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 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 opened 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. The first Nespresso Cafe opened 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, we will define a ‘regular coffee’ as an espresso for our purposes. 

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 in aroma and taste. This way is easier than grinding your beans and 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, and infuse them 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. Making great-tasting coffee with a ‘done-for-you’ coffee pod capsule has just been made easier and more convenient! 

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

In contrast, Nespresso pods provide a reasonably dependable baseline of credible quality with a wide range of flavors!

Here is a list of things that could go wrong when you brew your 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, a knock box, a milk frother, a steaming pitcher, and a traditional espresso machine. In contrast, with your Nespresso machine, you will get a full cafeteria experience with only one small appliance.

If you visit the cafeteria for your daily coffee fix, driving in traffic, standing in line, and wasting time and money is a bit expensive. With the Nespresso machine, you can cut costs and enjoy your regular coffee anytime at home or office.

Requirements of Brewed Coffee vs Nespresso

When you brew coffee, 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 ground coffee loses its aroma and intensity within 24 hours, unlike Nespresso coffee pods.  The less contact with oxygen, sunlight, and moisture, the better the coffee tastes and lasts longer.

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 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 insert pods 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 various flavors that cut the time required to make good coffee.

Some people prefer Nespresso over freshly brewed one, as it takes less time, is easier to make 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 pods’ flavor.

The Grinding Process

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

Here is a simple process of how grinding 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, so you will not get the full complexity of flavors. 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 have 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. 

At least 20 different Nespresso coffee pods 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. However we recommend you stick with the standard offerings from Nespresso because they have perfected the pods for a wide variety of tastes and flavors over the years. Let’s have a look at them.

Four of The Best Nespresso Reusable Capsules

OK, so you, if you prefer to use your coffee grinds, then you can use the Sealpod – Stainless-Steel reusable capsules.

Effects Of Coffee Pods On The Environment

Dr. Andrea Hicks, Professor of the (Civil and Environmental Engineering Department) UW-Madison, researched the environmental impact of coffee technologies. Dr. Hicks’s research examined the impact of 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 the 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 bike components (e.g. frame) were made from recycled Nespresso Pod aluminum.

The ground coffee from the pods is used as fertilizer and topsoil for farms.

As you can see, the coffee pod is recycled into useful materials and avoids landfill.

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 2023-11-27 / 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.