Espresso Maker

[Scuderia-F1]

Originally Posted by gomestar

some of us enjoy coffee as a beverage and not as a hobby or a science.

to sum up the points made, yes, limited selection is a trade off. but there are advantages: consistency from shot to shot (I'd rather pull shot after shot of great ESE espresso than have 10% superb shots, 40% great, 40% good, and 10% terrible ... I am no expert after all), generally very good quality, ease of use (I can't seem to avoid a mess with my tamper), etc.


gld, is the Nespresso machine noisy? I'm thinking about one for my office. My DeLonghi is pretty noisy, it would make for an awkward noise 3-4 times a day that I'd like to avoid.

+1!

No it isn´t that noisy, so I think a Citiz would do the job in your office!

 

[Fuuma]

Ugh home espressos and coffee geeks. Ughghghhghg!! (Sorry).

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

Ugh home espressos and coffee geeks. Ughghghhghg!! (Sorry).

?

what's more normal than having decent coffee at home?

 

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by gdl203

? what's more normal than having decent coffee at home?
I feel the same way about coffee geeks as I do about audiophiles, nothing wrong with it in theory but a large % of them are insanely annoying and shortsighted about their own passion. In other words from what I've seen of your posts I'd guess you're fine, just like you make a reasonable watchophile or whatever they're called. The amount of crazies is just a major turnoff. There are hobbies that attract people stuck in their anal phase and coffee is one of them, probably because it's not supposed to be a hobby.

 

[gomestar]

Originally Posted by gdl203

My cube is pretty noisy - I don't know if they all are but I suspect that it comes with the compressor and is unavoidable. I would assume that the DeLonghi Nespresso machine makes the same noise as the DeLonghi non-Nespresso

another n00b question. Do the Nespresso machines fit ESE pods or is it some Nespresso-only pods?

 

[gomestar]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

I feel the same way about coffee geeks as I do about audiophiles, nothing wrong with it in theory but a large % of them are insanely annoying and shortsighted about their own passion.

+1 on the coffee people. I've commented on it before that I think some of the hard core coffee people are WAY more pretentious than the wine people. Compare some of the posts in this thread to the wine thread.

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by gomestar

another n00b question. Do the Nespresso machines fit ESE pods or is it some Nespresso-only pods?

Nespresso capsules only - very different from ESE pods in many ways

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

I feel the same way about coffee geeks as I do about audiophiles, nothing wrong with it in theory but a large % of them are insanely annoying and shortsighted about their own passion. In other words from what I've seen of your posts I'd guess you're fine, just like you make a reasonable watchophile or whatever they're called. The amount of crazies is just a major turnoff. There are hobbies that attract people stuck in their anal phase and coffee is one of them, probably because it's not supposed to be a hobby.

Originally Posted by gomestar

+1 on the coffee people. I've commented on it before that I think some of the hard core coffee people are WAY more pretentious than the wine people. Compare some of the posts in this thread to the wine thread.

I think I know what you guys mean, although I can't say that I really know many people like that. What I find hilarious is coffee geeks who discuss the merits of one drip coffee over another - stumptown's the best, no magic beans ftw, blah blah - guys, it's drip coffee !

 

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by gdl203

I think I know what you guys mean, although I can't say that I really know many people like that. What I find hilarious is coffee geeks who discuss the merits of one drip coffee over another - stumptown's the best, no magic beans ftw, blah blah - guys, it's drip coffee !

Just go to Seattle for a few days and come back to me... Art of life cultures have this inferiority complex about them that makes their proponent prone to overcompensating. Not that they're not on to something, comparing coffee to music or dance would just be ludicrous, it's just a nice, everyday thing that you can appreciate but not a noble pursuit that touches the sublime UNLESS you manage to build a culture around it that aims at some form of transcendence, like the Japanese did with tea.

 

[gomestar]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Nespresso capsules only - very different from ESE pods in many ways

and let me guess, online special order only?

Originally Posted by gdl203

I think I know what you guys mean, although I can't say that I really know many people like that. What I find hilarious is coffee geeks who discuss the merits of one drip coffee over another - stumptown's the best, no magic beans ftw, blah blah - guys, it's drip coffee !

drip coffee is great for when you need caffeine and want 64 oz of something.

 

[JSC437]

is the nespresso the best home espresso maker for a noob (not sure i could operate a real device)?

my budget would be less than $500 or so

 

[JohnGalt]

Originally Posted by RJman

I had the beans ground to the finest setting at my coffee shop and they still weren't fine enough. I tried tamping hard, I tried tamping lightly, I tried filling up the basket all the way, I tried everything I could think of and the espresso still brewed through ultraquick and was underextracted. I ended up pulling out my blade grinder and regrinding the ground beans down to very, very fine. I can then tamp down hard and get a good shot.

I know that Nespresso is pretty much a guaranteed decent shot every time, but I like being able to play with my machine, to experiment with different beans and coffee roasters, to have that interaction. It is sort of like the difference between liking a quartz watch which keeps better time and liking a mechanical watch despite the fragility and the outmoded technology...

I've used the Illy pods, they are OK.

What kind of tamper are you using? Is it a good quality metal one? Maybe your tamp isn't even and it is leaving weak spots that the water is channeling through. What happens when you tamp at 35lbs pressure exactly (use a scale)?

 

[gomestar]

Originally Posted by JSC4President

is the nespresso the best home espresso maker for a noob (not sure i could operate a real device)?

my budget would be less than $500 or so

how coffee involved do you want to be? Do you just want espresso at home or do you want to experiment with different blends, styles, etc?

A "real" device isn't hard necessarily, but it does take time to figure out how to pull a good shot and it takes much more effort to actually get the shot (grinding, tampering properly, cleaning, etc.)

 

[JSC437]

Originally Posted by gomestar

how coffee involved do you want to be? Do you just want espresso at home or do you want to experiment with different blends, styles, etc?

A "real" device isn't hard necessarily, but it does take time to figure out how to pull a good shot and it takes much more effort to actually get the shot (grinding, tampering properly, cleaning, etc.)

for the under $500 price point, i had assumed that the nespresso was my only option. Is there a "real" device for that price point? I would like to grind, clean, select different blends, etc.. So i would like to purchase something where i could learn (by trial and error) how to make a proper espresso. The nespresso is appealing, but i am fearful that i would get bored with having a relatively limited selection of capsules to chose from.

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by gomestar

and let me guess, online special order only?
No they have brick and mortar stores too and sell the capsules through other stores (Bloomingdales Soho comes to mind in my hood). That said, the easiest for me is online ordering - rarely takes more than a day.