Introduction
This is a review of the Nespresso World Explorations Paris Espresso coffee capsule for the Original Line machine. The WE Paris Espresso was released in the US at the end of April 2022. This coffee is part of the World Explorations series where the coffee represents the coffee of the particular city, in this case the coffee theme is the city of Paris and France is known for its dark roast (French roast) and strong coffee. The coffee consists of arabicas from Latin America and robusta from Vietnam, and each capsule contain 5.6 grams of coffee and has an intensity of 6. Nespresso mentions aroma notes of cereal, biscuit and a hint of citrus. The sleeve says that the capsules should be brewed as an espresso size pour, however, the Nespresso Turkey site mentions it is designed also to be extracted as a Lungo. So I may test out a Lungo pour as well.
The release of this coffee was initially announced in January 2022 on r/nespresso, and the intention of the coffee is to be a replacement of the incredibly popular Paris Black that was a seasonal release in winter 2018. The differences are the notes are woody, cereal and spicy, and the intensity was 9; so quite different.
Aromas
The Nespresso World Explorations Paris Espresso has almost a buttered toast like aroma to it; possibly cereal like aromas. The aromas are very mild. The crema on the Paris Espresso is also thin.
When the Paris Espresso is brewed as a Lungo size cup, the aromas are more like cereal or biscuit, and am also getting very light lemon like citrus notes. It’s a very pleasant aroma when brewed as a Lungo. The crema becomes thicker and with bigger bubbles.
Taste
You can definitely taste the robusta in the Nespresso Paris Espresso; it’s got the robusta “rubbery” like tastes that are often described with coffees that use robustas. The Paris Espresso is very bitter at first sip because of the robustas. I’m getting very light acidity, but nothing that seems fruit like. Although it does give you a kick when drinking it.
NOTE: After not drinking the Paris Espresso for a few days, I had another espresso shot, and I could now see the reason why it is so popular with Nespresso. It’s got that powerful kick that Il Caffè has, and it’s more addictive when you drink more coffee. So just like the Il Caffè coffee, it may become more desirable as time goes by.
When brewed as a ristretto, the buttery aromas are still there, but at first sip it doesn’t taste as rubbery. It feels extremely intense, like an intensity of 12 or 13, but very nice tasting.
The World Explorations Paris Espresso makes a very nice Lungo pour. It may even be as good as my all time favorite Lungo, the Original Blend (OB) Envivo Lungo; and I may start having the Paris Espresso as a Lungo daily once my OB Envivo Lungo sleeves run out. It has a bit of sweetness and still has some bitterness, but the bitterness doesn’t feel rubbery.
Result
The Nespresso World Explorations Paris Espresso may be more suitable for people that want a real powerful kick in their coffee when they drink it. When brewed as an espresso, I’m finding a persistent rubbery taste and also aftertaste; the aftertaste lasts for many hours which is somewhat annoying.
I highly suggest you try brewing the Paris Espresso as a Lungo pour. I find it extremely nice as a Lungo size cup and this may potentially be my daily morning Lungo since it does taste much nicer as a Lungo.
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Alvin Bunk 