Nespresso Vertuo Coffee and Espresso Maker by Breville, Chrome

AceCadet United States

Great coffee and unbeatable convenience (as long as you are happy with the cost and variety of available pods)

After living with the Nespresso Vertuo for a little over a month now, I can say with confidence it is overall a great machine, produces highly enjoyable espresso, and is significantly better than other Nespresso machines that I have tried. Overall: 9/10 Convenience: 10/10 Taste: 9/10 Coffee selection: 7/10 Reliability: 10/10 Recycleability: 8/10 A little context: We've had a Nespresso in my office for about a year. It's the type that uses the "puffy disc" type pods. I don't think any machine in the history of the universe has caused more frustration among a group of people than this thing. Wasted pods left and right, inconsistent output, and mediocre taste with little to no crema for espressos. Basically, I was not a fan. So I actively avoided Nespresso machines when shopping for an espresso machine for the house. But eventually the reviews won me over and I decided to give it a shot. So glad I did. This thing has become a fixture in our kitchen and is now deeply integrated in both my and my girlfriend's daily routine. So here's the things that stand out to me as reasons why you'd want one of these: 1) It's reliable - We've been though over 100 pods and not one jam, not one wasted pod. Given my experience w/my office nespresso needless to say I was very impressed 2) It's FAST - heats up in 5 seconds flat and is ready to go. Easily 5x faster than our Keurig. 3) Crema for days - the luxuriously thick crema this thing produces for both espressos and larger coffees is even better than your local coffee house. Seriously. If you are a "texture person" this is as good as it gets. 4) It's tasty - decent variety of available pods (but see below) and generally high quality - both my GF and I really enjoy the coffee (though we like different styles) 5) It's (sorta) environmentally friendly - at least more so than the Keurig. Pods are all aluminum and fully recycleable and Nespresso provides post-paid bags - just dump your used pods and drop them in the mail (* but see below) 6) It's low-maintenance - super easy to clean and maintain 7) It's versatile - while I use it mainly for espresso, it handles 5 different types/sizes of coffee and all of them we tried came out great And a few things that could stand to be improved upon: 1) The coffee selection is not as varied at it would appear - there are over a dozen varieties, but in reality a lot of them are very similar and are just slightly different blends of the same few beans. If you tend to prefer darker roasts that trend toward the bitter side, you'll find a lot to like. If you like milder roasts you may want to try a few of the varieties before taking the plunge. 2) Unlike with Nespresso original machines, there are not any third party coffee companies that make Vertuo pods - So for the time being anyway you are stuck with what Nespresso offers 3) Pods are on the pricey side - expect to spend about $1/pod 4) Recycling program is great BUT while the bags are technically "free" - no bags are provided with the machine and to get them you have to place an order of $50+ on Nespresso.com - and that's the only way you can get them. 5) As some reviewers have noted this machine produces coffee at perfect "ready to drink" temperature. It also produces all sizes and varieties with a thick crema on top. This is by design and in line with European coffee tradition. If you prefer American style coffee and like it piping hot you should buy a Keurig (seriously - we have both and use both and for a good ole black coffee the Keurig is a champ) Overall, in my view, the positives far outweigh the negatives and I'm very happy with my purchase.

Chris R United States

Like a Keurig, but then again, it's not

So it is a single serve machine (make sure you get a Vertuo if you want full cups of coffee), and yes it uses pods. So it's like a Keurig, but that's where the similarities end. The Keurig makes a decent cup of coffee for the price, the K-Cups can be had for 40 cents a pop, give or take. Again, the coffee is decent. But my old Keurig was not getting as hot any more, and the pump was getting weak. It had a good long life, so no complaints there. I kept reading about Nespresso, and found it interesting. So I took the plunge. Yes the pods are more expensive, but I knew that going in..... The machine is very simplistic, a water tank, an empty pod collection tank and an on/off button. You can simply put in a pod of the desired beverage, hit the start button and that's all. The pods are created for different beverages, and sizes. I am a coffee drinker so the 7.7 oz pods work for me, but I like a little more coffee in my mug. So, for the certain pod size, one can customize it to brew a little more than that 7.7 oz size, and it will remember the customization the next time you use that size pod. It's in the instruction manual. So there is some customization there. They also make a 14 oz Alto pod too. Will be trying that once my pod shipment comes. It doesn't have a clock on it or a tocuhscreen and all of that. It's simple and looks good in the kitchen, and smaller than the Keurig, so less space taken. I will add though, I cannot fit any of my standard travel mugs under the unit, so I cannot directly brew into them, so one drawback. Other machine designs from DeLonghi or Breville may allow for them, check the specs before ordering if that is a big deal for you. The coffee. It's really good. I preheat a little half and half and then brew the coffee. It does have what they like to refer to as a "crema" head on the brewed coffee. It does add a little extra to the experience. It is a fuller flavor than a Keurig. Don't let the whole crema, finished coffee color fool you, it's got some body and full flavor. It doesn't look like a normal black cup of coffee. Again, it is good coffee. Some have mentioned it is not as hot as a Keurig, or traditional drip maker. I agree, but it's not warm or cold or anything. I'm not one to want to wait a long time for my coffee to cool down. It is a very hot, drinkable temperature. I'll try an instant read thermometer on it. But if you want scalding hot coffee that you need to dump a ton of milk in it too cool down, then this won't be for you. Oh yeah, and it's good coffee. ;) Time will tell if I grow to love this, I'm still in the honeymoon phase. And I'll try some different pods and see how they all go. I need a machine for work too now! ***Update. Maybe I was unlucky or what but ordering pods from Nespresso direct is slow as....I ordered on 12-3 and got a shipping notice that product has shipped. Now it won’t arrive until 12-23. That’s not efficient. They person I spoke to the other day said my order was going to deliver on 12-16....they need to get their act together. I’ll report back if the next shipment does better or worse.

Music Fan Jeff United States

This is the machine to buy if you want a Vertuo line machine

If you want a Nespresso Vertuo machine, I highly recommend this specific model. According to Amazon, I ordered my machine nearly four years ago and it's been working flawlessly since. (Note that when I say "flawlessly," there are some things that some might not like about the coffee produced by the machine; more on that in a bit.) Previous to this machine I bought a Next; it developed leaks pretty soon after I bought it, required frequent cleaning cycles just to get it to work again, and eventually stopped working entirely in under a year. Nespresso replaced it under warranty and the replacement machine lasted even less time before failing. If you search online for customer complaints about the Next machines, you'll see that my experience is common. Unfortunately, Nespresso has since released three other models that are based on the Next design so they seem committed to it despite customer problems. I haven't tried any of these (the Pop, Lattisima and Creatista) but would be concerned about longevity, particularly with the latter two since they are quite expensive machines. At any rate, back to this machine which is one of the earlier Vertuo models: One truth that might bother you that doesn't bother me is that the coffee it produces is just barely hot enough to be considered hot coffee. If you like your coffee very hot, or if you add a lot of cream to it, then you may be disappointed by the temperature and wonder why you need to microwave your coffee as soon as you make it. I add a very small amount of half and half to my coffee and find the temperature suits me fine, but I like my coffee just barely warm, not piping hot. Another truth about the Vertuo line, and this applies to all models, is that due to the capsules still being under patent protection the coffee selection is limited to what Nespresso and Starbucks offers and the price isn't cheap. As of this writing, for the smallest capsules that make espresso sized drinks the cost is about $1.10 per capsule and the cost for most of the ones that produce full sized cups of coffee (7.7 ounces) is about $1.40. There are specialty capsules that cost more, sometimes up to $2.00 per capsule. This is obviously a lot less costly than going to a cafe to buy a drink, but it's admittedly a lot more than you'd pay for similar quality whole bean or ground coffee to brew in a system that isn't fixed to a patented capsule. I'm looking at this product again now only because I'm contemplating a back-up in case mine stops working since I really enjoy the way coffee tastes when brewed using Nespresso's Vertuo technology.

MF Shopper Canada

Product quality & reliable description

After seven years with a nespresso machine, it began making weird noise hence, time to change. Since I only drink nespresso, this was obvious choice. I like the two compartments for water & pods. I like that water reservoir is easily accessible (what’s with the ones in the back)? Not for me. Machine came by special delivery UPS or FedEx don’t recall (maybe cause ordered a Lurig for hubby), was safely dropped off at door. Machine in tact, a breeze to use, plugged into wall, did not work with an extension cord so it has a different place from old one. It is silent, coffee tastes great. Pleased with it , hope it lasts like my previous one