Normally I'm a "do it right or don't do it at all" sort of fellow, but I've been impressed by the Nespresso system on my most recent trip to Europe.

The machines, and the little tins, are everywhere. Our offices. My vendor's offices. My hotel. About half of the restaurants as well seem to have these little devices.

I've been living off of the Ristretto, which does taste over-extracted and burnt (but most high volume roasted espresso coffee does, so I'm not going to hold that against it), for the past week. I'm surprised at how good it is (given how low my expectations were). I'm not sure I'd drop $300 for one of these machines when I have a grinder and a nice machine already, but... this is far better than other options, and I don't have to think about it while making it.

I'm probably going to get struck by lightning on the way to the office for such coffee heresy... are FT'ers pro or con the Nespresso system?

Cheers,

-Andrew

I'm not a coffee drinker, but the marketing campaign starring George Clooney has been widely shown all over Europe ........ talk about stunningly-successful product promotion!!!

Hi there,

2 comments:

1. Personally, I prefer choosing my own coffee beans ... and thus has a full-fledged espresso machine at home, which does the grinding on the spot.

2. Price-wise, Nespresso is 5 x more expensive per cup ...

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

I was a non-coffee drinker, only really having expresso when out at a decent restaurant.
HOWEVER the Mrs loves her coffee and after sampling Nespresso, we're converted.
I even now drink coffee on a more regular basis.
The main reason I let the Mrs buy a machine is that it is a stylish addition (Cube) to the kitchen, it's easy to maintain and quick to make a coffee.

I'm a fan, however there's only the one outlet in London (Selfridges) as far as I know.
Although the Mrs works close, she prefers that we drive into town to buy it so we can stock pile!
You can do mail order, but that way you can't sample the special edition blends.

We don't have a Nespresso but sent one to our daughter for her birthday. It's good if there's only one coffee drinker in the family. She traded it in for one that could make tea and hot chocolate. We noticed "bars" in the London and Paris stores this August but weren't sure if you must pay or not. We're used to Bloomingdale's where a cup was free. The South Coast Plaza store now has a beautiful-all those colors-very long bar near the kitchen dept. On the other side of this bar they may still make you a free cup, we haven't asked yet. We were certainly not going to pay $6 plus for one in London.

Hi

I'm also considering a Nespresso machine. I have tasted some of the varities they offer and I have also been impressed. The cons are that it is easy to use, you can store the coffe capsules for a long period of time and hence offer guest different kinds of coffe, it is simple and easy to use etc.

I do have an espresso machine at the moment and I never use it. The main reason is that I feel that the result vary from time to time (due to my lack of skills of course) and due to the fact that I have to clean it after I'm done. So I would be more than happy to pay a bit extra for a cup of coffee from a Nespresso machine. It is way cheaper than buying it from the local coffee shop at least :-)

The Nespresso store on Beauchamp in London is so small that I didn't even notice a "bar". The best we've seen is the huge Vienna store, friendly staff and its help yourself free "bar". On the other hand, the Amsterdam store will grudgingly offer you a freebie, but you will be scolded if you start to make it yourself.

From a marketing standpoint, what a brilliant idea! A revolutionary way to sell coffee at what are no doubt obscenely wonderful margins. ^

It depends.

Is it as good as a proper Gaggia (or similar) machine? No, the pressure isn't as high and as said above if you like to grind your own preferred types beans then obviously you can't do that. Also, if you like your coffee really, really hot its not great.

BUT for people who don't want to grind their own, want a small one box solution that doesn't take up too much counterspace, doesn't make a mess then its a great product and way ahead of other capsule devices.

Its one of the few kitchen gadgets I use every day and the range of pods is good, with special editions and the like. Decaff is also good.

Also, the Aerocino milk foamer that comes with some of the smaller ones is pretty impressive.

I was just in Paris and felt as though it was an example of the Emperor's New Clothes. Several of my friends have purchased the machines and insisted that I visit the Nespresso cafe in the old Air France building on the Champs Elysees. I think that the coffee is good enough, but not better than the coffee that I make at home, grinding beans, etc. The advertising campaign seems to be hugely successful. With that said, the Nespresso system works very well for people who live alone or are the only coffee drinkers in a household.

We have a regular coffee machine and a Nespresso. We tend to use the regular machine in the morning to make a pot of coffee. Otherwise, we use the Nespresso (e.g. to serve coffee to guests, to make cups when studying or afternoon coffee on weekends). I also use it to make coffee early in the morning before going to the gym.

A regular automatic espress/coffee maker with grinder is probably still the best. Still of all pad and capsule system the Nespresso system is the best one. We have it in our office and the coffee is really good.

Swiss uses Nespresso machines for their business and first class I think.

I ve had my Nespresso machine for about 4 or 5 years.Life is so much simpler first thing in the morning when the first caffeine fix is required .Also grind my own beans and stuff.All really depends if i can be bothered or not

I have had one for about three years - use it off and on as I am more of a tea drinker so it is a bit of a gadget. It's convenient though and easy to maintain but I don't use the nozzles that come with it. I also live close to Selfridges which makes it easy to buy supplies though mail order works fine as well.

I've had a series of Nespresso machines for 15 years now, along with at least one other (better) espresso machine concurrently. They really are a different category. Nespresso is quick, easy, and surprisingly good for what it is (much better than the other pod systems that came later). It makes espresso that is about half the quality of a high-end machine with properly kept coffee; or about the same quality as your local Starbuck's. The cost is not really expensive per cup for the low-volume environment that it is intended for. Some surprisingly high-end restaurants and airlines use Nespresso, fwiw.

I went into the Nespresso boutique in Amsterdam with a friend (I don't touch the stuff). We were both totally shocked that no less than 4 staff people and a manager came up to us to see if they could help. I have shopped all over Holland and never seen such customer service.