I use a Magimix M100 Essenza Nespresso machine and Nespresso coffee capsules for repeatable quality, every time.

OldVillain wrote:I use a Magimix M100 Essenza Nespresso machine and Nespresso coffee capsules for repeatable quality, every time.

I've seen them at Williams-Sonoma, but never tried them. You mention in your blog that you worked there. What is your relationship to this company?

View from the factory...
Thursday, 3 May 2007

On the edge of the village of Orbe, Switzerland lies a coffee factory. Two coffee factories to be exact. One produces Nescafe and the other is currently the only place where Nespresso is manufactured.
There is also a coffee Product Technology Centre (PTC) there too.

I was lucky enough to work there last week. I certainly enjoyed my time at Orbe and the hospitality and assistance of Monsieur Daniel Sautrey and his factory team. Thank you!

OldVillain wrote:I use a Magimix M100 Essenza Nespresso machine and Nespresso coffee capsules for repeatable quality, every time.

Nice that that the easy no brainer no skill Nespresso system suits your style. I believe you when you say their quality is repeatable. Their quality may in fact be decent in the cup but like Dan I have not tried them. Would be interesting to have the range of Nespresso capsule espresso shots included against normal espresso preparation in a serious espresso taste judging like a major barista competiton.

Pre-prepared frozen foods also tend to be of repeatable quality. Some are actually pretty good these days. Personally I prefer higher quality, versatility and creativity of tastes afforded by scratch preparations.

A friend of my wife's has a Nespresso capsule machine, and while I admit it actually produces a product better than many coffee shops, it has a "funny" taste to me...not bad really, just kinda weird/artificial - fast food kinda way.

Sort of like how a frozen supermarket pizza tastes in comparison to a pizzaria pizza...not the same, not necessarily bad...just "different". definitely a lesser quality product, ...but you still can live with it if you had to and have nothing to compare it against.

Would I ever buy one...hell no.

HB wrote:I've seen them at Williams-Sonoma, but never tried them. You mention in your blog that you worked there. What is your relationship to this company?

I work for Nestle who owns and started the Nespresso brand back in 1988/89, in Switzerland. I first tried them back in January 1992 when I visited our headquarters in Vevey on Lake Geneva. They didn't have the varieties in those days.

I've seen them being made at the Nespresso factory in Orbe, Switzerland. The factory looks more like a boutique that a coffee factory.

They source the best beans from around the world and then blend them into the various recipes for the individual capsules.
Then the roast them very precisely, store the roasted grounds whilst the quality sample them and taste them (as well as analysis their characteristics using equipment to 'taste' the blend and roast.
If it's out of recipe/parameter, they don't use the batch.
That rarely happens because of the exacting methods used by the highly skilled staff.

The fresh ground coffee is then fed to the capsule filler and sealed in the aluminum 'cup' with an aluminum/foil lid.

Depending upon the capsule, the extract time varies (governed by the density of the packed grounds and the lid/filter in the capsule), along with the amount of crema produced.

I've had better at some exceptional coffee shops (or rather at some coffee shops with exceptional Baristas!), but not often.
But every time I lift the lever and drop a capsule into the machine, I get a great tasting coffee at about £0.21/$0.42 per cup (that's with my 10% staff discount).

If I had the time and space in my kitchen, I'd probably roast, grind and pull my own espressos. But I don't so this is the alternative that gives me great tasting coffee every time.

At this price you would think that the coffee is at least the CoE coffee. Without the discount you are paying 6.5 cents/gram for flavored coffee or if you look at it the other way it is $30/lbs for roasted coffee which is very close to the price of roasted Brazil CoE third place.
You should compare them out.

danblev wrote:At this price you would think that the coffee is at least the CoE coffee. Without the discount you are paying 6.5 cents/gram for flavored coffee or if you look at it the other way it is $30/lbs for roasted coffee which is very close to the price of roasted Brazil CoE third place.
You should compare them out.

As I said in my earlier post:

If I had the time and space in my kitchen, I'd probably roast, grind and pull my own espressos. But I don't so this is the alternative that gives me great tasting coffee every time.

But thanks for the information, the CoE Web site was very interesting.

I used to sell Nespresso machines back in the day. They were mildly entertaining to take apart and interesting to see they used a system that is similar to the "perfect crema" discs you get in cheap espresso machine brew handles.

Some of the coffees were rather high in robusta and a bit rough - some just plain boring. I've never had a coffee with any top notes from a preground capsule (which isn't particularly surprising) and the mouthfeel was often surprisingly fluffy.

It is insanely expensive coffee when you get down to it. The domestic capsules are barely 6 grams most of the time - CoE prices is about right and to be honest I never had a cup worth the cost...

Wow Jim! If your coffees taste as good as they look, they ought to be fabulous!

Nice Web site too! I'll have to read that once I'm back from working in Russia.

Nespresso drinks are very consistent and taste fine enough (for a capsule/pod kind of beverage) but the shots sure don't taste like espresso. It's basically a strong coffee.

Any kind of brew that starts with fresh ground beans is, of course, worlds better.

That being said, the Nespresso machines are well made for their price point and certainly are fast and convenient. One must just have the right expectation about the drink they make.

Darryl