I found this app called Acceptable Espresso. A bunch of coffee nuts in SF go around and test only espresso and if its consistently "acceptable" they put it in the app. I have tried a bunch of what they deem acceptable and its some of the best espresso I have had in the world.
Now to me there are several aspects to this. One clear factor is whether the barista "cares" about the coffee they are giving me. Clay at Special X-tra is so damn good at pulling a perfect shot every single time and Chris just doesn't care and pulls a mediocre shot at best. Everywhere I go where the barista "cares" about pulling that shot the espresso is "acceptable."
I don't judge on characteristics of the beans/roast, I know some like acid, some like smooth. If the coffee is fresh, not burned, ground properly, tamped properly (an artform) and pulled properly and with care, I am going to like it most likely.
In terms of the Nespresso system, what you've done is remove the possibility of someone caring about the coffee they are serving me. I've tried espresso's from the Nespresso system and they are not even close to what I can get at Elite Audio, Special Xtra (make sure Clay does it), Vega, Blue Bottle (more of scene than I usually like), Cento, or Jackson Place. Its reliably very mediocre at best. The least acceptable espresso I've had is at Coffee Bar, where they roast a little too dark for my tastes, and even those, as long as I tell them to pull it short, are much better than a Nespresso system shot.
"Caring" doesn't mean much in the context of a blind coffee taste test, nor does it mean much in the context of good things. Caring to make something good and having the ability to do so are completely separate things.
When it comes to various kinds of food preparation, 'caring' is basically the ability to care enough to learn the required skills. While it's true that the barrista doesn't need to care about you on that day to pull a good shot, they have to care enough about coffee to learn the skills required to pull a good shot.
Yes, however it's not a completely bogus indicator since pulling a good shot is probably difficult to perfect if you don't care, and if you do care probably not so hard that you can't learn to do it reasonably properly and consistently.
Now to me there are several aspects to this. One clear factor is whether the barista "cares" about the coffee they are giving me. Clay at Special X-tra is so damn good at pulling a perfect shot every single time and Chris just doesn't care and pulls a mediocre shot at best. Everywhere I go where the barista "cares" about pulling that shot the espresso is "acceptable."
I don't judge on characteristics of the beans/roast, I know some like acid, some like smooth. If the coffee is fresh, not burned, ground properly, tamped properly (an artform) and pulled properly and with care, I am going to like it most likely.
In terms of the Nespresso system, what you've done is remove the possibility of someone caring about the coffee they are serving me. I've tried espresso's from the Nespresso system and they are not even close to what I can get at Elite Audio, Special Xtra (make sure Clay does it), Vega, Blue Bottle (more of scene than I usually like), Cento, or Jackson Place. Its reliably very mediocre at best. The least acceptable espresso I've had is at Coffee Bar, where they roast a little too dark for my tastes, and even those, as long as I tell them to pull it short, are much better than a Nespresso system shot.