The Secrets of Nespresso Pods

I know Nespresso is a divisive subject, but I think there's some interesting stuff going on for those of us who like to nerd out about coffee sometimes.

This is the last video of 2023 from me, and I hope you enjoy it and had some fun!
Need more? There's a second channel now! @JamesHoffmannBonus

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[mywaterfountain]

I don’t even drink coffee, and I am happily educating myself through this amazing video at 2:51 AM. As one does. 😂

[AttemptoArco]

James, you are the gold standard when it comes to explainers on YouTube - enthusiastic, eloquent, expertise!

[krystian]

I came across this video as an industrial product designer (not necessarily a coffee lover), never imagined brewing coffee from capsules has so much amazing tech to it. Thank you for the video, it was very enjoyable and educational at the same time.

[Orzorn]

James, this is just a guess, but I think the jagged edges on the Nespresso receptacle may be flutes designed to allow a formerly pressurized vessel to be more easily extracted without tearing its rim off. When vessels get pressured, they're going to expand in volume a bit. That expansion can cause stickiness when trying to remove them from their chambers. By making the chamber fluted, you reduce the available surface area for that vessel to press into once it depressurizes (and thus reduces a bit in volume again), it becomes easier to extract. If you don't have that fluting, expanded vessels can stick in the chamber and then have a risk of their rims being torn off instead of properly extracted.
Or it could be an anti-competitive thing, or perhaps both together at the same time.

[ZoharEdelkind]

I wish the audio didn't cut out at 18:33, but other than that it was an excellent piece.

[lmelc]

15:27 I never would have thought that I'd live to see James Hoffman using a scoop without a coffee scale to brew coffee. It truly is a Christmas miracle.

[chicobicalho]

The other side of the spectrum was my grandfather, whom I never met, and the story my father, used to tell with nostalgia in his heart from the days growing up in the 1920s. They lived in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais state, very close to one of Brazil's major coffee plantation regions in the 19th century, quite near the division with Rio state. My grandfather, who was a doctor and a carpenter, woke up earlier than anyone in the house, and he made coffee like this: First of all, he purchased very good quality beans from local small producers, and roasted them in the morning every day, with a cast iron cylindrical tool, by pulling previous night embers from the wood fired oven, fanning them with a bellows blower, roasting the beans just as he liked them, and proceeding to grind the piping hot beans with a French grinder I still have to this day. As soon as the grinding was right he poured them still hot in a pot of simmering water with a tiny, almost homeopathic dose of sugar cane water (sugar cane water has sugar and salt as well), and he had an interesting technique for brewing, by letting it just begin to boil, and removing the pot from the heat while stirring, doing this 2 or 3 times, and then straining with a cloth strainer (preheated and prewashed with coconut soap). My father described the smell of coffee spreading throughout the entire house, which made everyone rise from bed like zombies, and migrate to the kitchen where he had warm bread with butter, and this amazing coffee, most people had with a bit of milk, and my dad described as the most delicious brewed coffee he ever tasted in his life.

[LB-zfvh]

The video went silent around 18:30, although you appear to continue talking. Is there a reason for that? I’m also wondering why no one commented on this…interesting video nonetheless!

[Fenix_Stone]

More James this week?? Truly a Christmas miracle!

[edwardscott]

The foil is a pressure control device. Foil is used in all sorts of things that require exact pressures. From safety valves on train tank cars to measuring the pressure of explosions.

It's pretty neat that something so cheap and easy to use is so effective like that.

[jacquesdejager]

Probably the best video I have seen on this topic. We use a combination of Nespresso and generic capsules, and now I know why the Nespresso coffees often yield a better coffee, why generics pod leak so much, and why my very fancy Nespresso machine really does not work well with compatible pods (and breaks the machine!) Thanks for this.

[Dabeqq]

At the end of 2014 I came to the UK from Poland. My first job (2 years) in the UK was at a coffee capsule production at Dualit. I operated a machine producing capsules compatible with Nespresso machines for Dualit brand and M&S. That's where I started drinking coffee and developed a taste for coffee. I just recently got more into coffee partially through Your channel. It's interesting to watch this film knowing the production of coffee capsules from the inside and having more knowledge about coffee. Take care James

[SilverBrumby]

I was visiting French family a few years ago, and my uncle, who had very limited English, was struggling to explain how he'd made the after lunch coffee, Suddenly his face cleared and he came up with 'Le café George Clooney'. Instant comprehension. It wasn't bad, either.

[kissgergo]

18:03 I've been using reusable pods for while now and I just recently started putting filter paper at the bottom to see if it would help, and it does. I don't quite have to coffee vocabulary to describe why it's better but I _can_ tell that it is indeed better. It's maybe a bit more creamy and less watery and as it's brewing it certainly looks less watery which makes me think that the paper does help reduce channeling to aid extraction. Anyway, I'm no expert on the matter but if any of you have reusable pods I'd say it's worth a try.

[DonaldNatale]

It may be a good test to put Nespresso ground coffee (from a branded pod) into your foil sealed reusable pod. Then you can see how much of the magic is in the Nespresso grind technology.

Additionally, you could put your best matched grind profile coffee into the emptied Nespresso pod, and reseal it with a foil sticker. Then you could see how much of the magic is in the Nespresso branded pod with filter paper.

It would also be interesting to see the Nespresso grind under a microscope, compared to your best matched grind profile.

There is definitely something clever going on inside a Nespresso pod. I wouldn't discount other post-processing of the ground coffee.

[Bruin]

The differences in grind size&shape are likely also a factor of the scale of the grinding equipment - when you go up to the bulk scales of industrial milling equipment, you often get fundamentally different particle breakdown processes than at smaller personal/lab scales. Its something we see with coatings and ceramics all the time, so it was neat to see you finding the effect of size and shape distribution on brew quality

[dameanvil]

00:00 🧊 Nespresso pods revolutionized coffee convenience, despite being pricier and potentially lower quality than handmade options.
00:55 🤖 Nespresso's patented gasket design in capsules ensures a better fit and prevents leaks in machines, giving them an edge over independent capsules.
02:55 🛠 Nespresso machines' technology is relatively simple, relying on basic components for quick heating and consistent brewing.
04:49 ☕ Nespresso's ability to brew quickly and consistently is due to high temperatures rather than precise brewing temps needed for specialty coffee.
07:38 🤔 Nespresso's finer grind and less fine fines result in a paradoxical slower brew despite coarser appearance compared to specialty coffee.
09:44 🔍 Nespresso's grinding technology produces finer grounds with fewer fines, impacting the brewing process in unexpected ways.
12:40 🏆 Independent roasters trump Nespresso in flavor, but Nespresso's technological edge in capsule design is unmatched.
14:05 ♻ Reusable Nespresso pods struggle to match Nespresso's technological precision and foil seal advantage, affecting brewing quality.
18:35 ☕ Nespresso's technology is fascinating, but supporting local roasters for quality coffee is crucial; making espresso at home can be a rewarding hobby.

[silentben]

Given the size that the Nestle brand is, my first thought on the ground size quandary was that they have the means and latitude to grind a lot of coffee and then filter it by grain size to attain that fine grain just for these pods, and then sell the coarser coffee as another non-Nespresso product.

[JoelFoner]

"We now have a fancy particle size analyzer in the studio..." Of course you do 🤣😂🤣 Great video - thanks!

[MrMacchiato]

James' disgust at 16:47 when the tamper didn't fit is actually so hilarious 😂