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Comment by semi-extrinsic | Hacker News Reader

No, it's not. If you actually do the math, the Nespresso coffee pods are so expensive per cup as compared to buying ground or whole espresso beans in tins, that a Nespresso machine with pods vs a proper Rancilio Silvia with Illy espresso breaks even in a little more than 12 months. Even though the Rancilio is $650+.

Also, the Nespresso pods are pretty bad on the environment, since they're made from aluminium (energy intensive process) but can't be recycled since they're full of spent coffee.

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Most of what I'm paying for is the convenience. I have a machine in my office that I can hit a button on and get a shot out very quickly. I have a similar Jura machine at home that starts with beans and pulls a shot. The Nespresso shots are almost always better.

Yeah, you don't want an "automatic" machine that does grinding, tamping and pulling the shot. It just doesn't work well, they don't make good espresso IMO. Even the ones I've used at various work locations, that cost thousands of dollars, are pretty bad.

What you need is a manual (aka semi-automatic) machine, and a proper grinder (I have the Ascaso I2 and like it a lot) or even just pre-ground Illy, it's not that bad. Learning how to grind, tamp etc. takes about a month. From then it's pure espresso magic.

For extra hipster points, buy a really manual machine, aka lever machine:

https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/brands/la-pavoni

I have wanted to get one of those for the house, but as I said, in the office it's hard to beat a nespresso when the automatic alternative is keurig.

the hipster points are irrelevant for the la pavoni, they are just straight up beautiful machines.

Or you could buy this, plus a weekend in Hawaii:

http://yourcoffee.arcada.vilkas.fi/WebRoot/Arcada/Shops/your...

OK, I love turkish coffee so i may be picking up one of those at some point.

As someone that works in the coffee industry I've been excited to see some of the startups coming out now that could compete against companies like Nespresso using real coffee while still preserving convenience, automation and ease of use. You should check out Spinn. I haven't tried it but it looks promising and might potentially perform better than other so called automated espresso machines.

Interesting machine. I may give one a try. Unfortunately the pre-order function on the site is broken if you are blocking google analytics, but that is workable.

Then you are using the wrong coffe, your machine is badly configured (most are), was never really cleaned internally (most arent) or are just way to used to the artificial taste.

I don't think anyone thinks its economical long-term over beans/maker, just that it is cheaper than going to a store to get coffee. The convenience of having a serviceable cup of espresso in less than 30 seconds (no warm up time!) all for under a dollar makes it worth it.

As for the environment, they do have a recycling program for Nespresso pods with drop-off stations in a bunch of places. It is Nestle though so they might just be taking the recycled pods and putting them in the trash.

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