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Open the Pod Bay Doors HAL

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  • Open the Pod Bay Doors HAL

    Glenys and I visited the Nespresso Shop in Karrinyup Shopping Centre today.

    I recognised it as a place of Devil worship. The staff, although they seemed nice enough, had a whiff of sulphur about them.

    I had a cross just in case but in the end the pods looked interesting and I made sure that the door was near enough if I had to make a run for it.

    I was quite impressed with the tastes of the pods and to the side of the main sacrifice altar (still had fresh stains on it), they had a tasting bar all very nicely set up. The lighting was well thought out too and reminded me of the Goetterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods) type scene with the orange glow throwing a menacing glow on the altar with Nespresso machines exposed wantonly on shelves, openly inviting you to interact intimately with them.

    I have to say they did put a lot of thought into this place of Nespresso worship. Their pod geniuses were very helpful and I think the manager's name was actually Hal and no doubt is the person who does open the pod bay doors in the morning.

    I had two pods one was a Barista Scuro (95 cents each). I was quite impressed. They are definitely tasty but it is difficult to compare them with real espresso. Obviously not quite as extracted but nice to drink. The pods are no mess items which is great. The milk frothing of course is what requires some power and it is probably lacking in most machines. I think the strength of a simple pod machine would be for making drinks without milk and without much mess.

    I calculate my coffee costs me 25 cents per double shot so I would spend $1000 more per year if I did drink pods.

    The trip to the temple was informative and I decided pods are good for some people who want quick, easy and tastey.

  • #2
    That sounds like a fair appraisal. But I have a problem with paying 4 x the price for stale coffee encapsulated in a product that is contributing majorly to the world's environmental problems.

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    • #3
      I think that the wastage is minimal although it is there. We buy food all the time in packaging.

      The coffee isn't stale and it tastes good. If it is packaged and prepared properly it is good.

      The final test is taste and it was pretty good I have to say.

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      • #4
        Great and humourous review Grant. I have tried pods several times and I agree it's drinkable for hoi polloi but not suitable for a snob.

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        • #5
          I agree with wattgn. You can get a pretty good cuppa out of a pod when the stars align correctly - and it is repeatable.

          I spent over 18 months with a friend / cafe & pod manufacturing machine owner (a mere 1,000 pods an hour when running flat out) trying to find a complete pod system that didn't taste of anything horrible. We eventually succeeded by using a fairly expensive EU food grade pod. It is even a fully recyclable pod - and that is actually quite rare. We also found a decade old "fully high grade stainless steel" pod machine which did not taint the coffee either - actually a "Nespresso clone" but built properly. It even did a fairly good job of steaming milk (i.e. as good as those dedicated "milk frothers" or using a plunger and heating the milk in a microwave). Microfoam it isn't.

          I had the opportunity to do a little test after we had finally obtained the first shipment of empty pods.

          1) The roasts were a mixture of light, medium and dark SO's and the three in house blends (medium-dark & 2 dark blends).
          2) The grinder is a big old Mahlkonig (actually the EK43's great grandfather - it is using the same type of mechanism). The grind for a pod is quite different from the grind for an espresso machine, however that particular grinder can do anything from "too fine for Turkish" to "coarser than cold steep" very consistently.

          I could directly compare the final pods "straight out of the machine" using their "all stainless steel pod coffee machine" to their in house espresso machine (a Linea, naturally) after we had optimised the grind for the usage.

          Using that system the pods were about 85 to 90% as good in the cup as the LM. A bit of a surprise to me at the time (to put it mildly). I could even pick a lot of the regional variations of the light roasts. Impressive for a technology I had previously dismissed as being pathetic.

          Then we tried an fairly new (3 to 4 months old) original Nespresso pod machine (about $350 at the time, mostly plastic). Personally I would call it a total fail, however to be kind call it 50 to 60% as good as the LM. The regional qualities of the roast were fighting the plastic taint and losing. After that fiasco we tried a cheap more common (plastic, $65) pod machine. Completely undrinkable, all I could taste was the overwhelming taint of plastic mixed with a non-nondescript coffee taste. Perhaps 30% of the quality of the LM (on a good day).

          Milk: not really in the hunt, even the Nespresso original was not up to it. Clearly that could change overnight as even the $150 Breville / SB toys can do proper microfoam if you know what you are doing.

          I reckon that a good pod in a good machine can provide something which even most CS'r's would regard as drinkable as an espresso - certainly as good as most cafes. Unfortunately the overuse of plastic in every new machine I could find means that most pod machines are nowhere near the technology's potential. I also strongly suspect that the public's willingness to rate convenience over performance has resulted in some pretty significant cost savings at the manufacturing end rather than building a top rate pod machine. Surely a ten year old pod machine should not thrash all the newer ones?

          Needless to say, this domicile is still a pod free zone for now.

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          • #6
            I care about the environment. Food packaging is unavoidable in our modern lives, but I do my best the minimise it. I will never be buying a pod machine and will never recommend one as the amount of packaging used as a ratio to the actual product is extreme. Although there are recyclable and compostable options most used pods still end up in landfill due to their very nature as well as where they are used (hotels and offices). But if you're happy to pay through the nose for fair tasting coffee and don't give a shit about the planet then this is the product for you.

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            • #7
              I hate to admit it but pods have their place. I'm travelling through the backblocks of France and I've witnessed many restaurants dish up amazing food and dismal coffee, even though they have the hardware to produce something half decent. The beans are stale and the technique woeful, and I've noticed an increasing number of restaurants switching to pods to get a half decent espresso. Just forget about a milk coffee. I did spy one of these pod machines on Ile de Re a few weeks ago, gave me a chuckle. Talk about a wanna be.

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              • #8
                I was surprised by just how good these pods tasted and I had been dead against them previously just on the principle that there is nothing like a properly made espresso. This is still true but tasting is believing and I now believe that these pods are definitely much better than the substandard grinder/espresso machine combinations I have seen producing distinctly average or worse coffee. The pod machines can be dead cheap too.

                The milk frothing is an issue but no more so than for other small thermoblock machines and as Stu posted above there are some full on pod machines with large boilers.

                I did find though that the extraction is not the same as for an espresso and this means if you have a milk drink it will be underpowered relative to the real thing. These pods are also only single shots. A double shot of the one I had at Nespresso would have cost $.95 x 2 or $1.90 compared to about 25 cents using my green beans and a double shot. Of course, I have $5000 worth of equipment but if you make even 4 coffees per day and they were all double shots which means two pods that is $7.80 per day compared to $1.00. $6.80 per day is $2400 per year I would save making my own espresso. If you decided to have just four pods a day then even then it would be $1200 per year savings so my gear would pay for itself in either 2 years or 5 years roughly and that doesn't take into account residual values and all that.

                Nespresso == Expensive but for many people it is worth it as no skill is required and it is neat and tidy and not much investment in equipment is needed either.

                I wouldn't get too upset about the wastage or environment either. We all throw away many kilograms of packaging materials and other household rubbish each week and pods would be a very small proportion of your total rubbish per week. I get it though. It would be better if they were totally biodegradable.

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                • #9
                  OK, the doors are open.
                  I have yet to have the pod coffee that is any better than a coffee bag.
                  Maybe it will happen some day but so far not.
                  I have friends who excitedly offer me pod coffee because it is "as good as Espresso". No it isn't.
                  Pod coffee is "pod coffee". Espresso is Espresso. End of story.
                  Hal.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Rocky View Post
                    OK, the doors are open.
                    I have yet to have the pod coffee that is any better than a coffee bag.
                    Maybe it will happen some day but so far not.
                    I have friends who excitedly offer me pod coffee because it is "as good as Espresso". No it isn't.
                    Pod coffee is "pod coffee". Espresso is Espresso. End of story.
                    Hal.
                    That's been my experience too.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Rocky View Post
                      OK, the doors are open.
                      I have yet to have the pod coffee that is any better than a coffee bag.
                      Maybe it will happen some day but so far not.
                      I have friends who excitedly offer me pod coffee because it is "as good as Espresso". No it isn't.
                      Pod coffee is "pod coffee". Espresso is Espresso. End of story.
                      Hal.
                      Hi Hal,

                      Your comments equating pods to a coffee bag are just plain absurd, the products aren't remotely similar.

                      I bought a Robur from a cafe owner today. We discussed pods and she agreed that they are really very good and suit some people just fine.

                      It doesn't have to be the same as proper espresso and in fact they have a huge range of products some with additional flavourings.

                      It is different to the real thing but I have had pod coffee from two different sources and both times I was surprised just how tasty it was.

                      The Nespresso store was flat out. They are making a killing and pods have really taken the market big time. Most of our friends and family now use pods.

                      It is a market for people who want something nice in the coffee line to drink but who don't want to invest either the time in learning skills or the equipment to do the real thing.

                      There is no chance of me ever buying a pod machine but I appreciate now why it is so popular. It tastes great to most people and that is driving sales.

                      Grant

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by wattgn View Post
                        Hi Hal,

                        Your comments equating pods to a coffee bag are just plain absurd, the products aren't remotely similar.
                        You seem to enjoy ridiculing people who disagree with you. It isn't necessary. Why not just disagree with them and explain why.

                        FWIW, I'd rate the better pods I've been obliged to try a little better than a coffee bag, but they're certainly not for me....I'll just have a cup of tea if that's the choice.

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                        • #13
                          The products aren't remotely similar so why was the comment made? One is like a tea bag with coffee in it which is extracted, the other is liquid and already extracted and can also contain other components.

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                          • #14
                            We were proudly presented with pod coffee by the friends we recently stayed with in SanFrancisco, 4 or 5 different types, including espresso, lungo, cappuccino.

                            Our opinion! the stuff was wet, and, I believe contained caffeine, didn't really taste like coffee at all.

                            Yep, ridicule and snide comments of a personal nature are poor form.

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                            • #15
                              I said the comparison was absurd, it wasn't a personal attack and I stand by my comment which was perfectly fair enough.

                              Coffee Bags are expensive and have all but disappeared from the market.

                              I guess if people want to say such things that is fine and I'm entitled to reply.

                              I get it, saying pods are good stirs up anger it seems but I was just relaying my honest opinion to the group. I can also see that these pods are wildly popular and are a big hit, the year on year increase in sales is huge and has increased by 523% in five years.

                              I agree that they may not taste the same as espresso yet most people I talk to even people in the industry accept that they are quite tasty. Obviously not everyone thinks so but if the yard stick is comparing it to real espresso, I think that is probably not fair.

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