Nespresso Coffee Maker
I look forward to my morning latte. I prefer to make my lattes at home for several reasons: I'm an early riser and coffee shops aren't always open, lattes at coffee shops are expensive, and I want to avoid the hassle and environmental impact of getting dressed and driving to a coffee shop. So, I've spent a lot of time researching coffee machines and in particular, those with espresso-making capacity. My latest purchase was a Nespresso Citiz espresso maker from Williams Sonoma.
I purchased the Nespresso for several reasons. The cost was a huge factor. At about $350 for the machine and a separate milk frother, the price was a bargain compared to the highly-ranked jura capresso that runs for about $1200. Importantly, the quality of the espresso from the Nespresso is superb. Each cup has a delicate crema on top and a delicious fresh taste, comparable or exceeding any coffee shop espresso. The Nespresso is simple to use. There is no grinder and no beans and therefore no mess. The unit is compact and low profile, fitting easily on my already crowded counter. There are only two buttons to worry about, coffee and espesso and no special cleaning cycles.
The main components of a typical home espresso machine are a water tank, a pump, a boiler, a brew head and a portafilter. These machines require some skill as well as some level of bean grinding and grind clean up. In short, they are messy. The Nespresso uses coffee capsules. These capsules contain high end coffee in hermetically sealed aluminum capsules. The machine punctures the aluminum and forces hot water through the capsule to brew a perfect cup of espresso or coffee. The used capsule drops into a chamber that can hold up to nine capsules. Clean up is a cinch--just dump the capsules in the trash.
The capsules can only be purchased through the company's website or at boutiques in a few cities. Regardless, the selection of coffees available and the speed at which they arrive on your doorstep has been no problem for me.
I am in love with my Nespresso. Or at least I was until my sister-in-law came along and told me about the environmental impact of the capsules. Buzz kill. Apparently, the aluminum cannot be recycled without first cleaning out the grinds from the capsules. There goes a huge part of what I love about this machine--the ease of clean up. The beauty of the machine is you don't have to mess with the grinds at all. Living in Colorado, environmental consciousness is virtually a requirement of citizenship. How could I continue to use my Nespresso guilt-free?
I discovered the company is aware of the environmental impact problem. The company has launched an "ecolaboration" program where one can drop off the used capsules, but so far this program is available only in Europe. No help there. Then I discovered that the Swiss developed a small tool to extract the grinds easily allowing one to place the capsule in the recycle bin with other recyclables. The tool is called an "outpresso" and is available at www.outpresso.com for about $37.
Voila! My love affair with my Nespresso continues, guilt-free.
Posted at 10:23AM Nov 26, 2010 by Erin Toll Glover in Coffee shops and coffee paraphernalia | Comments[0]
