Nespresso

RogerD

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May 23, 2010
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BiggestLittleCity
I have a Miele,have had it for 9 years and it is very good. I have a Faema also which I use more...but I think for the average guy the Nespresso is better.
 

rbbert

Well-Known Member
Dec 12, 2010
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Reno, NV
I have a Miele,have had it for 9 years and it is very good. I have a Faema also which I use more...but I think for the average guy the Nespresso is better.

Espresso doesn't really compare to a well-brewed French Press; remember that the whole concept of espresso was a way to make mediocre coffee beans make a more acceptable tasting coffee. It doesn't get as much caffeine out of the beans as brewed coffee, either (which could be either a positive or a negative, depending on your POV)
 

FrantzM

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Went to Rome last year and finally understood what a great coffee is all about. Not enough knowledge to be a coffee snob but ...

Making a great coffee using one of the (violently) expensive machines is not a given. One has to learn what makes a great coffee, learn the difference in beans, learn how to preserve the beans, learn how to grind these for the machine, seems that the coarseness of the bean depends on the machine and the pressure settings , so you grind for the machine at hand, then learn the machine then learn the machine again then re-learn the machine so as to make a consistently good coffee :) It takes a while to make a great coffee, by simply acquiring a great machine, you're not there yet .. just be happy you can make a decent coffee ... And this is not the end , one has to learn to clean the machine , else it will not make good coffee even less consistent coffee and some machine needs to go to the shop to be decalcified... The finest espresso is achieved with semi-automatic machine not fully automatic machines or so told me some Italian friends in Rome ... When confronted to all this, I decided to go with a Breville BES900 XL and the Breville SmartGrinder Pro (it grinds the coffee and somehow put in a well sealed container to preserve freshness) ... And while trying to get into learning the in and out of Espresso making, I drink my morning espresso shot made with a Nespresso Citiz C111 :D I got for an incredible price on Miami Craigslist ... Consistent good, above most Starbucks espresso IMO.. Not what I was getting day in and out in Rome but .. good enough for me who wasn't a coffee drinker until that day in Rome :(
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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Espresso doesn't really compare to a well-brewed French Press; remember that the whole concept of espresso was a way to make mediocre coffee beans make a more acceptable tasting coffee. It doesn't get as much caffeine out of the beans as brewed coffee, either (which could be either a positive or a negative, depending on your POV)

IMHO this is the proper way of getting an excellent coffee at home:
 

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ack

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
May 6, 2010
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Boston, MA
Went to Rome last year and finally understood what a great coffee is all about. Not enough knowledge to be a coffee snob but ...

Making a great coffee using one of the (violently) expensive machines is not a given. One has to learn what makes a great coffee, learn the difference in beans, learn how to preserve the beans, learn how to grind these for the machine, seems that the coarseness of the bean depends on the machine and the pressure settings , so you grind for the machine at hand, then learn the machine then learn the machine again then re-learn the machine so as to make a consistently good coffee :) It takes a while to make a great coffee, by simply acquiring a great machine, you're not there yet .. just be happy you can make a decent coffee ... And this is not the end , one has to learn to clean the machine , else it will not make good coffee even less consistent coffee and some machine needs to go to the shop to be decalcified... The finest espresso is achieved with semi-automatic machine not fully automatic machines or so told me some Italian friends in Rome ... When confronted to all this, I decided to go with a Breville BES900 XL and the Breville SmartGrinder Pro (it grinds the coffee and somehow put in a well sealed container to preserve freshness) ... And while trying to get into learning the in and out of Espresso making, I drink my morning espresso shot made with a Nespresso Citiz C111 :D I got for an incredible price on Miami Craigslist ... Consistent good, above most Starbucks espresso IMO.. Not what I was getting day in and out in Rome but .. good enough for me who wasn't a coffee drinker until that day in Rome :(

Excellent! Here's some more thoughts from personal experience... you have to aim for optimal pressure to get the best crema - around 8-9 bars on your pressure gauge; toward that end, keep the coffee weight steady and adjust the grind for the machine; the finer grind you can get the higher the chance you will succeed; that doesn't mean pick the finest grind possible (Turkish coffee), but that the grinder and machine should be able to do Espresso grind and not every one of them does. I like your Breville, but it's not a pro espresso machine (I evaluated it at home along with your grinder as well) - very quiet pump, though, and still tasty coffee. Ideally, go for a 58mm basket and holder, the Breville's is smaller. Next come the coffee beans; suggest you try Intelligentsia Black Cat vs Stumptown Hairbender, two of my most favorite; but there are so many others extremely worthy of experimentation.
 

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Midwest fly over state..
..we own two Nespresso's...one in the kitchen one in the bar...love em
 

GMKF

VIP/Donor
Aug 15, 2017
432
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Munich
So my parents own one. I prefer strong black filter brewed coffee. Straight up without milk or sugar. And preferably cold.
But about my parents Nespresso machine. So they owned one from 2006 on to 2012 when the lever mechanism broke into two pieces....
So on to their second one, which lasted to 2015 without breaking.

So the first issue was that the small perforated plastic filter clogged up with coffee oil and debris. Disassembled the whole thing, cleaned the filter and lines. Them reassembled the whole thing made out of cheap plastic. (Lots of screaming and cursing involved).

The second issue was that the machine buttons went dead. So I tore the entire thing down again and found a few solder points that went bad. They where under mechanical stress i.n. cable pull. Resoldered them. Then reassembled with more screaming and cursing involved.
So thats my story...

Greetings
Max
 

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