Nespresso Vertuo Next Coffee and Espresso Maker by Breville, with Aeroccino Milk Frother, Light Grey

A flavorful coffee maker
I have owned more coffee makers than I can probably name. I have (or have had) a french press, an electric percolator, a stove top percolator, moka pot, pour over, Senseo, tassimo. Keurig, mr coffee drip, HB Flex Brew, and many off brand variants of some of the previously mentioned.I like coffee. I prefer darker and bold. But different roasts have their place. Some makers do better with some blends than others are able to do. Some of my methods are manual and others automatic. Lately, I tend more towards the automatic simply because of convenience and speed. No way I’m gonna stumble out of bed on a work day and mess with a moka pot. I want coffee and I want it immediately.So, have owned all these I do have favorites among the one cup variety. The Senseo was my first and it changed how I felt about coffee. It really did make great coffee and the pods(?) started out reasonably priced but then became outrageously expensive (probably not by what we’ve come to accept today but back then a $1+ each was like paying $5 for gas). Honestly, the one I remember liking the best was the tassimo. Really, nice cup. Very finicky cleaning issues though. I put it up when discs became too expensive, but fortunately about about a year later our local Clearance Outlet had packages for $2 each! I was able to buy 30 or more and use it until it died.I will say I like the Nespresso about as much. I already had the original line Nespresso. We bought the Plus version for my mother-in-law and I got to use it and liked it. I bought the Next because I thought it’s be easier to brew the 18oz and split it with my wife with less fuss. In hind sight I would have gone with the Plus. I like the motorized open and close and well the Carafe only has to choices. I tried on and don’t want to spend the money to try the other.OTOH, I love all the sampler pack. Awsome sinlge and double espressos all the way up to the “coffee” size.It does get expensive. To help with that I bought the silicone caps for refill. Our usual bean we buy and grind didn’t to so hot. I might have to go the final 2 clicks on the “fine” grind setting. But, Cafe Bustello is fabulous – almost a chocolate taste. I get plenty of crema. Actually, the Next makes so much crema we had to get bigger cups just to hold it. Your mileage will vary depending on your likes. I’ve only had it since Christmas so we haven’t been able to try different coffees and grinds yet. There isn’t much fuss with refilling your own pods. The most work is cutting off the old foil. I find those coffee scoops that open like tongs and have the funnel shaped top for pouring is exactly the right amount for a “coffee” size refill. Just pour it in and put the silicone cap on. No need to tamp or anything.Hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.

Move over Keurig
After getting over the initial sticker shock of the pods I am sold on this machine. It works well and brews coffee exactly how it should. It only has 1 button so its features are limited. I wish there was an easy way to just make hot water with this but there isn’t. I wish the water reservoir was larger and also with the disposal bin was too but oh well. Can’t be too picky I guess. I know the reliability of this machine is historically poor after reading many reviews so let’s see how this holds up. So far so good after 3 months and about 100 coffees.

We use this as our office coffee machine and it’s a hit with everyone. Worked well off the start, brews a delicious cup of coffee, and I love that it drops the used pods into a receptacle we can empty. ALSO FAIRLY QUIET which matters to some folks.

When unpacking, I had the box on the kitchen floor as it was so large, the water tower was not taped to the body of the unit and fell off, hit the kitchen floor and broke. I had to order, and pay for a replacement from Nespresso. I have yet to make a cup of coffee but I expect nothing but the best. ☕️

Love the coffee, easy to use, simple design.