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Comment by lhnz | Hacker News Reader

My feeling last time I saw one in person:

Convincing the public to install a coffee vending machine in their house at cost to themselves by marketing it as a coffee machine was an impressive feat.

They're very small, stylish, and low-priced.

Until you start to buy the pods for your vending machine.

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Eh if it means im replacing a $3-$4 cup of coffee with a 50 cent cup of coffee + convenience, sounds good to me.

This is exactly why I use a Nespresso machine. At $5 and ~10 minutes per cup of coffee from the coffee shop, with varying outcomes depending on the barista, vs 70¢ + milk per cup and almost perfectly identical every time, it just makes sense to use one.

Even at one cup per working day, that's a saving of over $20 per week for me. Even one of the top end machines would pay for itself in months.

You could replace it with... instant coffee, y'know? I've found the more expensive ones taste good, and it's only cents per mug.

Sure, it's not the coffee-shop mouth-experience (I put a lot of that down to the frothed milk), but a Nespresso doesn't provide that either?

Where I live, Nespresso makes a superior experience than I can find within a 3 mile radius. (fwiw, Los Angeles)

Yes, if I go to my absolute favorite coffee shop in town, it is superior to Nespresso.

But, in comparison to instant coffee (in my humble opinion), it is night and day, and its miles and miles ahead taste wise than coffee bean or star bucks.

I need to try a Nespresso somewhere (not sure where/how).

At the moment I'm reduced to decaf, and I'm finding Percol Decaf Colombia excellent: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Percol-Fairtrade-Decaffeinated-Colom...

Though next I want to try a Peruvian coffee,.

Find one of their stores. If you can handle overly pretentious staff for 5 minutes they'll let you try them for free.

> Sure, it's not the coffee-shop mouth-experience (I put a lot of that down to the frothed milk), but a Nespresso doesn't provide that either?

Most, or some, Nespresso (and I guess the Keurig machine in the US?) had a little single-serve milk frother.

It's a little jug that contains a heating element with a small detachable magnetic 'whisk' component which is completely submerged. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L50Renw5LqE

You can get a decent superautomatic for $400, and a nice one for $700. This is quite a bit more than the nestle, but you probably end up breaking even after a year and getting better coffee at the same time.

One of the best superautomatics I found on Amazon still has issues like cleaning, maintenance, and clogging that Nespresso just... doesn't:

http://smile.amazon.com/DeLonghi-ESAM3300-Magnifica-Super-Au...

And, Nespresso usually fixes all problems for free. After all, they are in the coffee business just as equally or more than the coffee machine business. They have absolutely satisfying customer service skills.

The best use I see of those is in all sorts of waiting rooms - at car garages, doctor's waiting rooms, etc. You don't have to train your staff to use an expensive coffee machine which needs cleaning and maintanence, you buy a $100 nesspresso machine and if a customer wants a coffee they get one within 2 minutes,and it tastes very nice, with froffed milk and everything. I feel like it works very well for businesses.

Yes! Very true! I love to go to the bike shop just for the Nespresso... ;-)

True. It's like Pepsi Cola convince the public to install a Cola vending machine in their house at cost to themselves.

http://www.keurig.com/kold

The business model is well-worn, just adapted to coffee. People are paying for the convenience. It's clear this isn't the cheapest way to make coffee at home, unless of course you value your time!

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