Barista replaced by Nespresso [pop up - for April] in Virgin lounge?

[Princess Fiona]

April fools, first thing I thought of

 

[scwappy]

Will be in SYD on Friday and will report back

 

[grubbidok]

Was there yesterday morning, was not a "pod" machine but one of those commercial ones that needs to be manned by a barista. No steam wand but a weird magic bullet type milk frother.

IMO they made a decent soy piccolo using it, but not as good as usual.

Didn't take a picture, but it looked like this one: http://www.expertmarket.com/sites/default/files/filemanager/nespresso-aguila.png

 

[moa999]

Still uses the Grand Cru slim capsules.

Hope the baristas resigned in disgust. Like replacing an artist's brushes with crayons

 

[soh]

One month 'pop up' only in the Sydney Lounge according to the lounge staff and Nespresso Rep. Was actually a really good quality long black this morning. Machines are designed to give the same high level of consistency every time regardless of who is operating it. I would rather get a 9/10 coffee every single time rather than a 10/10 one day and then a 5/10 the next.

 

[ap_spd]

Hope the baristas resigned in disgust. Like replacing an artist's brushes with crayons

One of them is still there, he did move to the smaller counter though.

 

[anat0l]

Hope the baristas resigned in disgust. Like replacing an artist's brushes with crayons

Are they baristas or are they barista-trained food service staff? My assumption is the latter, so they can handle multiple positions, not just making coffee.

Interesting how it's going with the pod machine trial. As it stands, there are many set ups in the world where it's going towards the barista not really exercising much skill, except pushing a button the feed beans and produce the espresso. The science (or art?) of getting the ground coffee, pressing it correctly and loading it in the machine to get the right amount of draw is kind of fading out, or those who are propping it up in their store for the hell of it frequently have no idea what they are doing. There's still some skill to be had in frothing milk correctly and pouring it out to produce the correct beverage.

 

[Jet L]

In the OOL lounge now and they still have barista coffee and according to the lounge staff they have not been told of any changes to Nespresso machines

 

[soh]

Yep, limited to SYD lounge only.

 

[Jet L]

Just in SYD lounge on landing sadly it is all true no more baristas at SYD

 

[Homer]

Nespresso pods are not much more than instant coffee in an aluminium container. I'd prefer freshly ground beans any day of the week, even if the person driving the coffee machine wouldn't cut it at my local. I just hope some money changed hands and the "pop-up" is a short-term promo and not a cost-saving initiative.

 

[OzEire]

I agree with the earlier poster who suggested that a consistently good Nespresso is better than a highly variable "barista". I love my coffee and have found some of the Lounge brews are undrinkable.

Edit: I visited SYD lounge this morning, yes the machine is Nespresso, but 3 staff were operating it, very efficient and no chance to "self serve" (and no need).

 

[lewyVA]

I really thought this must have been an April fools joke, but in the Sydney lounge this morning and it is no joke. There is a Nespresso rep this morning wandering around asking questions and doing market research, as I said to her, pods just can't compare to freshly ground beans.

 

[Milefest]

I tried it today. I was optimistic from what some in the comments have said but obviously I'm too much of a coffee snob. The flavour may be consistent, but I'd prefer to have the one off bad coffee than a consistently sub-par coffee. If pod coffee was genuinely good, every cafe would be using it.

 

[serfty]

I wouldn't say that, more likely they could not justify $4 for a long black if all they did was put a pod in a machine and press a button.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

I wonder how much Nespresso is paying Qantas...

 

[TomVexille]

I wonder how much Nespresso is paying Qantas...

Surely QF is paying Nespresso...

 

[bean]

I tried it today. I was optimistic from what some in the comments have said but obviously I'm too much of a coffee snob. The flavour may be consistent, but I'd prefer to have the one off bad coffee than a consistently sub-par coffee. If pod coffee was genuinely good, every cafe would be using it.

I really thought this must have been an April fools joke, but in the Sydney lounge this morning and it is no joke. There is a Nespresso rep this morning wandering around asking questions and doing market research, as I said to her, pods just can't compare to freshly ground beans.

People are generally unaware. Id be willing to bet most people who claim barista coffee is better wouldn't be able to pick the difference in a blind test and would probably pick the Nespresso as the better one. Reminds me of this test in which people doing taste tests of grey goose versus some cheap low end brand found nearly half preferred the cheap brand. People very easily buy into hype...

Post taste test reveals drinkers can’t tell good from cheap vodka | New York Post

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...siness-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice

And then of course there are 15 Michelin starred restaurants in London using Nespresso machines and more than 100 Michelin starred restaurants in France..

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/baristas-are-going-obsolete-2015-6?r=US&IR=T

"

It’s not surprising when you think about it that a vacuum-sealed dose of perfectly ground beans run through a finely tuned machine would beat a drink that was subject to endless human error​

"

People are funny creatures....

 

[davidj]

If its good enough for George its good enough for me

 

[anat0l]

And then of course there are 15 Michelin starred restaurants in London using Nespresso machines and more than 100 Michelin starred restaurants in France..

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/baristas-are-going-obsolete-2015-6?r=US&IR=T

"

It’s not surprising when you think about it that a vacuum-sealed dose of perfectly ground beans run through a finely tuned machine would beat a drink that was subject to endless human error​

"

People are funny creatures....

I am not surprised that those restaurants have replaced the barista with pods. For the kind of patronage they get, a decent, strong brew is sufficient, even at the three star level. After all, it is the food and experience, and I would be willing to bet nearly all Michelin inspectors wouldn't have a palate for coffee anyway.

The culture of coffee in Europe is very different to that in Australia and New Zealand, the latter of which has evolved to something very far removed from the roots of espresso and very particular compared to the rest of the world. One also has to remember that milk coffees like flat whites and lattes are very much Australian / New Zealand inventions; the reception of those kinds of drinks in most of Europe is either one of amusement or aghast, cf. most Europeans have their coffee black (and short).

This is likely why most Australians might complain in Europe that they have to search high and low for a "decent coffee" (with possible exception of the UK, more specifically London).

A blind taste test of pure espresso with no additions would be difficult to split between a pod and an average barista. A good barista should still be able to do better, although if you take into account that different pods offer slightly different taste profiles (assuming this is real and not marketing spin, a la Neurofen tablets), that's a slightly different challenge. I don't know why, but between a milk coffee (like a flat white) made by a good barista and a pod coffee with added steamed milk from the supplementary unit, I find largely that the former one has more depth than the latter. It could well be psychosomatic.

All said and done, I have found Nespresso - for most part - quite acceptable to drink, but I prefer the stronger blends, and will normally have it either straight or with only a dash of milk or milk foam (and in Europe, possibly with a dash of coffee cream). A Nespresso machine would reduce a lot of "pressure" on the barista, i.e. not every place will have a suitably skilled barista, so a good machine removes a lot of that need or variance, even if it sacrifices on the ability to achieve the best output (and to what degree that difference is is debatable).

VA passengers shouldn't be so surprised in a way; they have had Nespresso for some time now as it has been served in J on board.

One has to wonder if making espresso is more scientific than an art form, why has it taken so long to invent an effective machine that can rival the best human baristas, the latter of which we now admit are "inconsistent due to endless human error"? We all know the horrors of having to drink the insipid, watery coffee that came from those robot baristas in the QF domestic lounges many years ago.