Talking Espresso and Great Coffee

Coffee makers using open filters and your coffee grounds have always been available. Ten years ago, coffee makers that used pucks of prepackaged coffee broke onto the market. There was a couple that stood out and lasted the tests of time. Of course, a few where here and gone. Interesting to us was how few options there really has been.

We started talking about this the other day when at a Crate and Barrel. We noticed that while the coffee makers using pucks and cups of coffee flavors took a while to get started, that isn’t the case with Espresso makers. Home espresso machines have been around for a long time (remember James Bond had one built into his kitchen?) in their current form of adding fresh grounds and managing the pour and steam… plenty of options. The introduction of puck and cup style Espresso machines when from non to many options in what seems like over night.

This picture of one from Nespresso… cool looking, good pressure, lots of ‘instant’ features, a variety of coffee cups flavors and not very inexpensive. It shows a price of just under $350. The ‘artsy’ versions of NESCAFE we posted up a couple days ago where half this price. When shopping, keep an eye our for a few important points: pressure and availability of quality coffee. We went down one path and found that the pressure was good but the coffee options where many and low quality.

Nespresso’s fast, convenient espresso machine combines Thermobloc heating, 19 bars of pressure and automatic pump priming for the purest, subtlest coffee aromas and flavors and richest crema. Slim, retro-modern countertop presence in black; automatic capsule ejection, and removable water tank and drip tray. Use the two pre-sets or program your own cup volume. Integrated Aeroccino frother preps milk for cappuccino or lattes.

It would appear that the puck Coffee makers where sort of test for the Espresso machines. Let’s see if the Espresso machine options continue to grow or the market heads back to the Coffee versions.

You may use your old coffee grounds to feed your plants. For robots, they can use coffee grounds to grip things. Of course, this isn’t about the taste of coffee, but it’s fun news about the uses of our loved coffee beans. I hope those scientists aren’t using all the good ones!!

There is a highly scientific description available of what is going on, but allow me to say it in plain english.

When you have a bag of beans or coffee grounds that is ‘vacuum packed’, it is solid. You are not able to massage the beans inside of the bag around. When you open the bag, air is introduced between the beans and they can move over one another in a more fluid way.

Imagine if you can add/remove the air in the bag of beans quickly, as you want. Put the bag on the end of a robot arm, adding a bit of air so it can wrap around something. When you push the bag of beans over the edge of the surface, the bag molds to the edges, then remove the air from the bag. The bag says in that shape around the object, being very solid it is able to lift or move the object. Fun stuff… and if the bag gets a hole in it you have some beans to make a cup of coffee with while you repair the bag.

If you want the full techie take on the project, buzz over to Cornell Computational Synthesis Laboratory or the Cornell Online site. These images are from the Cornell Lab site:

Last night there was a NESCAFE’ coffee commercial on TV. I barely glanced up from my computer as it went sped through a whirl of cold and coffee drink images. Until I saw a flash of what looked like a very artistic coffee maker. I was reaching for the remote to rewind back to see what must be an artist concept when several more coffee makers where flashed up making dark rich coffee. Artist concepts? Future product? Did they steal something from a art college?

I spent a while looking around for the commercial online. Visiting the NESCAFE’ Instant Coffee site resulted in nothing. Not giving up, I clicked through the different areas of the site till I happened upon a link to the NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™” site. There I found the four bits of cool fun art to sit on the kitchen counter which I can request a cup of coffee from too.

I have several different brands of machines that use pucks, discs and cups of pre-packaged coffee. Each machine does something better than the other and the coffee choices vary from one brand to another as well. All are black and silver plastic with a see through plastic area to hold water.

Coffee for the NESCAFE’ Dolce Gusto line is more specialized than others since it is limited to their own. Most other quick coffee makers have done deals with a variety of other coffee producers so their line stretchs across many customer’s needs. By allowing others to package coffee, you get more choices but less control on what the customer has. NESCAFE’

From their FAQ:

NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ is a new coffee machine with a proprietary one portion capsule that produces high quality coffee-shop style beverages including Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato and Lungo (traditional cup of coffee). The machines will be available in black, red, and cream. NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto is a joint venture between Nestlé® and KRUPS® and is aimed exclusively toward the at-home consumer. This 15 bar system uses pressure similar to coffee house machines. The coffee that is used in the capsules is made of premium 100% Arabica pure coffee beans.

Retail pricing:

NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ Piccolo – $89-$99
NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ Melody™ 2 – $129
NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ Circolo™ – $149
NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ Creativa™ – $169

The flavors available cover hot to cold, mild to strong:

• House Blend / Caffè Americano
• Caffè Lungo
• Caffè Lungo Decaffeinato
• Cappuccino
• Cappuccino Skinny
• Cappuccino Ice
• Chococino
• Dark Roast / Caffè Grande Intenso
• Espresso
• Latte Macchiato
• Mocha
• Nestea® Peach Iced Tea
• Vanilla Latte Macchiato