capsual coffee machines road test

[im_no_pro]

Quite a few people saying that capsule coffee is not as good as a good real coffee. Quite honestly, that would be my perception too. But have you done a blind taste test?

Someone has...

http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human ... -artisans/

Great read. In particular the paragraph quoted below, especially the bold. Tend to agree with the suggestion that the taste difference is not necessarily based on freshness, quality etc of the actual product but the knowledge of where it came from. Not exactly a statiscically significant sample size (or process for that matter) but for me the key to this article isnt the blind tasting.

We are not simply hedonic machines who thrive if supplied with things that tick certain boxes for sensory pleasure, aesthetic merit, and so on. We are knowing as well as sensing creatures, and knowing where things come from, and how their makers are treated, does and should affect how we feel about them. Chocolate made from cocoa beans grown by people in near slave conditions should taste more bitter than a fairly traded bar, even if it does not in a blind tasting. Blindness, far from making tests fair, actually robs us of knowledge of what is most important, while perpetuating the illusion that all that really matters is how it feels or seems at the moment of consumption.

[igstar]

IMO, pod coffee is on par with bottled water.

[warthog1]

"In distant last place came the ground coffee I had brought, a very good quality, single-estate bean, but not roasted for espresso and ground four days earlier, a little too coarsely for Bruno’s machine. The traditional house espresso scored 18 points, and was the favourite of one taster. But the clear winner with 22 points was the Nespresso, which both scored most consistently and was the favourite of two of the four tasters. Of course, these were just four people’s opinions. But their consensus fits the judgment of top chefs and Nespresso’s own extensive testing, which must have been conclusive enough for them to have the confidence to agree to my challenge in the first place."

I thought that was the quote of the test and made some of the coffee snob remarks in this thread appear a little ridiculous

I'll stick to being a coffee drinker Philistine with my trusty Aldi pod machine that makes good coffee quickly

[Cruiserman]

"In distant last place came the ground coffee I had brought, a very good quality, single-estate bean, but not roasted for espresso and ground four days earlier, a little too coarsely for Bruno’s machine. The traditional house espresso scored 18 points, and was the favourite of one taster. But the clear winner with 22 points was the Nespresso, which both scored most consistently and was the favourite of two of the four tasters. Of course, these were just four people’s opinions. But their consensus fits the judgment of top chefs and Nespresso’s own extensive testing, which must have been conclusive enough for them to have the confidence to agree to my challenge in the first place."

I thought that was the quote of the test and made some of the coffee snob remarks in this thread appear a little ridiculous

I'll stick to being a coffee drinker Philistine with my trusty Aldi pod machine that makes good coffee quickly

The interesting point here is

"In distant last place came the ground coffee I had brought, a very good quality, single-estate bean, but not roasted for espresso and ground four days earlier, a little too coarsely for Bruno’s machine

pre ground coffee WOFTAM the generally accepted norm is green beans 2 years Roasted beans 2 months and ground beans 2 minutes. Due to the massively increased surface area the coffee then oxidises extremely quickly.
Next problem is it is not roasted for espresso - probably indicates a very light roast which has not developed the character of the bean.
Thirdly ground too coarse for the machine will immediately cause it to be over extracted pulling every bitter unpleasant flavour from an otherwise innocent bean.

Pod coffee would certainly be better than that to this seemingly fairly un coffee educated person, as it has the advantage of being sealed up reducing the oxidisation and being the correct grind for the machine it is designed for. The statement is the ridiculous thing the writings of the coffee snobs on here come from experience and a knowledge built up from undertaking the journey towards coffee nirvana.

[warthog1]

designed to be as blind as possible, with each taster trying each coffee in a different order, so as to counter any advantage or disadvantage that coming first or last might give. The coffees were brought in by a waiter, not by the experienced barista Bruno Asselin, who is also the manager of the Latymer restaurant at the hotel. He had thoroughly cleaned the traditional espresso machine, opened a fresh bag of beans, and ground them just before the tasting.

In distant last place came the ground coffee I had brought, a very good quality, single-estate bean, but not roasted for espresso and ground four days earlier, a little too coarsely for Bruno’s machine. The traditional house espresso scored 18 points, and was the favourite of one taster. But the clear winner with 22 points was the Nespresso,

I'm a coffee Philistine as I said. I'm taking last place as the one which was ground wrong and not suitable for the machine. I'm presuming the one that got 18 points was the freshly ground one. The Nespresso pod got 22 points though. Good enough for me, I can't be bothered with all that puncing around just to drink a coffee, particularly first thing in the morning, or at work, where we also have a pod machine.

[ozstriker]

Those pod machines are definitely not all created equal and there are some rubbish pods out there.

That being said there are some pretty darn good ones, and those people comparing it to instant or saying its absolute crap, have not tried it, not that they would admit to it being good after trying it, could hurt the ego too much.

[yarravalleyplodder]

Those pod machines are definitely not all created equal and there are some rubbish pods out there.

That being said there are some pretty darn good ones, and those people comparing it to instant or saying its absolute crap, have not tried it, not that they would admit to it being good after trying it, could hurt the ego too much.

I have tried it, 4 times with 2 different machines and 2 different brands of pods, one of those was a nespresso industrial strength machine at work, I maintain pod coffee is glorified instant and thus no unashamed coffee snob should drink it

[g-boaf]

Thirdly ground too coarse for the machine will immediately cause it to be over extracted pulling every bitter unpleasant flavour from an otherwise innocent bean.

Wouldn't that be the other way around? IE, ground too coarse would make the coffee weak (water flows through the grounds too fast), while too fine might prevent the extraction from happening at all or be bitter? I don't consider myself an expert on this however.

I have tried it, 4 times with 2 different machines and 2 different brands of pods, one of those was a nespresso industrial strength machine at work, I maintain pod coffee is glorified instant and thus no unashamed coffee snob should drink it

Nespresso has some alright pods, I've tried a few. But, taste is subjective. Don't ask me which Nespresso pods I tried, it was long ago and I didn't take much attention to that. I was just 3/4 of the way through a 1 day training session and they were cramming as much into it as possible. The Nespresso in the common area seemed a good option at 2:00pm (getting one from a coffee shop wasn't possible).

[Mulger bill]

Sugar? In espresso?

Good coffee does not require sugar and you can't fit enough sugar in the container to make a bad shot drinkable.

My GLW is not happy on the rare occasion when I send one of hers back, my barista daughter has never handed me a bad shot. She tips them out and hopes I haven't noticed

[MarkG]

Agreed

[WestcoastPete]

Rancilio Sylvia and Mazzer Mini here. Started out with a ceramic hand grinder and a moka pot. Moka pots are great, but the hand grinding, although excellent quality, was annoying, so I went nuts and bought the Mazzer grinder. Such a great grinder. I was happy to leave it at that, fearing another n+1 habit. But then my wife ruined it all by getting me the Sylvia for my birthday. It took a little while, but there's plenty of help on YouTube etc. I nail it every time now. Tamp, beans and water temp are kept consistent, just adjusting the grind.

Pods - only when the good barista isn't on at work, and then only if I'm desperate. Definitely not as good as the real deal.

Size - I've never understood the sizing at many coffee shops. Why pay maybe 50c more for a bunch more milk? My preference is about half coffee, half milk; about 120mls all up. Or espresso of course.

Sugar - plenty of Italians and Frenchies add a touch of sugar to their espresso. I vary, but I certainly don't consider it sacrilege, from my snobby point of view...

[a]

Sylvia and Rocky owner here. I found getting a reliable shot was much easier than reliably texturing the milk. I am starting to nail the milk 70% of the time after 10 years.

I enjoy my coffee more than coffee from nearly all coffee shops. Although a coffe from my two favs in Sydney still blows mine out of the water (coffee alchemy and single origin).

Having said that, I enjoy a shot of nespresso ristretto from my mums nespresso machine than a shot from the majority of coffee shops. The milk texturising gizmo however is lame.

[kb]

Bought an aeropress yesterday. It works surprisingly well. I still prefer a good espresso but find our cheap machine is very hard to get consistent.

[a]

Bought an aeropress yesterday. It works surprisingly well.

I've got one of them and a grinder in the office kitchen. Pretty fool proof and a nice coffee. Not a ristretto tho

[WestcoastPete]

Yeah, Aeropress is awesome. Great flavour and very simple. I like drip filters too, especially on tour. They're not espresso based drinks though. I like them in a long black style.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[ozstriker]

Righto coffee aficionados I have a question.

I was looking at the aeropress after seeing people talk about them on here, I had never heard of them.

The way I understand it is if you pull too much water through the coffee making an espresso it will turn out bitter and yuck, right?

The way some people make coffee with the aeropress is Americano size, so is what they are making in fact a giant espresso, if not then how do they get away with pulling more water through the coffee without making it bitter?

[herzog]

if not then how do they get away with pulling more water through the coffee without making it bitter?

That's called a Lungo, and yes it is a bitter style, but some people have a taste for it.

To make one with an espresso machine you just keep the water coming through the grounds until you've got a drink about the size of a long black.

The difference of course with a long black (americano) is that with the long black the water is added separately to a normal shot.

[frodo]

Just picked up a Electrolux Classic Pod machine today. Uses Lavazza coffee pods
Very impressed with it. Whilst not equal to the best barista made coffee - it is better than a lot of coffee shops I have been too and certainly way better than instant.
Such a simple process too

[g-boaf]

if not then how do they get away with pulling more water through the coffee without making it bitter?

That's called a Lungo, and yes it is a bitter style, but some people have a taste for it.

To make one with an espresso machine you just keep the water coming through the grounds until you've got a drink about the size of a long black.

The difference of course with a long black (americano) is that with the long black the water is added separately to a normal shot.

Don't ever use the name long/short black in America!

Colleague of mine at work mistakenly asked for a long black and sent the entire coffee shop into shocked silence.

[kb]

Huh! Cultural differences. Next time someone seems a bit slow I'll remember that story. It took me good 30s to decipher.

[RonK]

The difference of course with a long black (americano) is that with the long black the water is added separately to a normal shot.

Actually, a long black is an Australian style. The hot water is added first and then the coffee shot is drawn on top, preserving the crema.

To make an Americano the hot water is added after the coffee.

At the coffee shop this morning I was astonished to overhear a woman, in that gratingly annoying nasal voice which seems typical of so many Americans, complaining that the cafe did not serve filter coffee, and that she would be forced to order a cappucino.

[Cruiserman]

Ah yes filter coffee, one of the things in life much like most sausage sizzles that smells far better than it tastes.

[ozstriker]

if not then how do they get away with pulling more water through the coffee without making it bitter?

That's called a Lungo, and yes it is a bitter style, but some people have a taste for it.

To make one with an espresso machine you just keep the water coming through the grounds until you've got a drink about the size of a long black.

The difference of course with a long black (americano) is that with the long black the water is added separately to a normal shot.

Don't ever use the name long/short black in America!

Colleague of mine at work mistakenly asked for a long black and sent the entire coffee shop into shocked silence.

After having been to America last year and trying a few places to get a decent coffee, I come to the conclusion that Americans think coffee tastes like something else. All the coffees I tried were so so bad, and in most cases didn't even taste like coffee which I don't even know how that's possible.

[Ozkaban]

That's called a Lungo, and yes it is a bitter style, but some people have a taste for it.

To make one with an espresso machine you just keep the water coming through the grounds until you've got a drink about the size of a long black.

The difference of course with a long black (americano) is that with the long black the water is added separately to a normal shot.

Don't ever use the name long/short black in America!

Colleague of mine at work mistakenly asked for a long black and sent the entire coffee shop into shocked silence.

After having been to America last year and trying a few places to get a decent coffee, I come to the conclusion that Americans think coffee tastes like something else. All the coffees I tried were so so bad, and in most cases didn't even taste like coffee which I don't even know how that's possible.

I've been reading the Patrick OBrian novels - the master and commander series. At one point the two intrepid English hero's are captives in America. Even they complain most bitterly about the weak, watery substance the Americans call coffee...

[queequeg]

The difference of course with a long black (americano) is that with the long black the water is added separately to a normal shot.

Actually, a long black is an Australian style. The hot water is added first and then the coffee shot is drawn on top, preserving the crema.

To make an Americano the hot water is added after the coffee.

At the coffee shop this morning I was astonished to overhear a woman, in that gratingly annoying nasal voice which seems typical of so many Americans, complaining that the cafe did not serve filter coffee, and that she would be forced to order a cappucino.

Years ago, when I was stranded in Denver for a business trip, I searched high and low for real coffee. The office staff had been complaining and then someone came in and said they had "solved the coffee problem", and they had switched brands to something called "Starbucks". This was before Starbucks served any beverages with Italian inspired names!
Anyway, feeling despondent I tried my luck at a local eatery, and upon enquiring about coffee I was told, "Oh, we have BOTH kinds......black and white". Worth adding that white = creamer, not milk.
It was a tough 6 weeks!