Nespresso Essenza Mini BEC220BLK1AUC1

Compact, easy to use, good brew!

I specialize in kitchen reviews. Of the countless gadgets I’ve evaluated, none gets more use than my superb Nespresso Essenza Mini. We’re coffee connoisseurs and get 99% percent of the quality we used to from time-consuming fiddling with my high maintenance Saeco Classico espresso machine. But is the Original Line as good as the more recently introduced Vertuo? Can Keurig complete with these European wonder machines? Read on to learn more:

First, if you are going to order an Original Line machine, this Essenza Mini is THE ONE to get. Don’t let its diminutive size scare you. It’s so small you can leave it on the counter or conveniently store it and effortlessly use it daily with wonderful simplicity. Everything about this machine is FANTASTICO—ease of use, simplicity of cleaning, and no maintenance whatsoever.

Second, if you are reading this review, may have a Keurig and possibly find its results mediocre. We sure did. The Nespresso gives you all of the convenience of Keurig, great coffee varieties, yet flavor worth of any expensive high end coffee house. Even the better Keurig coffees are simply not up to the flavor excellence of the Nespresso machines.

ORIGINAL LINE VS VERTUO: DOES IT MATTER?

So what about Original vs. Vertuo lines? It’s no secret that Americans like a big cup of java and Nespresso developed the Vertuo solely for the American market. Compared to Nespresso’s original line, the Vertuo claim to fame is the variety of drink sizes it offers. If dainty little Ristretto’s are not your thing, you can choose coffees that make cups of quite large sizes. For example, big mama Alto XL Intenso is the Mac truck of Nespresso coffees, yielding a giant 14 ounce cup.

But the downside of Vertuo is that it utilizes a different extraction method. While the Original is 99% undetectable from old school ground espresso that’s hand tamped (a pain let me tell you!) the Vertuo is more about convenience while still giving a very fine tasting cup. Time and time again, professional reviews give a slight nod to the Original machine’s flavor, though.

With the original system like with the Essenza Mini, you do get three size settings, tiny Ristretto which we never use, Espresso, and the largest volume Lungo. Although Nespresso makes lungo-specific pods with 20% more coffee, we like the Lungo setting while still using the regular sized pods. Compared to ploddingly slow Keurig machines, your amazing espresso (on any size setting) is ready in under 40 seconds!

WHICH TYPE OF CAPSULE IS MORE ECONOMICAL?

This was the deciding factor for us: The OriginalLine patent ran out some years ago and there is now a wonderful variety from competing brands, too. Some swear only true Nespresso-branded coffee is worthy of the machine and I am here to counter respectfully with one word: “Bunk!” I’ll admit that Nespresso’s coffees are consistency wonderful, yet they can be double the price of another famous brand we have found at our supermarket, Lavazza. Try the Deciso. It’s a 10 intensity roasted in Italy—fantastic and sometimes on sale as a BOGO at our market.

Another great brand found here at Amazon is Cafespresso. It’s half the price, or less, than Nespresso coffee. We have only tried the 6 intensity Medosto and it rivals any mid strength coffee from Nespresso at only .37 a pod! Truly wonderful.

One downside of Vertuo is that it is still under the patent. Unless you want the tedious habit of buying a contraption to tamp your own pods, you must use only Nespresso branded Vertuo at a fairly high cost, depending on size selected.

I PREFER A BIG CUP OF COFFEE: DOES THAT MEAN MY CHOICE IS VERTUO?

Nah! This machine, and any Original Line machine can knock out a double in less than 90 seconds! Just put your cup under the machine, add the capsule of your choice, brew. And QUICKLY repeat. Now, even with two capsules used, you have a cup as large as the Vertuo machine that remains very reasonably priced.

DO I NEED A MORE EXPENSIVE MACHINE WITH A FROTHER?

No! It is far better and cheaper to get a separate simple to use frother. We drink cappuccinos and lattes almost exclusively. The Nespresso Aeroccino frother is sometimes bundled with this machine but is quite overpriced. I’ve reviewed several frothers and highly recommend the Miroco ones. I use mine every morning. It’s half the price of the Aeroccino and easy to clean. In terms of quality froth and easy of use, the Nespresso Aeroccino and Miroco are equally good. Don’t bother with those cheap wand stick frothers. They are inferior and a pain to use. Here’s a link to Miroco’s stainless model review if this has frothed your interest:

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3E10Y90RV2IZ0/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B07HH9BHL1

WHAT ABOUT NESPRESSO’S DOLCE GUSTO POD MACHINES?

Before Nespresso developed the Vertuo line, it tried another pod system for the American market called Dolce Gusto. Think of it as Keurig-deluxe but no where near the quality of either of its Original or Vertuo lines. Nespresso is no longer marketing Dolce Gusto consumers but instead to the professional market of businesses, etc. Pods are only available through Amazon and each pod is expensive. We have a little used Dolce Gusto and abandoned it in favor of this magnificent Esssenza Mini.

Jumpin’ Java! This sure has turned out to be a long review. Hope it has been of some help. Now time for good cup of coffee, for sure!

HAPPY BREWING!

Le café est bon mais il est tiede

A lot of the Fairmont hotels are switching their Keurigs for the Nespressos so I had a chance to try a few of them. So yummy that I had to get my own. I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to strong coffee; not an issue with this baby cause you just press the button again and it pumps out more water through the capsule. When I want a latte, I just pull out my Bodum french press, put some soy milk in, microwave for 90 seconds (without the metal pumping piece), pump it a few times to get the froth and voila – a perfect latte. I still use my Keurig at home but when I want to really enjoy my cup of coffee, this baby gets used. A real treat!

Update: have had machine for 3 months and it stopped working properly. Pods just drop down instead of being held up to make the coffee. Nespresso customer service was fantastic! Within 3 business days, I had a loaner machine and am shipping mine back. Amazing service! I figure I have already made back the money I spent on this thing making my own soymilk lattes with flavoring at home every day. I just use my Bodum French Press to pump air into the soymilk for froth (heat it for 90 seconds first in microwave).

This is my first Nespresso machine, after having used them in various AirBNB’s while on vacation, typically with the wide variety of capsules available at local markets. The price was right, as was the size. There are a lot of PROS about this product, which makes it an excellent first purchase. But there are a few CONS that can’t be ignored for anyone trying to make a decision to spend more or less on a Nespresso maker.

First let me say everything about this product, from unpacking to my first cup of espresso, was an absolute pleasure. I was not disappointed about any aspect of it. It’s nice looking, well made, and solidly constructed. The complimentary sample capsules really helped me place my first order with Nespresso, as local markets in the US don’t have the variety of third party capsules as other countries, if any.

That said, there’s very little negative to discuss, other than a few questions I have and the few shortcomings of this product:

1) Its compact size is both a blessing and a curse. The water reservoir needs to be filled up frequently, especially if you drink lungos, or multiple espressos in one sitting. This is not a big deal. The water tank easily lifts off, and refills quickly.

2) However, this unit seems to waste a lot of water, or rather, maybe that’s how it works. This isn’t such a large problem in of itself as the amounts are rather small, but with a limited water receptacle built into the base of the machine, it can quickly fill up and overflow. This is especially true if you perform an empty chamber warming cycle cup (running a cup of hot water without the capsule), or make an Americano this way. The tiny tray will fill up much more quickly than the ejected capsule container, which holds maybe 4-5. All things considered, this is also not a major problem, but it does take some of the convenience out of the system.

3) Where this becomes a problem, is that the moisture tends to find its way over the sides of the drip tray and into the base of the brewer, which is then spilled out onto the counter when the container is pulled out to be emptied. This tends to happen whether the tray overflows or not — possibly from steam condensation? In other systems, the drip tray holds more water as it’s combined with the drip tray for the spout. I see why they chose not to do this with this machine, as it allows the drip tray to be easily removed and a larger cup placed under the spout. However, all of the drip trays are defeated by the water that collects in the base of the brewer. I find that I have to wipe up the water on the counter after every time I pull the drip containers for emptying, which is much more frequently due to the small size of the unit.

— But this is more than a convenience issue. It also limits where and how I can use this brewer. I had thought its compact size would make for an excellent espresso maker for use in my office at work. Unfortunately, with the amount of daily cleanup required, and the small size of the drip containers, it’s really not for use outside of a kitchen to easily facilitate these limitations. I may still try to put it on a tray of some sort, on a towel to absorb the water, with a larger waste water bucket nearby, but that kind of defeats the point of its compact size.

So far I’ve been mostly pleased with the coffee it brews. I can’t say I’m a fan of much of the Nespresso offerings, and I’m a bit disappointed that there are so few lungo choices, especially the intense roasts. But there are a few I do like, and that’s really all I need. I also picked up a WayCap reusable capsule system which allows me to use any coffee I like, which works perfectly with this unit.

1) My main criticism of the Nespresso capsules is that they don’t seem to correspond to standard espresso measurements. For instance, a single espresso is supposed to be around 25ml. This is what a coffee house like Starbucks serves. But this machine claims to brew a single espresso at 40ml — almost twice that, and closer to a doppio. And while the espresso shot is rich tasting, adding just a 110ml of water to it, dilutes it to a a weak brew, not a robust Americano. Keep in mind Starbucks adds almost 300ml to a double shot of espresso to make a rich-tasting Tall Americano. So that’s disappointing.

2) Im not sure if the brew temperature is hot enough to properly extract the flavor from these capsules, given that the machine appears to be calibrated for these volumes. Again, my research suggests the proper extraction temperature for espresso should be 87C-96C. The output from this machine is around 73C-79C. Since this is my first Nespresso machine, I can’t be sure if this is normal or not, and these specs do not seem to be readily available anywhere.

That said, this machine seems to make a decent single/double shot of espresso per capsule. If that’s your goal, limited to about 2-4 cups a day, then this is a perfect little machine for doing that. However, don’t expect great Lungos, or Americanos out of it. And more than 4 cups a day, expect to do a lot more daily maintenance. I do love that Nespresso aluminum capsules are 100% recyclable, and that they have a program that doesn’t cost me anything. Aluminum can be recycled at only 5% of the resources to manufacture new aluminum and that’s a huge distinction compared to plastic capsule systems, where recycling plastic consumes far more resources than creating it new. And given the size of this machine, I can afford the counter space even if used only occasionally when I want just a nice shot of espresso. For my larger coffee needs, I’m gonna have to stick to my K-cups for now.

I love the mini nespresso, uses original pods and make single or lungo. The single shot selection is actually about one and half shots. The lumgo is supposed to be double but adds alot more water and is about 4 oz. I use single which tastes great and makes perfect latte. Ive had no issues with this little machine. I use my espresso machine to steam my milk for a latte.