If you’re shopping for a compact, stylish coffee machine you should consider to add the Nespresso Essenza Plus to your wish list.
It has all the basic functions you need, it’s super simple to use and, above all, it makes a great coffee! Keep reading this Nespresso Essenza Plus review to find out more.
Contents
- 1 Nespresso Essenza Plus Review : 5 Things I like about this Espresso Maker
- 2 Is this the Nespresso Essenza Plus for you?
- 3 Key benefits Of Nespresso Essenza Plus Espresso Maker
- 4 Video Of Nespresso Essenza Plus in action
- 5 Nespresso Essenza Plus – Delonghi vs Breville
- 6 Shortcomings
- 7 Should you buy Nespresso Essenza Plus Espresso Machine?
Nespresso Essenza Plus Review : 5 Things I like about this Espresso Maker
1 Size and style
One of the reasons why I choose this particular model is its size: my kitchen tends to be crowded and I preferred to have a coffee machine with a smaller footprint. It’s also available in different colours and while I liked the red version I bought the black one that better matched my furniture.
2 Ease of use
Using this coffee machine is a breeze: any button will switch it on and then I just have to decide if I want a short or a long espresso. It’s really a one-touch operation! If I want an Americano, I can add hot water with another push, which is brilliant. Of course, this is not as a proper drip coffee, but the convenience of having any size of coffee I want at my fingertips is huge.
It also has auto-switching off after some minutes and the possibility to connect to my iPhone via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Once connected I was able to modify the default volumes of my coffees and to re-order the Nespresso pods. I personally find that the factory settings are spot-on and I never used the re-order option, but I reckon that it’s a pretty nifty function.
Another thing that I love is the fact that I can easily check the water level in the reservoir: with other coffee machines, it was much more difficult and I routinely ended trying to make a coffee without water.
3 Quality
I’m not gonna lie: the perceived quality is very high on this little beast! The lever that you press to load the pods seems made out of metal and feels very sturdy. The plastics have a nice finish, too, and there’s no hint of flimsiness in the construction. Nespresso really does a great job in caring about details and this is noticeable even before you use the machine, as the packaging is very elegant and well made.
4 No frills
This machine does just one thing and makes it superbly and that’s why I like it. My parents bought a model that was able to autonomously prepare a latte macchiato, but unless you plan to clean your coffee machine every day from the milk residuals I think that a more basic model will suit your need better. I rarely add milk to my coffee and in the case, I just warm it up in my microwave: I feel no need to duplicate this function in my coffee machine.
If you want a bit of froth in your milk, consider buying the Nespresso Essenza Plus bundle with an Aeroccino milk frother. Of course, if you’re a big fan of milk, this machine may be a little too bare bone for your tastes. For me it’s just perfect.
Other Nespresso Machines with Milk Frother:
Nespresso Creatista Plus Review
Nespresso Lattissima One Review
5 The Nespresso pods
This machine accepts all Nespresso compatible pods, but I use the real deal and I’m satisfied. The original Nespresso coffee may be a little pricier than the compatible counterpart, but I have a huge selection of coffees I can choose from and, to my palate, they usually taste better. I’m especially a fan of their Master Origin selection which is great, in my opinion!
Is this the Nespresso Essenza Plus for you?
It’s easy to fall in love with the Nespresso Essenza Plus: it’s charming, good looking and makes an excellent coffee. I believe that its only shortcomings are in its lack of versatility: if you fancy a completely automated coffee machine that is able to prepare you a dozen different recipes the Essenza Plus is probably not suited for your needs.
I would also avoid it if it were meant to be used in a small office: the capsule container will fill up way to fast as it holds only about a dozen used pods. If you’re planning to make lot of coffees you’ll be bound to empty the container and the drip base way too often.
For everyone else this machine will work as a charm: yes, it’s somewhat a one-trick pony, but it does its job egregiously.
Key benefits Of Nespresso Essenza Plus Espresso Maker
I would list everything I mentioned in the “What I like” section as key benefits. Of course, it will must fit your needs, but if it’s the case you’ll be rewarded with a small and nice looking machine that works very well. You will also end up saving some money compared to some bigger Nespresso machines with extra functions that you will likely seldom use.
Video Of Nespresso Essenza Plus in action
Nespresso Essenza Plus – Delonghi vs Breville
Like many of its original line models, Nespresso Essenza Plus is made by two companies Delonghi and Breville.
What is different is only their design aesthetically. Other than that, they have all the same features. Personally, I find the design by Breville a bit too boxish for my liking.
Shortcomings
Being such a simple coffee machine it’s quite difficult to find any serious shortcoming. As I wrote before it suits my tastes very well but I may not suit yours without that being considered a fault.
If I want to be nitpick I would say that the capsule container is a tad on the small size, forcing me to frequently empty it. But a small coffee machine cannot have a big container, so I made a choice being conscious about the consequences.
The water tank seems well built but it feels like the plastic is a little too rigid and that it may break over time: so far it holds the way it should, but the impression is that this is the weakest point of the machine’s construction.
A last shortcoming is related to the huge amount of waste that Nespresso capsules build over time. I had to prepare a bucket in my kitchen to throw away the pods as they are not recyclable as is: you’d need to separate the aluminum from the ground coffee, but this would kill the convenience of the capsule system altogether. Luckily, you can find a list of places where you can dispose of the used pods in the Nespresso website but you need to consider also this aspect.
Related:
Which is the Best Nespresso Machine for Cappuccino?
Should you buy Nespresso Essenza Plus Espresso Machine?
If you reached the end of this review without thinking once about what would you miss by choosing a Nespresso Essenza Plus you should now have your mind pretty much set. This is a wonderful machine for anyone who wants its machine to just prepare an excellent espresso and provide a solution for an Americano occasionally. If that is what you’re looking for I can wholeheartedly suggest you to buy this product.
If, on the other hand, you’re looking for something with a lot of bells and whistles and you love using regularly all the functions of an advanced coffee machine you’d better look for something else.
As for me, I’m going to prepare me a coffee…
Hope this Nespresso Essenza Plus review has helped you make a choice.