With Thanksgiving coming up, I needed to pick up some culinary odds  
and ends. So, after roasting up batches of Aged Sumatra and Harar  
Horse for drip brewing, Nicaragua Lemoncello Estate to take to a  
potluck brunch tomorrow, and my next batch of Greenline (I roast  
another batch of espresso whenever I start to use the last one), I  
headed out to my local Sur La Table. As I was browsing, I saw a crowd  
gathered before a table with three superautos (one of which bore a  
$3500 price tag)--the clerk said, "Go ahead, try one." I decided not  
to mess with frothing, so I hit the "single espresso" button on the  
big mofo Jura Capresso. Heard it grind, then brew, and then as the  
spouts lit up (!) it spat some thin pale opaque liquid into the little  
paper cup, followed by some plain black coffee.  When the readout said  
"ready" again and the spout lights went out, I picked up the cup.  The  
crema was a little darker, but still thin and yellow, dissipating  
quickly. I took a sip......plain strong black coffee. I smiled a  
little smile knowing what awaited me back home in the kitchen.
Then I saw a young woman in a brown apron with an "N" logo  
enthusiastically demoing a Nespresso machine for a customer. She  
pulled a little cappuccino in one fell swoop. She assured him he could  
store the milk tank in the fridge for three days, and proudly flipped  
open what looked like a flat wooden restaurant teabag-box to reveal an  
assortment of what at first appeared to be those richly multi-colored  
foil-wrapped liqueur-filled bonbons that appear in the stores this  
time of year....but they were, of course, Nespresso capsules.  I  
wondered aloud, after the other customer had moved along--that if the  
superauto made such lousy espresso with freshly ground beans, what was  
this going to taste like with coffee roasted and ground who knows how  
long ago? The demonstrator beamed and said, "That's what's so  
wonderful--our capsules are hermetically sealed so that they stay  
fresh forever till the machine pierces them!"  I replied that I prefer  
to grind just before I brew and not drink anything roasted more than  
ten days earlier; she answered, "well that's what makes this such an  
interesting world--there are people like you who are hands-on, and  
then there are those of us who have too much going on in our lives to  
be bothered with all that stuff, and there's room for us all."   If  
only she knew.....
Sandy Andina
www.myspace.com/sandyandina
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Well written, Sandy!  I can, in my minds eye, see this scenario unfolding. 
Shiny machine, gushing praise, coffee pods, brown dreck.  As you say, "if 
only she knew."
Bob

Damn, I am getting curmudgeonly.  I can just see responding "No, what 
you are drinking there is disgusting and there is no room in the 
world for that, no matter how busy you are.  But there is room in the 
world I guess for you to be a mindless tasteless spin indoctrinated 
consumer.  Have a nice day with your brown muddy swill.".
At 09:23 PM 11/22/2008, you wrote:
<Snip>
John Nanci
AlChemist at large
Zen Roasting , Hand Grinding, Blending & Espresso pulling by Gestalthttp://www.chocolatealchemy.com/Homeroast mailing list
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There's even room for the folks who love the wonderful new "cappuccino" in the machines at the gas station convenience store.
 
JOhn C
<Snip>
 nksgiving coming up, I needed to pick up some culinary > >>odds and ends. So, after roasting up batches of Aged Sumatra and > >>Harar Horse for drip brewing, Nicaragua Lemoncello Estate to take > >>to a potluck brunch tomorrow, and my next batch of Greenline (I > >>roast another batch of espresso whenever I start to use the last > >>one), I headed out to my local Sur La Table. As I was browsing, I > >>saw a crowd gathered before a table with three superautos (one of > >>which bore a $3500 price tag)--the clerk said, "Go ahead, try > >>one." I decided not to mess with frothing, so I hit the "single > >>espresso" button on the big mofo Jura Capresso. Heard it grind, > >>then brew, and then as the spouts lit up (!) it spat some thin > >>pale opaque liquid into the little paper cup, followed by some > >>plain black coffee. When the readout said "ready" again and the > >>spout lights went out, I picked up the cup. The crema was a > >>little darker, but still thin and yellow, diss
 ipating quickly. I > >>took a sip......plain strong black coffee. I smiled a little smile > >>knowing what awaited me back home in the kitchen.> >>> >>Then I saw a young woman in a brown apron with an "N" logo > >>enthusiastically demoing a Nespresso machine for a customer. > >>She pulled a little cappuccino in one fell swoop. She assured him > >>he could store the milk tank in the fridge for three days, and > >>proudly flipped open what looked like a flat wooden restaurant > >>teabag-box to reveal an assortment of what at first appeared to be > >>those richly multi-colored foil-wrapped liqueur-filled bonbons > >>that appear in the stores this time of year....but they were, of > >>course, Nespresso capsules. I wondered aloud, after the other > >>customer had moved along--that if the superauto made such lousy > >>espresso with freshly ground beans, what was this going to taste > >>like with coffee roasted and ground who knows how long ago? The > >>demonstrator beamed and said
 , "That's what's so wonderful--our > >>capsules are hermetically sealed so that they stay fresh forever > >>till the machine pierces them!" I replied that I prefer to grind > >>just before I brew and not drink anything roasted more than ten > >>days earlier; she answered, "well that's what makes this such > >>an interesting world--there are people like you who are hands-on, > >>and then there are those of us who have too much going on in our > >>lives to be bothered with all that stuff, and there's room for us > >>all." If only she knew.....> >>Sandy Andina> >>www.myspace.com/sandyandina> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>Homeroast mailing list> >>Homeroast> >>http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20>>> >> ">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com>>>Homeroast community pictures -upload yours!) : > >>http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20>>> >> 
 >Homeroast mailing list> >Homeroast> >http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20>> > John Nanci> AlChemist at large> Zen Roasting , Hand Grinding, Blending & Espresso pulling by Gestalt>http://www.chocolatealchemy.com/>>Homeroast mailing list> Homeroast>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com>Homeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20Access your email online and on the go with Windows Live Hotmail.http://windowslive.com/Explore/Hotmail?ocidT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_access_112008Homeroast mailing list">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com>>Homeroast community pictures -upload yours!) : > >http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20>> > John Nanci> AlChemist at large> Zen Roasting , Hand Grinding, Blending & Espresso pulling by Gestalt>http://www.chocolatealchemy.com/>>Homeroast mailing list> Homeroast>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.com>Homeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20Access your email online and on the go with Windows Live Hotmail.http://windowslive.com/Explore/Hotmail?ocidT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_access_112008Homeroast mailing list
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Oh, I must be turning into a curmudgeon myself, because I loved that!!
On Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 10:33 AM, Alchemist John
wrote:
<Snip>
Not that I'd have the gumption to say it (nor could I come up with the words
that fast in real, live human time). But how true, how true...
Lynne
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"If only she knew....."
For some people, it just doesn't compute. Probably never will.
Reminds me of an MLM coffee demo at a friend's home some years ago."Big
Bucks, Repeat business-" I was the mark.
*Cafe` du Jour* Little preground bricks. "Works in any brewer" Bet nobody's
even heard of it.
I didn't even remember I had been roasting a couple of years before in my
Melitta AromaRoast. Something about it was Black Hole of the Universe. No
way Karen and I would pawn that parc off on any of our friends.
Cheers, Mabuhay and Magandang Umaga -RayO, aka Opa!
On Sat, Nov 22, 2008 at 7:25 PM, Sandy Andina  wrote:
<Snip>
-- 
"When the theme hits the bass, I dance the Jig!" - -Virgil Fox at the Mighty
Wichita (ex- NYC Paramount) WurliTzer- 1976
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I know I'll be razed for this, but I owned a Nespresso machine for years.  I
wouldn't call it great espresso, but it beat the pants off of anything I
have gotten in a Starbucks.  The casules make a decent, if not exciting,
single espresso.  I'm thinking of bringing my machine into the office for
afternoon pick-me-ups, when I don't feel like Aeropressing.
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I was planning on saying something similar.
I don't own a nespresso, but I have had coffee from them and while no, it
doesn't beat a well-pulled shot off my silvia it is a HECK of a lot better
than many cappucini I've gotten in various "gourmet" restaurants with high
end espresso machines and nobody who knew how to use them.  I'd be so bold
to say that it's also better than 80% of the coffee I've had in chain
espresso shops.
No, it's not the "be all" or "end all" of coffee goodness, but lest snobbery
completely overwhelm, it's definitely better than nescafe, folgers or
gevalia (or God forbid, that instant cappuccino).  And it's far better than
some crap I've been handed by supposedly professional baristas pulling shots
from a $10k machine.
Just because it's not as good as my homeroasted espresso blend, 3 days post
roast, ground at its peak and lovingly pulled off my geeked out Silvia
doesn't mean it's to be completely scorned.  Some people just want a fairly
good cup of coffee "now" and don't want to spend the inordinate amount of
time we all do mastering the art.  Nothing wrong with that.  At least
they're not drinking one of those "teabag" folgers singles coffees.
-- Gary F.
On 11/24/08 8:37 AM, "Seth Grandeau"  wrote:
<Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/listinfo.cgi/homeroast-sweetmariascoffee.co>m
<Snip>
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I don't own a Nespresso, but I do have a set of their cups. They are 
some of the best espresso cups I own. I also have a few of their 
cappuccino cups, which are also nice, though I prefer an standard 
"tulip" style cup. One of the perks with these cups is that they have 
two very elegant "N's" silk-screened on them. My surname begins with 
"N", so they are perfect for me. I tell people they were monogrammed 
for me. :-)
A
<Snip>
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Yes, there is room in the world for people who like to make their own
hamburgers from freshly ground beef on a grill in the backyard, and
those who like to order off the dollar menu at McDonalds!
On Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 10:33 AM, Alchemist John
 wrote:
<Snip>
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No, they should outlaw McDonalds too ;)
At 08:42 PM 11/25/2008, you wrote:
<Snip>
John Nanci
AlChemist at large
Zen Roasting , Hand Grinding, Blending & Espresso pulling by Gestalthttp://www.chocolatealchemy.com/Homeroast mailing list
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