Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Being lazy and on a budget we've been using Keurig for a few years for morning coffee, and a simple Makineta on the weekends for a real espresso taste. The Keurig is not really coffee, but it is fast and easy. The Makineta produces exceptional espresso, but it is hard to setup and clean, only creates two shots at one cycle and you have to froth the milk separately. Bottom line - not a practical solution on weekday mornings when you need to get the kids to school, feed and walk the dog before heading out to work. When we came back from a trip to Europe this summer we couldn't even look at the Keurig machine anymore, and we shifted our search for a fully automatic espresso machine to high gear. I've been following the Nespresso machine for a while now, but never got one because I wanted a machine that does it all. The only other machine I was considering was the Jura, but I could never get myself to pay over $1,200 for an espresso machine. The day I saw a video online featuring the Nespresso Latissima I knew that my prayers were finally been answered. The first chance I got I went to the Sur-La-Table store in DC to see it in action and to get a taste. 10 minutes later I was carrying a nice red one back to the car with a big smile on my face. I took a leap of faith because I usually wait to see more than 2 reviews for a product before purchasing it, but everything about this machine seemed right. Two weeks later we couldn't be more pleased with the results - we LOVE it!!! The box comes with a variety of samples that were gone really fast, and we are into our second order from the online store - we can't stop using it... I don't like buying capsules - I prefer to buy and grind my own coffee and I know I'm paying more for the capsule system, but I can live with it because of the speed, the ease of use, the cleaning and the taste of course. From the moment I turn the machine on to the time I hold a cup of an amazing latte in my hands it takes about five minutes, and the next cup will take about two minutes. When you are done you use the rinse button, and simply take the milk container and place it back in the fridge. What really surprised me was the quality and the consistency of the frothed milk - it is very thick and creamy, almost like whipped cream. The milk volume can be adjusted on the go with a dial, and if you are really picky, then you can use the programming buttons to tweak the modes (we didn't see a need to change anything). One more word about the capsules - You can only buy them online from Nespresso, or at specific Bloomingdale's locations. I don't like this because it requires planing ahead, but on the other hand they deliver in two business days, and I guess this is their way to keep the capsuls fresh and under tight control. Bottom line - I still think that the Jura is a better machine in terms of freshness(instant grind), but the Nespresso Latissima is going to give it a good run for the money coming in at about 1/4 of the price with almost as good results. Who would think that I could just walk out of my house every morning with a fresh Cappuccino or Latte that is better than Sta***ks and took under 5 minutes to prepare with no cleaning afterwards? I'm happy!