Big family of coffee and latte drinkers. Thinking about a Nespresso machine for Christmas. Had Keurig in the past - ok but didn’t love it. Use Moccamaster machine/ La Columbe coffee as our main drinks - looking for something to save time. I’m unable to figure out the different lines of the Nespresso coffee makers and are the pods good ? We like good cofffee but are not complete coffee snobs. Any help appreciated.
We have had a nespresso machine for years, with the original pod design. I have no idea how the new pods/machines are different but the original pods are still readily available and they are always, always introducing new varieties and flavors. The coffee is very good. My only quibble is that there aren’t that many types of decaf available but they do have more than they used to.
We got a large machine at Costco back in the day and haven’t had any trouble in 10+ years. If you need to de-scale, you can find a youtube video of how to do it yourself with a nespresso machine and a little bit of citric acid. D1 bought a gently used smaller machine for D3 on craig’s list and that one too has not had any problems.
They had a black friday special where you could get a free aerocino milk frother if you bought 280 capsules of coffee. Not sure if it’s still going on.
After using the Nespresso at a few hotels in Europe, I bought an Inissia (bottom of the line machine) for my private use in the office (we have a Kuerig for clients). Keep in mind the “originaline” only makes espresso drinks, either 2 or 4 oz, and all of the machines in that line make the same strength coffee, but differ only in size and build quality. I recently bought a Pixie on sale for my home, but I am waiting to use up the espresso pods for my old Starbucks Barista machine (and also fear of my wife’s reaction when I place another gadget in the kitchen B-) )
Their new “vertuoline” makes espresso and standard coffee, but they have not been reviewed well and the pods are more expensive. You can only buy pods for any of their machines only directly from Nespresso online or one of their boutique stores. The originaline run from 70-80 cents apiece, depending on the variety.
If there is a Nespresso boutique in your area, I would recommend trying the coffee before you invest in a machine.
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Nespresso seems to be the machine of choice in Asian hotels. I had wondered when there would be a US push - and just saw a TV commercial yesterday. Frankly, I hate the pods which often seem to fall through the machines for me, not into the slot ready for coffee making. I find the machines much harder to use than Keurig. I’ve used a couple different models depending on what the hotel has, but haven’t liked any. The machines I’ve seen in the US are the same as abroad, but I haven’t shopped for one, so I could be missing something.
I’ve been wondering about Starbucks Verismo machine. Any users?
I have a major problem with the excess packaging involved in using pods. I can see why it’s a good idea for offices and hotel rooms, but not if you drink a lot of coffee at home.
As I mentioned in another thread, I like my S/GF’s Krups espresso maker. And it is very easy to use.
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I love my Nespresso machine! I have the Vertuoline model and the Aeroccino milk frother and they are fabulous. I buy the medium intensity coffee pods (the 6s and 7s on the scale) and they are very good.
Yes, there’s a lot of packaging waste but I’m low impact in a lot of other areas of my life, so I don’t feel guilty about this indulgence.
I have 3 - a Lattissima at home, an older (5 years or so) Citiz with aeroccino at the canal place, and something something that I bought for work/camping trailer probably 10 years ago that’s sitting in a cupboard.
The Lattissima has programmable dispensing for espresso and Lungo shots, which is handy in the morning. The attached milk steamer/frother is nice to have, but I don’t use it as much as I did the steamer on my old saeco espresso machine.
I use about 2 capsules a day during the week and 4/day on weekends. Typically 2 in a cup to make an americano. It’s just me, so not a big deal. If more of us drank coffee, I’d probably go back to a super automatic espresso machine. That has a higher buy-in, but coffee beans are cheaper in the long run.
There are different flavor profiles on the coffees, so finding what you like isn’t too hard. My favorite is indriya, followed by the high intensity Kazaar and Dharkan. They will put out specials every so often with flavors, but I stick to plain.
There are no recognized fill your own capsules, and I don’t know if what’s out there actually work. In Europe I saw non-Nespresso capsules, but never tried them. The machines are coffee-only - no hot chocolate or whatever else is available with a Keurig. The empty capsules can be taken into Williams-Sonoma to be recycled.
I have a Delonghi Automatic Espresso Coffee Maker. It’s got a built-in Burr grinder, plus a milk carafe and chocolate carafe for cappuccino, latte, macchiato, and hot chocolate. No waste–makes one serving at a time. No capsules–all you have to do is buy the coffee. It’s pricey, but it lasts forever. The one I have is +10 years old. Delonghi has excellet customer service; I sent my machine in for repair once with no problem. H bought it at Williams Sonoma. Jura and Miele make similar machines.
I love my Nespresso machine. I first used one at a Fairmont hotel in Canada and I was hooked. I’ve tried Keurig but I didn’t care for the results.I used my rebate several years ago and bought a Nespresso traditional pod machine at Costco. It came with a sample of many different varieties of the coffee. I was able to try a lot of different varieties without having to buy a whole sleeve. I don’t use mine everyday. I use my regular drip coffee machine for my morning coffee and reserve my Nespresso espresso for an afternoon treat. I’m currently enjoying the new Cuban pod. I tend to order 6 sleeves at a time. The delivery is quick and I think now free shipping. I like to try some of the special flavors.
When I was at William Sonoma this weekend they were giving samples of espresso made with Nespresso pods but the machine was by Breville. Our Costco usually has some form of a Nespresso machine but they don’t sell pods.
I don’t have a frother as I drink my coffee black.
The pods can be recycled. I give mine to a local artist who makes jewelry and belts out of the pods.
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There are other companies that make nespresso compatible pods. One company is Gourmesso, I forget the others. You can also get reusable pods on eBay. I haven’t tried those. I’ve heard the pods are more affordable in Europe and people can come home with a few sleeves if they wish.
Our large Macy’s has a Nespresso shop inside the cookware department. They sell (and offer tastings) pods. Apparently, one can mail the used pods to be recycled - I just do not see how that would make them more environmentally friendly. I do not use my machine often enough to consider myself a threat to the environment even if I throw the used pods in the trash.
Great, thanks for all your help. Will update after I make a decision. FWIW, we have the Moccamaster grinder and thermal carafe coffee maker (from WS) for regular morning coffee - it’s great.
We have a Citiz we got after using ones at a vacation rental in 2012. It makes me happy every time I use it, 2-3 times per day. Even though the company says the pods are for espresso, we make 6 oz. cups of coffee with them and love it. My family loves the pods with flavored coffee, but I just use the more intensely flavored ones.
Can’t think of anything difficult, tricky, or hard to use about it. Easiest thing in the world.
I take the pods to Williams Sonoma or Sur la Table for recycling.
Update us if you get a Vertuoline machine, I haven’t used one or seen feedback.
Umm, did you see Post #5 with my feedback? I’d be happy to answer any specific questions.
I work for a national retailer that sells Nespresso. They are very popular. Almost everyone who works in my store has one or more. I have 1 and my DD got the littlest one as a high school graduation present ( I get a good discount). She is very popular in her dorm, especially around midterms and finals.
Our store offers Nespresso demos/samples just about all the time. Just stop in and ask for a demo. We usually have a Vertuoline machine, that makes coffee and espresso, and a traditional machine available.
As mentioned above, the pods are made of aluminum and are completely recyclable. We ship them back to Nespresso.
My wife has a Nespresso (the original one) and likes it pretty well, although she mostly makes French press instead. We have bought some of the pods from other companies in Europe, and they work fine.
We have one from the Vertuoline and we love it. I actually could not wait to come home for Thanksgiving so that I could get back to my own coffee machine. My sister has a Keurig, and it’s fine but not as good as my coffee! I bought the machine at Williams-Sonoma. We buy the pods online and return the used ones to recycling-they send us envelopes and I just put the envelope in our local UPS box. I have one really strong cup of coffee each morning and that is all I need. Every once in a while, we make espresso. We don’t need/use a frother.
Offering the free aerocino again with the purchase of 30 coffee sleeves
I have the Citiz, the U, and the KitchenAid. Would recommend the Citiz or KitchenAid over the U, Inissia or Pixie. I have had problems with capsule loading in the smaller machines. Returned the Vertuoline I purchased last year, it was fine but I preferred the older espresso machines.
The Vertuoline espresso pods are more expensive (85 cents each) than the original line pods (70 cents). Over time I’m thinking that would add up.