I have an Iper espresso machine. I do enjoy the odd shot of red espresso, but only really find the Yirgacheffe really to my taste.

You have a lot less choice in Iper than you do with say Nespresso compatibles (mind you, that doesn't mean you have a great deal of choice in tasty coffee there either), but I do generally prefer Iper over Nespresso/compatibles (less bonkers, soapy crema).

It is simple, it is good for those "gimme coffee now, quick" moments. A good as home espresso set up?...Not in terms of choice, nor really in terms of quality of coffee. It definitely has its place, it is enjoyable. I'd rather someone who didn't know how to make coffee make me an Iper instead of anything else.

How do you only pay 38p per capsule, I'm sure I pay far more than that.

 

I suppose I'm lucky because I really like Illy red. I know I can stick with Illy red Iper capsules indefinitely without wanting anything else. My all time top cups are something I once had at Monmouth St Coffee House, a JBM at a Caribbean restaurant, a cup I once had the good fortune to make with Illy red beans and my erratic Gaggia Classic and Iberital MC2, and the Illy red Iper cups which I now have every day, whenever I want, at 10 seconds notice. I don't enjoy anything I have in other coffee shops in the UK. I've had great cups in Italy....all I want is that tradtitional Italian taste. No messing about with hints of this or that. I wish British coffee shops would just try to imitate Italy and give up their quest to come up with their own Signature, Curated bollocks.

I tested Illy red Nespresso and Iper side by side last week. (I have a Sage Creatista nespresso machine which I can get shot of now.) The Nespresso was like old cardboard which a tramp has wiped his arse on. Only drinkable if the taste is smothered by some sort of milk.

Iper capsules are currently £6.85 for 18 at Illy.com https://www.illy.com/en-gb/shop/coffee/iperespresso-coffee-capsules/ Free delivery if you spend £50. They have a rewards scheme, so my next order will be 20% off, i.e. 30p per capsule. I might stock up bigly.

 

No, most of us clearly wouldn't agree to be honest.

I know you love Illy Red - but the majority on here got into this hobby with an attempt to move away from the stale, over roasted supermarket offerings from Illy/Levazza etc.

Illy in a pod machine is just going to be burnt, stale coffee brewed incorrectly with incorrect weight/brewing ratio to the people here who source quality beans and brew it lovingly and precisely with their equipment.

 

Illy in a pod machine is just going to be burnt, stale coffee brewed incorrectly with incorrect weight/brewing ratio

This is incorrect

 

Balls.

 

I have a horrible feeling you're going to get run out of town mate (I can hear the pitchforks being sharpened!), but fair play to you. You've found something you like, and if you're happy to stick with it. For many this hobby isn't all about multi-£k machines and complicated dosing regimes, and third wave whatever, just getting a reliably decent tasting cup of coffee.

And yes, I agree the Italians have got some things right, although I must admit it helps to be there...

 

I have a horrible feeling you're going to get run out of town mate (I can hear the pitchforks being sharpened!), but fair play to you. You've found something you like, and if you're happy to stick with it. For many this hobby isn't all about multi-£k machines and complicated dosing regimes, and third wave whatever, just getting a reliably decent tasting cup of coffee.

And yes, I agree the Italians have got some things right, although I must admit it helps to be there...

It's a fun hobby if you have enough time and money to put into it. But I'm not a morning person. And even when you have a reliable setup which works, you've still got to adjust the grind as the beans absorb moisture. That kind of dedication is too much for me. If I win the lottery and can afford servants, I'll go back to the authentic method. In the meantime, I take my hat off to Illy.

 

19 bar.

 

The thing is, it does not matter. Coffee is a personal thing. Some people like light roasts, some like dark. Some like flat burrs, some like conicals. Millions of folks drink Italian coffee, and millions say it is crap.......point being if a pod machine floats your boat, then no one else really has the right to tell you that you are wrong for liking it

 

When I lived in Luxembourg about a decade ago, one of the banks I worked at had one of the Iperespresso Y3.2 ? machines in the staff kitchen, and a drawer full of assorted individually sealed capsules.

I remember how I used to select a sachet, forget what my favourite colour was, ripping it open and placing the capsule in the machine. Very simple and quite fun to use. I also remember that the coffee produced seemed fairly awesome.

 

Does anyone else agree that Iper is as good as a proper home espresso setup?

If you think it is then that's awesome! Saved yourself a tonne of money and you're enjoying your coffee, at the end of the day that's what it's all about. No-one can tell you you're wrong and you're not, expensive doesn't automatically mean better. I prefer Coke to the extremely expensive champagne and wine I've had, it's purely about personal taste and that's a question of genetics.

 

I tend to agree. After all, if one is happy with what one eats or drinks, so be it. Fantastic. however, to my eyes, there are two types:

- I like X. I never tried anything else because I like X. For those, good luck. I have no interest in knowing anymore or sparing a a single second to you.
- I like X. I've tried other stuff, but, frankly, I prefer X. For those, you have my full respect. You've tried, you've experimented, you found that all this new thing is not for you and you are happy with what you like. 👍

 

I don't like to admit defeat with the Gaggia Classic. Perhaps I'll fit the Shades PID kit. I could use the Gaggia in the afternoons when I'm compos mentis, and the Iper in the mornings when I'm half dead. It would also be interesting to do side by side tests with Illy red.

 

The Gaggia Classic is a capable machine, but you got to understand what's going on, specially around temperature surfing. it does work well with medium/medium dark roasted coffee. Why not try something like the Fudge blend from Rave Coffee, or something like the Chocolate Point from Black Cat Coffee?

 

There are no right or wrong answers in coffee drinking. It is personal and is also a function of if one is willing to look at it as a hobby and happy to spend some time and money.

I am from a coffee brewing family. Freshly ground coffee was always a pre-requisite. Everything changed when I left home. I drank a lot of tea, lived off instants (especially Nescafé Gold 😳) and pre-grounds. Although I was drinking all types of instants, I could not stand Nespresso.

I still drink tea, but stumbling on to James Hoffman's videos and then this forum dragged me back into the game.

So, enjoy what you like. 😊i

 

I almost purchased one of the Iperespresso machines after reading this thread.

I do miss espresso but failed miserably with my Europiccola, it is now packed away in a box.

Normally I brew using a Bodum pourover with Melitta filters, or an Aeropress depending on what works best with the coffee. The Aeropress took a chunk out of my hand the other day when I thwacked the coffee puck into the waste bin. Dangerous.

 

The Aeropress took a chunk out of my hand the other day when I thwacked the coffee puck into the waste bin. Dangerous.

I remember when I got an Aeropress, I made a coffee at my parent's house and, gee'd up after watching numerous videos of people popping out perfect pucks into rubbish recepticals, proudly declared, "Watch this Mum, you'll love the clean up!" (my mum loves tasty coffee, but has a deep hatred of coffee grounds on her kitchen surfaces).

I held the AP over their food bin and 'thwok' my coffee grounds bazooka blasted grinds into her under-sink cupboard & all over the floor. She looked me in the eye and I saw decades the of disappointment, tempered by the love of a mother & a resigned acceptance of the hand she was dealt. "I'll get the broom.", she said in dejected, but kind of familiar (to me) way.

I always pop the puck out into something these days, like an old/spare cup (which you can do one handed), then transfer to bin.

This is the 'Embarrassing stories' thread, isn't it?

(My parents do own an Aeropress themselves and they love it, but keep it for sailing duty.)