NESPRESSO can be not bad. I liked it when I had a machine at work and could pull a shot over a glass of ice for an easy and tasty iced Americano.
Friends swear by Nespresso, and I cannot deny the convenience, nor the fact that the coffees aren't bad.
For instant coffee, we discovered Mount Hagen: a German brand that is actually quite good. It's not cheap (about $12 for a small glass container), but does the job when needed. Their decaf is also perfectly drinkable. The little Starbucks Via packets are fine for travel.
Not a fan of instant coffee, but it is good to know that some decent brands do exist.
The excess coffee oils impart bitterness in the brew, and metal filters don't filter out the oils. Good paper filters do.
Agree.
I used a French press for a long time for both hot coffee and cold brew, but I fully switched to using my Chemex for both.
This is one of the reasons I am thinking of purchasing a Chemex; I was astonished - nay, astounded - at how clean and clear and bright the coffee was (okay, it was ethiopian, which comes with those taste notes, but the Chemex enhanced the experience).
I also stopped buying darker roasts in favor of medium to light roasts. It's like a wine enthusiast starting out with big, bold cabernets, and as their tastes evolve and get more sophisticated, moving on to more subtle pinot noirs.
Ah, yes.
This is a metaphor (and journey) that I am more than familiar with.
I, too, started out loving rich, robust, bold, full-bodied, (yet smooth) highly alcoholic red wines, and have graduated to a marked preference for more subtle reds and reasonably complex whites.
And yes, my coffee preferences have taken a similar path, as I now prefer medium to light roasts, whereas, when young, I thought that I loved coffee that was dark roasted.
My favorite coffees tend to be from Central and South America. Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Ecuador are the ones I gravitate most towards, but there's good beans to be had all the way from Mexico to Bolivia.
In my experience, El Salvador makes some stunning coffees.