Pods and K-Cup Costs Higher Than Best SOs: New York Times Article - Page 2

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
sashaman
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#11: Post by sashaman »

I agree with tekomino. As an owner of a nespresso machine for a couple years, and as a newbie to the semi-auto world, both methods have their place. The nespresso machine is SUPER simple and VERY consistently produces a nice latte, and it's very easy to maintain. The drinks on my HX are much better, but it does take a lot more work, both in learning how to use the machine and in preparing the drink itself. Perhaps most important to the mass market, the upfront cost of a nespresso machine ($150) is low enough to entice a broad swath of consumers.

Also, while this was alluded to in the article, on a pound-per-pound basis the nespresso is much more expensive, but on a per-drink basis there's probably not that huge a difference. Producing a double with nespresso capsules is about 11 grams of coffee (2 pods), but a double on my HX is probably close to 20 grams - 17-18 grams for the drink plus some waste in filling the basket, when changing the grind, etc. Plus, the patents on nespresso pods expire in the coming year I believe, at which point there is likely to be a significant reduction in price of the pods since the margins are so high currently.

jbviau
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#12: Post by jbviau »

^^^ On that note, aftermarket Ethical Coffee capsules (for Nespresso) have just become available on Amazon. They're 7 cents less/capsule if you don't factor in shipping--and even cheaper if you do. Anyway, I agree that a per-drink comparison is best re: price.
"It's not anecdotal evidence, it's artisanal data." -Matt Yglesias

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SlowRain
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#13: Post by SlowRain »

It's your choice of reading material, James. You read a fair bit about food and coffee science--which is commendable--but, unless you've changed recently, your second choice of reading material is that branch of business that tries to get consumers to pay more money for things--and that's not so commendable. It's unhealthy because it leads you to compare the coffee industry to those other industries and desire how they're able to manipulate their customers' thinking, as if those industries are somehow doing things "right".
Randy G. wrote:The cost of convenience, indeed. The tradeoff goes beyond that, because with many of the conveniences we pay dearly for there is also a quality tradeoff.
Not to mention an environmental trade-off. (those Gillette and Schick multi-blade cartridges, anyone?)

King Seven
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#14: Post by King Seven »

My choice of reading material? Seriously?
How on earth do you know what I am reading?

(You could perhaps have tracked down my instapaper "liked" feed, but if you are basing this on twitter or something then I'm still lost for words.)

This has moved past shockingly presumptuous and a little insulting into really quite, quite funny.

Well - in case I forgot why I stopped using forums.....

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aecletec
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#15: Post by aecletec »

It would be a terrible shame to lose your input due to a (hopefully infrequent) creepy post.

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EricBNC
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#16: Post by EricBNC »

King Seven wrote:My choice of reading material? Seriously?
How on earth do you know what I am reading?

(You could perhaps have tracked down my instapaper "liked" feed, but if you are basing this on twitter or something then I'm still lost for words.)

This has moved past shockingly presumptuous and a little insulting into really quite, quite funny.

Well - in case I forgot why I stopped using forums.....
Lets get back on topic please, should I buy a Keurig or go for the Nespresso? :wink:
LMWDP #378
Author of "The Bell Curve: Instructions for Proper Herd Mentality"

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hankua
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#17: Post by hankua »

I thought Hoffman's blog on the subject was balanced and insightful. Is it possible for a home roaster to make kcups, without using nitrogen etc etc?

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farmroast
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#18: Post by farmroast »

King Seven wrote:It is possible to create a value proposition where coffee at $50/lb doesn't seem ludicrous. Nespresso/Keurig have done this through convenience - a route we don't want to take.
and from James blog: "Ultimately my point is this: Nespresso and K-Cups success clearly demonstrate that people are happy to pay more for coffee. They are happy to pay a lot more."

These seem to conflict a bit. They are not telling us they are happy to pay more for "coffee". It only says they are willing to pay a lot more for convenience. And as I mentioned earlier, that expensive, magical and impressive looking super auto. We certainly need to consider convenience but maybe with a tweak of our own definition.

The "buy local small farm movement" was up against the same thing. They have been creating a whole new "personal" experience around whole foods as well as at restaurants. An added value to slow food to compete against the added value of convenience. 3rd wavers have created this to some degree at the cafe level. Do we really know how much of the interest in these cafes is about the improved setting/environment/experience and how much is about the coffee and to what degree? I think not enough has been done so well with the "personal" relationship/experience with coffee and preparation at home and office.

Some of us "enjoy"(value added) the process/experience so much we have gone lever and manual pourovers, hand mills and home roasting. Knowing origins and specific farms/farmers and their farming/processing practices has become an added value to the overall relationship and experience too.

From what I've seen the amateur community has done the bulk of the heavy lifting groundwork to advancing the "personal" experience. Even if we are a bit rough around the edges at times.
LMWDP #167 "with coffee we create with wine we celebrate"

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