Nespresso Inissia Original Espresso Machine by Breville, Red

The variety of tasty and convenient coffee pods are a big plus, of course, but the ease and speed of cranking out my favorite brew makes the Inissia a winner. Fill the tank, drop in a pod, press a button. 20 seconds for warmup plus about 30 seconds brew time and you have a perfect shot o’ Joe.

They include a variety pack of 16 pods to get you going. A couple were rough enough to take enamel off my teeth and a couple had screwy flavors, but most were very tasty. NOTE: be sure to keep the “Coffee Menu” booklet nearby to figure out the coffee selection. Mark your favorites as you go or you’ll get swamped.

The Inissia is solidly engineered with a surprisingly small footprint. Picking it up makes you realize this sucker is made from heavy gauge steel housed in an attractive plastic skin. The steel handle/bale and rugged plastic parts look like they will last for years.

Downsides:

1. The instructions are a confusing non-text mess with sketches and arrows and oddball “directions” that make Ikea instructions look easy. I’ve got an engineering background and I didn’t even attempt to puzzle this out; the graphic artist should be shot. I suggest viewing the slick You Tube videos.

2. I don’t think the Nespresso pods are very cost-effective or environmentally-friendly (though darn tasty–I use them 50% of the time). I invested in several Sealpod Stainless Steel Refillable Pods that I load with my favorite Espresso Marco Polo. They work great.

3. The Inissia is pretty noisy when brewing. It doesn’t bother me, but it might disturb someone sleeping nearby.

Despite these minor quibbles, the Nespresso Inissia earns a solid five stars. If I ever have a problem, I’ll update this review immediately.

UPDATE: The “double-tap” technique works! I read the review by another poster and verified you can push one button twice and walk away, allowing the Inissia to heat up, then brew the coffee in your absence. Big ups for discovering this undocumented feature!

[Original Inissia Review]

I own the Citiz for home use and bought the Inissia with coworkers to keep at work. Compared to the Citiz the Inissia is pretty comparable in quality and construction and is around $70 cheaper than the Citiz currently.

The Inissia is compact and well made. It is fairly easy to use and makes great espresso. The water heats up just as fast as the Citiz which so far has been about 25 seconds so you can get your coffee fix in the morning very fast.

I appreciate that the water reservoir detaches like the Citiz and unlike the Citiz, the lid on the water reservoir is a flip lid and attached to the container. Also, while the expended pod catch container isn’t as flashly looking as the one on the Citiz, it is just as functional and considering it is all black, it doesnt show the coffee staining like the clear and light plastics of the Citiz.

The only issue I’ve really had with the Inissia is the dripping. I suggest leaving the drip tray down at all times unless you need to fit a larger cup during brewing. The Inissia can drip for a while after you’re done brewing and when I had it setup at my desk, it randomly started dripping quite a bit of water hours after I had made a drink. It is an annoyance but not a big one considering the drip tray leads into a decently sized water catch reservoir of its own housed under the expended pod catch. It is very easy to remove and dispose of the excess water and expended pods.

For the price(~$99) I am satisfied with my purchase. Despite the dripping it makes a great cup of espresso and it makes it fast and easy. A 5 star espresso maker at this price point wouldn’t have the dripping issue for me. , However, it cost about $.75 per shot compared to $2.00+ that you’ll spend at a coffee shop. The machine will be used pretty frequently by many different people so I will update this review when it has had some wear and tear. For now, I can easily recommend this for the price and the good coffee it produces.

[UPDATE to original Inissia Review]

I wanted to update my review after having owned and regularly used the Inissia every day for over 6 months now. The machine has held up very well with continued use by many people daily and it consistently puts out my necessary morning cup of espresso.

[Aeroccino Plus Review]

The frother is weighty and feels durable and high quality. I really like the use of magnets to attach the mixer and I appreciate that two different mixers were included. One whisk is included for a lot of froth and a mixer for light froth to no froth.

The operation is very simple. You add milk to the fill line, put the lid on top, and press the button. After that it silently warms and froths the milk and in not a lot of time either. I don’t have experience with other frothers but this seems to do a good job while being fast and silent. It also is pretty easy to clean. I worry about some appliances because if they are difficult to clean, they won’t see as much use. I think due in part to the magnetic mixer part and the water proof construction, the frother is almost as easy to clean as a standard cup.

It works surprisingly well and considering you would pay around $60 for it by itself, this package seems to be a pretty good deal if you really want the milk frother. I have only used skim milk so far and I wasn’t really sure that it would be able to froth it well but it warmed and frothed the skim milk very well. Also I want to point out that while I haven’t tried using almond milk personally, I have seen videos online of people successfully using the two main varieties of almond milk and frothing them very well.

It is designed well, it is fairly easy to clean, and it works well. If you like cappuccino’s, latte’s, and macchiato’s, then the Nespresso Inissia combined with the Aeroccino Plus Frother is a great deal at around $115 and is easy to recommend.

>> You do not have to wait for the machine to warm up before you make your coffee selection. <<

For previous Nespresso owners (myself included), this is a revelation. It means that after you wash your face, go to the bathroom, do whatever it is that you do after waking up and hitting the power button — instead of coming back to the kitchen, hitting a button, and waiting AGAIN before you have some coffee… you just come back to a nice, steaming cup o’ joe.

To use this amazingly undocumented feature, you just hit a button to wake it up, and (wait for it…) press the button for your coffee selection. That’s it — when it’s hot, it will start your beverage. Huzzah!

That, my friends, is worth the price of admission. Oh, the machine also:

* is the least expensive Nespresso ever, by a long shot
* makes espresso, Americano, Lungo, and (if you bought the Aeroccino), Lattés just as well as any other Nespresso
* looks FABULOUS on the counter

Even the little tray that you lift up to use a larger mug is smart: it drops automatically when you remove your mug. Why? To catch the drips! Brilliant.

The Inissia is being positioned as the budget Nespresso, but to me, this is the perfect Nespresso: respectful of your counter space, pleasing to the eye, and continuing the march towards more human-friendly operation. Recommended.