Coffee

[Boilk]

This recently caught my attention, and may be of interest to other coffee fans...

[Dave2002]

Our cheapo kettle recently failed, so we lashed out and bought one like this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-TWK863...=amazon+kettle

This is good for Aeropress users, as it's possible to set the hot water temperature.

[Mr Pee]

My shiny new Nespresso machine was delivered yesterday! Just had a couple of lovely Cappucinos, and a couple of Espressos yesterday as well. It makes great coffee, and it's so quick and easy. Perfick!

[ostuni]

That Bosch kettle was a birthday present to me earlier this year, and I love it. I'm not as much of a coffee connoisseur as are many contributors here (a bog-standard Bodum cafetière of Café Direct Machu Picchu is our regular breakfast brew), but for the rest of the day I'm a bit of a tea nerd, with many different packets from the excellent Canton Tea Company on the go. So the Bosch's 70C (green teas), 80 & 90 (Oolongs) & 100 (Black) settings are perfect.

[johnb]

I got very annoyed having to buy a new jug kettle every two or three years because the connector on the base failed so I gave up the fancy kettles and bought one of these which has a traditional plug in lead (though the modern IEC kettle lead connectors lead a lot to be desired, for kettle that is).

[Nick Armstrong]

Our cheapo kettle recently failed, so we lashed out

You were annoyed, weren't you!!

Was that 'splashed out'... ?

One hopes no splashing out from your nice new kettle.

[johnb]

My shiny new Nespresso machine was delivered yesterday! Just had a couple of lovely Cappucinos, and a couple of Espressos yesterday as well. It makes great coffee, and it's so quick and easy. Perfick!

I'm sure your Nespresso machine is wonderful but I am puzzled (to put it mildly) how what is basically a very slick Nestle marketing ploy seems to have taken over an amazing amount of display space in stores (perhaps Nestle fund the displays) and how it has taken off with consumers.

It is probably a very convenient way to get decent tasting coffee but I rather baulk at the whole concept. It turns making coffee into a mechanised "quick food" type process, divorced from the ingredients. Having said that, I can't see many Nespresso users investing in decent (and expensive) grinders together with whatever favoured brewing process they prefer.

[Nick Armstrong]

I got very annoyed having to buy a new jug kettle every two or three years because the connector on the base failed so I gave up the fancy kettles and bought one of these which has a traditional plug in lead (though the modern IEC kettle lead connectors lead a lot to be desired, for kettle that is).

The kettle here (a Braun rapid boil) is a bit like dave's, the kettle itself has no lead, but it sits on a base which is plugged in - as the latter doesn't move, there's never been a problem with leads - the kettle's over 10 years old, works a treat

[Nick Armstrong]

This recently caught my attention, and may be of interest to other coffee fans...

That is very interesting, thanks Boilk (he said, sipping from his strong home-made flat white). Rather pro-coffee, encouragingly - the negatives are rather less weighty than the positives, aren't they? Never heard of the "auditory hallucinations" thing...

[Mr Pee]

I'm sure your Nespresso machine is wonderful but I am puzzled (to put it mildly) how what is basically a very slick Nestle marketing ploy seems to have taken over an amazing amount of display space in stores (perhaps Nestle fund the displays) and how it has taken off with consumers.

It is probably a very convenient way to get decent tasting coffee but I rather baulk at the whole concept. It turns making coffee into a mechanised "quick food" type process, divorced from the ingredients. Having said that, I can't see many Nespresso users investing in decent (and expensive) grinders together with whatever favoured brewing process they prefer.

I spend so long shaving in the morning that I need a quick way to get a decent cup of coffee!!!

Seriously though, I do like the convenience of the Nespresso system, there is a wide range of different capsules to try, including flavoured varieties and even decaff if you're into such peculiarities, and the whole website and online ordering system is well-designed and very efficient.

The coffees are perfectly good, and the simplicity and lack of general faffing around suits me down to the ground.

[Mr Pee]

The kettle here (a Braun rapid boil) is a bit like dave's, the kettle itself has no lead, but it sits on a base which is plugged in - as the latter doesn't move, there's never been a problem with leads - the kettle's over 10 years old, works a treat

If and when my rather tired-looking kitchen gets a makeover, I rather like the idea of one of these gizmos:-

http://www.quooker.co.uk/enuk

[Nick Armstrong]

If and when my rather tired-looking kitchen gets a makeover, I rather like the idea of one of these gizmos:-

http://www.quooker.co.uk/enuk

You're a gadget junky, Mr Pee!

[MrGongGong]

Seriously though, I do like the convenience of the Nespresso system, there is a wide range of different capsules to try, including flavoured varieties and even decaff if you're into such peculiarities, and the whole website and online ordering system is well-designed and very efficient.

The coffees are perfectly good, and the simplicity and lack of general faffing around suits me down to the ground.

Terribly wasteful ...... endless packaging that you throw away
and not nice tasting at all IMV
very heavily marketed in other parts of Europe though ..........

I've tried most of their "varieties" and not at all impressed even with the lovely George Clooney doing the hard sell

What's wrong with a kettle on the stove ?
and one of these ?

[Mr Pee]

Terribly wasteful ...... endless packaging that you throw away
and not nice tasting at all IMV
very heavily marketed in other parts of Europe though ..........

I've tried most of their "varieties" and not at all impressed even with the lovely George Clooney doing the hard sell

What's wrong with a kettle on the stove ?
and one of these ?

Actually the capsules are now re-cycled; you order a free re-cycling bag from Nespresso and they're collected with your next delivery.

And there is nothing wrong with a kettle on the stove, and one of those. But I like my Nespresso system, and I like the coffee it makes. Tastes fine to me, and to thousands of other satisfied users. Just read some of the reviews on Amazon, for example.

[Boilk]

Terribly wasteful ...... endless packaging that you throw away

Agree with Mr GG, but that is the central business model ... you don't just fork out on the Nespresso machine, there's the endless revenue stream of their coffee capsules!

It's like dirt-cheap inkjet printers, they make the real money on the branded refills. But as with compatible printer cartridges, there are compatible Nespresso capsules at a considerable discount, for example at The Coffee Pod.