About Nespresso Coffee Machines

George Clooney loves his Nespresso, and so does New Zealand. Nespresso topped our consumer ratings in 2014, scoring 5 stars in almost every category.

So why is it number one? According to our survey respondents Nespresso is reliable, easy to use, and easy to clean, looks good, and ultimately makes great coffee. It might be a bit expensive, but you are certainly paying for quality. A Nespresso coffee machine can cost anywhere between $220 and $1,000.

A sleeve of 10 coffee pods costs between $6 and $10 depending on the variety you buy. Individually, capsules are prices between $0.68 and $0.90. You pay for a top quality coffee and the convenience (and great taste) of Nespresso pods.

A brief history of the company

Nespresso began in the 1980s, with the idea of a Nestle employee from Switzerland. He thought that anyone should be able to create the perfect cup of coffee at home. Eric Favre sat on this idea until 1996, when he first filed the patent application for Nespresso’s capsule brewing process.

He invented, patented, and introduced the Nespresso system to the Swiss business market to little success, but with some help, made his product a big hit.

They have certainly revolutionized the way we do coffee at home, as their capsule idea has caught on internationally. Innovation and trend setting have certainly been their strong point since the company’s inception

The Range

There is a huge range of quality Nespresso coffee machines that are produced by De’Longhi and Breville. Nespresso have five collections of machine based around different design theme, brand and functionality (whether it integrates a milk frother or not).

For example, the Inissia range was designed to be a compact machine for a modern kitchen. It comes in a range of colours from sensible to garish depending on what you like, and makes coffee fast to suit a busy lifestyle.

Like many of the Nespresso models, a milk frother needs to be purchased separately, as the machine is not equipped with a steam wand or milk chamber.

The U machine range is centered on simplicity and modularity, as it comes with various accessories. It is a touch-sensitive and tactile machine that is sleek and modern, combining simple design with advanced features.

It’s adaptability is a key feature of the U, as the external parts (water tank, cup support, accessories) can be made to fit into any space; they can be fitted to the machine in more than one way, ensuring that the machine has that modular factor.

A new addition sees the U adding a milk frother with a new range of machines. This is a handy thing to have with the machine rather than having to buy and store it separately.

The Citiz range, like its namesake, has a modern and urban focus; the functionality of a modern machine combines with a “retro-modern” design. It caters for many types of coffee lovers, and has variations that come with or without a milk frother, as well as a larger machine to cater for two coffees at once.

The Maestria machines are dubbed the ‘hands on’ coffee machines, because they are the only ones to come with a steam wand rather than a milk frother. They have handy features including a removable cup support for smaller cups (you then move it to the side for a bigger one).

Finally, they have the Latissima range. They are boxy and practical, incorporating coffee and milk into a single machine. A Latissima has all of the same features as any other Nespresso machine, with the convenience of the attached milk frother.

All Nespresso machines are made by either Breville or De’Longhi. You can find both brands in almost all of the collections.

Other coffee machine brands we rated

Canstar Blue commissions Colmar Brunton to regularly survey New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who had recently bought a coffee machine. ­­­391 consumers were surveyed on their coffee machine purchase

The other coffee machine brands in this year’s survey are:

• De’Longhi
• Sunbeam
• Breville

You can view the coffee machine survey results here.