Nescafé has introduced a new coffee machine this year-end holiday season to offer caffeine junkies one more alternative to brew a quick cup of joe at home. The Nescafé Gold Blend Barista coffee machine is now available at major supermarket and hypermarkets at an introductory launch price of S$99 until 31 December 2015, instead of the regular retail price of S$149. I was sponsored a unit and this is my impression of the machine after three weeks of using it.
Nescafe Gold Blend Barista coffee machine in metallic red. Photo © Justin Teo.
Five styles of coffee
The Barista coffee machine makes five different styles of coffee at a touch of a button – espresso, lungo, Americano, cappuccino, latte macchiato. Unlike other coffee machines that use capsules, the Barista uses freeze-dried instant coffee in a hopper. Nescafé has launched a new Nescafé Gold Barista Style Intense Coffee to complement the machine. The new instant coffee has 3 per cent of finely grounded coffee added to it to boost the intensity and flavour, and I can see some sediment at the bottom as I finish my cup.
The machine pumps out 15 bar of water pressure to create the crema to differentiates it from regular coffee brewed from instant coffee. The niftiest design of the Barista coffee machine is how it creates the milk foam for cappuccino and latte macchiato. Simply add either fresh milk using the measuring cup provided, or the Nescafé Coffeemate creamer directly into the cup, and the machine shoots pulses of hot water into the cup to steam and froth the milk to the necessary texture, before dispensing coffee.
Environmentally friendlier
I feel that the Barista coffee machine is an environmentally-friendlier option compared to machines that use capsules. There is no need to dispose of individual capsule every time I make a cup of coffee.
Affordable and flexible
The Barista machine is the most affordable among Nescafé’s range of coffee machines. In terms of running costs, it is also significantly cheaper than machines that use capsules. I have been using a 95g pack of Nescafé Gold Barista Style Intense Coffee for over three weeks, for a cup of Americano almost daily, and I think the hopper still has more than a quarter of what it started with. The Nescafé Gold Barista Style Intense Coffee comes in 95g (S$9.80) and 190g (S$17.90) pack sizes. I have not done the detailed math, but I believe if I had used the capsule style over three weeks, it would have cost me more than the 95g Nescafé Gold Barista Style Intense Coffee pack already. Besides, since any type of instant coffee would work with the Barista machine, choosing a cheaper instant coffee may lower the per cup costs further.
Nescafe Gold Blend Barista coffee machine in piano black, with three packs of 95g Nescafe Gold Intense. Photo © Justin Teo
Aftertaste
The coffee produced when used with the Nescafé Gold Barista Style Intense Coffee gives a moderately intense cup with strong aroma. The taste of the coffee is obviously tuned for the masses and seems to straddle the flavour profiles. Hence, coffee by the Barista machine cannot and in fact, should not be compared with a proper cup of artisan espresso freshly pressed from single origin coffee beans. However, for a non-fussy drinker who would just like a café-style cup conveniently at home every morning, or for a afternoon perk up in the office pantry, the Nescafé Gold Blend Barista coffee machine offers a compelling option to explore.
