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Surprised there's no mention of Nespresso's system, which uses aluminum pods that are recyclable. The 'pod per cup' system is very convenient, but I cringe at a
by sxates 8y ago
Surprised there's no mention of Nespresso's system, which uses aluminum pods that are recyclable. The 'pod per cup' system is very convenient, but I cringe at all the waste of the Keurig k-cups. Nespresso sold me though on their recycling program (fill a bag with the used pods and mail it to them for free).
- sschueller 8y agoThere is also no DRM.
- stcredzero 8y agoI was also going to mention Nespresso's pods. As far as I can see, they're just some vacuum packed grounds between two foil membranes. The amount contained seems a bit smaller than what's in an Aeropress scoop, but because of the square/cube law, the amount in an Aeropress scoop wouldn't be that much larger. What about an automated version of Aeropress that forced the same amount of hot water and hot air/steam through a Nespresso-like pod? It could have adjustable temperature and press times, and should make coffee indistinguishable from an Aeropress. This would eliminate the one disadvantage of the Aeropress: it's quite easy but not quite as convenient as putting in a pod and pressing a button.
- steve19 8y agoAre the third party refillable pods pretty much the same thing?
- stcredzero 8y agoYou mean for Keurig like machines? Whatever happens with Keurig pods, there's a big difference in something that results in far inferior coffee. I've never played around with grinding my own and putting it in a refillable K-Cup pod, however. My experience in Tuscany in the mid 2000's, was that random corner store espresso wasn't bad or was pretty good and rarely had any bitterness. So if the pods are filled and sealed correctly, there should be a way of getting a result far superior to what Keurig machines typically yield.
- steve19 8y agoCan confirm that a random corner store in Tuscany still yeilds good espresso, and I am still surprised by it. But that must be because Italians demand good espresso and everyone in Italy knows what good espresso tastes like.
- stcredzero 8y agoConsidering all the money and fuss that well heeled San Franciscans and SV people throw at coffee, the relative difference between them and ordinary people in Tuscany is pretty eyebrow raising. If one is really a smart and self-aware person, it pays to be aware of how clueless one can still be, especially if it has to do with cultural or sub-cultural knowledge. It's the ability to see beyond groupthink which is the actual "reality distortion field." It's actually the ability to see past the existing reality distortion fields, which is the key. Just how subject to groupthink are Bay Area folks? They are so subject to groupthink, they will spend lots of time and money for inferior product, in ignorance of cheaper, superior existing solutions.
- noja 8y ago> Nespresso sold me though on their recycling program I don't get this. If this is important to you, why not use a system that didn't require recycling in the first place?
- JshWright 8y agoI assume it's because they evaluate the products they buy based on more than one criteria?
- EpicEng 8y agoConvenience, obviously. Why own a car when you could ride a bike? Sure, it will take you 10x as long to get anywhere, but you can always just leave earlier.
- benrbray 8y agoThis comparison makes no sense. Regular coffee makers make far less waste and are just as convenient. Hell, I grid my coffee by hand and brew it one cup at a time with one of those conic filters and it still takes only 6-7 minutes.
- EpicEng 8y ago>are just as convenient. Hell, I grid my coffee by hand and brew it one cup at a time with one of those conic filters and it still takes only 6-7 minutes. It takes about two seconds to pop in a k-cup, maybe 20 more every N cups to fill up water. Also allows for different grounds to be used on a per cup basis. Convenience and speed is the entire reason these things exist.
- slothtrop 8y agoThe single-cup brew is what sold it I think. Coffee machines were already just as fast and familiar, with fast cleanup, but programmatically brew a whole pot. You could achieve the same single cup convenience with a filter using pour-over or clever-dripper.
- crushcrashcrush 8y agoI love my Nespresso. Even the hardware is thoughtful and durable - same machine for the last 4-5 years. Something I was surprised to learn is that many high-end (read: Michelin recommended or higher) use Nespresso. The reason? Absolute consistency. When they need espresso for a dish, or dessert, or even to serve (espresso/cappuccino) they know that it's the same result, every time. [1] 1- https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/apr/10/rise-coffee-pod-machines-nespresso https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/ap...
- adfm 8y agoAnd there are quite a few DIY options out there to augment your Nespresso experience. The Nessie Press pod recycler (https://www.nessiepress.com/ https://www.nessiepress.com/) and Recaps stainless refillable pods (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XG2N6LT/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XG2N6LT/) are two that come to mind.
- cosmolev 8y agoI use Nespresso at home. But I also like that in different bars/cafes coffee is different.
- woodpanel 8y agoIt's a great product indeed. Although I like to point out, that when drinking Espresso out of home I'm with what the layman's bible of modern haute cuisine (modernist cuisine) promotes: that it's exactly the variance of Espressos "out in the wild" that can give you superb once in a lifetime taste experiences.
- crushcrashcrush 8y agoI appreciate that perspective. Agreed, everything has become a commodity and it's the small variances that make life!
- boobsbr 8y agoI like Seneso pads/pods. They're just discs of coffee grounds packaged in coffee filter paper. Fully compostable.
- Shivetya 8y agoI fully admit to owning a Keurig and buying way too many cups for it. In the good days of the is product you could use Amazon subscribe and save to get pods for down as low as twenty cents each. Even Costco got in on it. However prices are over thirty cents each. Now on my watch I get 4 cups from 1oz(28g) of coffee brewed with the Bonavita I can buy some really expensive coffee before I get back to the price of k-cups. filters are trivial cost and free if you use a washable. even making one cup isn't bad but I find the brew to be better with three or four cups. Work involved is really hardly any extra effort, at least not to be noticeable Fortunately for me they pretty much removed me as a customer when the v2 came out which scanned lids to validate it was approved to brew. My original unit had been acting up but when confronted with a box or two of coffee and reusable pods being not valid I just skipped out.
- clairity 8y agonespresso tastes better than keurig but it still has an artificial taste that turns me off. thus i buy espresso drinks at the local cafes but make coffee at home in a clever dripper using freshly ground beans (in a burr grinder) and a dedicated electric kettle. it takes a 5-7 minutes total but i've developed a routine where i do other things (feed pets, make breakfast, etc) during the wait times so the marginal cost is really only an extra minute or two. cleanup is just rinsing out the dripper (and washed once a week). even this drip coffee tastes better to me than nespresso and only takes a few extra seconds.
- drb91 8y agoWhy not just use a single reusable cup that you fill with coffee grounds? I swear I’ve seen them before. Second, that sounds like a heinously inefficient recycling program that relies on the goodwill of consumers... an extremely weak attempt at addressing the problem.
- reaperducer 8y agoSurprised there's no mention of Nespresso's system, which uses aluminum pods that are recyclable Last Christmas I was on the fence about whether to get a Nespresso or a Keurig. I ended up with the Keurig because it came in a color that matched the other appliances on my counter, while Nespresso only came in black, or somewhat-less-black. If I'd known about the recyclable aluminum pods, I would have gone with Nespresso in spite of the limited color options.
- just_one_time_ 8y agoSo you are shipping your trash to Nestle?
- vertexFarm 8y agoIf there's one thing I've learned about our own human nature, it's that we'll sacrifice anything in the future for even the slightest increase in convenience in the present. It's bonkers. The convenience these machines affords us is not large. It's tiny. If we could shave one second off the process by encasing the whole thing in yet another plastic single-use envelope, we'd do it instantly. If we could avoid having to re-fill the tank by purchasing pre-filled plastic tanks and tossing them in the garbage each time, we'd do it in a heartbeat. And our food squeamishness also exists on a sliding scale: we will always accumulate more and more layers of plastic around our food, even though it's already packaged in a way that's totally safe and durable and sanitary. Remember when cereal just came in the cardboard box? This process is cumulative and will never end. We will never say no to another layer of plastic around our products at some point in the journey from factory to consumption. I'd like to know exactly how recyclable those Nestle pods are. I suppose they refill and reuse them? What about if you toss them into a standard recycling system instead of mailing them to Nestle, which will never be a commitment that a significant number of consumers make. Sorry, it's just not going to happen at scale and they know it. The program is likely just PR. I doubt they are recyclable in a single-stream system because they're full of coffee grounds / whatever else. It's astounding how much of the stuff we think we're sending to be recycled is just rejected and tossed anyway. It's an enormous percentage.
- cosmolev 8y agoThose Nespresso bags unfortunately didn't work for me because during the summer I always find worms there. This is probably a bad idea to mail bags with living worms.
- drewrv 8y agoI was having a problem with fruit flies around my used pods and compost bin so I started keeping them in the freezer. Worked like a charm.
- dingaling 8y agoThe 'Ne' of Nespresso is of course for Nestlé who are one of the most-loathed companies on Earth on account of their amoral activities.