Nespresso $1 promo.

[Pearce]

For brewed coffee (drip coffee) the cone/paper filter method produces a cup of coffee at least as good as Nespresso can manage. If you specifically want espresso then that's when some sort of machine can add value.

Drip coffee takes a lot of time to drip

 

[BBCWatcher]

Drip coffee takes a lot of time to drip

Not really, and it's even less human attention time.

 

[Pearce]

Not really, and it's even less human attention time.

and what is human attention time in minutes?

 

[BBCWatcher]

and what is human attention time in minutes?

About 1.

One minor "trick": use the paper filters and cone labeled for "2 to 4 cups" when making a single cup. Then you don't have to pay much attention to the stack.

 

[Pearce]

About 1.

One minor "trick": use the paper filters and cone labeled for "2 to 4 cups" when making a single cup. Then you don't have to pay much attention to the stack.

I googled a good drip coffee takes about 5 mins, while another mentioned 3 to 10 mins

 

[BBCWatcher]

I googled a good drip coffee takes about 5 mins, while another mentioned 3 to 10 mins

I'd estimate 4, plus the time to boil water in a kettle. Most of that time neither the "coffee stack" nor the kettle need your attention. You're doing something else, anything else you wish.

 

[Pearce]

I'd estimate 4, plus the time to boil water in a kettle. Most of that time neither the "coffee stack" nor the kettle need your attention. You're doing something else, anything else you wish.

Okay, so it takes longer time while nespresso just need to make a coffee less than a minute?

 

[CrashWire]

What about the taste? Does both taste equally premium, foamy and fragrant?

Drip coffee is far superior when it comes to appreciating tasting notes from ultra-expensive coffees like geishas.

Foam (crema) is a product of the espresso method:

Drip coffee takes a lot of time to drip

I googled a good drip coffee takes about 5 mins, while another mentioned 3 to 10 mins

You should try it for yourself. As BBCWatcher said, most of the time is spent boiling water and letting it drip into the cup. If you want consistency, you might weigh your beans and output, but that's not a necessity if you just want to get cheap, good-tasting caffeine into your body.

If you want to do proper espresso (not Nespresso), just dialing in the grind size and preparing the puck takes a lot of skill to get even extraction.

My biggest problem with Nespresso is that each capsule contains between 5–7 grams of coffee for close to $1. RedMart/IKEA beans are ~$0.30 for 20 grams.

 

[BBCWatcher]

Okay, so it takes longer time while nespresso just need to make a coffee less than a minute?

It takes slightly longer "wall clock" time. The preparation itself mostly doesn't take your time. You can do practically anything else you want during all that free time. Usually I'm preparing some food for breakfast to go along with the coffee. The coffee is ready at least as early as the food is. (I drink one cup in the morning, and that's enough for me.)

If you want to stare at water dripping into your coffee cup then I suppose you could. But that's certainly not required.

Drip coffee is far superior when it comes to appreciating tasting notes from ultra-expensive coffees like geishas.

I'm very much enjoying my cup this morning, and it wasn't exhausting to prepare! It was also a hell of a lot cheaper than Nespresso. Every morning. (This is Money Mind, after all. Saving money works, too.) And I'm not killing the environment with all those used coffee capsules and big machine (that has its own environmental footprint). There's one cone used for thousands of cups, and the paper filters are biodegradable. (Some people use mesh cones, but I prefer the paper filters. I think the end result is a little better, and there's less cleanup.) Daiso is probably the best place in Singapore to get the paper filters.

Cleanup, what's that? 5 seconds, maybe? Once the water has dripped out of the filter you throw away the filter (with used coffee grounds), very quickly rinse the cone (if you even want to do that), and...ready for the next cup! Or if you're going to have another cup soon (or your spouse/partner will) you just leave the "stack" and reuse it once or twice, which is fine. (Add more ground coffee, of course.)

Speaking of which, a lot of Japanese coffee drinkers use the cone/filter/drip method (which is why Daiso stocks the filters). But they sometimes use something that looks like an oversized tea bag containing ground coffee. You open up the top, prop the bag over the cup (using paper tabs attached to the bag), then pour hot water into the bag. It's the same process, but the "cone" and filter are included in a paper gadget. This works quite well, although it's more expensive per cup. (Probably substantially less expensive than Nespresso, though.) This type of coffee is available in Singapore. I'm sure it's available from Donki, for example. The water pouring part might take marginally more human time versus a 2 to 4 cup cone/filter (for a single cup), the "trick" I mentioned, since the bag is smaller. But look at the YouTube video. Does that prep look difficult?

Foam (crema) is a product of the espresso method...

Yes, if espresso is what you insist on drinking then that works differently.

You should try it for yourself. As BBCWatcher said, most of the time is spent boiling water and letting it drip into the cup. If you want consistency, you might weigh your beans and output, but that's not a necessity if you just want to get cheap, good-tasting caffeine into your body.

It's not even that complicated. Once you figure out how strong you like your brewed/drip coffee you're good to go. That might vary slightly between batches of beans, but you figure that out pretty quickly.

If you're a bit maniacal you can grind your beans immediately before brewing, but I don't bother. I'll either grind a batch then refrigerate the ground coffee (in an airtight container) or buy vacuum packed pre-ground coffee and store it the same way after opening it.

If you want to do proper espresso (not Nespresso), just dialing in the grind size and preparing the puck takes a lot of skill to get even extraction.

Yes, espresso is a whole different animal. If that's your thing then you're probably looking at a machine of some kind.

My biggest problem with Nespresso is that each capsule contains between 5–7 grams of coffee for close to $1. RedMart/IKEA beans are ~$0.30 for 20 grams.

And IKEA's pre-ground coffee is surprisingly good. You can also buy beans and grind them at IKEA if you want. If I happen to be overseas I sometimes buy coffee and bring it back to Singapore. A kilo or two can last a long time, and if it's vacuum packed it'll be stable. Coffee (as opposed to kopi) is still something of a "snob item" in Singapore, whereas in several other countries it's not. So it can be an even better deal to buy beans or pre-ground coffee elsewhere if that's convenient.

Oh, here's another thing I discovered recently as a potential coffee money saver. If you happen to live or work near a Marché restaurant then they have a pretty reasonable deal. Buy their tumbler and you can then refill it for S$1.90 per cup or, better yet (probably), 1 Marché point per cup. S$25 spent at Marché earns 10 points. Not bad.

IKEA offers totally free coffee as another example, and it's decent. Just join their Family program (free), get their card, visit their cafe, and you can get free coffee. (If you're with a companion you both can.) You don't even need to buy anything. The only "catch" is that they don't offer takeaway cups. I haven't checked whether they allow you to use your own tumbler/travel mug, but if you try that you still need to stop by the cashier with your Family card and grab the $0 receipt. Yes, people really do this, and it's perfectly fine. IKEA wants to drive the foot traffic, and free coffee is one way to do it. During weekdays IKEA is very quiet, so if you happen to live or work near IKEA this works great.

Swensen's also offers free coffee if you join their rewards program (free), although I think in that case you need to buy something — anything, really. If you live or work near Swensen's and would otherwise eat there then it works.

 

[BBCWatcher]

Fairprice sells the drip coffee bags I mentioned. The current price works out to about 61 cents per cup. But if you buy them 100 at a time from Qoo10 (imported from Japan typically) you can get the price under 50 cents per cup.

Oddly enough you can also buy the paper hanging bags without the coffee if you want. But that seems pretty silly to me since you could buy a collapsible drip coffee cone if you're trying to save weight/space.

 

[CrashWire]

Yes, if espresso is what you insist on drinking then that works differently.

Yes, espresso is a whole different animal. If that's your thing then you're probably looking at a machine of some kind.

This is the main point I was trying to drive.

Some posters in this thread think that espresso is more "premium, foamy, or fragrant" compared to drip coffee. Probably influenced by Starbucks and many of the influenza-type cafes that mainly serve espresso-based beverages.

Nespresso does a relatively affordable (in terms of upfront cost), home-brewed, turnkey version of it.

I can't really appreciate espresso shots though (too sour for me, because that's how they are), and if anyone's going to dilute their espresso into something more palatable like an Americano/long black, they should probably try drip coffee for better taste and value-for-money.

 

[BBCWatcher]

Some posters in this thread think that espresso is more "premium, foamy, or fragrant" compared to drip coffee.

It's the same basic product prepared a little differently. It's neither right nor wrong, neither better nor worse. They're just a little different. If you have a strong enough preference specifically for espresso and are willing/able to pay for it, OK, fair enough.

There are several ways to prepare a cup of coffee from the same beans. All the popular methods (at least) have merit.

 

[Pearce]

Drip coffee is far superior when it comes to appreciating tasting notes from ultra-expensive coffees like geishas.

Foam (crema) is a product of the espresso method:






You should try it for yourself. As BBCWatcher said, most of the time is spent boiling water and letting it drip into the cup. If you want consistency, you might weigh your beans and output, but that's not a necessity if you just want to get cheap, good-tasting caffeine into your body.

If you want to do proper espresso (not Nespresso), just dialing in the grind size and preparing the puck takes a lot of skill to get even extraction.

My biggest problem with Nespresso is that each capsule contains between 5–7 grams of coffee for close to $1. RedMart/IKEA beans are ~$0.30 for 20 grams.

So if you can afford more than $1, will you consider nespresso?

Actually when doing drip coffee, from start to end, won't the coffee already oxidise? Because if anyone order espresso from starbucks, they must drink at one shot without delay. That's the way to drink espresso and get the kick.

 

[rrr2015]

Drip coffee is far superior when it comes to appreciating tasting notes from ultra-expensive coffees like geishas.

Foam (crema) is a product of the espresso method:






You should try it for yourself. As BBCWatcher said, most of the time is spent boiling water and letting it drip into the cup. If you want consistency, you might weigh your beans and output, but that's not a necessity if you just want to get cheap, good-tasting caffeine into your body.

If you want to do proper espresso (not Nespresso), just dialing in the grind size and preparing the puck takes a lot of skill to get even extraction.

My biggest problem with Nespresso is that each capsule contains between 5–7 grams of coffee for close to $1. RedMart/IKEA beans are ~$0.30 for 20 grams.

drip or pressure depends on roast & beans. so no point comparing different extraction methods.

if u can already afford geishas, what these dollars & cents means to you?

 

[cosycatus]

Nespresso compatible coffee pods is way cheaper overseas.
was in Europe a week ago and they were selling 11 pods for about 3 SGD. and they taste way better than the Starbucks one wife is drinking currently.
I filled a shoe bag with it and hand carried it back.

 

[CrashWire]

So if you can afford more than $1, will you consider nespresso?

But I can drink more decent coffee with my money.

Actually when doing drip coffee, from start to end, won't the coffee already oxidise?

I don't understand how this relates to drip coffee.

if u can already afford geishas, what these dollars & cents means to you?

I'd rather drink 1 cup of mindblowing geisha (probably $10+ at a cafe, or $2-3 DIY) than 10 Nespresso shots (around the same price), but obviously YMMV.