Espresso is ubiquitous in coffee shops and is probably the basis of some of your favorite caffeinated drinks. But for those who want to take photos at home, the art of espresso can be tough to master. Enter the Nespresso machine.
While Nespresso machines can’t replicate the syrupy consistency or range of complexity you’ll find at your favorite coffee shop, they can mimic the intensity of a good espresso with very little time and effort. We’ve tested machines compatible with Nespresso capsules and recommend the compact Nespresso Essenza Mini because it’s quick, convenient, and reliable to exploit. It’ll also look pretty cute in your kitchen.
Our choice
Essenza Mini brews a balanced, consistent espresso that is more mellow than other Nespresso machines we tested. It is a elementary machine with a compact footprint and elegant design.
Although the Nespresso Essenza Mini can only brew espresso, it does its sole function with skill, producing well-balanced espresso that we would drink again and again. It is effective for its size, brewing quickly, is elementary to exploit and requires little cleaning. True to its name, the Essenza Mini is a compact appliance, about half the size of a toaster, and is straightforward to fit on a crowded countertop or in a cupboard. It comes in two elegant styles (conical or rectangular) to suit different tastes. The Essenza Mini is part of Original line and can prepare only three types of espresso with different concentrations: highly concentrated ristretto (0.85 ounces), espresso (1.35 ounces), and diluted lungo (3.7 ounces).
Also great
In addition to silky espresso, the Nespresso VertuoPlus can also make an 8-ounce cup of coffee that’s better than anything we’ve tried from a Keurig espresso machine.
The Nespresso VertuoPlus brews good espresso, but its appeal really lies in its ability to also brew 8-ounce coffees, so it caters to a wider range of coffee preferences. It’s a taller machine than our pick, but its countertop space is still compact. With an automatic lid and one-touch operation, it is almost straightforward to exploit. It can brew espresso, double espresso, 5-ounce gran lungo and 8-ounce coffee.
While the coffee it makes can’t compete with home brewing methods like pour-over, French press, or drip, it’s still a massive step up from Keurig’s coffees. Unlike the Original line of machines, however, this one is circumscribed to using proprietary Nespresso capsules, which are exorbitant and not sold in grocery stores (Starbucks also makes Vertuo capsules, which are available in some grocery stores, but they’re not as good).
