So in the last 2+ years I’ve started drinking Americanos, Cappuccinos and Lattes. This mostly started during my European trip in the Fall of 2019. Though I had some at nice cafes and restaurants, 2 of our hotels had a Nespresso machine and really enjoyed it during breakfast for ease and ability to try new things.
Fast forward wife is looking for a holiday gift for me and as I am working from home now I thought of a Nespresso Machine to stop my trips to Starbucks.
I was looking at the CitiZ model + a frother and a few of my thoughts though open to suggestions:
Instead of the combine package with the Aerochino 3 I’d just get the Aerochino 4 on its own given its dishwasher safe and less chip resistant on the inside plus can do light and dense foam easier than the 3. Is there a better non Nespresso Frother on the market with ability to pick different foam densities and do hot and cold foam?
I like the CitiZ model given you can put a tall glass under there which I could see doing for iced drinks in the summer. Anyone have issues or praise for this model?
Another reason I like the stand alone frother - it can do Cold foam as well. The Latissima model with built in auto frother cannot do cold froth which is why I nixed that model from the list.
Any options/decisions I am missing? Given this is a newish to me thing and its a gift I am not about to ask for or invest in a $2,000 fancy semi automated setup. I figure given the price if I get a few years out of it, get a variety of tastes in, maybe I could upgrade one day if needed. The ease + ability to try various flavors/beans is what is drawing me to Nespresso at this time.
Any input/advice suggestions would be most appreciated.
We used Nespresso for years. It’s not real espresso though and though it starts as a Starbucks replacement, you pretty quickly still make stops there to get a better drink. Also, the pucks are extremely expensive for home coffee. Sure it’s cheaper than $5 at Starbucks, but a couple of cups a day per person and you’re still spending $150 a month. It doesn’t take long to pay for the fully automatic setup which can be had for $1200-1500 and then pennies a day in beans.
Anyway that was our logic a couple of years ago and we have never looked back.
DeLonghi Eletta Cappuccino Top. Also have the DeLonghi Magnifica S which is a lower cost alternative. Fewer options and not as good as the Eletta, but still beats the pants off Nespresso.
Although wholelattelove has a refurbished Eletta right now for $1100 which is a steal.
though Amazon has it for $750 new…But even at that price point I feel odd asking for that as a gift. And for what its worth my wife doesn’t like coffee or espresso so this is all for a single use person (me).
If you really want an Aeroccino 4 you should buy it immediately. My wife works at Bloomingdales and they haven’t had any for almost a year, nor have Macy’s, BB&B, Sur Le Table, or Amazon for that matter. They say it’s a microchip issue. As of a few days ago Nespresso did have them available on their site.
Thanks! Seems to be in stock on the Nespresso site and Amazon too though cheaper on the Nespresso site. I’ll let my wife know. Do you have any experience with the 3 vs the 4? I would think the pour spout and dishwasher features makes it a better buy. They are priced individually only $20 apart but when you get the combo’s they do discount the 3 much better but overall I think I’d rather have the 4.
Second is experience. I enjoyed Nespresso drinks while on that trip to Europe. So maybe it is just my preferential taste. I was at a local Nespresso boutique looking at the original line vs the newer line and I did a taste test of the two and clearly I think the OL was better. So from a tasting point of view I was able to narrow that down.
Third - ability to try different flavors very easily. It is like wine, I do not want a Napa Cab or an OR Pinot every Friday night. So I find it interesting thatI can try different beans/blends very easily. Not to “pair” but just if I feel like something different.
If I wanted to go non Nespresso - after a lot of reading I guess the Breville Barista Express kind of fits the price range I’d be comfortable with and has a built in grinder but still lots of the manual process. Though people say the grinder is “eh” and it becomes a slippery scale getting into that $1k+ range.
I am not sure I want another “hobby” which requires such time, patience, YouTube watching, etc.
seems like a good fit. i would certainly suggest seeking out some better espresso joints local to you or when you travel. you’ll quickly learn what you really like and what you don’t.
and yea like anything, coffee can be as much as hobby as you want it to be.
We had that before the DeLonghi. It made the best coffee hands down. Loved that machine. Only reason to get rid of it was the very manual process that my wife couldn’t do so I had to make all the coffee every morning and I got tired of that. But the machine itself was perfect in every way. No problems with the grinder at all. I just finally got around to selling mine last week for $300.
I have the Delonghi Magnifica and a Nespresso CitiZ. I keep the CitiZ in the man cave so the hubby can easily make an espresso without a mess or guests can make one at their leisure. The Aeroccino works really well - and is great for when you are making more than one cappuccino. I know most on this board hate Nespresso - but for ease of use/cleanup it can’t be beat.
Thanks - glad to hear you like the CitiZ + Aerocino. did you get the A3 that comes with the CitiZ? I was thinking of getting the CitiZ on its own then getting the A4 on its own due to some of the upgrades in features.
My wife laughs I have enough hobbies (Home Automation, Wine, BBQ, working out/athletics, backpacking, etc) so I am just looking for some caffeine to kick start my morning. I could see in 2-3 years selling the CitiZ because I “got the bug” and want to go full into the hobby or selling the CitiZ because I never use it - ha! I guess time will tell……
Yeah its that manual process that makes me reconsider it. My wife doesn’t drink coffee/espresso so it will be all on me. And I am mostly drinking Americanos or Cappuccinos so if I am watering (or adding milk) to the espresso the quality of the shot I think becomes a bit less important. Maybe I am overthinking it who knows.
Appreciate all the advice/thoughts from the group.
Thanks Lori. Though its nice the Citiz has a “built in A3” option I think I’ve opt’d to get a A4 stand alone along with the Citiz. I have enough outlets so not worried about 2 plugs vs 1 plug. I am also hesitant of built in items as if 1 piece goes the whole unit goes. Not sure if they’ll keep making an A3 given there is now an A4 hence my apprehension. I tend to over analyze too!
If you are an aficionado, go with the four-figure espresso machine. If you want a quick, decent latte in the morning, go with the Nespresso. The cost is not that much, each pod is about 80 cents. If you go that direction, look for better quality pods; I find the Nespresso brand capsules off-putting because of the flavors. Colonna makes some nice pods (no flavoring) and so does Pods and Parcel. Both offer biodegradable capsules if that matters to you. Both Colonna or Pods and Parcel are better than Starbucks or any other chain latte.
I still have a coffee machine and use that when I want some fresh roasted coffee (especially on weekends), but for the average caffeine hit in a milk-based drink, Nespresso a good option.
Thanks for the recommendations on the 3rd party capsules. Due to ease my wife got 1-2 starter packs from Nespresso as part of the order/gift but I had a feeling I’d be looking around for 3rd party options too. I saw Woken which looked interesting just due to their high caffeine content which would be appreciated early in the AM! The Pods and Parcel flavors sound really interesting so I may give those a try.
We have, and use, the CitiZ. It’s fine for a hot, coffee-like drink, as long as you’re adding milk. Otherwise, the espresso itself is pretty crappy. But so is starbucks, so it’s not that much different. When I want real espresso, I go to my local shop that pulls a serious shot.
Nespresso is a big cost savings over going to starbucks every day. The frother will end up in your pantry gathering dust.