My biggest issue with the Nespresso is the environmental impact of all those little cup things.

I have a Pixie, my second. It uses the original capsules, which I think run cheaper than the Vertuo. I also have a non-Nespresso frother, less expensive, better all around.

I like a dark roast, unflavored by anything besides coffee. I use a conventional drip machine for my morning coffee (when I need volume) and then make a latte or cappuccino (or a hybrid) in the afternoon. I don’t care for a small dense drink. The crema produced in mine is overshadowed by milk froth.

I love my Nespresso but our drinking habits are different.

I have the Verturo Plus machine and love it. I drink a couple of cups of coffee in the morning only and drink mine black. So much better than my Cuisinart drip and Peet's ground coffee situation. I am not a coffee connoisseur but there is something extremely satisfying about my Nespresso Bianco Forte coffee in the morning. Total convert. I recycle my pods by shipping them back to Nespresso but am aware that probably just makes me feel a little better about my environmental impact. I am also aware this is having a financial impact on my wallet but, for now, I don't care because I so love it.

Colleen, i considered that but Nespressopods can be recycled by returning them to the company or dropping them off at a Williams Sonoma store. There is one near me. I know the foil bags that hold the coffee i buy now are not recycled. The coffee I like does not come in a paper bag.

Bunny, Ill look into the Pixie. I usually drink two cups of coffee in the morning, that’s it.

Sushi, that would be a nice way to wake up in the morning.

I have bought both the Citi and a Lattisima machine with integrated milk foamer. The Citi is a good basic model, and we have one . But I'd really first check out if you like the Virtuo or original better. The Virtuo may be better for larger cups of coffee, versus the original excels with espresso sized shots. The downside is that the pods are more expensive because the new design is patented, while the original version's patent(s) expired and now coffee pods are available from everyone in the original foil capsule form (including Lavazza, Illy, Starbucks and Peet's). You used to be able to try them out with an trial cup at Sur La Table (and maybe W&S?).

We have the Vertuo Plus and love it. DH and I drink a couple of cups each per day and it delivers a nice, hot cup. We like a darker roast and sometimes use the half-caff pods too. We also keep some decaf for guests who prefer it innthe evenings. The ones we like best are Melozio and Odacio.

We have the Nespresso Mini. It uses the original pods. Bought it as a bundle. The frother lasted about a year. I replaced it with a frother I found on Amazon.

I drink 2 lattes every morning. My husband drinks his black. He likes the crema.

https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/order/machines/original/nespresso-essenza-mini-d30-ruby-red-bundle?

We recycle the pods after emptying out the grounds that get added to our compost bin.

I have been very happy with my Vertuo Plus. Family and friends who visit like it, too! Makes great coffee!

@dedtired, I’d want to see actual eveidence that the returned pods were actually recycled. There are too many stories of materials sent to

”recycling” which were later discovered to be simply stockpiled somewhere.

I was curious so I watched some reviews on YouTube. First you need to find out if you like the crema or froth that Nespresso produces. Some of the hard-core coffee nerds with YouTube channels devoted to coffee don't care for it.

Colleen, your point is well taken. My township collects paper one week and plastic, glass etc the next. Heaven knows how much actually gets recycled.

Eileen, that is one of my thoughts. Will i like the crema? I dont know why not, its just airy coffee. Maybe Ill learn to make hearts and leaves in it.

Leaning toward the Vertuo Plus because it will fit best on my counter.

Here's one where he prefers the original machine because he doesn't like the feel and taste of the "foam" from the Vertuo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmaJDW6cBXo

I wonder if the oginal only makes espresso. I want regular coffee.

Maybe Ill go back to instant.

Colleen, link: Nespresso recycling

I make one cup and do pour-over.

I'd like a machine that grinds beans for one cup and brews it.

Nespresso pods rated, from The Wirecutter: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-nespresso-pods/

The prepared coffee inside the pods is not fresh and the tastes reflects that. I truly love good tasting freshly brewed coffee, so a convenient pod sort of device would not appeal to me.

I saw an ATK review of espresso makers and they did not give the Nespresso good marks.

If you prefer convenience over flavor, you may find the meh of a pod machine acceptable — a lot of people do.

I agree with petalique. I've had Nespresso and other pods in various hotels and tried many of the blends. None were as good as the freshly ground simple cafetiere coffee we drink at home.

We have two Nespresso machines - the original and the Vertuo. My husband likes espresso and uses the original machine for that (its pods are cheaper). I use it sometimes to make cappuccino and lattes. We have the Vertuo for making regular coffee. The Vertuo machine was a gift to me as the original does not make regular coffee and the convenience is nice, especially for guests and/or not dealing with coffee grounds. I do like the crema and I am also a black coffee drinker. The Nespresso website shows the level of darkness the various pods have. We also sometimes buy flavored coffee pods to have on hand for guests.

We also have one of those pour over coffee filters similar to this one that we use with freshly ground coffee. My husband drinks more coffee than I do so he always uses this for coffee since it's more economical. He deals with the mess (he saves the grounds to fertilize his vegetable garden).

Ded, you deserve adelicious cuppa,every day! Most most department store coffee makers do not get the water hot enough and at the right time in the process, to creat flavorful coffee — even with the best beans. Some coffee makers are expensive and still fail.

We generally only make coffee in the morning, but always have a delicious 15 oz. cup with an inexpensive glass pour-over coffee maker — a Melitta $25 small coffee. Says 6 cups, but it makes two (2) 15 oz cups. See pics)

We order our Coffee by mail, whole beans and grind it fresh each morning with a burr grinder. But you can go to a good market and buy drip grind beans that have already been ground a pound or a half pound.

We use great well water/tap water that is about 205 deg F or just off the boiling point, never boiling.

DH isn’t much for house cleaning, but he brings me delicious coffee every morning. (But I also know how to make it.)

We also have other glass pour-over makers, like the small Bodum, but tend to prefer the Melitta with its support for the conical filter.

I would love to share a cup of coffee with you ;-)

PS Oh, yes, those coffee press devices are also very good and affordable.

I don't know which one I have. It's a few years old. It uses the original size pods. It has a built in frother. I didn't want yet another thing on the counter.

I love it. Like really really love it. I love it so much that when we go to Cape Cod for a week every summer, I bring it with me! I only drink my coffee black, no sugar, so I don't use the frother. I love the coffee. I love the ease of making a cup whenever I want. And I love that I can easily make 1 cup at a time. Also, I do not like espresso or any hot coffee drink with any milk product (no cappuccinos, lattes for me). It makes a full size cup of coffee. You can train the thing to make the size you want.

I actually bought it as a gift for my DH. He used it for a few years but honestly he was never really happy with the coffee. He would sometimes use the frother and sometimes just put cream in the coffee. Just recently, he decided he wanted to go back to a drip machine. Sad for me because I don't like all the things on the counter. But he's happy, so I'm not complaining. I am looking for a very small coffee maker instead of the large one he pulled out from the basement!

So, it might be good for you or it might not! Aren't I a big help!? Sorry!

Note, you can also drop the Nespresso coffee pods at a UPS store and they will send them back for recycling. That is the most convenient method for me.

I have the Nespresso virtuo machine and I love it. I drink my coffee black and buy several different varieties of their pods. It isn't cheap, but for me it is a little luxury that makes me happy every morning.

Bethpen, where do you buy your pods?

I'm not bethpen, but...we bought our PODs on line direct from Nespresso. They'd come with the bag to recycle them so that was convenient. Just dropped the bag at a UPS store when it was full.

I started buying PODs from Target because they are less expensive and I like them. I don't drink flavored coffee. Black, no sugar, no flavorings.

Thanks, jsk. There is a mini Target near me and it looks like they carry the Vertuo pods.

An update. I bought the Nespresso Vertuo Plus at the end of last week. Today I am returning it. I was so disappointed in the coffee. It was nowhere near as good as I had imagined. I tried several different flavors. The only thing that came close to what I enjoy was mixing an espresso pod with a dark coffee pod.

The convenience was great. However, i like to pour a cup of coffee and then warm it up a bit about 3/4 of the way through. I would have had to make another whole cup of coffee just to top it off.

If the flavor of the coffee had been heavenly, I’d keep it, but there were too many cons. Back to my Cuisinart with the thermal carafe.

Oh well.

dedtired, I'm sorry the Nespresso didn't work for you, but glad you're able to return it. I consider the drip coffee I make in the morning with my Cuisinart and the Nespresso concoction mid-afternoon to be two separate beasts. I drink 1-2 cups in the morning in big cups with plenty of 1/2 & 1/2. My afternoon Nespresso is akin to a latte and more of a comfort drink, like a cup of cocoa. It's the only other caffeinated drink I have during my day and it never gives me a buzz. It's very soothing, even though I like a dark roast which is buffered by 2% frothy milk. I very much dislike flavored coffee. Ugh.

I can only have caffeine in the morning. After that, it keeps me awake. I can see how one of these pod machines would be nice for an afternoon cuppa!

The machine that use the OL pods (0riginal line) do no have coffee pods, just espresso. You would need to get a machine that uses the vertuo pods for coffee. I have the vertuo plus machine and have been very happy with it.

It took me awhile to settle on the Nespresso coffee I liked best. My husband likes 5 or 6 different ones. I stick with Firenze Arpeggio.

https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/order/capsules/original/ispirazione-firenze-coffee-capsule?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-KXVyuWchgMVrjrUAR3VsgpTEAQYAiABEgKjcfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Judi, Firenze Arpeggio is my fave too.