I know this will possibly elicit howls of contempt from some elitists, but you really need to give Nespresso a try.
Having had a FrancisFrancis X3 whose gaskets have given up the ghost, and a Jura E3 which lasted a less than year and had 2 repairs for a broken grinding system, I was getting desperate to replace the home coffee machine. While I have also have a grinder and have lovingly fussed over the grind, tamping, microbubbles frothing and all that, ultimately I want a good cup of espresso as soon as possible.
I saw the new Citiz line, a narrow-width machine - great for apartment living - at Amsterdam's Bijenkorf (posh department store) Nespresso boutique and was given an Arpeggio cappuccino out of the machine - it was perfect. The ristretto was also wonderful (perhaps it's the state of Dutch coffee, but this stuff rocks). Being reasonably cheap, I went online and found it for €70 less than at the store - instant win.
Before I'd find myself frothing milk for a dozen guests and missing the party - now it's a one-two (no step 3!) and the coffees are out and ready in record time. Plus, I can give everyone exactly what they want without having to fuss. I have an crushed ice maker in the fridge, so it's really 2 minutes to an iced cappuccino - the Citiz even helps by frothing the milk perfectly without heating it.
You can adjust the shots of the espresso by holding the espresso or lungo buttons down until it flows to the volume you want - the machine will remember it even while powered off. The unit also smartly goes into a low-power mode after 15-20 minutes and an even LOWER power mode if you forget to turn it off.
Could it be better? Sure - the dead capsule bay is small and has to be emptied in 8-10 shots or so (man, I'm lazy). The capsules are sold online or through boutiques, and they could be cheaper. That said, they're currently getting 40-50% of their bean through free-trade farming (via the Rainbow Coalition, perhaps the oldest FT organization) and are on the march for 75% by 2010. I feel I'm getting what I pay for.
Value - sure, the coffee is more expensive, but it's not too expensive, and when you consider the additional €550 euros I spent on the Jura (it was €700 - I ended up selling it) that's a lot of capsules. When you consider the offset between a .25-.30 espresso by bean or a .35 espresso by capsule, I'll be saving money for years to come.
So why buy a Nespresso over an Illy Capsule system? (I was partial to them anyway, from the FF days) I did a lot of research on this. The answer was easy - it's the capsules. Transparent plastic sucks, sorry - it's a stupid idea. The aluminum of the Nespresso caps requires only 5% of manufacturing energy to recycle and is infinitely recyclable. And yes, I do recycle - you have to walk the walk. Also, the caps are ground and then sealed in an opaque vacuum-packed container, never to see light or air until you use them.
I've read reviews that say units jam - I've had one jam because I failed to empty the dead capsule bay and the old one didn't drop down to let a new one in. That's the extent of nearly 6 months use - perfect coffee, milk, everything in less than 2 minutes without any fuss. The Citiz line has been around for less than a year so I can't comment on reliability, but my father still has my college Krups espresso machine, the very basic one, and that still works 20 years later. I'm pretty confident.
And no - I don't work for them, or know anyone who does. I wish I did - I'd like to buy my capsules discount. I'm just a very, very happy customer. |
