Nerd Fuel: Starbucks Pike Place (Nespresso Vertuo Coffee)

It’s a new dawn for my Nerd Fuel reviews. In short, I have leveled up from drip-style K-Cup pods. I’ve now fully embraced the higher-quality Nespresso “lifestyle”. You see, I’ve been a coffee freak ever since I was a teenager. Back then, it was not unusual to find me haunting the corner of the local coffee shop, slurping down double espresso shots or sampling that latest iced coffee or Americano concoction. If I could have made the stuff at home to save money, I would have. However, back then, the idea of putting an espresso machine in my kitchen was just a little far fetched. .

Recently, I’ve found myself considering one of those pod-style Nespresso machines. So, after doing a little research, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a Nespresso Vertuo. I chose this machine because it can make a variety of drinks – anything from true espressos to regular mugs of coffee. It didn’t take long for me to realize I had made the right choice. The quality of coffee that comes from this machine absolutely blows away ANYTHING I’ve ever made with a drip-style machine. The secret seems to be due to the technology baked into the machine itself. Nespresso Vertuo machines read a little barcode from the rim of the aluminum pods, so the machine already knows much much water to use in the brewing process, how hot to make it, and how fast to spin the pod as part of the “certrifusion” process. I’m not sure about all the science behind it, but it works! And I would be amiss if I didn’t share this revelation with my readers… So, here we are.

Since I’m making my very first Nespresso review today, I decided to go with something pretty tame. No crazy double shot or iced latte brew just yet. Instead, I’ve picked a standard “boring” coffee: Starbucks Pike Place.

Here in the US, Starbucks is extremely popular. It’s not the best coffee you can find, by any stretch. But, it’s a brand that most people are familiar with. Their Pike Place blend is essentially their house coffee. So, it’s very middle of the road and agreeable to just about everybody. It’s a medium roast blend of beans from Latin America and, to be honest, it’s pretty boring. Still, that’s kind of the point. It’s the sort of coffee you can do anything to, and it’s probably going to turn out ok.

As expected, the Vertuo brews an entire cup of coffee from a single pod. And, even though this is a standard coffee, the brewing process still creates a small layer of crema on top of the finished product. I find the cream to be a very nice touch. It gives the final product a touch of luxury that’s missing from most other preparation methods. As I always do, I added a small shot of Coffee Mate Sweet Italian creamer – and nothing else. The result was surprising…

I’ve had Pikes Place in the past. I’ve had it from an actual Starbucks location, I’ve brewed it from a standard coffee maker, and I’ve even had the K-Cup Pods. It’s always been just “ok”. And, if I’m being completely honest, even from this Nespresso machine, it’s still nothing to write home about. But, I will admit, this Nespresso Vertuo version of the coffee is by far the best I’ve ever had. Yes… it’s even better than the real deal you can get at a brick-and-mortar Starbucks. There’s something about the certifusion process that really seems to extract every last drop of flavor from the beans. It sounds like it should be nothing more than a marketing gimmick. But, there’s some magic happening here. Something about this machine made this cup of Pikes Place surprisingly good.

I’ll admit, this coffee isn’t the reason you’ll want to buy a Nespresso machine. It’s not going to sell anyone on the device. But, I wanted to review this first so I’d have a solid comparison to what I’ve made on K-Cup machines in the past. With that in mind, this coffee is light-years beyond anything I could have made in my old machine.

We’re off to a good start, Nespresso.

Score: 2 out of 4

Would buy again?: Yes. Pikes Place is a run-of-the-mill brew. It’s nothing special. Still, the variety made with my Nespresso machine was insanely better than other versions of the coffee I’ve had in the past. This is a blend that I intend to keep on hand for friends and visitors that want a simple cup of joe. There may be better coffee options out there. But, for now, this is one I’m going to keep on hand as an everyday blend until I discover a better option.