James Hoffmann on Nespresso - Page 2

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TomC
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#11: Post by TomC »

James Hoffmann should change his name to James Hofman.
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#12: Post by Marcelnl replying to TomC »

Can you explain that one for non natives;-) ?
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yakster
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#13: Post by yakster »

Just about every article written about James Hoffmann leaves out one f or one n or both. No one can seem to correctly spell his name.
-Chris

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Marshall (original poster)
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#14: Post by Marshall (original poster) »

TomC wrote:James Hoffmann should change his name to James Hofman.
Thanks. Corrected. James just seems so much more English than German :D
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#15: Post by Marcelnl »

Thanks!
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another_jim
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#16: Post by another_jim »

bluesman wrote:They just came out with a new system that appears to use high speed rotary pressure generation. The capsules are totally different - the new machines will make large cups of coffee in addition to espresso. And the major marketing hype is all about the new system.
The patent on the old style Nespresso pods is expiring. This is one reason for the new style, and potentially good news for those of us who recommend the old style. The old style pods where designed to create a single espresso shot, which they do very nicely. The new ones, I was less impressed with for straight shots, but they clobber the Keurig system for large cups, making a tasty cafe crema/amercano style beverage.

All these systems are an environmental disgrace. But that is inherent in the whole "value added" approach to upscale mass marketing, and goes beyond coffee. Every time you replace some area of domestic work with manufactured consumables, you add waste. It will take a major conversion in people's world views for this to end (e.g. creating garbage is not respectable, doing house work is). In the mean time, it is worth giving a shout out to the systems that actually do manage to add value.
Jim Schulman

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Marshall (original poster)
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#17: Post by Marshall (original poster) »

The Nespresso customers I know take advantage of the Williams Sonoma recycling points. I don't know overall how much of the product is recycled, but my impression is that it is much more than Keurig's.
http://www.nespresso.com/ecolaboration/ ... e-usa.html
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#18: Post by Marcelnl »

I agree with Jim, Even if the aluminium is recycled (don't get me wrong, I applaud the effort they are making) just consider the amount of energy required to melt aluminum and make it into foil for cups. Recycling is one thing but preventing waste is much better imo. I've always had mixed feelings about the aluminium for that reason, but the plastic cups do come individually wrapped in plastic which is equally silly.

About an alternative, the refillable plastic cups...though likely a bit better environmentally, they suck big time...filling is a pain, tamping is impossible without a rigid mould and a midget size tamper, they are messy and produce random quality shots, some choke, some gush, some pour but taste bad and lastly..a minority is drinkable...but, just wait a second..what might actually work, come to think of it... a re-usable rigid pod (titanium?) and a filling/tamping station...or even better, make a grinder-filler combo, like a full auto machine without the espresso bit :mrgreen:

Back to Nespresso, I thought the patent had already expired as there are several companies selling cups for way less than Nespresso (not any good, let alone better but really a lot cheaper...approx 20ct for some of the cheaper me-too's vs 35ct or so of the Nespresso cups in the Netherlands since some years. So I started reading up...

In one (dutch) article about the patent it says that one of the competitors is making 'more environmentally friendly plastic cups'....(which was their solution to solve some patent issue).

Another more recent article shows that Nespresso has already hit some rocky terrain http://www.worldipreview.com/news/epo-r ... ing-patent

And plenty to come
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/ ... D620150224

Just shows that a good IP department is key to running a company that is depending on IP...
No wonder there are new machines and pods ahead.

BTW: Hofman, Hoffman, Hofmann, Hufman etc all seem to originate from the German language domain.
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canuckcoffeeguy
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#19: Post by canuckcoffeeguy »

another_jim wrote:I open my coffee lectures with one. Have for about five years
Hi Jim. Can you elaborate on this? Do you begin with Nespresso to set a benchmark by which you compare the coffee prepared at your lectures? And presumably many in the audience are familiar with Nespresso? So it's something they already know.

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#20: Post by another_jim replying to canuckcoffeeguy »

I show the supply chain for coffee from tree to cup. I explain that coffee hobbyists move down this supply chain, learning about brewing, roasting, coffee prep and origins; whereas mass manufacturers fo coffee move up this chain, making more and more of it invisible and irrelevant to the consumer.

I then tell them they should see how much of a difference this efforts makes for them. I mention Folgers, then say I'm going to make it a fair comparison by using Nespresso, since this is the best available value added coffee. I then serve shots and Nespresso, and let them compare.

Five years ago, the result was that the Nespresso usually beat the appalling experiences they've had with cafe bought straight shots, and that the shots made by my fellow HBers totally blew those away. Now, I'm somewhat happy to say that most of the audience have had good shots at cafes, and the demonstration has less of an impact.
Jim Schulman