You’re obviously content, but I’m sorry you’re not able to enjoy so many gastronomic pleasures. Two coffees a day is my norm, but I do transgress on lots of other things.
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I’ve had those ocelot beans and they tasted just like where they came from.
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A topic after my own heart. For drinking later in the day we use a Nespresso machine with the L’or decaf pods but in the morning I like a good cafetiere of really strong black coffee. For more than 40 years now I have been using “Veluto Nero” beans from the Algerian Coffee Stores in Old Compton Street and have never found anything else to come close to that literal black velvet taste and texture.
I used to buy a load from the store whenever I could and vac-pack it to keep longer, then buy it mail-order when that wasn’t convenient but of course since January they have stopped shipping to the EU. I’ve tried all kinds here, from supermarkets and artisan roasters but without success so far. Last week some friends returned from the UK so I had a few kilos sent to them which they kindly brought with them.
Whatever I get to substitute must be dark roas, Arabica, and ideally with the same “oiliness” that all feeds into a really viscous brew. Funnily enough I have a bean to cup espresso machine as well and although VN is advertised as being a good espresso bean I find others better for that purpose, but for a cafetiere (“French press”) nothing beats it.
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The L’or Pods are pretty good
but what of the Nespresso machine?
We use a Philips Senseo machine with No 8 Dosettes and I’ve long thought about the Nespresso type machine.
To get the best out of the dosettes, you have to squeeze them after to extract the full flavour which I find difficult (as the damn things are still hot) and have wondered if the Nespresso machine is more efficient in this respect.
I use a bean to cup machine, and after endless research, on balance between cost and taste, I’ve found Netto espresso beans to be favourite - there’s some oil on the beans (shiny) and cost is about €8/kilo
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So, that seems to be a vote (in this thread) for a Nespresso type machine and a bean to cup type machine either of which I could cope with (not overly bothered about the superheated milk and froth though).
Recommendations? (we’re only poor pensioners so Gagglia et al out of the equasion!) 
We have both a Delonghi Bean to Cup machine and a couple of Nespresso machines.
The.bean to cup machine is cheaper to supply at approx 10 Euro’s per kilo making perhaps 250 cups gives approx 4 cents per cup whereas the Nespresso capsules are perhaps 15 cents per cup. Most weeks the supermarket has a good brand of coffee on offer for the Nespresso.
Having tried a lot of both forms I actually prefer the Nespresso, very easy to use and the machine is small compared to the big bean to cup.
We only make perhaps 1 cup per day so the additional cost of the Nespresso is not really a big issue due, combined with the simplicity.
The bean to cup machine gets do little use we are talking about selling it to free up the space.
Every so often Nespresso have a welcome offer on their machines of 70 Euro’s of free coffee with any machine purchased ( which cost 70ish Euro’s) so the machine is effectively free if you want to give one a try.
There are a number of different machine from different manufacturers- which I was told were all made at the same factory (true/false?). The Nespresso coffee these machines make they is identical so it comes down to preferred brand, appearance and cost.
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We are onto our second DeLonghi and highly recommend!
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Given that Algerians are one of the (if not the…) biggest immigrant population in France it is odd that you have not found a bean to suit you. Have you tried buying directly from torrefacteurs?
We bought a Sage machine and are very happy with it. My co-niece is a barista and it was her recommendation…but not cheap. However the amount we have saved on not being able to go to cafés for past year has more than covered it!
Thanks Jane but Sage machine looks complicated…
What a wonderful old shop! When I moved to S Africa twenty-five years ago, I used to get regular shipments from them until I discovered Mastertons, a local coffee roaster who’d been in business nearly as long.
Re quality versus convenience. Bean to cup machines use electric grinders which compared to traditional hand cranked ones, grind too fast and overheat the beans. Aside from the lower quality of the coffee in pods, no one seems to have questioned their environmental undesirability, nor the huge amount of storage space they require.
Buy the best beans freshly roasted and, unless you’re making espresso, keep the coffee making equipment simple!
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Some of the pods are environmentally friendly being made of recyclable aluminium… so not all bad but I agree about the plastic ones. The dosettes we currently use are compostable.
There is an artisan coffee bean roaster in St. Quentin du Dropt (Lot et Garonne) who does mail order. It is local to us and his prices and quality of coffee is fantastic. I would highly recommend. It’s called Cafés du Moulin and they have. Facebook page. We’re currently working our way through some Colombian, last ‘try’ was from the Congo
Well it isn’t Algerian coffee, of course, and the blend is more Italian in style. The store happens to be called that (more than 100 years) but I don’t think there is any Algerian connection these days, if there ever was.
If it is any consolation I do feel guilty using Nespresso (my daughter is very critical). I use the aluminium pods more for their impact on the freshness of the coffee than for any real environmental credentials, about which I am sceptical - but I do of course recycle them and they are collected in our area in the recycling.
I did buy some refillable capsules but they are such a fuss to use and in my experience never worked very well. The L’Or capsules usually work out at about €0.25 a pop so not a lot cheaper than Nespresso but I prefer the taste.
I have found with cheaper Nespresso machines the aluminium capsules work much better as the plastic ones can be problematic. We have a fancy £350 Sage Nespresso machine but TBH the coffee is not significantly better than a €60 machine - it looks nice and has a few nice features but the coffee is the same.
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This one - it makes the best coffee I have ever drunk using Intermarche own brand beans (or whatever else is on offer / cheaper)
La Maison du Cafe was really good but can no longer find it.
We like that smooth almost choc note in our cup not the bitterness ofTen
found in coffee here in France. Over roasted