Re: Coffee and Tea Capsules

Fair enough. If the water is not forced through the coffee pads, why isn't it just dripped through? Why the need for a pump?

Also, if there is no pressure, how do they achieve the 'crema' (foam) surface on the finished coffee?

Regardless of any of this, we like the coffee we get from the machine. As I said, we discovered the system when we stayed in an apartment whilst on holiday in the Black Forest and found the taste excellent, which is why we bought one when we got home.

It's all down to personal taste, I suppose. I've had espresso many times and this Senseo tastes at least as nice and is much quicker to produce.

Re: Coffee and Tea Capsules

My husband works in vending so knows a bit a bout coffee machines, that's the type he favours says they are a much better taste. But they were simply too expensive for us. If we drank a lot of coffee if may have been an option. They do seem to last a lot longer than the pod machines granted.

Re: Coffee and Tea Capsules

But what about disposal of these capsules? Landfill awaits whether or not you or the supplier/manufacturer get rid?

Re: Coffee and Tea Capsules

My husbands job relies on them dobra I'm unlikely to be against them it keeps us afloat.

Re: Coffee and Tea Capsules

All this talk of coffee and machines has made me think of getting a percolator! Mum used to have one on the go constantly, back in the old days! I have a cafetiere, but don't use it all that often, preferring instant. I do sometimes buy a Morrisons latte, or one in McDonalds. Both enjoyable but not overly expensive.

For my instant I mix decaff with ordinary, and now have a jar of Mellow Birds.

Re: Coffee and Tea Capsules

Read the article JBR.

In short they use a tiny nozzle opening of about 1mm to 1.5mm and the pump pushes the coffee through it at about 1 bar pressure which makes the coffee foam. Just the same as it would make milk foam if you whizzed it up.

It is NOT crema in any sense of the word. In fact I am surprised they are permitted to use that term at all by advertising standards.

All the true coffee deep rich flavours are still trapped in the coffee grounds and not being used. They are in the form of oils and you HAVE to use a pressure of at least 9 bars to extract those oils from the grounds.

What you have there is something a bit like processing an egg and only getting the albumen out and leaving the yolk, the best bit, behind.

Re: Coffee and Tea Capsules

Yep that's a real issue Dobra. A real coffee machine or a domestic "bean to cup" machine like Judd has, doesn't have any waste components other than the bag the coffee beans came in. Pod machines are extremely wasteful. When you think about it, why would you need/want to wrap each spoonful of coffee up in a protective aluminium casing? Nature already provides the coffee in a perfectly good form, the bean, which we can roast. When we are ready we can grind it and use it. It's only our laziness and bowing down to ultra convenience that provides a market for pod machines.

Re: Coffee and Tea Capsules

I have a Russell Hobbs ceramic percolator which was given to me well over 30 years ago, and it wasn't new then. You can make one cup or 8 cups. I buy coffee beans of my choice, sometimes I get sent beans from friends in Kenya, I grind them myself as and when needed. If I'm in a real hurry, the Nescafe jar comes out. If we are in a Spanish establishment I will have coffee occasionally, they make excellent coffee, unfortunately most of the British establishments do not. I did once ask if I could have some coffee in the hot water and was told the coffee was a measured amount so I asked for another measure, I got it but was charged 6 pence for the extra measure! That was at the Grouse and Claret hotel in Rowsley, Derbyshire.
Not recently I hasten to add.

Re: Coffee and Tea Capsules

Bloody hell! It's ONLY coffee! Get a life!

Re: Coffee and Tea Capsules

It looks like crema, it tastes like crema, so it is crema!

I'll bow out of this argument now. I enjoy the coffee, my wife enjoys the coffee, so the coffee is good whatever you like to call it!