Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We read the reviews and were excited about receiving our system. We have friends that love their original Nespresso systems and this was “improved” and “state-of-the-art”. The unboxing experience was terrific. The packaging was beautiful and secure and the products were easily removed. The sampler pack was elegant. We loved that the machine warmed up and was ready for use very quickly and then auto shut off for energy saving. But- When we went to clean it for first use it took several tries to get it to work. Its logic is iffy. For something that depends on its microprocessor this is a concern. We were surprised by the small number of coffees available. The original system has many suppliers and many flavors. The competition keeps the prices more affordable. The VertoLine capsules are only available from Amazon at $2 each, from Nespresso who will pay for shipping if you buy a bunch at $.95/ea., from Sur La Table and of course, from the discount leader- Bloomingdales. There are a bunch of claims on the system especially regards the crema- one of my favorite parts of an espresso. My apologies to KawaiiGuyy who commented on this and whom I wrote off as a coffee snob. He is absolutely right! The crema is really whipped coffee and very bitter because it is the result of overextraction. The brew temperatures are wildly inconsistent from brewing to brewing but consistently below that of a proper draw. The bar codes are irrelevant in my tests. I tested brew times and temperatures for several of the coffees and several of the espressos. I tested with the bar codes both intact and marked out. Within the range of variations for any particular brewing session from the machine, they were all roughly the same. How it can read the barcode when it is spinning at “1000’s of RPM” with no laser strains credulity. It seems evident that the size of the capsule determines the amount of water. The brew temperature, dwell time and delivery temperature are a wild card from batch to batch. Obviously this is an attempt to limit distribution to Nestle brand coffees and cut out the competition. It delivers great claims and only so-so coffee at a high price Pros: - Great Packaging - Easy to use - Attractive Design - Great Frother. Easy to clean. Cons: - Expensive - Bitter - Whipped “Crema” not real crema - Noisy - Inconsistent between brews - Low brew temps. Many times it is only lukewarm - Limited selection of coffees - Wearability of spinning brew basket is a concern - This machine is being trial marketed in the US only (despite the Italianized coffee names). If it fails and is withdrawn you have a $350 doorstop. -