Why I Finally Ditched Nespresso (And Saved £800) - MERAKI ESPRESSO MACHINE Gen 2

After years of using a Nespresso Vertuo machine, I finally decided to make the jump into the world of real espresso with the Meraki Gen 2. In this video, I take you through my first experiences as a complete beginner home barista, from grinding fresh beans and preparing espresso pucks to steaming milk and attempting my first microfoam for latte art. In a way, this is a Meraki Espresso Review as I pit the Nespresso vs Manual Espresso type of coffee machines and explore Espresso machine cost savings too! I also break down the numbers and explain why switching away from Nespresso pods could leave me around £800 better off over just less than a 5-year period, while giving me more control over the quality of every cup. For example, a 1kg bag of AMAZING fresh organic coffee shown in the video is about £30. By contrast, £30 of Nespresso Pods (the Vertuo ones I buy are now £0.83 per pod!) would only get me 36 pods... that's a difference of 22 coffees!!!! We cover: ☕ Why I moved away from Nespresso Vertuo pods ☕ Meraki Gen 2 first impressions ☕ Cost comparison: Nespresso vs fresh coffee beans ☕ The learning curve of home espresso ☕ Dialling in grind size and extraction ☕ Puck preparation and workflow ☕ Milk steaming and microfoam basics ☕ My beginner attempts at latte art (or rather, not!) ☕ Why I think fresh coffee tastes better ☕ The health benefits of moving away from coffee pods I'm still very much at the beginning of my espresso journey and have a lot to learn, but so far I couldn't be happier with the switch. If you're thinking about moving from pod coffee to a proper espresso machine, hopefully my experience helps you decide whether it's worth it. What was your biggest challenge when learning espresso at home? Let me know in the comments. Just to make it doubly clear too... this is a purchase I have made and have not received anything for free for the purpose of a review. This is something we've spoken about a lot recently on streams and so I wanted to share the final purchase and my initial experiences with you all via a video! To those of you over the last month or so helping me narrow down choices for machines and sharing your knowledge - thank you! I've already gone down the rabbit hole ha! LINKS: In the video you'll see the following equipment:- Meraki Gen 2 Espresso Machine: https://www.merakitech.com/?ref=briti... or if you're in the UK directly https://bellabarista.co.uk/products/m... (Bella Barista do some great coffee reviews and videos on their own YouTube channel) Bella Barista Freshly Roasted Organic Coffee: https://bellabarista.co.uk/collection... (I used their Embankment blend in this video) Cafe Concetto Titanium Coated 0.2mm thick 58mm Puck Screen: https://amzn.to/43btHnQ Barista Brush: https://amzn.to/4nZtFJp Subliminal WDT Tool: https://amzn.to/3RGnLAK Use Contrail? Head to https://contrail.shop/britishavgeek to support the channel at no extra cost each time you buy - and use code AF-79622269 at checkout (if you've not used it before) to get 10% off the total for your order on one shop! Hardware Info: https://britishavgeek.com/about Check out the rest of the website too for lots of resources! Take a peek at our Membership options for a great way to support the channel... join this channel to get access to perks:    / @britishavgeek   If you enjoyed my work and want to support my streams, head here: https://streamlabs.com/britishavgeek Some links may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting the channel. #MerakiGen2 #HomeBarista #Espresso #Coffee #Nespresso