FIND YOUR FAVOURITE

For all new coffee drinkers, there are a few key considerations to bear in mind when selecting a coffee blend to suit you:

1. Complete the coffee profiler quiz on the Nespresso Australia website. It will match you with 4 coffee capsules you may enjoy.
2. Think about flavours you enjoy (e.g. short bread, toffee and chocolate) and look for three to four different coffee blends that contain these notes so that you have points of comparison.
3. Approach a coffee tasting similar to wine tasting — always start with the lightest coffee first and work your way up to the higher intensity so you can appreciate the nuances between them and to not overwhelm you palate.
4. To better understand how your coffee tastes with milk, try it black first so you can experience its profile in full. Then add milk to appreciate how the profile evolves.

Consider the type of milk you like before choosing a coffee blend. While dairy milk will pair with any coffee blend, one thing to bear in mind is that plant based milks must be paired with coffee blends that have a higher intensity or darker roast. This is because they are lower in acidity and are therefore less likely to split when mixed with plant based milk (which has a lower fat content).

Based on data from Nespresso Australia’s online coffee profiler, we know that Australians prefer coffee blends with toffee, biscuit and chocolate notes. Which is why, Arpeggio with its strong cocoa notes is Australia’s favourite coffee capsule.

For existing Nespresso drinkers, I’d recommend visiting your local Boutique. The Coffee Specialist will confirm your favourite coffee notes are, review which blends you’ve tried from the Nespresso range before, and recommend new blends based on your preferences. One of our Coffee Specilalists may also advise of new limited-edition coffee blends that may be available to try.

New coffee lovers stick to what they know and like
Sometimes we’ve seen that new coffee lovers fall into the trap of sticking to what they know and opting for convenience. With this approach, they are missing out on maximising a full coffee experience. Due to cost of living crisis, we’ve seen that 63% of Aussies are looking to save money by skipping the coffee run and choosing to make their coffee at home, but many don’t know where to start. This also means that they steer away from exploring new coffees from different origins and varietals.

With the help of its coffee experts, Nespresso has tasting bars in their Boutiques inviting people to come in and find a coffee blend. With this experience, Australians can also enjoy a complimentary coffee tasting guided by a Boutique Coffee Expert. They can also provide additional coffee tasting tips, and teach you how to make cafe-quality coffees at-home with the Nespresso coffee capsule range.

Coffee intensity equals caffeine content
The most popular common myth I always hear is how many people think intensity equals caffeine content. This isn’t true, intensity is just an indication of the type of roast or coffee flavour profiles in a blend.

Jumping straight into the serious stuff
If you’re a coffee novice, don’t be afraid to experiment with flavoured coffees to start with. I recommend adding your favourite flavour first, such as a caramel or vanilla syrup, to ease into your coffee tasting journey. When I first started my coffee drinking journey, my favourite coffee was a large vanilla latte with two sugars, and now I enjoy all types of coffee.

Extracting coffee incorrectly
If you’re a new coffee lover looking to make your coffee at home, don’t fall in the trap of incorrectly extracting your coffee. Not all coffee is created equal so it can’t all be extracted the same way. So to ensure the right coffee is extracted the right way, this is typically left to the experts like barista. However, with Nespresso’s Vertuo coffee machine, there’s little room for error as it has barcode reading technology that reads your capsule, and extracts it to the perfect pour length, every time.

To maximise the coffee tasting experience, as a general rule of thumb, you should avoid doing the below at least half an hour before your coffee tasting as it may interfere with your senses and tasting capability:

• Eating
• Drinking anything other than water
• Wearing perfume or deodorant
• Eating chilli and spicy food

I recommend smelling your coffee before you taste it. Three sharp sniffs will encourage more of the aromatic molecules from the cup into your nose, allowing you to detect the nuances.

Most of what we taste is through smell, so by slurping you can connect your ability to taste and smell (coffee tastings are one of the few cases where slurping is not only acceptable but encouraged). As an experiment, try holding your nose when you take a sip then let go.

The slurping technique is an effective way to maximise your coffee tasting experience. When you slurp your coffee quickly, it is able to aerate and spread across your palate stimulating your tastebuds. With this technique, you’re also able to smell the coffee aromas better and pick up more flavours.

I recommend sparkling water and plain water crackers, which are great for cleansing you palate. Or anything neutral like plain white bread.