Espresso Enthusiasts

[Shrink]

Well, so I got out on Sunday and went to Sur La Table to check out the Nespresso machines. Got to test drive both the traditional pod-based machines, and the new Vertuoline, which does both espresso and regular coffee (like Keurig).

In the end, I was really impressed with the Nespresso Lattissima, which uses the traditional pods. The main reason why I chose this machine is that I'm more of a cappuccino and latte guy, than straight up espresso. This machine produces fantastic, fast and quiet milk froth. The whole system is very well designed.

Before I go on, here's two pics of the machine sitting in my office.

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It's small, very compact.
A whole latte takes about 75 seconds for milk foam + espresso.

What I really like about it is the milk container. It detaches, and can be stored separately in the fridge.
The Lattissima allows to regulate the "wetness" of the milk foam. You can go from very wet (80% milk, 20% foam) to 100% foam. It's absolutely fantastic.

In terms of espresso quality, it's good (enough), not not a God shot. For cappuccino drinks and lattes it's definitely good (enough). For straight up espresso, it's not comparable to my Baratza Vario + Gaggia Classic, but hey, one's gotta compromise.
I don't have a kitchen in my office, so I need something that I can run and use on my work desk.

The Nespresso is near perfect for that task.

Only downside: pods are $0.65 to $0.75 a pop, so a double will cost more than normal.

-t

It sounds like you have found a more than acceptable solution to your office coffee "problem".

Given the constraints of the office environment, it appears that you couldn't do much better...short of emptying out one of the offices, firing whoever was in the office, and setting up a major coffee station.

Enjoy your new toy...and especially enjoy the improvement in your office coffee!

 

[Shrink]

I just had the most unusual experience ever in coffee making in my first try at tasting Kurwenal's Ethiopian coffee.

The first clue that something was strange was when I was weighing out the dose. The volume of beans necessary for my usual 17 gm dose was about 40% less than my usual dose volume. The fairly lightly roasted beans weighed more per bean than my dark roasted beans...also are much smaller than the dark roasted beans as they haven't "puffed up" as the beans do in darker roast.

But, ever intrepid, I poured the small volume of beans into my grinder and grabbed the crank...and it wouldn't move! So I backed off the grind setting a lot, and tried again. Nada! Totally locked up. So I backed off even more, knowing that the grind would, at this point, be too coarse, but still trying to find a setting where my grinder would actually turn.

Zip! Zilch! Rien! Gournished! The crank would just not turn!

So, I had to empty my grinder...which means picking up the 25 pound beast and turning it upside down over the sink.

Apparently these beans are really not meant for a grind fine enough for espresso, and/or my grinder is a piece of crap.

Since we know where my opinion goes on the above, we'll just say my grinder doesn't like light roasted beans and leave it at that!

So I'll have to drop out of the tasting discussion, and just enjoy other's observations of this bean as used in a drip or pour over precess.

My apologies to Kurwenal for wasting his money on a poor slob with a rotten grinder!

 

[mobilehaathi]

I just had the most unusual experience ever in coffee making in my first try at tasting Kurwenal's Ethiopian coffee.

The first clue that something was strange was when I was weighing out the dose. The volume of beans necessary for my usual 17 gm dose was about 40% less than my usual dose volume. The fairly lightly roasted beans weighed more per bean than my dark roasted beans...also are much smaller than the dark roasted beans as they haven't "puffed up" as the beans do in darker roast.

But, ever intrepid, I poured the small volume of beans into my grinder and grabbed the crank...and it wouldn't move! So I backed off the grind setting a lot, and tried again. Nada! Totally locked up. So I backed off even more, knowing that the grind would, at this point, be too coarse, but still trying to find a setting where my grinder would actually turn.

Zip! Zilch! Rien! Gournished! The crank would just not turn!

So, I had to empty my grinder...which means picking up the 25 pound beast and turning it upside down over the sink.

Apparently these beans are really not meant for a grind fine enough for espresso, and/or my grinder is a piece of crap.

Since we know where my opinion goes on the above, we'll just say my grinder doesn't like light roasted beans and leave it at that!

So I'll have to drop out of the tasting discussion, and just enjoy other's observations of this bean as used in a drip or pour over precess.

My apologies to Kurwenal for wasting his money on a poor slob with a rotten grinder!

How very odd! I use these types of beans (small and dense) quite regularly and never has a problem, even with my cheapo hand grinder.

Too bad!

The beans give me aromas of spice and bitter orange marmalade, and after grinding I also got hints of almond and something oddly savory. Game? This might be an early morning olfactory hallucination...

I dripped my cup as I normally do, 18.5g through the grinder set at "14," then pouring ~250ml of water.

I was a bit over eager to taste and slightly scorched my tongue on first sip , but I'm surprised at how relatively light it is compared to the SM's Ethiopian beans I've been drinking lately (although the ones SM's sent were roasted darker). What I can discern through my slightly scorched tongue mostly align with the notes on the can: spice, sugar cane and black tea. I'll look forward to drinking more over the next several days, hopefully with a recovered tongue.

 

[Kurwenal]

The Nespresso is near perfect for that task.

Congrats on your acquisition. I hope it brings you many happy coffees.

Question: does it use the little capsules, or the even smaller foil-wrapped, uh, not sure what to call them....UFO's I think you said in a previous post. They really look like small condoms.....

So I'll have to drop out of the tasting discussion, and just enjoy other's observations of this bean as used in a drip or pour over precess.

My apologies to Kurwenal for wasting his money on a poor slob with a rotten grinder!

How odd. No apologies necessary, of course. We all learned another data point to file away, and that is worth the hassle. Sorry you were not able to taste the beans. They smell luscious.

What I can discern through my slightly scorched tongue mostly align with the notes on the can: spice, sugar cane and black tea. I'll look forward to drinking more over the next several days, hopefully with a recovered tongue.

I hope no ER visit was involved. My coffee has arrived as well, but I have been out of town, just returned, and Mrs. Kurwenal and I are hosting a charity fundraiser event tonight (170 guests at last count, ugh), so events are forcing me to put off tasting the coffee until tomorrow, probably in the evening. At least I insisted on having a decent espresso company attend the event tonight to make real coffee. Mrs. Kurwenal relented but said we would put the espresso cart out on the back patio. I said the hell with that, we are going to push the piano out of the way and put it right in the middle of the living room.....any bets on who wins the fight?

 

[mobilehaathi]

Congrats on your acquisition. I hope it brings you many happy coffees.

Question: does it use the little capsules, or the even smaller foil-wrapped, uh, not sure what to call them....UFO's I think you said in a previous post. They really look like small condoms.....




How odd. No apologies necessary, of course. We all learned another data point to file away, and that is worth the hassle. Sorry you were not able to taste the beans. They smell luscious.



I hope no ER visit was involved. My coffee has arrived as well, but I have been out of town, just returned, and Mrs. Kurwenal and I are hosting a charity fundraiser event tonight (170 guests at last count, ugh), so events are forcing me to put off tasting the coffee until tomorrow, probably in the evening. At least I insisted on having a decent espresso company attend the event tonight to make real coffee. Mrs. Kurwenal relented but said we would put the espresso cart out on the back patio. I said the hell with that, we are going to push the piano out of the way and put it right in the middle of the living room.....any bets on who wins the fight?

Ehh they'll be fine, 24-48 hours and they'll be 100%. It was still an enjoyable cup, and il looking forward to tasting it properly. Aromas were quite nice, although I'm still confused by the savory note post grind. I've smelled this in certain Italian wines (and Italian varietals) before, but the presence in the coffee was just weird. I think there were some adulterating scents wafting around my kitchen this morning. As a flavor, it didn't seem to make it into the cup, too.

Enjoy the fund raiser! Thank god for a proper espresso bar.

 

[Kurwenal]

I think there were some adulterating scents wafting around my kitchen this morning.

Wait a minute, you haven't constructed a sealed tasting chamber with a separate filtered air supply?

I'm not sure I can deal with this.

 

[Shrink]

Mrs. Kurwenal relented but said we would put the espresso cart out on the back patio. I said the hell with that, we are going to push the piano out of the way and put it right in the middle of the living room.....any bets on who wins the fight?

Enjoy yourself on the patio...

Of course, if it rains...well... you'll just have somewhat diluted coffee!

We all know that the piano is not going anywhere...foolish boy.

Wait a minute, you haven't constructed a sealed tasting chamber with a separate filtered air supply?

I'm not sure I can deal with this.

Clearly some are totally unprepared and slap dash about this tasting thing.

Casting pearls before...well, you know!

 

[mobilehaathi]

Wait a minute, you haven't constructed a sealed tasting chamber with a separate filtered air supply?

I'm not sure I can deal with this.

I've got my contractor starting work on my coffee clean room this week.

 

[Kurwenal]

Clearly some are totally unprepared and slap dash about this tasting thing.

Casting pearls before...well, you know!

I'm nervous to even ask about his water. Do you think he really would make coffee without using water made from virgin, pristine snow he brought down himself from the highest peaks in the Himalayas, and melted under a sun bowl in Greece?

Clearly "Enthusiast" means something different to him than to us.

 

[S.B.G]

Wait a minute, you haven't constructed a sealed tasting chamber with a separate filtered air supply?

I'm not sure I can deal with this.

I've got my contractor starting work on my coffee clean room this week.

I'm nervous to even ask about his water. Do you think he really would make coffee without using water made from virgin, pristine snow he brought down himself from the highest peaks in the Himalayas, and melted under a sun bowl in Greece?

Clearly "Enthusiast" means something different to him than to us.

hehehe.... some people eh? Always trying to eek by with the minimum.

I'm still awaiting delivery of my sample. Hopefully it will be waiting for me today when I arrive home.

 

[Shrink]

I'm nervous to even ask about his water. Do you think he really would make coffee without using water made from virgin, pristine snow he brought down himself from the highest peaks in the Himalayas, and melted under a sun bowl in Greece?

Clearly "Enthusiast" means something different to him than to us.

Please...we tolerate everybody on this thread.

With some...it does strain one's patience and tolerance. But we never mock the afflicted.

 

[mobilehaathi]

But we never mock the afflicted.

Nakedly self serving, but appreciated nonetheless.

 

[Kurwenal]

I'm still awaiting delivery of my sample. Hopefully it will be waiting for me today when I arrive home.

I hope so. Let me know if it does not arrive.

Please...we tolerate everybody on this thread.

With some...it does strain one's patience and tolerance. But we never mock the afflicted.

Afflicted.....hmm....yah, that's it. It's like missionary work. The Religion of Coffee. I can deal with that. Everyone send me 10%.

Nakedly self serving, but appreciated nonetheless.

I'm going to go back to posting pictures of Folgers Instant.

 

[mobilehaathi]

I'm going to go back to posting pictures of Folgers Instant.

Mental illness is one thing, but deliberate infliction of pain!?

 

[turtle777]

Question: does it use the little capsules, or the even smaller foil-wrapped, uh, not sure what to call them....UFO's I think you said in a previous post. They really look like small condoms.....

It uses the capsules.

The UFOs/condoms are only available for commercial customers.
From what I read, Nespresso is pretty vigilant to keep the segregation between the commerical machines/pods and the consumer/home machines and pods. As a consumer, you can't just go and buy a commercial machine.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. What they are trying to prevent is that people snag their home needs of pods from the office.
By making the two systems incompatible, they encourage the usage of the office/commercial machines.

Keurig is in a definite disadvantage here. The number of snagged Keurig pods from offices and other commercial venues must be enormous.

-t

 

[Kurwenal]

Mrs. Kurwenal relented but said we would put the espresso cart out on the back patio. I said the hell with that, we are going to push the piano out of the way and put it right in the middle of the living room.....any bets on who wins the fight?

Enjoy yourself on the patio...

Oh yee of little faith! Note the piano pushed back and the (actually pretty ugly looking) coffee bar in its place. Of course, Mrs. Kurwenal relented with that little sly smile that tells me there will be a price later....

Now, I have exactly 2 hours and 12 minutes before guests arrive to walk by and swipe and toss everything on that cart other than coffee and water. What a joke. I have a SB in my house.

 

[Shrink]

Oh yee of little faith! Note the piano pushed back and the (actually pretty ugly looking) coffee bar in its place. Of course, Mrs. Kurwenal relented with that little sly smile that tells me there will be a price later....

Image

Now, I have exactly 2 hours and 12 minutes before guests arrive to walk by and swipe and toss everything on that cart other than coffee and water. What a joke. I have a SB in my house.

Looks great!

And I dearly hope that your couch is comfortable...

 

[mobilehaathi]

Oh yee of little faith! Note the piano pushed back and the (actually pretty ugly looking) coffee bar in its place. Of course, Mrs. Kurwenal relented with that little sly smile that tells me there will be a price later....

Image

Now, I have exactly 2 hours and 12 minutes before guests arrive to walk by and swipe and toss everything on that cart other than coffee and water. What a joke. I have a SB in my house.

No kidding...

I hope the beans are at least a bit (or a hell of a lot) better though!

 

[S.B.G]

Oh yee of little faith! Note the piano pushed back and the (actually pretty ugly looking) coffee bar in its place. Of course, Mrs. Kurwenal relented with that little sly smile that tells me there will be a price later....

Image

Now, I have exactly 2 hours and 12 minutes before guests arrive to walk by and swipe and toss everything on that cart other than coffee and water. What a joke. I have a SB in my house.

Sweet baby grand there! Do you play or does Mrs. Kurwenal?

The Blue Bottle Coffee arrived today! It smells really nice and I'll give it a whirl probably tomorrow morning. Thank you!

 

[mobilehaathi]

Sweet baby grand there! Do you play or does Mrs. Kurwenal?

The Blue Bottle Coffee arrived today! It smells really nice and I'll give it a whirl probably tomorrow morning. Thank you!

Well hey, now it's a party!

Just gotta get Shrinky a proper grinder.

 

[S.B.G]

Well hey, now it's a party!

Just gotta get Shrinky a proper grinder.

He had a proper grinder, but I took it from him!

 

[Shrink]

Well hey, now it's a party!

Just gotta get Shrinky a proper grinder.

I appreciate your concern. It is a struggle using an it-only-grinds-the-stuff-it-likes grinder.

Life is filled with pain...

He had a proper grinder, but I took it from him!

Generous to a fault...I'm a shirt-off-my-back kind of guy!

 

[Kurwenal]

Sweet baby grand there! Do you play or does Mrs. Kurwenal?

Unfortunately, no, neither of us plays. Our son it taking lessons. I took lessons as a kid but did not stick with it. I seriously regret that.

No kidding...

I hope the beans are at least a bit (or a hell of a lot) better though!

Unfortunately, no. I spoke with the coffee guy. This is his small business; he has some sort of relationship with the event caterer we used and he goes around to private parties and events making coffee. He had a pretty good setup, but said he buys his beans from a "commercial source" and he admitted they were not fresh. A really nice, hard working guy, but he said that out of ~150 coffees he would make last night, 0 would be espressos and 140 of the 150 would be filled with various sugary syrups and the like. That's what people want, so that's what he makes.

We raised a bunch of money for a local domestic violence shelter and it was a great night all around.

The coffee guy had these little placards that advertised some of his drinks. I was really surprised to see this one:

 

[Shrink]

Unfortunately, no, neither of us plays. Our son it taking lessons. I took lessons as a kid but did not stick with it. I seriously regret that.



Unfortunately, no. I spoke with the coffee guy. This is his small business; he has some sort of relationship with the event caterer we used and he goes around to private parties and events making coffee. He had a pretty good setup, but said he buys his beans from a "commercial source" and he admitted they were not fresh. A really nice, hard working guy, but he said that out of ~150 coffees he would make last night, 0 would be espressos and 140 of the 150 would be filled with various sugary syrups and the like. That's what people want, so that's what he makes.

We raised a bunch of money for a local domestic violence shelter and it was a great night all around.

The coffee guy had these little placards that advertised some of his drinks. I was really surprised to see this one:

Image

Fame...it's a buden I shoulder with grace and modesty.

That, however, is libelous and my attorneys have been notified!

 

[mobilehaathi]

Unfortunately, no, neither of us plays. Our son it taking lessons. I took lessons as a kid but did not stick with it. I seriously regret that.



Unfortunately, no. I spoke with the coffee guy. This is his small business; he has some sort of relationship with the event caterer we used and he goes around to private parties and events making coffee. He had a pretty good setup, but said he buys his beans from a "commercial source" and he admitted they were not fresh. A really nice, hard working guy, but he said that out of ~150 coffees he would make last night, 0 would be espressos and 140 of the 150 would be filled with various sugary syrups and the like. That's what people want, so that's what he makes.

We raised a bunch of money for a local domestic violence shelter and it was a great night all around.

The coffee guy had these little placards that advertised some of his drinks. I was really surprised to see this one:

Image

Uh oh, you outted him!! Better watch out!