will say that that any pod system is preground and defacto inferior as grinding the beans yourself.

environmentally minded folk will say that individually wrapped pods (plastic or tin foil or whatever material they are) is a needless waste.

thrify folk will say that paying $0.50 for a shot of espresso at home is a waste of money.

but, you like it. so great. what more do you want?

i know we all rationalize our irrational purchases, but "not making a mess in the kitchen" is stretching it a bit don't you think? Kitchens are designed to make a messes in! What do you have carpet in yours or something?
posted by kamelhoecker at 6:26 PM on November 29, 2006 [1 favorite]

I just bought a D150 Nespresso (I didn't know it was pods at the time... but it was like 75% off). Overall I'm pretty happy with it, except that the coffee in the pods that came with it seems a little stale. Not sure if this because of the coffee itself, or that the machine seemed to have been on the shelf a while before I got it.

But if you're "thrifty" and "environmentally minded", it's pretty trivial to refill the pods and reuse them using the coffee of your choice. Once I started doing that, I was much happier with the quality (which beats all hell out of the $30 faux-espresso thing I was using for three years prior - I mean, really, no comparison).

In general, I've heard pod systems are much better than non-pod, and I imagine 50 cents a shot isn't much of a barrier to people who really need a decent pull in the morning.
posted by logicpunk at 6:46 PM on November 29, 2006

It's probably not a good idea to ask people to talk you out of your satisfaction. But if you're looking for a user community for the device (not a bad idea for an expensive appliance), you could try the SingleServeCoffee.com forums
posted by ardgedee at 6:50 PM on November 29, 2006

Coffee is an intensely personal thing. What tastes good to one person may be filth to another. The only important question is whether you like it, and whether you get enough enjoyment out of the purchase to justify what you paid for it to yourself.

A lot of people are going to tell you that anything that comes from pre-ground coffee is crap, and further that anyone who doesn't grind their own coffee is a unrefined boor and lacking in man/womenhood. I know some of these people. I ignore them regularly. Asking them for their opinion on something you like is just begging them to rain on your parade.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:40 PM on November 29, 2006

Anyone out there with experience with espresso machines?
posted by dclawyer at 4:12 AM on November 30, 2006

Yes, me. I have owned both a Nespresso machine and now I've been using a real machine for years. Nespresso is evil, as everybody with a real espresso machine knows, and not very good. And expensive. And wasteful. And Nestlé doesn't pay farmers a lot.

In general, I've heard pod systems are much better than non-pod, and I imagine 50 cents a shot isn't much of a barrier to people who really need a decent pull in the morning.

I don't know where you heard that, but that's complete and utter drivel. The best system is: roast your own beans, grind them to order, make espresso with 7 grams or more of freshly ground, freshly roasted coffee (no more than one week old).

More info.
posted by NekulturnY at 5:07 AM on November 30, 2006

I'm a serious espresso snob. I home roast and have spent a fair amount of time and money on my home setup. Honestly, I treat it as much as a hobby as a a craft. Guess that makes me "experienced".

I think the nespresso machines are okay - they produce drinkable, consistent espresso with a minimum of cleanup and fuss. Honestly, they probably produce better espresso than a many people with home espresso machines that don't clean them properly or don't have a decent burr grinder, and the patience to dial it in.

On the negative side, the pods are hella expensive, and the coffee they produce is nowhere near as good as the "best" you could get out of even a modest home setup with some practice.

Honestly, I'd personally get a nespresso (or other decent pod) machine for the sheer convenience of being able to drink espresso, say at 5 in the morning when getting up for a flight, when the rigmarole attached to making "proper" espresso doesn't appeal, but they're just a bit too expensive for me to bother. They're good for offices, where you can't trust others to keep machines clean.

It is hard to characterise the taste as "excellent" and the crema as "beautiful" though when compared to authentic, high-quality espresso. It falls a looooong way short. It's definitely ahead of the bitter, overroasted, overextracted swill you get from Starbucks though.
posted by bifter at 5:08 AM on November 30, 2006

As others have said: you have made your choice, just enjoy it... But as you asked: I have an espresso machine and a grinder, and make coffee from freshly ground beans, however I am a long way from being a coffee geek!

My personal arguments for griding my own beans is because ground coffee goes stale quickly, and freshly ground coffee just has that smell.

My personal reasons against pod-systems are:

1) lock in: I can only use the Pods
3) Variety: I can buy whatever beans at whatever roast I like. (less of a problem now that there are many independant pod suppliers)
2) Price: It is a lot more expensive per cup, even if the machines are cheaper. I like my doubles!
3) waste: we already have too much waste packaging in this world...

Manual Espresso machines can also be messy, but you just have to be a little careful how you handle them... I would not recommend having a manual espresso in a office or shared-use scenario: someone is guaranteed to spread wet coffee grinds everywhere!

Anyway, this is really a question for a site likecoffeegeek.com (eg this thread).
posted by nielm at 5:35 AM on November 30, 2006

I especially want to thank bifter for the helpful response. I agree that the Nespresso does produce a better espresso than I get at Starbucks and I am not willing at this point to do everything required to do what bifter does. Maybe someday. I wonder where I might go to taste a really first rate espresso.

(BTW, I should have mentioned that I bought the Nespresso at Williams Sonoma so if I found a better option for me I could return it and buy something else.)
posted by dclawyer at 8:23 AM on November 30, 2006