Does anyone have it? The Essenza Mini. It’s relatively cheap, so I’m just wondering if it’s worth it. Please tell me your thoughts!
P.S. If it’s relevant at all, I’m in Europe. And looking at the cheapest one because… student life
Get a hario drip. The filters are dirt cheap, you can buy whatever blend you like and you’re not a removed throwing hundreds of small plastic capsules into the ocean for his CoNvEniEnCe.
It’s 2023. Those things should be banned along with plastic utensils, bottles and other brilliant inventions.
Nespresso pods are allegedly recycled. They give you bags to mail them back. I’m assuming they don’t pay for those shipping labels just to trash them.
Plastic recycling is a scam. Most of the things you throw into the yellow bin get shredded, burned or just sent off to a pile. We didn’t get micro plastics in our blood from recycling.
Nespresso’s pods are aluminum, not plastic (well, the foil that hold the pod closed might be plastic?). Aluminum can be recycled pretty well.
Though, of course, the environmental impact is still way higher than any non-pod brewing method.
Well it’s a good thing their pods aren’t plastic!
They use plastics for lids and lining, but hey, nestle says they’re eco friendly and nestle has never done anything wrong or misguided any of their consumers.
Do not do it. Get a cheap regular expresso instead. Nespresso is like printers, they seem cheap but the Cartridges/capsules are made of unicorn blood. Reusable capsules might be the solution but the quality of the coffee is awful if you use them and you lose the main point of the nespresso: convenience.
Don’t buy this environmental disaster. It makes shit coffee anyway. If you’re on a tight budget, get an Aeropress.
Do a little napkin math. 90% of the time it’s cheaper over a 1 year period (or less) to get a decent superautomatic than a Nespresso. Nespresso is cheaper day 1, but every cup of coffee is significantly more expensive.
And superautomatics are far less wasteful.
I got a Philips and highly recommend it.
The machine may be cheap but keep in mind the cost of those pods. If you’re on a student budget, I’d recommend buying some sort of coffee pot, whichever fits your preferences. Either an Italian espresso maker, or a French press, or an aeropress. Those are pretty cheap and can all be used with regular coffee, which will be way more budget friendly in the long run.
No offense to anyone who likes this stuff. Nespresso machines make the absolute worst coffee I have ever had.
Yeah, they are pretty abysmal.
I’d say it really depends on what you are looking for. If you want something that is technically coffee and has mostly dark roast tasting notes, and delivers caffeine in a relatively easy manner, I’m sure Nespresso is gonna do the trick just fine.
If you want to get into the finer nuances of coffee, there are much better options out there. What would you say your budget is, realistically?
I cannot speak to that model and I should mention that I’m American, but I have used 3 different models of Nespresso machines and have been thoroughly pleased with all of them.
Between the ethical issues with Nestle, the costs of the pods, environmental impact, etc., it’s a nonstarter for me.
Although I suppose I can see an argument for getting the machine (which they’re probably selling at a loss) and then getting refillable pods or pods from good roasters since Nestle failed to prevent competitors from using their pod format.
Any reason why you want a machine with capsules? A small french press is going to be much less expensive (while also being very compact), and you can brew some fantastic coffee. A pourover with a metal filter is also not much hassle, and also less expensive in the long run.
I was going for variety, since there’s so many different types of capsules.
Edit: I do understand the appeal of a French press though, I have a mini one and make some amazing espressos with it. But… yeah it gets stale after a while, since it’s the same type of coffee
a french press cannot make espressos, or anything close to an espresso
if you want, you can always use different beans with your french press - yes, it’ll always be the same type of coffee, but there’s some pretty big differences in flavor
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You can actually buy reusable capsules which can be filled with the coffee of your choosing.
And you loose all the convenience of using capsules. They are dirty and difficult to refill, also the quality of the resulting coffee cup is horrible compared to nespresso capsules. A regular italian expresso machine is a better option: awesome quality, you can choose the coffee brand and it is easier to refill than a reusable capsule.
What makes you think it’s hard to refill?
It is not that I think that are hard to refill, it is that I actually tried to refill them. Horrible experience. Also, even using a good coffee brand, the result is not optimal.
They vary a lot in price and the Essenza Mini has a smaller reservoir than the Pixie (next machine up) and a smaller waste bin. You would have to step up to a more expensive machine if you wanted milk based drinks, but it just might be better to get a separate frother if that’s important to you. Summary: you aren’t losing much by going with their cheapest one.
The coffee you buy is going to be the expensive part if you don’t choose wisely. You may even get a cheaper nespresso capsule compatible machine in Europe if you really want to save some money.
For versatility, I use an Aeropress (everyday) more than my regular delonghi semiauto (once a week or once every other week)
I have one of these and I absolutely love it. It only takes 25 seconds to get warm and it makes great cofee. The only potential downside is size - the water reservoir and drawer for used pods are a little small (which actually might be a plus for people with a small kitchen - the footprint of this thing is tiny compared to other machines).
Alsl bear in kind that capsules can be a little expensive, but there are many companies making compatible capsules for less and you can even buy a reusable calsule.
I have the Pixio machine I think. And I am regularly looking for deals on the capsules since while the machine are cheap, the capsules are not. The coffee is alright, it’s a bit better than the coffee I get at work anyways
If you wanna get a similar price machine, get a regular espresso machine and save a bunch of money on the cost of having to clean it up a while. Or brew your own beans :)
The coffee it produces is not good and it isn’t cheap. But if you are certain that is the right option for you, try buying secondhand. You might strike a good deal
