A great little machine
I purchased this Nespresso VertuoLine coffee machine to replace my two failing Kuerig machines. I am extremely happy that I did buy this instead of another Keurig machine. Initially, I intended on buying the Cusinart K cup machine. But after reading the reviews here, I became extremely hesitant. The chief complaint was the cup not filling all the way, which is similar to the same issue that has plagued my two machines. After talking it over with my wife, she suggested getting a Nespresso machine. We used a Nespresso machine in France about 10 years ago and know that they make an excellent espresso. I was apprehensive since I really didn't want to spend that much money on a coffee maker that only makes espresso. So Amazon I went to see what Nespresso had to offer. I was very excited to see that they now have a machine that makes American style coffee. Seeing how both machines were similiar in cost, I decided to go with the VertuoLine. I couldn't be happier with my choice. As is usual, my VertuoLine came within 2 days. Thank you FedEx. Like a child on Christmas, I was excited to see the box. The box was huge! I thought for certain that Amazon used too big of a box. No, it was the correct size. I was really impressed with how well this was packed. Inside the Amazon box, was this big Nespresso box. Seeing how big the box was, I was a little nervous that it was not going to fit in my kitchen. Upon opening that box, there was another two boxes in the Nespresso box. One was for the VertuoLine and the other was for the Aeroccino frother. Nespresso really went out of their way to make certain that this beautiful machine will arrive in one piece. Like the father in A Christmas Story taking out his lamp, I carefully removed the VertuoLine and Aeroccino from their boxes, and marveled at the beauty of this contraption. Having a small kitchen, I had to move things around to make sure that this machine is well displayed for family members who do not have this and wish they did. =) I was surprised to see that this isn't much smaller than my Keurig machine. I decided to place this where I had my old machine. After putting the machine together, I had to have my 1st cup of coffee. Once I filled the machine with bottled water, I turned it on and let it go through the cleaning process. Or so I thought. I let the machine sit for 5 minutes while I thought it was going through the cleaning process. Now it's the moment I've been waiting for for two days...the java! I open the cartridge holder, insert one elvazio cartridge, close it, and away we go! Houston we have a problem....nothing is coming out. Dear Lord, is my wonderful machine broke? Say it ain't so! I was a roller coaster of emotions! After regaining my composure, I did something no man in history will ever admit doing...I read the instructions! Ah....I forgot to turn the lever to "lock". So start all over again...3 quick presses of the brew button and sure enough, this time it cleans the system. I was a little worried that I wasted my elvazio cartridge since it was punctured earlier. I read on the web that if you carefully put foil on the cartridge, you will be able to reuse it. I gave it a shot and surprisingly it worked! That little machine sounded like a little jet engine, it was spinning that cartridge during the brew super fast. I was super impressed with the quality of the brew. There is honestly no comparison between the Keurig and Nespresso system. My American coffee came out frothy and the flavor bold. By contrast, a k cup would be watery and most of the time weak. Yes you can get a espresso roast for the Keurig, but the flavor is still weak compared to the VertuoLine. Now that I finished this American cup of coffee it was on to the espresso type of coffee. As the coffee was brewing, I got the Aeroccino ready for work. It couldn't have been any easier. Add milk to fill line, put Aeroccino on base, press red button and away we go. In a couple of minutes the Aeroccino shuts off and the froth is ready for your pleasure. I was happy with the outcome of the froth...so thick and yummy! It was seriously thick. I was in java heaven. My sister in-law stopped by, saw me and my wonderful coffee, and asked me to make her one, which I obliged. The second cup is going smoothly, then all of a sudden I went to pour the froth...gasp! Where are you froth? I dumped it and gave it another go. Same thing. The only difference was where I purchased the milk from. The first batch of milk used was from A&P, the second from Shop Rite. After doing some research regarding this issue, I found out that this is actually a common problem with the Aeroccino. Depending on the milk, how old it is, if there is a preservative in it to prevent curdling in hot liquids will determine your ability to froth. This was also confirmed to me by Nespresso reps at Sur la Table. They recommend using skim milk for the best froth. No thank you. I will stick with the 2%. There are two similiar looking compartments on the VirtuoLine. The left side is the water reservoir and the right side is where the cartridges get ejected when you open the machine to put in a new cartridge. I thought that was a pretty neat feature, since I've burned my fingers on occasion when brewing k cups. Another nice little feature is the cup holder. The cup holder can be moved to a higher position when you are brewing espresso. That is not a deal breaker in any way. Just a nice little feature. It shows that they are paying attention to details in the machine. Another nice feature of this coffee maker is that it brews the coffee at certain temperatures based upon the bar code on the cartridge. There is no need to manually adjust the water temperature. That said, it's also a negative. For some reason, I find that my Nespresso coffee cools a lot faster than the Keurig coffee. This is not a deal breaker to me. But if my wife's grandmother were still alive, she'd go ballistic because her coffee wasn't hot enough. I believe that Keurig wins on this feature. As of now there are nine coffee flavors and four espresso flavors available for the VirtuoLine. According to the Nespresso representative at Sur La Table, they expect to have at least one holiday flavor available for the VirtuoLine coming this holiday season. Keurig, on the other hand, has probably hundreds of different coffees available to brew. You also have the ability to brew your own coffee with the insert most machines gladly provide. Nespresso, on the other hand, has and Apple like control on their VirtuoLine system. A real negative with VirtuoLine is that you have to go to one of their boutiques to buy the coffee, or buy online at their website. If you choose to buy online, you need to buy a minumum of 150 cartridges to receive free shipping. On one hand I understand that doing this controls the quantity of the coffee. But on the other hand, it makes the VirtuoLine cartridge costs excessively high. A k cup probably cost around $.65 to brew, compared to $1.10 for American coffee and $.88 for espresso coffee. Amazon offers a system where you can reuse your cartridge via the foil trick. But it's mixed results. The Aeroccino frother is a nice little gadget. With it, you are able to froth milk or whip milk. Depending on the beater used determines froth or whipped. Press the button once, and it also heats the milk. Hold the button for approximately two seconds makes it cold, which is suitable for iced coffees, latte's. If you love your cup of coffee, and the convenience of this type of machine, then I would recommend getting this. On a side note, I purchased this for $213.05. Four days later, the price for this went down $13.20. I contacted Amazon about this and they promptly issued me a credit for the difference in price. Read more
