Does a Nespresso Machine Make Regular Coffee?

Does a Nespresso machine make regular coffee? Let us see! Nespresso™ is a sub-brand of the Nestlé Group in Switzerland.

Nestlé™ has dominated the capsule-based coffee market since its inception in 1986. It is an excellent coffee brand with many amazing pod-based espresso machines. Nespresso’s history is a long and winding road to innovation and product development. Here’s an outline of how Nespresso became a dominant and loved coffee brand.

5 Phases of Nespresso Growth and Innovation

1986-1994 (Pioneering Years)

1. Creation of Nespresso with 5 Employees (first machine and 4 Grand Cru).
2. Introduction of Nespresso club concept.
3. Introduction of recycling in Switzerland.

1995-1999 (Start-up Phase)

1. Introduction of the first Nespresso Aviation machine.
2. Introduction of the first Nespresso Website.
3. Introduction of the first E-commerce platform of Nespresso.

2000-2005 (Creating a Global Brand)

1. The First Nespresso boutique opens in Paris.
2. Launching of the first Nespresso AAA Quality Program.

2006-2012 (Shaping the global coffee culture)

1. First campaign with George Clooney.
2. Opening of Nespresso 2nd Production center in Avenches.
3. The recycling capacity of capsules increased by 76.4%.

2013-Present

1. Launching the Vertuoline system.
2. First Nespresso Cafe opens in Vienna.
3. Nespresso Dominates the pod-based Coffee Industry From 2015-2019

What is a Regular Coffee?

What is a ‘Regular Coffee’? Quite frankly it can be anything that you usually drink! It also depends upon the country you live in. In Australia, many people like to drink a latte or ‘flat white’. In the US, many people like to drink black filtered drip coffee or espresso. In Italy, espresso is the ‘regular coffee’. However, for our purposes, we will define a ‘regular coffee’ as an espresso. 

Making a Regular Cup of Coffee with Nespresso

Yes, you can make a regular cup of coffee with Nespresso. While there are other recipes, we recommend using a Lungo Nespresso capsule to make a cup of regular coffee. You will need your Nespresso machine with a milk frother or a Nespresso machine with a milk frother extension. Here are the steps:

1. Turn on your Nespresso machine 
2. Take one Lungo Pod/Cartridge and put it in the Nespresso machine
3. Close the lid.
4. Press the Coffee Button
5. The coffee will now be extracted and flow into your cup.
6. We now have a large espresso ( Lungo = Large Espresso)

If you want a latte then continue with…

1. Froth your milk with a milk frother either combined with your Nespresso machine or as a separate component
2. Add the frothed milk to your Lungo Espresso cup
3. Add sugar to taste (optional depending upon your taste)

The above will produce a coffee that will be amazing at aroma and taste. Not only this is way easier than, say, grinding your own beans and then filtering to make espresso, but you also get a more consistent and better taste. 

Is Nespresso Real Coffee?

What is ‘Real Coffee’? In this case, we mean whole coffee beans that have been ground in preparation for your brewed coffee.

You grind your beans to the right granularity, tamp it with just the proper amount of pressure, infuse with just the proper amount of steam and water pressure. 

If you know what you are doing you can make an amazing cup of coffee.

However, consistently making amazing coffee isn’t easy and it’s time-consuming.

Nespresso is real coffee. It has just been made easier, and more convenient, to make great tasting coffee with a ‘done-for-you’ coffee pod capsule! 

Most of the time attempts to brew your own espresso without training or top-notch equipment will simply cause grief.

In contrast, Nespresso pods provide a reasonably dependable baseline of quality that’s credible and has a wide range of flavors!

Here is a list of things that could go wrong when you brew your own coffee, the classic way, vs a Nespresso Machine.

High-Quality Espresso	Nespresso
Freshly Roasted and Ground Beans	Pods contain ground coffee that preserves taste and aroma
Right Amount of Water	Nespresso does it for you
Right Short Duration	Nespresso does it for you
Right Temperature	Nespresso does it for you

What are the Benefits of a Nespresso Machine?

Nespresso machines come with convenient ready to use pods or capsules. They are designed with simplicity, reusability, and ease of use in mind.

If you are establishing a traditional espresso bar set up in your kitchen, you need to own a lot of equipment like tampers, grinders, knock box, a milk frother, steaming pitcher, and traditional espresso machine. In contrast, with your Nespresso machine you will get a full cafeteria’s experience with only one small appliance.

If you visit the cafeteria for your daily coffee fix, it’s a bit expensive to drive in traffic, stand in line, and waste time and money. With the Nespresso machine, you can cut the cost and enjoy your regular coffee any time at your home or office.

Requirements of Brewed Coffee vs Nespresso

When you brew coffee then you first need to grind coffee beans. Often you don’t use all of the coffee beans or the left-over coffee grinds, so you need to store them somehow.

The problem is that, unlike Nespresso coffee pods, ground coffee loses its aroma and intensity within 24 hours.  The less the contact with oxygen, sunlight and moisture, the better the coffee tastes and for a longer period of time.

Some companies seal their ground coffee in zip-lock packets which ensure minimum contact with oxygen or store their coffee in commercial sized canisters to prevent the decline in taste and aroma.

How Long Before Coffee Loses its Aroma and Taste?

Types of Coffee	Best to use by…
Instant Coffee	Use within 2 weeks of opening
Ground Coffee	Use within 2 weeks of opening
Brewed Coffee	Use within 12 hours if it is stored at room temperature or if it is stored in a refrigerator you can use it for 4 days.
Whole beans	Use within 3 to 4 weeks

How Does Nespresso Keep Their Coffee Fresh? 

Nespresso utilize air-tight aluminum capsules (100% recyclable), these capsules provide pressurized seals to store more than 900 aromas of freshly ground coffee for up to 1 year.

Nespresso vs Freshly Brewed Coffee

Freshly brewed coffee has been popular since the ‘70s. Nespresso is an advanced technique for brewing coffee.

The obvious difference is time. In a Nespresso, you just have to have to insert pods and run the machine and get your coffee. But in usual freshly brewed coffee you need fresh whole coffee beans and various equipment based on your brewing method. 

In freshly brewed coffee you have the freedom to control the taste of the coffee because there are many variables at play. Nespresso provides pre-made taste pods in a variety of flavors that cut the time required to make good coffee.

Some people prefer Nespresso over freshly brewed one, as it takes less time, is an easier way of making coffee, and has great taste. 

Manufacturing Nespresso Pods

For making Nestle Grand Crue Blends, Nespresso coffee experts always go with the finest beans with a particular aroma and taste, depending on the flavor of pods being manufactured.

The Grinding Process

The process of grinding the Nespresso is similar to other ground coffee brands. And grinding of coffee is an art, which subtly plays a major role. The granularity of the coffee grids plays a major role in the flavour and so does the roasting process.

Here is a simple process of how grinding of coffee works:-

1. First, grind the roasted beans into a powder.

2. After roasting, it is transferred into the airtight silo, as grinding increases the surface area of coffee in contact with oxygen it tends to lose the aroma quickly and thus it is carried out in a deoxygenated environment.

3. If coffee particles are on the larger side, water passes through them too quickly, which means you will not get the full complexity of flavors. Whereas if the particles are overly fine, water will be blocked, thus your coffee will be bitter and harsh. And if the particle size isn’t consistent, you may end up with too much sediment in your cup. 

Packaging

The grounded coffee from the silos is packaged into airtight and colored Nespresso pods. Nespresso Hermetically sealed capsules are made of Aluminium. There are large varieties of coffee flavors available and these pods are made of Aluminium so they can be recycled easily. The plastics used in the packaging are biodegradable and is environment-friendly.

Nespresso Coffee Flavours

Whatever your taste in coffee, Nespresso is bound to have a coffee to suit you. 

There are at least 20 different Nespresso coffee pods that vary in range, intensity, and aromatic profile. 

The range of coffee types includes Ristretto, Espresso, Lungo, Decaffeinato, and Variations.

The range of intensities is numbered from 3 to 12. Where 3 is the weakest intensity and 12 is the strongest intensity.

Aromatic Profiles include about 12 profiles covering balanced, fruity, and intense tastes.

Can I use my own coffee with Nespresso?

Sure. Just search online for “Refillable Nespresso Capsules” and order a sample to test. Although we would recommend you stick with the standard offerings from Nespresso because they have perfected the pods over the years for a wide variety of tastes and flavors. Let’s have a look at them.

Four of The Best Nespresso Reusable Capsules

OK, so you, if you prefer to use your own coffee grinds then here, are four of the best reusable capsules.

1. Cafilas stainless steel reusable capsules 
2. Bluesea Coffee Capsule
3. CAPMESSO Reusable Nespresso Capsules
4. Sealpod – Stainless-Steel

Effects Of Coffee Pods On The Environment

Dr. Andrea Hicks, Professor of the (Civil and Environmental Engineering Department) UW-Madison, did research on the environmental impact of coffee technologies. Dr. Hicks’s research looked at the impact of both traditional brewing and coffee pods on the environment. 

Dr. Hicks’s 2018 research suggested that pod style coffee may be more environmentally friendly compared with traditional coffee brewing methods. 

However, Dr. Hicks also later showed (2019 research) that the complete analysis of environmental impact between these two brewing methods depends upon the criteria used in the analysis.  

How Nespresso Helps The Environment 

Nespresso is active in both coffee sustainability and recycling coffee pods.  You can recycle your used coffee pods at any of the 88,000 UPS recycling depots or any Nespresso Boutique. 

Nespresso coffee pods are made from aluminum and can be recycled and used to produce other products such as a bicycle. Yes, a bicycle! Nespresso and Vélosophy (Swedish bike manufacturer) got together to make a bike from 300 recycled coffee capsules. OK, they didn’t make the tires out of aluminum but major components of the bike (e.g. frame) were made from recycled Nespresso Pod aluminum.

The following video by Nespresso gives a little more insight into their recycling program. 

 

Best Selling Nespresso Machines

The following are five of the best selling Nespresso machines that are also currently on sale!

Last update on 2023-05-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Conclusion

Nespresso is capable of making regular coffee, and a large number of other coffee types. The more you explore the different types of pods and recipes, the better you get at Nespressing!

References

1. Hicks, A. L. (2018). Environmental Implications of consumer convenience: coffee as a case study. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 22(1), 79-91. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12487
2. Hicks, A. L., & Halvorsen, H. (2019). Environmental impact of evolving coffee technologies. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 24(8), 1396-1408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-018-1575-0
3. Nestlé™ and Nespresso™ are registered trademarks