Single Serve Coffee Forums

Thanks for the links jar. Don't mind at all that their long, the more info the better IMHO. I'm off work till the 7th, so I have plenty of time to read.

Cindy, I think you need to have someone study your Cremina in-depth to find out what you are doing wrong. I volunteer.

It is highly unlikely that you will get a better espresso with the single-serve machines than you are getting with your high end equipment. In fact, your shots should blow the single serve espresso shots away.

I could always use volunteers!

On that note, I think my main problem is everything I have learned is by message boards and YouTube. Until someone is standing next to me to show me what a proper grind looks like or tastes a good shot, I'm really flying blind. Chicago is having a meetup soon with some HB guys, and I am going to go. I really need to pick the brains of these experts and see what I'm doing right or wrong. It's really the only way I can take the next step.

I have put on hold the Nespresso shopping for now. Just ordered some fresh beans, and will try again and see what I can learn in Chicago.

If you're in Chicago, there are several Meinl coffee shops. See if you can sample some of their coffees and espressos.

bigstormgirl wrote:I could always use volunteers!
...I have put on hold the Nespresso shopping for now. Just ordered some fresh beans, and will try again and see what I can learn in Chicago.

Your mind is about to be blown - enjoy!

EricBNC wrote:

bigstormgirl wrote:I could always use volunteers!
...I have put on hold the Nespresso shopping for now. Just ordered some fresh beans, and will try again and see what I can learn in Chicago.

Your mind is about to be blown - enjoy!

I'm really looking forward to it Eric. It will be next weekend.

Well, I went to Williams Sonoma in Indy today and checked out the Nespresso and tasted a couple shots with it, though it seem to blonde pretty early (it seems that the single shot program went longer than it should have). It actually tasted better than 80% of my shots from my Cremina (I know that it's my fault, not the machine). So I decided to order the Carmine Pixie from Seattle Coffee Gear (with 10% off!). I figure it is good to have for a quick shot before work without the mess and fuss, and use my Cremina on the weekends when I have more time. I sold my Elektra MCAL this past week, so I'm justifying my purchase so my Cremina has a counter buddy.

^^^ Jealous! We used to live in Chicago. Sadly, this was before my days of coffee geekery. Have fun, and congrats on the purchase. Btw, which capsules did you try/like?

jbviau wrote:^^^ Jealous! We used to live in Chicago. Sadly, this was before my days of coffee geekery. Have fun, and congrats on the purchase. Btw, which capsules did you try/like?

I'm pretty excited about the Chicago meetup. I'm going to bring some Redbird beans with me and see if anyone can pull the "Snickers Bar" out of it. I have gotten a little bit of chocolate, but no nuts.

The first one I tried was the Ristretto, which could have been better if the shot was shorter (someone reprogrammed the espresso shot button) and the second one was Arpeggio which was a lot better (she used a different machine that wasn't messed with).

Arpeggio has become my go-to capsule for first-thing-in-the morning "poor man's" cortados (milk is microwaved rather than steamed) when we're trying to get my son out the door on time.

Cindy, what's the latest? How did the HB get-together go?

jbviau wrote:Cindy, what's the latest? How did the HB get-together go?

Hey Josh!

The get-together went great!! Couldn't believe how many machines were brought out. Pretty cool to see all these different machines in person. My Cremina got her share of oohs and aahhs. One of the main things I learned is to relax and quit being too anal. Way too much OCD when I try to pull a shot. Now, I fill my bean hopper (I used to weigh every shot before grinding), fill my PF, tamp and go. My shots have never been better. I even impressed a few experts. I mentioned that I was going to bring some Redbird. Well, this wasn't a favorite of the experts, but they said I pulled it real well. Also learned about brightness and acidity which I could never understand till then. So, it was a great success for me! I think the next meeting will be in March. I plan on going to that one too.

I also got my Nespresso Pixie and having a great time with that too. I use it a few times during the week, and use my Cremina on weekends. I really have the best of both worlds right now.

Glad to hear it! So your Cremina-spoiled palate doesn't revolt against the taste of those Nespresso shots, I gather. Nice.

I've been to a few Baltimore HB gatherings and have consistently enjoyed them.

In honesty, now that I have finally experienced good shots, the Nespresso can really hold it's own. I have to admit I was very surprised when I first sampled some shots at Williams Sonoma. Very impressive indeed!!