Review - Nespresso VertuoPlus - A latte to talk about!

No, I won’t apologise for that pun in the title. And yes, it’s time to talk about coffee again. I’ve long had an appreciation for it, whether at home or on the road. In fact, one of the first reviews over on my German blog dealt with my first coffee pod machine, a Philips Senseo, back when I still lived on the outskirts of Frankfurt. So yes, I have a bit of form when it comes to this topic, and have kept this up even here in Ireland, though I did have to switch to a more traditional portafilter machine, as Senseo is not available in Ireland from what I could see.

This portafilter espresso machine, which has served me well for eight years, has recently been showing signs of aging, with both the filter holder and steam wand leaking profusely whenever the machine is at operating temperature. At the same time, working from home had completely changed my coffee drinking habits. Spending well upwards of five minutes grinding the coffee beans, brewing the coffee and steaming up milk might be acceptable as a weekend treat, when you’re quickly dashing to the kitchen in between Zoom calls for a caffeine fix, it is simply a hindrance. Given the fact that at the time I’m writing this in early July 2021, we still don’t know when we’ll be allowed back into the office, a quicker, and more watertight, option was needed. Instant coffee isn’t really an option in the long run, and I honestly don’t have the budget for a bean-to-cup machine like my parents used to have, so in the end, it all came down to a pod machine. I’d have honestly preferred another Senseo, but given that this system still isn’t available in Ireland, it was down to three systems: Tassimo, Dolce Gusto, and Nespresso. Between plastic pods on one side and multiple pods per serving on the other, I decided to go for Nespresso, or rather their new Nespresso Vertuo System. Okay, I’ll admit straight up that price was a major reason for this decision. Currently, Nespresso are running a summer sale on their website over here where a baseline Nespresso Vertuo machine is bundled with a total of 100 coffee pods for 89€ total. For those twenty-five percent of my readers who hail from the US, that’s including taxes, as is usual over here in Europe. Quite a good offer.

Nespresso Vertuo

The new Vertuo capsules are very visibly different to the "classic" Nespresso capsule. Those black markings are the barcodes that tell the machine what amount of water is needed and how long it should be brewed for.

Now what’s all this talk about Nespresso Vertuo? Well, Nespresso’s original patents for coffee pods, which dated back to 1976 in some cases, started expiring in 2011 and 2012, opening the market up for third-party competitors that didn’t have to pay royalties to Nespresso. So, a new system was needed to ensure that customers are locked into a system on the manufacturers terms without escape, I mean to ensure that customers could continue to get high-quality coffee, of course. You can lower your guns now, Nestle corporate security. Anyway, putting snark and sarcasm aside for a second, there are some definite advantages to Vertuo when compared to the original Nespresso system, at least from my perspective. The big one, literally, is the fact that Vertuo comes in three different pod or capsule sizes, and allows for up to five different drink sizes, ranging from a 40ml espresso to a 414ml monster Nespresso calls “alto”, basically your “which sonofoabitch scheduled a Zoom Call for 5AM?” coffee. The original Nespresso system can only produce espresso-size coffees. The internal workings of the machine have been turned inside-out as well. Rather than simply using pressure, the Vertuo system uses centrifugal force to brew the coffee, spinning the capsule up to up to 7200 rpm before pumping water into it. The exact rpms, water temperature and brew durations are encoded in a bar code on the lower lip of the capsule which the machine reads before starting the brew process. All in the name of that sweet, sweet vendor lock-in coffee.

The Machine

My Nespresso VertuoPlus in its natural environment.

Now, let’s get to the meat, I mean coffee of this review, the actual machine. I went for the base-line model, a Nespresso VertuoPlus limited edition, though there’s really nothing basic about it. I received mine on Tuesday after ordering it the previous Friday. It should have been delivered on Monday, but for the first time in my time in Ireland, UPS messed up a delivery unrelated to any severe weather event. When I received the machine, I understood why and immediately felt remorse for that poor driver. That package was huge, consisting of three boxes taped together and wrapped in a plastic bag, and effectively taking up my entire dinner table. At roughly six kilograms overall it wasn’t particularly light either, though the actual machine only weighs 4.6 kilograms. The content of the box is rather limited. There’s the machine, a drip tray and water tank, and the usual collection of safety leaflets, manual and warranty information. If you buy this machine in a retail environment, there’s also a twelve-capsule taster set included in the box, but as I’d ordered online, this was packaged separately. The third package, coloured in a fetching poison green, contained the 100 extra capsules. That’s a lot of coffee!

I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise to the UPS driver who had to lug this up to the third floor.

Removing the plastic wrapping reveals these three boxes. That green contraption on the right holds the 100 capsules that came with my machine.

All set up. Between the taster box in the centre and the capsule sleeves on the side, I think I'll have enough coffee for the immediate future. Please note that the milk frother next to the sleeves was purchased separately.

As for the machine itself, this one is very minimalist. The body houses the fixed machine head, several slots for the adjustable drip tray, as well as a used-capsule container and water tank at the back. Please note that the water tank can be freely moved from the left to the right-hand side of the machine. This is also where the power chord connects to the machine. The top accommodates the electrically opened brew chamber, as well as the only two actual switches on the machine, a lever to open the chamber and a multi-function button. This one button acts as an on/off switch, starts the brew process, as well as several cleaning programs. Basically, it’s like the iPhone among coffee machines. 

Accordingly, setup and use are simple enough. Just plug in the machine, fill the water tank and you’re almost ready. Before getting your caffeine fix, it is highly recommended to run a cleaning program to flush out any manufacturing residue and other stuff, which is easily done by placing a large bowl under the coffee spout and then pressing the button on the top three times in quick succession. After that, actual operation is as easy as can be. You simply turn the machine on, tap the lever to open the brew chamber, pop in a capsule, close the chamber and press the button to start brewing. I do recommend actually placing a cup under the spout though. Otherwise, things could get messy. When you open the brew chamber after the machine is finished, the spent capsule will automatically be ejected into the capsule container at the back. Please be aware that there is no steam wand, so you’ll need an extra milk frother if you’re looking for cappuccinos and the like. Spoiler alert: I got myself one of those as well. 

Everyday Use

I’ve been using the machine for about a week at this point, so it’s still early days, so early in fact, that I’ve barely made a dent in the massive capsule assortment that I got with my machine, despite having about two cups of coffee during a regular working day and going a bit coffee crazy on my first day with the machine. The first thing that you notice is just how quiet the machine is when in use. The loudest noise is actually produced by the aluminium capsule being cracked open as the machine closes. So you won’t wake up the neighbourhood when you make yourself a coffee at 11PM because you have to pull an all-nighter at work.

Ready to go - A Vertuo capsule in the brewing chamber.

This button is the only real control you'll find on a Nespresso VertuoPlus.

Coffee in progress. The crema this machine is pretty substantial, though it is not quite as massive as this image might make you believe.

Down the hatch - used capsules are discretely dumped into the spent capsule container the next time you open the machine.

And believe me, you will be able to pull an all-nighter with some of the coffees available for Nespresso Vertuo! That stuff is a lot stronger than I’d expected, though admittedly, my old machine hadn’t really produced strong coffee in a while. I’ve not even tried some of the higher intensity pods yet. You should also be aware that, no matter the capsule, the machine produces a very thick crema that’ll make some of your coffees seem like you’re having a Guinness at 9 in the morning. Despite their intensity and strength, the coffees still taste good. What’s more, despite their strength, they seem to be pretty easy on the stomach and I haven’t experienced any of the heartburn I usually get from stronger coffees. 

Nothing like a pint of the black stuff to get you started. I'm talking about coffee of course ;)

One thing that is a bit of a negative point against the machine is the spent capsule holder, at least in my experience. It is simply to small as far as I’m concerned, barely holding twelve to fourteen spent capsules. Admittedly, I have been focusing on the large capsules though, so that mileage may very much vary when using the smaller capsule sizes. Speaking of these capsules, we need to talk about waste, one issue that always seems to come up with regards to any capsule system. Granted, these capsules represent a significant amount of resource consumption for a single cup of coffee. And yes, if not properly recycled, these resources will effectively have been wasted. There are a few things to consider here, however. First of all, aluminium capsules don’t degrade into microscopic granule like the plastic capsules of competing systems, and aluminium can in fact be melted down and recycled rather more easily than any plastic capsule. In addition, Nespresso has put a free recycling system in place in most civilized countries. My own machine came with a couple of recycling bags that can be used to either drop off used capsules at a local Nespresso Boutique, or to have them picked up by UPS at home free of charge, to be taken back to Nespresso and recycled. According to their own website, Nespresso aim to have their capsules made up of up to 80% recycled aluminium by the end of this year, 2021. I personally haven’t tried out this system yet, I’m not THAT much of a coffee drinker, but I definitely plan on dropping these capsules off at my local boutique in Cork once I’ve accumulated enough of these things.

Final thoughts

If you’d have asked me a year or two ago whether I’d ever get a Nespresso machine, I’d have laughed you out of my apartment, preferably straight down via a third-floor balcony. I simply didn’t have a use for these machines and quite a few reservations about the general concept. I still haven’t shaken some of those as you might have been able to tell from the occasional trace of sarcasm in this post. The ongoing pandemic, and it’s ensuing lockdowns, have changed things considerably, however. Given my working hours and the pace of work, I need a machine that can quickly produce a good cup of coffee between phone calls or when I take a break from my work machine to prevent the grid lines of Excel from burning themselves into my retina. Nespresso Vertuo fulfils this requirement and then some, being an easy-to-use system that doesn’t skimp on quality, or caffeine for that matter. I can understand why some people may have reservations about Nespresso in general, but for me, it’s turned out to be the right system at the right time. On that note, I’ll help myself to another cup.