Wednesday 6 May 2015

Coffee Machine Holidays with Nutribullet


I saw in the news yesterday that the leaders of the political parties are doing separate tours of the UK. Don't they realise there's an election this week? Not what I'd call the ideal time to be going on holiday.

Gave in to pressure from Hay and made myself a Nutribullet soup for my skinny day last night. 2 carrots, a yellow pepper and some parsley. After a quick zuzz, I heated it up in the microwave. Tasted OK, if somewhat watery (due to the lack of flour or fat). Not a patch of proper cooked soup, but great if in a hurry. Also used it to zuzz some desiccated coconut, almond flakes, muscovado sugar and sultanas to make a Peshwari naan filling. It was only a trial, so I froze it and will use it later in the week when I'm baking.

Inherited an old Nespresso machine from the office closure (being MD I have first dibs). Not impressed with the cost of the damned pods (although I also inherited a 6 month supply), you either have to be George Clooney to afford them, or get them on the office stationery budget. Decided to do some cheap-skate stuff, as is my natural tendency when faced with exorbitant cost (except when it comes to tools).

First I bought some plastic reusable pods with stick-on foil lids from eBay (I was saddened to find they didn't have images of Princess Charlotte on them) and filled them with our own Lidl coffee. The result was dish water. Tried a coarser coffee - same result. Finally discovered the reusable pods aren't seating correctly against the perforator, so very little water, if any, was percolating through.

The machine.

Reusable pods with stick-on seals.

Close up of reusable pod.

Alternative arrangement - normal pod with crimped foil.

Side view

Reusable  with coarser textured coffee

Note the genuine pod seal on the left, and reusable on the right - not fully perforated.

Tried over-filling the pods and got a passable result, but that's a bit messy. Have ordered some seals; not sure what they look like but assume they form a collar below the lip of the pod and facilitate a few extra mills of push. Will advise the result when I receive them. although I have a vague suspicion the Nespresso machine will end up on Freecycle as I don't earn enough to run one of these gadgets full time. Nothing beats a good old cafetiere for taste, convenience or value.


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