I have wanted this machine since it was first introduced but could not justify the price. I was hoping a coffee and machine deal would come around, and it did. It was a gift, and it has been used daily since December 25th.
I’ll package this review in 3 areas, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Starting with the good. The machine looks great in the kitchen. Classic and sleek lines. The counter area is less cluttered than having my Vertuo Next and Barista milk frother plugged in on the counter at the same time. As expected, the machine brews the high standard of great tasting coffee we have come to love with Nespresso machines.
Next the bad. As nice as the machine is, I almost think the designers purposely measured thousands of insulated travel mugs and then subtracted 2 centimetres to ensure they will not fit on the tray for coffee brewing. You will need to remove the tray, which has a friction clip that holds it in place, for your mug to fit under the machine. I am confident that this friction clip will wear out as the positive lock of the clip does not have much resistance to pull out the tray.
The milk graduations inside the milk mug. The markings and numbers are small and printed on the stainless steal. I can see them wearing off in time from cleaning and wiping the inside of the mug.
And now the ugly. This machine is nice, shiny, so classy looking, a thing of beauty, then you start to get to know it. Back to that roommate thing, you know the one with great looks but just has some annoying personality traits you have a hard time getting past.
There is a drain/flush outlet at the bottom between the coffee and milk frother sides that is hidden. It flushes the water in the line to the milk frother when you start a cycle. This water goes into a narrow section of the tray that tucks under the machine. (don’t try to make frothed milk without the tray by holding the milk mug because you are making coffee in a travel mug). After a you froth the milk, the wand will spit out some steamed water (3 shots) to purge it and you can use it to wipe the wand, IF you put a cloth under the wand to catch it. These two processes use water, which ends up in the tray. I measured it, approximately 90ml of water/milky water was in the tray after one coffee with frothed milk.
Like that good looking roommate that somehow manages to make a mess of the kitchen when making a bowl of cereal, this machine needs more TLC than a Next or Pop and a Barrista to make the same milk and coffee.
You wouldn’t leave your kitchen a mess all day, hopefully. So, you will end up cleaning the machine after you use it. That water/milky water in the tray will come back to haunt you if not cleaned right away. Things you will need to clean. The tray has 3 parts to it, the base tray, the spacer which sits inside the base tray (which has countless nooks, holes and crevices to try to clean and dry) and the shiny top, which you will want to polish before reinstalling. The wand, a simple wipe and you can leave a milky film on the back side where it will dry on since the wand is hot. (roommate again) You may need to wipe the wand more than once to remove all the milky residue.
To wrap it up. There is a romance in brewing a good coffee. And that romance involves an investment of time, which is time you are meant to enjoy. A great machine, always good coffee, and learning that sometimes the investment of a little more TLC comes hand in hand with the romance at the beginning of a long-term relationship.
Where did you purchase your Nespresso machine?Nespresso Boutique
Coffee PreferenceHot coffee
Yes, I recommend this product.
