Peet's Coffee Espresso Capsules Variety Pack 10 Each (40 Count) Compatible with Nespresso Original Brewers Single Cup Coffee Pods

Ordered these as a gift. Recipient was very pleased with the quality and worked perfectly in their Espresso machine! Much more affordable than name brand. Makes a great cup of espresso.

This is very strong, flavorful expresso. I like it and will probably re-order it. Better than expected.

Delicious! One of my favorites. High quality and just as described

Works perfectly with the espresso and the taste is really really good! Great value for the money!

So, Nespresso is kind of my secret guilty pleasure. Despite taking my coffee, and especially my espresso semi-seriously -- I roast my own beans and have a reasonably good grinder and semi-automatic machine -- I find myself making Nespresso several times a day. I've got a machine in the kitchen, one in my office, and one in my shop. I've got machines at or other residences. I've even got a small Nespresso machine on the bookshelf next to my bed, so I can have my first shot of the day lying in bed -- ah, luxury! The thing is, while I can certainly make a better espresso the traditional way, it's a bit of a bother! Each time I roast new beans I have to dial the grinder and the machine in again. And even then, the quality of my shots is somewhat inconsistent (admittedly this is probably due as much to my skill or lack thereof as it is to the equipment). And of course it's messy - despite my best efforts I always end up with coffee grounds on the counter. So I find myself going to the trouble of making the real thing only on weekends or when we have company. The thing about Nespresso is it's trivially easy, 100% consistent, and -- while it's by no means as good as the best I can do the hard way, it's really not bad at all. That is Nespresso (tm), though. Nespresso-"compatible" capsules? The ones I've tried, and I've tried a few, *are* bad -- generally *really* bad. Stale, crema-less, bitter slop. Until now, that is. I'm happy to say that the Peet's capsules are just fine - at least as good as the run-of-the-mill Nespresso "grands crus" (there are a few lines of Nespresso capsule that are a step above in my opinion). I suspect, although I can't confirm, that this is because Peet's capsules, like the real Nespresso capsules, are packed under nitrogen, unlike the compatible capsules I've run into in the past, so the coffee doesn't go stale. And of course I'm sure they use good, relatively freshly-roasted coffee, although today's Peet's has come a long way from the daily-roasting store I remember from my Berkeley years! Unfortunately, the per-capsule price of the Peet's coffee is essentially the same as that of Nespresso capsules, that is to say, pretty expensive. I remember not that long ago when Nespresso capsules were about 40 cents each, but they, like the Peets capsules, are almost twice that now. At about 5 grams of coffee per capsule, that's over $60 a pound! By comparison, I can get roasted beans at my local Peet's for $15/pound, and I typically pay under $10/pound for green beans. Now, I know it's not a fair comparison -- I'm paying for consistency and convenience. But I'm fairly sure that the $0.70/capsule price point covers a fat profit margin (it wasn't that long ago, as I said, that Nespresso capsules were 40 cents each). Despite the fact that they seem to be pretty much as good as the real thing, therefore, I am not particularly likely to purchase Peet's capsules in the future for the simple reason that they are no cheaper than Nespresso capsules, and Nespresso has such a variety of capsules available at any given time that I'm not likely to get bored with their selection. Now if Peet's, or another roaster able to match the Peet's/Nespresso quality level, were able to set a significantly lower price point it would be a different story - I'd be all over them.