Impressive and Easy - Multiple Updates
I found nothing difficult about using these, but here's what I did. I used Lavazza Espresso Italiano. That is obviously a fine grind. The maker suggest medium-fine but this is what I had on hand, and it was a coffee I liked. That Lavazzo is South American Arabica coffee. I normally use Nespresso Stormio, which is also South American Arabica, so it was a fair comparision. Now, Nespresso's overwhelming strong suit is grinding technology, specifically getting exactly the right particle sizes for their process. It is likely impossible for a home grinder to duplicate a Nespresso coffee grind exactly. That said, I removed the used foil tops from some Stormio capsules. I could have used any of the 7.7 ounce capsules, like Odacio, since all will be barcoded for proper pumping time and spin-out. I cut an "X" in the center of the foil, so I could peel each quarter off. I did not obsess about getting every sign of the former adhesive off the rim, but I made sure that, if there was anything left, it was the merest trace and that there was no more actual foil. I filled each empty capsule to the recommended level, which is as much as you can load and still not have the holes in the silicone lid press into the coffee. I did it by guess, and I suspect that as long as you get close, you're okay. I gently pressed the coffee down, but not nearly so much as you would with an espresso machine. Just lightly tamped it. With the included little brush, I brushed the stray coffee off the rim and off the inside where the silicone lid ridges will be sealing the lid to the sides of the capsule. The silicone lid just barely snug fits inside the rim of the capsule. Update - Been using these for a some months, and there has been no deterioration. They fit as they did when new. I inserted the prepared capsule into the Plus and brewed a cup. The machine behaved normally. I drink mine with half and half, and the result was not far off of the Nespresso version. Maybe a bit different, but neither measurably better or worse. Quite acceptable. While not everything is entirely equal, the Nespresso extracts approximately the same amount of coffee as an average espresso machine. But it's not an esepresso machine, and it's not reasonable to expect it to produce true espresso. I did some calculation based on the standard Stormio price and the Lavazzo 8 ounce four-pack The Lavazzi can holds 226.8 g of coffee. (currently $5.92) A Stormio pod has 12.5 g. So you get 18 pods per Lavazzo can, assuming you are filling them similarly. I did not weigh what fit in the capsule. With these numbers, I found found that while Stormio is $1.25 per pod, the DIY filled pod held about $0.33 worth of Lavazzo. So $1.25 versus $0.33. For me, that's quite good. If I buy Lavazzo in the 2.2 pound bag, the cost will go down even more. If you are an experienced and highly critical connoisseur, your judgment and subjective experience may affect your opinion of the value of the savings. But, so far, it's been good enough for me to make it at least a part of my Nespresso routine. I bought five silicone lids initially, and I will buy at least another five. Of course, once you have cleaned out a pod, it's good indefinitely, so long as you don't damage it. This is from very brief experience, so I will report back if something turns out different. UPDATE: I have now used these for maybe a dozen cups. Still good and no difficulties. I decided I was being too conservative with coffee quantity and began bringing them up to the 1/8" clearance recommended with no bad effects. I don't obsess about weight, but a proper pod full weight 12 grams. I found little residue left in the machine's pod carrier and found no debris when I did a flush. And I did not find that the Lazazza grind in any way clogged the tiny holes in the caps. I note that the expended Stormio grounds are noticably darker than the Lavazza Espresso. I think this can only mean that Nespresso Stormio is a fully dark roast and that Lazazza is medium. And I can taste the less bite in the Lavazza. That is, of course, taking it into subjective difference. I will also this week pick up a dark roast espresso in my local grocery chain (HEB) store brand. They're pretty conscientious about their house brand coffees. It's a frankly dark roast, and I expect it move more to the taste of Stormio. I believe Lavazza's grind to be medium fine, consistent with their suggestions for moka, filter or press. I don't know grind I will fine in the store espresso. I did observe that the system spin both the Stormio and Lavazza to the same degree of dryness. Visually, the coffee being expelled has about the same color with both. Also, both produce similar foam. Stormio has a little more liquid produced during the final spin-out, probably because it's not precisely Nespresso's grind profile. But still a successful undertaking, and I bought ten more caps. I'm getting more efficient at filling pods, and it's not much of a burden for the $1.25 versus about $0.35 difference. I did up ten fresh pods tonight while my casserole was baking. ANOTHER UPDATE: I wanted a darker roast and bought "espresso" dark in my grocer's label. There was no grind information on the label, but I would call it fine, bordering on medium-fine, but definitely more coarse than the Lavazza Espresso. (Medium-fine is the usual recommendation for reusable Vertua pods.) But the same quantity loaded into pod, produced a coffee that was pretty much what I expected for an dark roast compared to a medium roast. It had some of the Sotrmio character. So, I would say from this small sample that neither the machine nor these reusable pods are all that sensitive to grind size, so far as functioning without clogging or extracting poorly, although I would not go any coarser and would grind to fine, if I was doing the grinding. You're not going to nail true espresso with a Nespresso, but a reasonable approximation. At least a better resemblance to espresso than the tea from the Heart of Gold's automated kitchen was to Arthur Dent's tea. Another little update. Got in a kilo bag of Lavazza Gran Riserva beans. I used the OXO grinder set on four, and I think I hit a good spot. Produced a grind not far from the Lavazza Espresso mentioned before and made good coffee. So far, they have handled fine to medium grinds without clogging. Still. in the 30 cents a 7.7 ounce cup price range. Read more
