Nespresso......

nespresso seems the least eco friendly of all the pod coffees and it seems like the most faffiness to me, my dad has one. my employer made a very controversial purchase of 3 machines, given we are supposed to be cutting costs as a council. if you dont live near a nespresso shop and want to buy on line you have to buy 50 pods as you cant get less than that (bought them as presents for my dad)

i only drink proper coffee at weekends and use a cafetiere thingy and grind beans (taylors lazy sunday, mm mm). I used Kuerig machine in american for a few years when i used to go there to visit but they werent that great, it was better to just buy a empty pod and put your own choice of ground coffee in it as the pods were never as good as they said they were. i have one cup of instant if im at work but have twinings butter mint (tastes like murray mints) in the morning. i think starbucks and costa coffee is horrid (if you chose something which tastes of coffee, i had their smores frappicino on thursday cos i like marshmallows, SUGAR RUSH). I have an aeropress too if i just want one cup or in a rush, very good too.

one day i will get my own bean to cup machine... one day.

sorry thats all slightly off topic
 
I don't really care about any eco aspect, but.....

dan_yell said:
one day i will get my own bean to cup machine... one day.
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Me to, my friend, me too :)
 
I have a Nespresso (actually it's my third - one broke and got replaced under warranty - the other one disappeared somewhere).

It makes decent enough coffee - I use it for clients and for better than instant without much fuss it's great. It is however, an environmental catastrophe so I don't use it for myself any more. Also, I prefer stuff from my Aeropress. Or green tea TBH.

Anyway, let me save you some time and money. There are 3rd party capsules on a popular auction site. They cost about half the price of Nespressos. They are also weaker and take a lot longer to work. In tests, I generally use 2 fake capsules to make 1 cup of coffee that I could get from 1 real one. And the real one would taste better. So don't buy those ;)

On the recycling, you can return Nespresso capsules to them for free. What happens next is a bit murky so it turns out that nobody knows how many (if any) are actually recycled apart from Nespresso - and they aren't saying.
 
strumstrum said:
Gaggia by Philips... Delonghi have the market imo of producing affordable B2C machines and can be had for great prices.
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Hey I like Philips. It is my national heritage :)

I'm inspired, as I'm now working from home I'm going to put the £9/day I used to spend on average on coffee aside for a bean to cup machine. How long until I get a decent one?
 
I never ceased to be amazed by the excellent service provided by Nespresso. Ordered yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, delivered today.
 
dejongj said:
Hey I like Philips. It is my national heritage :)

I'm inspired, as I'm now working from home I'm going to put the £9/day I used to spend on average on coffee aside for a bean to cup machine. How long until I get a decent one?
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At £9 a day, not long!
 
Cobra said:
:eek:
I don't spend that on cigarettes and they last a lot longer too :D
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I used to when I was smoking, in addition to the coffee :eek: With the savings I got myself my Golf R when I stopped smoking ;)
 
dejongj said:
With the savings I got myself my Golf R when I stopped smoking
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Excellent (y)

However it think that they would be "scrappers" by the time I saved up for one :D
 
digitalfailure said:
I'm considering getting a home coffee machine, but not considering a 2nd mortgage so 500 quid plus machines are out of the question.
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I think you'll find that the repayments on a 2nd mortgage are considerably cheaper than Nespresso coffee.

I'll do some sums when I get a minute. (I like doing sums.)
 
StewartR said:
I think you'll find that the repayments on a 2nd mortgage are considerably cheaper than Nespresso coffee.

I'll do some sums when I get a minute. (I like doing sums.)
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OK, some sums.

I have a DeLonghi 4200 bean-to-cup machine. It's a great machine, it happens to be the most popular bean-to-cup machine on Amazon, and it's £343.37 on Amazon. (I'll stick to Amazon prices for simplicity. I'm sure it won't materially affect the conclusion.)

The first Nespresso machine that turns up in an Amazon search is the Magimix Inissia 11350 which is £69.99. The most popular coffee pod machine on Amazon is the Bosch Tassimo Vivy which costs £44.99. I don't know whether it's popular because it's good or because it's cheap, but let's run with it for now.

Nespresso pods seem to cost £40.68 for a pack of 100. Tassimo pods seem to cost £16.86 for a pack of 80. Meanwhile 1kg of Lavazza Qualita Ross beans costs £10.78, and I use about 8g per cup so that bag does me 125 cups.

So....

Bean-to-cup = £343.47 + 8.62p per cup
Nespresso = £69.99 + 40.68p per cup
Tassimo = £44.99 + 21.07p per cup

Compared to the Nespresso, the bean-to-cup machine pays for itself after 853 cups.

Compared to the Tassimo, the bean-to-cup machine pays for itself after 2397 cups.

Obviously how much coffee you drink is a key factor here. I might have one or two in the morning, a couple in the evening, and maybe half a dozen during the day if I'm at home at the weekend. Say 20-30 per week on average. So for me alone, Nespresso becomes more expensive after about 7-10 months, and Tassimo becomes more expensive after about 18-27 months. Include my wife's consumption and the payback periods are nearly halved: say 5-8 months for Nespresso and 14-21 months for Tassimo.

YMMV, obviously. But I haven't even mentioned that coffee from beans tastes better, plus it isn't the environmental disaster that Nespresso is.
 
StewartR said:
OK, some sums.

I have a DeLonghi 4200 bean-to-cup machine. It's a great machine, it happens to be the most popular bean-to-cup machine on Amazon, and it's £343.37 on Amazon. (I'll stick to Amazon prices for simplicity. I'm sure it won't materially affect the conclusion.)

The first Nespresso machine that turns up in an Amazon search is the Magimix Inissia 11350 which is £69.99. The most popular coffee pod machine on Amazon is the Bosch Tassimo Vivy which costs £44.99. I don't know whether it's popular because it's good or because it's cheap, but let's run with it for now.

Nespresso pods seem to cost £40.68 for a pack of 100. Tassimo pods seem to cost £16.86 for a pack of 80. Meanwhile 1kg of Lavazza Qualita Ross beans costs £10.78, and I use about 8g per cup so that bag does me 125 cups.

So....

Bean-to-cup = £343.47 + 8.62p per cup
Nespresso = £69.99 + 40.68p per cup
Tassimo = £44.99 + 21.07p per cup

Compared to the Nespresso, the bean-to-cup machine pays for itself after 853 cups.

Compared to the Tassimo, the bean-to-cup machine pays for itself after 2397 cups.

Obviously how much coffee you drink is a key factor here. I might have one or two in the morning, a couple in the evening, and maybe half a dozen during the day if I'm at home at the weekend. Say 20-30 per week on average. So for me alone, Nespresso becomes more expensive after about 7-10 months, and Tassimo becomes more expensive after about 18-27 months. Include my wife's consumption and the payback periods are nearly halved: say 5-8 months for Nespresso and 14-21 months for Tassimo.

YMMV, obviously. But I haven't even mentioned that coffee from beans tastes better, plus it isn't the environmental disaster that Nespresso is.
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Love it!

Although if this was a EU debate it could go along the lines off ... but ahem you didn't include the promotions that Tassimo often has, for example I get a 20% off voucher nearly every month, plus free (yes really free ;)) glasses etc. Then there is of course the nectar points, electricity use etc. Your model just doesn't work. And so on and on and on and on
 
Those pods are overpriced! £0.29-0.33 per pod direct from Nespresso.
Interesting analysis though. In our case kitchen space and ease of use were also important, and we don't drink as much coffee as you!

The real coffee shocker is that new 'instant in a cup' stuff I've seen. WTF? Who is too busy to put a spoonful of instant coffee in a cup?
 
i've posted this before, but I can't resist mentioning it again... I'm a bit of a coffee-holic - to the tune of having a monster Rancilio Epoca that I picked up from a bankrupt cafe auction for less than the cost of some piece of junk Gaggia domestic unit - yep, honestly - £50 inc. the auction fees! - okay the case was a bit scuffed on one side, and it was missing both portafilters - but for under £200 in spare parts from the distributor in the past 4 years (it's a professional machine, they will actually source spares!) it's absolutely amazing.

And, it was sold as a job lot with a matching "Rocky" Burr-Grinder - so I can get just the right grind for the machine...

Only downside is it needs to be plumbed in , on the kitchen worktop - yes, plumbed in, it needs a dedicated (filtered / conditioned) water supply and hard wired power!

I must say though, that for camping trips and the odd overnighter I picked up one of those aeropress things, and frankly with fresh ground beans it makes better coffee than pretty much anything you'd get in a cafe outside of Italy... of course, the "rocky" is a bit big to pack for camping, but a little Porlex mini-mill hand-grinder takes care of things nicely...
 
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Llamaman said:
The real coffee shocker is that new 'instant in a cup' stuff I've seen. WTF? Who is too busy to put a spoonful of instant coffee in a cup?
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Also, can we take a moment to think about that "instant + ground" nonsense that's kicking around? All the "great" taste of instant plus a ring of scum on every cup......
 
In general for good coffee you pay now (good machine) or pay the same or more over time (pods).

Friends use pods, and I must say they are good - ironically it's the cost (and waste) that puts me off them. At home I use a 'bean to cup' machine. Expensive at first purchase, but over time works out much cheaper. Makes good coffee, from espresso through to americano, and very quick convenient.

If I wasn't going to use that I'd use a mocha pot, which is what we take on holiday. Pretty quick, and makes very good coffee, with quite low cost (just ground coffee needed).
 
That's it, I was about to do another £50 Tassimo shop but having looked at the amount of plastic that I threw away over the last two weeks working from home, I'm just ashamed. No idea what espresso machine to get though :(
 
dejongj said:
That's it, I was about to do another £50 Tassimo shop but having looked at the amount of plastic that I threw away over the last two weeks working from home, I'm just ashamed. No idea what espresso machine to get though :(
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I know Nespresso gets a lot of flak over environmental issues, but at least the aluminium pods are 100% recyclable (unlike a lot of the plastic pods). I'm about to take a bag of pods off for recycling today :)

That said, if you're at home all week and consume a lot, it'll probably make more sense for you to get a B2C machine - or a grinder and espresso machine.
 
Another vote for Nespresso. Pods direct from Nesspresso are 23p - 33p depending on type. I buy 250 per month. Not cheap but good coffee and the only coffee machine we have had that gets regular use. I love it.
 
dejongj said:
That's it, I was about to do another £50 Tassimo shop but having looked at the amount of plastic that I threw away over the last two weeks working from home, I'm just ashamed. No idea what espresso machine to get though :(
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Someone at work has one of the De Longhi Automatica machines and loves it if you want bean to cup
 
Nespresso pods being recyclable is all well and good if people actually do it. My work place made a very controversial decision to buy 3 of the 'business' machines (different pods to home machines, think its sold to customers as a way of stopping staff theft) and no one recycles them here. Given we are lauded for our recycling efforts where i work i thought it was a pretty s***ty decision. The recycling of them isn't super simple so i'd bet a large % of people don't bother (given that the very best overall recycling rates across the country are about 65% and thats in the best areas, everyone else has a long way to go)

@StewartR great cost analysis - I really want a bean to cup machine, but i don't drink enough coffee to make those sums work me :-( not that i have a pod machine, i only drink 'real' coffee at weekend and i use a cafeitire. if i eventually get to live in a house in my life, i might have room to get one (another drawback at present). I use various instants at work, but only drink 1 cup a day. Occasinally have a coffee from Greggs (flat white aint bad) as i work in what is a essentially a village and no decent coffee shops (there was one that made amazing americanos but changed owners and now its s***) How faffy is your machine to clean and maintain?
 
dan_yell said:
The recycling of them isn't super simple
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It really is;

They give you a bag.
You put your pods in it.
When full, you seal it shut.
You take it a Collect+ store or they collect.

That's it.
 
@Llamaman given that so many people cant be bothered to just put their recycling in a separate bag or bin and put it outside their house - arranging collection is a hindrance to the recycling IMO (i knew the process as my dad has a machine). Not a diss on you as you obviously recycle, just think they could have developed the machine in a more eco friendly way.
 
Cobra said:
:wave:

But TBH I don't get all snobbery that's surrounds coffee, as long as it contains caffeine and is hot, that's fine by me.

Oh and Espresso is like drinking mud, fashionable it maybe, but its still mud :p
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Try Greek/Turkish/Arabic!

digitalfailure said:
Nice active thread, I loved how the RAW Vs JPG crept in :D It's like a canonpresso vs Tassikon debate :)
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I was somewhat amused to discover that the Greek for normal/standard is Kanoniko. :)

dejongj said:
That's it, I was about to do another £50 Tassimo shop but having looked at the amount of plastic that I threw away over the last two weeks working from home, I'm just ashamed. No idea what espresso machine to get though :(
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As I've said before, we take or dead pods to a local RNLI station who get 2p per pod/wrapper. Somewhere on the Tassimo site is a link to the recycling stations for them.
 
Nod said:
As I've said before, we take or dead pods to a local RNLI station who get 2p per pod/wrapper. Somewhere on the Tassimo site is a link to the recycling stations for them.
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Yes, but ...

dan_yell said:
@Llamaman given that so many people cant be bothered to just put their recycling in a separate bag or bin and put it outside their house - arranging collection is a hindrance to the recycling IMO (i knew the process as my dad has a machine). Not a diss on you as you obviously recycle, just think they could have developed the machine in a more eco friendly way.
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I'm guilty and fully agree. Why should I go through extra hassle. Manufacturers should learn and make it hassle free, unless they send a Bentley and get the driver to pick them out of my bin to recycle them I'm not interested ;)
 
dejongj said:
No idea what espresso machine to get though :(
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I've used a Gaggia Classic espresso machine and a Rancillio Rocky grinder for the last 4 years and wouldn't go back to anything else. Lavazza Quality Rossa or Taylors Rich Italian beans.

Gaggia Classic machines are often on offer reduced on Amazon to under £200. (I got mine as a mail order return from John Lewis (apparently unused) for £120. Money very well spent.
 
Nod said:
Try Greek/Turkish/Arabic!
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I've only tried authentic Greek out of those, and yes its still mud, along with what ever the f*** it is, that the Italians call coffee.
 
If you're after a good domestic Espresso machine, there's very little to touch the Rancilio Silvia - around £350, and it knocks the spots off any of the domestic Gaggia machines - okay, it's not quite the convenience of a bean-to-cup machine, but coupled with The matching Rocky burr-grinder, quality of cup wise, I reckon there's nothing to touch it under £750...
 
@DeadpanDodo my favourite beans are Taylors Lazy Sunday, although rich italian was good too when i had a sample of the ground, but lazy sunday i feel like i could eat with a spoon! Lavazza is the coffee my local shop switched to and i wasnt impressed. whats the maintanence like on your machine?

@dejongj its a shame they made it the way they did. Kuerig is a popular capsule machine in the states and there are compatible reusavble pods you can buy that you just put ground coffee in so you get the convenience of the machine but not the wastage.
 
dan_yell said:
@DeadpanDodo my favourite beans are Taylors Lazy Sunday, although rich italian was good too when i had a sample of the ground, but lazy sunday i feel like i could eat with a spoon! Lavazza is the coffee my local shop switched to and i wasnt impressed. whats the maintanence like on your machine?

@dejongj its a shame they made it the way they did. Kuerig is a popular capsule machine in the states and there are compatible reusavble pods you can buy that you just put ground coffee in so you get the convenience of the machine but not the wastage.
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Might as well just get an espresso machine and do the job right.
Surely the convenience of pod machines is NOT having to fill anything with coffee?
 
Main thing for me with having a "proper" machine rather than a pod-machine is the chance to try out different coffee's though...

My mate bought me an annual subscription to the HasBean "coffee of the month"... and once a month I get a bag of "magic beans" :LOL: - it's been really interesting, amazing the differences in the coffees from one to the next. Only slight problem is that sometimes you end up using quite a proportion of the beans before you get the right "grind" perfected, but, like anything worthwhile, time spent in research is seldom wasted...
 
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