I'm sure that for this nouvelle année you have made many a noble resolution. Here is a small one to make: no more bad coffee.
Ron and I both fell in love with espresso when we first started visiting Europe, early in our marriage. So we went in search of the perfect espresso machine. We bought a cheap model, didn't work. So we upgraded to a fancy expensive model. We found it all very messy and time consuming, packing and tamping the coffee for every cup, and the frother was hard to manage, and we finally gave up and took it back. We tried another one, same result. We were still longing for the perfect cup.
Then we moved to France. Right away I hit Darty (the French equivalent of Best Buy) to look for a machine. The charming young sales guy told me there was only one real choice. He had bought this machine and no other would do. He regaled me with his lavish description of the ultimate cup of espresso. The machine was called Nespresso. Against my better judgment—-espresso from a capsule?–I brought it home. It was worth a try.
Merci, monsieur, because we are now fanatics. Yes, the capsules are expensive, and probably bad for the environment. (They're easy to recycle, though–you mail them in for free). Yes, it’s too much money to pay for a tiny cup of coffee you make at home, though nothing near the price of Starbucks. But here’s the deal: the coffee is absolutely fabulous, every time. No muss, no fuss, no cleanup.
And so we are addicts. We’ve even been known to take the machine on vacation with us. (Photo below: a painting by Patricia Glee, of beautiful coffee pots from a different era).
You may wonder if we are on the Nespresso payroll. The answer, sadly, is no, but we should be. Almost every friend who has visited our house over the years has gone home and bought one. Nicole, our châtelaine, was one of the first to try ours, and she now has two machines in the kitchen and one in her guest room. Nespresso now has a perfect little plug-in frothing machine that is equally wonderful, so I can easily do cappuccinos now.
If you ever pass a Nespresso shop, you MUST go in, because they are masters at clever marketing. They are the Apple store of coffee. They understand all too well that they're selling an indulgent little luxury, and they milk it (pun intended) for all it's worth. Prepare to be dazzled and seduced, as we clearly have been.
But here is a bad thing: capsules in the states cost almost twice what they do in France. Such a rip-off! So if you are a fan, and if you travel to France, do as we do when we come back to the states, and bring an extra suitcase along to pack with capsules (tip—Ron fills his shoes with them!). And fuss at Nespresso about the price difference, because they deserve it.
Here's hoping your new year is a delicious one, full of happiness, peace and good health!
RECIPES: Fluffing Up Your Espressos
–Though it's hard to improve on a good espresso, here are a few tricks:
–Often in Europe they are served with a little slice of lemon zest.
–I put just a dab of sugar in mine and I like to use brown sugar, which has a more caramel-y taste.
–The ultimate way to serve an espresso: as a Café Gourmand, one of my favorite French restaurant desserts. See my post on that here.
–I've said it before: espresso's are helpful for weight loss! First of all, they are creamy and filling, so if you're still a bit hungry, they will help take the edge off. Also, since every lunch and dinner in France is followed by an espresso, it becomes a sort of signal: I'm done here! No more courses, the meal is truly over. And if you're trying to cut back on desserts, a cappuccino is a nice alternative, especially since lowfat milk foams better than any other.
–If you're not dieting, here's a recipe (from the Nespresso folks) that really IS dessert:
Barista Caramel Honey Latte
Add a tablespoon of caramel sauce to a coffee mug. Use a double-espersso capsule, steaming it directly in the cup with the sauce, and stir. Froth or heat some lowfat milk and add a dollop of honey. Pour the milk into the coffee and stir.
In the COMMENTS: Merci for all the nice Christmas greetings! Tom, we look forward to hearing about your move-to-France adventure. In the comments last time, Natalia mentioned a delicious sweet potato recipe which readers then asked for. She kindly sent it by email. It's as easy as the cookies! Here is her recipe for Mascarpone Maple Sweet Potatoes: Preheat oven to 400. Bake 2 sweet potatoes, pricked with a fork, on a baking pan lined with parchment paper, 45 minutes or until done. Let them cool a bit. Meanwhile let 4 oz. of mascarpone (more if you like) come to room temperature. With a spoon stir the marscapone till creamy; add in 2 to 4 tablespoons of maple syrup, to taste, and stir to combine. Slit open potatoes (like you do a baked potato); spoon in mascarpone mixture. Partake and enjoy. Merci, Natalia!
Favorite READS, special Cat edition: It seems I went on a cat bender when I gave Christmas gifts this year. I gifted copies of The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over the World
16 thoughts on “The Hunt for the Perfect Espresso”
OH, NESPRESO!!! How I love it, and we have FOUR machines in different places and we, too, travel with the little one, which was sold to me for 39 euros when I bought a lot of capsules to take to France from Rome. One really does get addicted.
I thought, however, that they wore out after several years and the coffee was not as thick (as in Rome!), but with regular descaling with their product, all is well.
I’m so glad you have your little Nespresso. The ones made in Europe are made by other companies for Nespresso, but yes, the coffee is so, so good. Thank you for the Loulou mention, you kind woman, and thank you for the great recipes with caffe.
Oh, and sorry to mention this, but I am a food writer and I have to say that Starbuck’s coffee is the absolute WORST and CHEAPEST BLEND coffee on earth. I hope this will not take you our of their favour but it is from me, Suzanne Dunaway, food writer, and they can complain to me. Their coffee causes indigestion and if they EVER open in Rome, the Romans are going to revolt!!! There is nothing on earth like a Roman ristretto (less caffeine because the water does not go through long enough to add loads of jitters to your cup), creamy, foamy, dark, caramel color of froth…I could go on forever about a cup of REAL espresso.
So that’s my take. I love Indriya and Rosabaya pods. Also Ristretto.
Love this article. Thanks. My husband and I, also living in France, (Loir-et-Cher, department 41) have been toying with the idea of buying a Nespresso coffee maker. his daughter has one, and we enjoy it immensely when we visit her in London. My big question is, “What model did you buy?” There are various price ranges, and we’d love to get one that truly makes a delicious espresso for him, and a nice cappuccino for me. I have been preparing our coffee the “hip” Portland Oregon (my home town) way, of using a pour-through filter and Kimbo brand coffee from an Italian deli near Joe’s daughter’s home. I fear a coffee machine will make me dispensable, but Joe assures me that is not the case. We, too, travel with our own coffee!
Merci pour l’info!
We too love our Nespressos, Lynn! So easy. So good. And, I recycle the coffee grounds in my compost pile and toss the metal pods into my recycling bin. I did not know they were less expensive in France! The rental apartments we hire in Paris all have Nespresso machines and I have been bringing the pods with me from home. I will have to stop that! By the way, if you are shopping for a machine we have found that the off-brand machines do not produce as good a cup of coffee as the genuine Nespresso machines.
Lynn, you can recycle your Nespresso capsules at Guitat Fleurs in Cluny.
We have a special bag and they give you liners which we then take to Guitat.
Bonne annee! Two espresso thoughts, both of which originate in (shhh) Italy: I had one in Ventimiglia that had a dollop of Nutella added. Oh my! And, for a mid-afternoon break I’m crazy for an affogato – a scoop of gelato “drowned” in a bowl by a shot of espresso. Mmmmm!!
We had a nespresso in our AirBnB in Reykjavik last September. There were no directions and I could not figure it out!
You caught my attention with this entry. I’m going to explore the world of the Nepresso machines. I’m sure Amazon has them, and since I only drink one cup of coffee in the morning, I might be willing to splurge on the extra cost of the capsules here in the U.S.
Great post!
I just went to Nespresso.com and learned that (at least here in America) Nespresso capsules are 100% recyclable. Yay for progress!
What really happens to the capsules when you toss them in the trash in USA/France/Germany etc.?
Now longing to try Nespresso, but I have to disagree with the other Suzanne (ha) re Starbuck’s. Although often maligned, I find Starbuck’s to be dependable, and better than other coffees that are reasonably priced. I do mine at home, and I mix. Usually a Starbuck’s Decaf (Dark roast) with a caffeinated Sumatran or French roast; sometimes I buy Westrock, to put in the mix. I find it to be tasty.
The perfect coffee is worth the search. I, too, travel with my coffee maker and coffee. But mine is an Aeropress–costing a total of $29. I’m on my third. I’ve owned two espresso machines–one very inexpensive and inadequate and the other much nicer but stopped working with a clog that none of us could fix; two caffetierras; and one French press. None hold a candle to the Aeropress, which produces a perfect cup for me. I was amused when I bought the last one at Sur La Table, an upscale kitchen store in the U.S. The saleswoman led me to the Aeropress sitting right next to the thousand dollar espresso machines and said she uses one and would never use anything else. I’m a total convert.
Thank you for this wonderful post!You really struck a chord in the hearts of all of us in search of an outstanding expresso!
We went through the same steps you and Ron did before discovering that fabulous Nespresso machine.
I am a heart patient and can’t have caffeine; that is the major reason which prompted us to try it.Two pots of coffee(one decaf,one regular) for Rod(my hubby) and me were just too much coffee to consume.A big (expensive) expresso machine reminded me of our experiments with squeezing our own orange juice:by the time you are done and cleaned up the mess,you sort of don’t want it anymore.
This way each of us has a wonderful cup of expresso to start the morning;if Starbucks beckons later on,well,that’s okay but not a necessary by any means.
Lynn, I am so happy to share the sweet potato recipe.Hoping it brings many smiles and happy tummies.
Christine, it is so good to hear word-of-mout recommendations. Thanks. I’m living in France, and I will check into that brand as well. Expensive isn’t always better.
I too would love to know what model Nespresso machine Lynn and other Nespresso fans prefer as
well as the favorite blend of coffee. Always helpful to reduce some of the initial trial and errors.
I’ve heard great things about the Nespresso machines and I’ve often thought about getting one. You’ve definitely tempted me to explore perhaps purchasing one. Thank you for reminding me.