Comment by ekkeke 7 days ago
Under $100: Electric toothbrush: Always hated having to brush my teeth and this makes it so much less tedious, also supposedly better for your teeth, from 1-2 times per day to 3 times every day.
Under $1000: Nespresso machine, was using a mocha pot before but the coffee is much easier to make, no cleanup, and tastes better.
They are aluminum and are recyclable. They even have a recycling program. Assuming you aren’t brewing a flavored one, it’s only roasted coffee inside.
I was a bit of a coffee geek and went all out on grinding and brew methods, but then got real busy… nespresso makes good coffee and is super fast.
The downside as you mention is you are stuck with their varieties and can’t geek out on trying different roasts / regions outside of what they offer. But for some people like me that is lower on my priorities now.
> The downside as you mention is you are stuck with their varieties and can’t geek out on trying different roasts / regions outside of what they offer.
Not exactly. In Thailand there are a lot of local roasters thad produce a compatible pods with fresh coffee from different origins. Also there are washable pods you can fill by yourself with new stuff, use, wash repeat
The stainless steel reusable pods seem nice. I’ll have to get them a shot.
I've never not used an electric toothbrush (our family has had one since the early to mid 90s I think), to me it sounds crazy that there are people discovering them in the 2020s.
Just get a proper one, the cheap ones are worse than doing it manually. And the most expensive ones with all the bluetooth crap are a ripoff. The only thing that really matters is the rpm or the amount of back and forth motions it does per second, the rest is fluff you may or may not need.
I've used Nespresso for ages (still do at my partner's house), and it beats a Bialetti any day, but it's not cheap.
I found a good sweet spot (for me) in a Kamira: it's not as good as a proper espresso and maybe even Nespresso, but it's so much cheaper and still better than a Bialetti. Once you have the procedure down, it's a breeze; and because there are no electronics or pumps, it's unlikely to ever break (I honestly forgot when I got it, must have been at least 4-5 years ago).
At least in France you can get a Nespresso machine "for free" of you buy enough coffee for a year (a very reasonable amount).
Otherwise you get promotions at 20 or 30€
Did you try a proper brewing technique? Nespresso tastes bad in comparison afterwards. Under a 1000$ you can get decent espresso makers, too.
I have a drip brewer (Moccamaster), mocha pot, Senseo, french press, Keurig machine, aeropress, pour over setup, e61-based espresso machine (a heat exchanger), and am upgrading to a dual boiler espresso machine. I also have a Nespresso machine.
Each can make very good coffee and none of them taste bad in comparison to any others.
But if your budget is $1000, I would avoid the espresso category because you also need a grinder and a great grinder is probably more than a budget espresso machine and more important for consistent and good shots.
An Aeropress and a decent grinder will make a very good coffee with minimal cleanup. Been doing it that way for years.
Nespresso machines hide the coffee inside plastic capsules. Why?
1. You don’t know what coffee you get, you cannot really vary the coffee anymore and maybe try a different local one (where I live we have local coffee). Then you don’t even know if it’s just 100% coffee or they add something else
2. Why consuming plastic for a simple thing like a coffee? Plastic is NOT recycled in most of the countries and its bad for environment if not properly managed. Burning plastic increase pollution, but leaving it in the nature can take 500 years to dissolve. Why a simple thing like coffe powder, kept in a glass jar, used in a metal coffee mocha, now has to become the new trend to involve plastic? It’s literally the same thing, just worst for the environment.