To which the answer is not what beans were used (arabica, robusta, single estate etc. etc.), not what espresso machine or grinder was used, not how hard the water supply is or what water filter is used, not how skilled the user is, but whether you liked it. If you like very milky lattes, mochas, straight espresso, filter coffee, Nespresso, pre-ground, instant or whatever, then that is what you like.
Some people have a lot of defensiveness about their coffee preferences which you don’t see with their choice of beer, whisky or food. There is also an element of emperor’s new clothes with coffee: people thinking that they should drink a particular coffee and say that that is what they drink, because that is supposed to be a better choice rather than because it’s what they actually like. In both cases there often seems to be a need to (implicitly) denigrate other people’s preferences:
If you’re not really into coffee then the Nespresso or similar are decent options
I’m into coffee. I’m just more into not fannying about every time I fancy one… The advantage is I get my Aldi coffee about 5 minutes sooner.
We need to get away from conversations about whether someone is ‘into coffee’ (snobbery) and about how others fanny about when they make coffee (inverse snobbery), and start talking more about we like, what we’ve tried, and what we recommend others try.
A friend of mine likes a cappuccino with lots of sugar. I don’t tell him he’s wrong to prefer that; I serve him a cappuccino and give him the sugar bowl. In the past I have also given him an espresso to try: he tried it and didn’t like it.
When I said that many people who think their espresso/bean to cup machines make great coffee are over estimating how good their coffee really is, I was not seeking to criticise or denigrate them/their coffee, but to highlight the fact that because the coffee in many shops is so poor or even bad, it’s often a poor benchmark to use to assess how good is the coffee we make at home. Starbucks, Costa and Nero haven’t raised consumers’ expectations (at least not for many years), and if anything they now lower them. My advice would always be to try to find a very good local independent coffee shop – there are not many, but there are an increasing number.
With regard to espresso equipment for home use, my own experience is that you to need have at least one or more of the following:
– Very good equipment, especially the grinder. A top end grinder won’t turn bad beans into good coffee, but it greatly reduces the need to adjust the grind and dose (wasting coffee in the process). I have a weekly subscription, and the coffee sent each week is different. With an average commercial grinder, I could easily use up 50g to 100g of my 250g weekly pack just dialling in the grind and dose. Instead, with a top end grinder I just dump the bag in the hopper and usually just make one minor adjustment to the grind or dose every couple of weeks or so. If I made more adjustments to the grind, I could probably make better coffee, but I can’t be bothered and I am satisfied with what I currently drink (and I’m not sure my palate would discern the difference anyway).
– Very good beans. There is more to it than just freshly roasted and freshly ground. Some beans and blends are a lot easier to make espresso with than others, by which I mean they are a lot more forgiving of variations in the grind and dose. I once bought some of the house blend made by Square Mile coffee roasters for the Flat White/Milk Bar coffee shops in Soho, and I was amazed at how easy they were to use. So, if I had a bean to cup machine or a not particularly great grinder, I would make a point of finding and buying beans like that, even if they cost significantly more.
– Very good skills. Perseverence and practice will enable many people to develop the skills to get the best out of their equipment and the beans they use. I don’t have good skills.
Having spent all that money on equipment and having tried different types of coffee and beans, I now know that I would be quite content to do without espresso and cappuccino and could happily make do with a basic grinder and a Chemex to make filter coffee.
