Nespresso Essenza C101 Espresso Maker, Black

This is my third Nespresso machine, following an old trio of D150s and a more newly deceased D290.

In use now for a couple weeks, the C101 continues the streak of winning machines. This is the bare-bones Essenza, without cappuccino wand, cup warmer, etc.. After a decade of looking at the milk warming wands, I realized they had never been used, and cost money. I'd rather not maintain a supply of cream in my office, nor cart in water as often as brewing "Americanos" would require.

Use is simple drop in a Nespresso pod (50-70 cents each), push the button, then the machine makes the espresso in about 30 seconds when it has sufficiently heated up. Trivial, even before injecting the morning caffeine. Every time very good espresso with a thick crema. An advantage over some older models is that making the coffee can be programmed in even before the machine has warmed up.

One can save more money buying the C91, but that one is manual in the sense that AFTER it is warmed up, one must start AND STOP the water for the cup, and a too-late stop is the gaffe for which I buy an automatic machine in the first place. One can pay more for the Pixie, but the only difference I could decipher is a smaller footprint and perhaps a faster warm-up, and worse aesthetics IMO.

I've synchronized watering the Nespresso machine with watering my plants each is once a week, i.e., about every ten cups of espresso, which is about how often the empty pods need to be dumped from the internal trash can, as well.

It looks seriously industrial on my filing cabinet no plastic Mr. Coffee. Which brings up another selling point, abandoned machines such as my old D290 still can serve as conversation pieces on the coffee table, although a friend partially revived it after a month as a paperweight .

[5-12-11 update a couple of times now the darn thing has stopped working when I accidentally tried to make an espresso without water, which wasn't problem with the old D290, and then no water was drawn into the machine, apparently sort of a vapor lock problem. After thrashing around for quite a while, I discovered that running it for a while without a pod inside draws enough water through to re-prime the tubes.]

[7-12-12 update no problems whatsoever since last update.]

[8-5-12 update got another for my aging mom to replace her D150, which she likes.]

[8-26-12 update got another for home.]

I've had this machine with the separate frother for around 3 years now. It still delivers a great espresso with a perfect crema. It's not as good as what I can do with my Rancilio with Peet's. But it's close enough without all the drama. I got it for my office, where I didn't want the mess, but took it home for the holidays and found it so convenient, it never went back.

The only problems have been:

1) sometimes it doesn't open the capsules correctly, so you have to open and close the bar a couple of times to make it work without wasting a capsule. This happens most with dented capsules.

2) The packaging of the capsules leaves a lot to be desired. Around 20-30% of them arrive with small dents and 5-10% have major ones. I've talked to Nestle and their only solution is to offer to take them back. I'd rather they fix the problem. Especially since one of the things that really attracted me to this system was the fact that the anodized aluminum capsules look so cool, like little jewels, when they are perfect. But when they are dented, it's like your new Ferrari after a fender bender. It may drive the same, but it's embarrassing to let anyone see you with it.

3) Frother's pretty useless because it's difficult to clean, has to be handwashed, takes to long to heat up the milk, and produces very little (just enough for a single). I'd be better to save your money, heat your milk in the microwave and use one of those $5 hand frothers.

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I have had this machine for over a year and I am pleased with the perfect cup of coffee each time. Each of the color cubes are selected for the taste at that moment. Whenever I have people over for dinner, this coffee is served after the meal with rave responses. I have gotten 14 people this year to purchase this machine. Now that I have started drinking this coffee, I have not been able to drink the regular drip coffee.

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I felt a little guilty buying this machine. You have to buy the coffee capsules from Nespresso. I suppose you could empty them out, compost the grounds and recycle the aluminum, but that's way too much work. On the other hand, it makes a great cup of coffee. A couple of Lungos to start the day and a quick short or long shot any time your caffeine load wanes ... just perfect.

The instructions are not entirely clear. I'm not sure if it's French graphic conventions or just my bias toward textual explanations, but I was confused for about five minutes. My confusion was easily cured by loading the thing up and pushing buttons to see what happens.

I think I'll have some coffee.

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Bought this machine when we arrived here, and the machine works perfectly fine. Although other offers are now coming through for 149 $, Amazon's product is slightly priced. The delivery was fast and on time. No complaints about the product.

Mr. Coffee JWX20 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, White

The other reviewers are right. This makes a decent cup of coffee, but it's really messy. Grounds get everywhere and due to its size it's hard to rinse the inside in the sink. It's awkward to fill because it's extra long and you have to fill it at the back. The clock hasn't kept the time right since we got it. Wish I'd read reviews first, but our last pot died one morning, and I just ran out and got one. This is about our 4th coffeepot over the years, and the first one I really dislike.

Bought this about a month ago at a local store. It looked like a good deal, and I had never had a bad experience with Mr Coffee before.

The other reviews are SPOT ON. When it brews, the coffee is good. I have experienced the folded over filter/grounds in coffee, and you never know when it will happen. The inside of the coffee maker is just poorly designed. Grounds and splashed coffee tend to go all over the inside of the unit, making cleanup a real pain. Since the brewing chamber and water storage are in the same area, the steam from the coffee (along with the splashes) tends to accumulate on the inside and further make a mess.

I would never buy this coffee maker again, and I am strongly contemplating donating it and buying a new one. I hate having to clean it up all the time. You gotta wonder if the designers of these coffee makers actually try to use it at home for a couple of days to see how they work. Does not look that way.

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About 50% of the time when I'd go to pour a cup of coffee, the filter had been compromised and the grinds leaked into the pot! Not happy with this purchase. The features are nice, but the actual coffee making is not good.

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5 stars on brewed coffee when brewed. 1 star on dependability.

This coffee maker was amazing. It worked hard, made some good strong coffee. It's auto shut off for the hot plate was great. Strong or regular brew strength was great too.

Until this morning, it would not brew. Checked everything, read booklet, nothing. Went online, target where I bought it people were saying same thing happened to them, pump died thus no more coffee brewing.

So if you want great coffee with a short life span you should pick this up at your local target or amazon for under $30 or just invest in a better longer lasting model. My old dependable whose 2 yrs old and mr coffee stainless steel 8 cup guy just got dug out and is back in use. Going to return this item today.

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The writing on the metal surface rubbed off, and in less than a year the machine broke. dont waste your money.

Nespresso CitiZ D110 Espresso Maker, Black

I stressed about buying a "pod" machine for some time. I didn't like the feeling of being held to corporate pods and I resisted the "idiot-proof" nature of a machine like this, but I accepted the fact that I am not interested in coffee enough to master hard core barista techniques so I took the plunge with this machine.

It was a great decision. This machine is beautiful, functional, easy to use and makes fantastic espresso, cappuccino and latte drinks consistently and I highly recommend it. If you dont have access to a Nespresso Boutique for your pod purchases you can get very fast delivery from their online store with reasonable shipping (but I think it should be free).

I also debated a long time between this machine and the one with the attached milk frothing device. I decided to buy that separately because I didnt want the machine to take up too much counter space and the separate frother can be stored in the cupboard.

After traveling the course of Delonghi and Capresso manual and semi-automatic machines, I finally broke down. Spending 20 minutes to prepare a shot of espresso, including preparation and clean-up, and then having to drink it luke warm after the motions, was, to put it mildly, just not fun anymore.

Once you get off the high horse of "Oh, that cannot be espresso, only an X machine can make espresso, you need to suffer to make espresso", and you actually try Nespresso coffee, you are in for a treat. It's not bad. NOT BAD AT ALL.

I'm a hardcore coffee guy. My favorite espresso will always be the one that a professional makes for me, or one that I make for somebody else. I cannot enjoy something I make for myself. So my choice was either one of those $1,000+ super automatic machines, with all its glorious, unending, thankless maintenance chores, or one of those "capsule" monsters. Well, HELLO FRANKENSTEIN. Yes, yes, you are ALIVE!

The CitiZ could not be easier to operate. Anything I can say in that regard would be overkill; some fellow reviewers have done magnificently in their description of the beautiful "unboxing experience". Nespresso offers a nice variety of coffee blends, and they are sufficiently diverse in flavor and complexity to matter. Those people who say that there is no difference between blends (i.e. the Dulção and the Ristretto) may have lost their taste buds in a horrible dentistry accident, or may be instant coffee refugees. My condolences.

Yes, the people at Nestlé are uptight snobs, presumptuous b*stards who have closed the Nespresso capsule market to themselves. They sell a relatively expensive product ($0.60+ per capsule, after taxes and shipping)that you can't find in stores, and which can only be ordered at their uppity online club. Well... I can live with that. And, as far as heartless capitalism goes, those Nestlé Nespresso guys are lovable. Once you consider the practicity of the delivery mechanism, the consistent quality of a product that is satisfying, complex, and rewarding each and every time that you press that magical button, then the "you get what you pay for" law of nature hits you.

I got what I paid for. And I'm pretty happy with my purchase.

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Had problem with my Nespresso Citiz after just two years of light use. Clear water coming out as capsule did not puncture. This seems to be a common problem. Just got off the phone with Nespresso 'CS Manager'. THEY REFUSED TO FIX MACHINE. Wanted to charge $125, then lowered to $99. Obviously they DO NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCTS. This machine is only 2 years old and was well cared for. Offered to sell me a new one! Told them I am moving to the Starbucks machine, as Nespresso obviously doesn't stand behind their products. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. Will never buy, again!

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I absolutely love this machine. Easy to use and takes up little space in the kitchen. So convenient and takes no skill at all to use.....in other words it's a no brainer and that is what I need in the morning!

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I've owned a few espresso machines over the years: Many years ago, I owned one of those stovetop metal machines. It's been so long since I've had one of those that I'm not even going to comment on the quality of espresso it made. Subsequently I purchased a few different pump machines made by Krups. They both made decent espresso, but nothing compared to what I could get at a decent cafe.

I moved several months ago and discovered that my espresso machine didn't survive the move. After fruitlessly trying to figure out how to get it running again, I decided I'd just buy a new machine. What to buy? I looked at Krups again, but thought it might be nice to get something that would hopefully make even better espresso. I looked at Breville and a few other brands, but my frugal side kept pulling me back to inexpensive machines by Krups and a few others. Meanwhile I was seeking out opinions from others, both in person and online, and finally decided to give the Nespresso brand a try. I was initially extremely put off by the notion of buying into a system where I'd have to buy my coffee from the manufacturer, but I did have to admit that the ease of use seemed great and I wasn't particularly enamored by all that was entailed in using a manual machine.

I've now had my CitiZ for nearly three months and have to say that, along with my Nespresso Aerocino, it is one of the best consumer electronics purchases I've ever made. I like strong espresso, so my preferred pods are the more intense ones: Ristretto, Arpeggio, Roma, Decaf Intenso, and the limited edition Kazaar. I've had espresso at a few cafes since buying my CitiZ and I honestly have found all of them inferior to what I get from my CitiZ. The CitiZ is so easy to use that you could probably make your first cup of coffee while half asleep.

I just descaled my machine for the first time yesterday, and that was quite a breeze to do as well. (Look for a helpful YouTube video on descaling the CitiZ versus trying to figure out Nespresso's illustrated instructions.)

In closing, yes this machine cost me more than I initially wanted to spend. Yes, the capsules cost WAY more than buying coffee beans, grinding them yourself, and then using them in a machine where you have to measure, tamp, etc. But what you get in exchange for the premium cost is consistently great espresso. I'm frequently a budget minded person, but this is one indulgence I'm happy to have developed. I haven't enjoyed drinking coffee this much in years. And, no, I'm not a Nespresso employee -I just sound like one. :)