Nespresso – Vertuo Next Premium by Breville with Aeroccino3 – Classic Black

LUXURY COFFEE – HIGH QUALITY – AFFORDABLE
REVIEW: Nespresso Vertuo Next Premium by Breville with Aeroccino3 – Classic Black
BEST BUY Tech Insider Network
SUMMARY:
GREAT for specialty coffees, espressos, cappuccinos. High quality build and performance. Easy foam for cappuccinos. We worked our way through the 12 samples in about 1.5 days. So we are spinning around a little from the caffeine. Mostly, that was because the coffee was that good we could not help ourselves. I really like that it has multiple sizes now instead of just the thimble sized pods. I would recommend this for anyone who likes specialty coffees without all the fuss.
UNBOXING:
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:
Everything about the packaging was first class. I’m sure they are not making any money on the base unit itself, but they more than make up for it on the pods. At $1 per pod it is not a cheap investment. A household with 2 coffee drinkers and 3 cups per day each means you are spending nearly $200 / month on coffee. Still, that is a fraction of the amount you would spend if you hit the local coffee shop each morning and afternoon. My point is, that I’m glad they did not skimp on the unit, with the long term investment in mind this is a well built unit.
MY BACKGROUND:
We have been using single cup coffee makers for about 10 years. Between work and home we have six of the “K-Brand” single cup machines. It was originally to save us money from the daily coffee shop routine, and it works well, especially if you buy in bulk. I travel to Europe a few times a year and started getting exposed to Nespresso about 5 years ago. My main complaint was the tiny thimble sized pods. At $1 / pod I needed 3 pods in a sitting to get an “American” sized coffee experience. The tipping point for us was a 10 day European river cruise where we had a Nespresso unit in our cabin. The coffee really was fantastic, and I knew it would not be long before Nespresso invaded our house.
PERFORMANCE / EASE OF USE:
The setup and use of the machine is really easy. Pour water in the back (enough for about 6 drinks), and drop in your pod, and press the button. The maker reads the bar codes under the lid and make the perfect mix, blend, temperature coffee each and every time. When you open the top, it ejects the pod into a build in capture basket so you can let a dozen or so pods build up before you empty it. Likewise, the frothing machine is simple to use, and makes perfect foam each time.
TIP: ONLY USE FILTERED WATER NOT TAP WATER
I speak from experience here. Before using a simple water filter at home and work we were burning out a “K-Brand” machine every 6 months. We started using a simple $20 under sink water filter kit 3 years ago and have not burned out a unit since. I skimmed reviews of Nespresso and they also have an issue with scale build up as does any high temp, high pressure device like this.
BEST FEATURES:
Automatic POD Eject (and capture)
Milk Foamer
Good sized water tank
Tall crema on each brew
Simple operation
You can recycle the pods which you can’t easily do on “K-Brand”
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE COFFEE ITSELF
The specialty coffee (smaller sizes, espressos,cappuccinos, etc) are all fantastic 9/10 score. I found the 8 oz coffees only OK, and the 14 oz coffee very watery tasting. The “best” 8oz coffee was only Hotel Coffee Shop Quality. OK but nothing special. Of course, everyone has different tastes. I like to start the day with a strong blast, and then downshift to a mild blend throughout the day. The only pods “strong enough” for me were 5 oz and below. To match the capacity of my “K-Brand” I would need to use 2-3 pods each morning. With a habit of 3 or 4, 12 oz mugs per day, if I limited myself to 5oz pods. I would be spending $300-$400 / month just for myself.
SUMMARY
The Nespresso Vertuo Next Premium is a welcome addition to our house. But due to the watery quality of the larger pods, it will mostly settle into use for daily after dinner espresso. This does not take anything away from the unit. It has a welcome place in our daily routine. I would highly recommend the unit to anyone who likes specialty coffee, but I would not recommend it for everyday coffee. We pre-ordered a wide variety of coffees and have probably tried 60% of their flavors at this point.

Use to spend 20 a day on coffee at Starbucks and other local cafes. This was a great investment. I haven’t had any issues but I’ve read many others have so I wouldn’t buy again but I’d buy another Nespresso. I gotta add it makes better coffee than Starbucks.

I have used Nespresso machines from time to time during my travels to Europe and the UK. I always thought it was a good mainstream home espresso pod brewer. When I had the opportunity to select the newer Vertuo Next system through the Best Buy TIN program, I quickly decided to try it.
The Vertuo system expands the Nespresso from espresso only to espresso and coffee in sizes ranging from 1.35 oz to 14 oz servings. The size is determined by the size and the volume of content in the capsule. The bar code on the underside of the rim of the capsule allows the brewer to identify the beverage and adjust the brew cycle parameters to match and optimize the beverage. You can read all about the systems on the Nespresso web site.
My first impression was with the packaging. I was very pleased to see there is no foam packing material and there is even a paper handle rather than the usual plastic handle on the retail box. It was very easy to get the brewer and frother out of the box and I can recycle the whole thing.
While setting up the brewer, I discovered one small crack at the top of my water reservoir. Fortunately it is in a spot that doesn’t matter for the machine function and is out of sight. So I haven’t needed or tried to seek a replacement yet.
The instructions call for setting up the WiFi connection first which is unfortunate since it isn’t used for much and seems to be temperamental at best. I was able to get it connected, but the next day it complained about being disconnected and I couldn’t get it connected with normal actions. I didn’t try to rerun the setup. To be clear, I have just replaced my networks at my homes with more sophisticated components. I have full coverage, over 70 devices on my network and I’m a retired IT professional. So, skill was not the issue. But you don’t need the WiFI connection in any way to use the brewer. It is currently a distraction and unfortunate detractor from Nespresso’s image for this brewer.
Next is an easy cleaning cycle that requires a larger vessel to catch the water. I used a large measuring cup. The cleaning cycle goes through several cycles… pumping up pressure and dispensing out the spout.
While it was cleaning, I studied the sample coffees that came with the brewer. The sample pack looks like pool balls or Christmas tree ornaments. They appear to use a different color for every beverage. I guess once you know the color of your favorite, that works ok. It seems overwhelming at first. But any system that offers a good selection variety will seem overwhelming at the beginning.
Brewing espresso or coffee is very easy. Open the top of the capsule compartment, drop in your capsule, close the top and move the handle to the lock position. Then press the button. The Keurig is a bit easier because the lock motion is an extension of the downward force needed to close (or open) the capsule compartment. This lock is easier with two hands (one to push down and one to slide the lever to the left), but feels very secure. I assume (but do not know) this brewing system uses higher pressure than a Keurig system. I’ve read that the Vertuo does not use the same 19 bar pressure as the original Nespresso brewer. Some aficionados appear to complain about that. I don’t know the strict definition of espresso, so I can’t say for sure if the Vertuo produces true espresso or an espresso like drink.
The brew cycle involves quick a few sounds. I gather that one sound is the capsule spinning around at various points in the brew cycle. Another sound is the pressure pump. Then, of course, the sound of the coffee itself being dispensed. Some people have complained about the noise. I did a side by side comparison with this Breville and a Keurig 2.0 brewer. I used the NIOSH sound level meter iOS app to measure the dB of sound. The two brewers are just about equal, so I’d say it isn’t horrible, but both are not exactly stealth brewing methods.
When you open the brewer, two spring loaded rails lift the capsule out and deliver it to a bin in the rear of the brewer. The bin can be removed on the left side for emptying.
The coffee is a little “dirtier” than a filtered coffee, but some people absolutely prefer that taste profile, so it is personal preference. I like them equally well. The coffee is also nice and hot.
The frother that comes in this model kit, works very well in my brief experience. The “instructions” are horrible…and mostly safety warnings. There are cryptic illustrations that I had to stare at for a few minutes to figure out. If you have to dedicate 90% of a booklet to multiple languages, you may as well tell everyone in those languages how to use and care for the device instead of keeping everyone scratching their heads trying to figure out what the heck that illustration is trying to convey. The point is to inform people who don’t already know how it works…do some usability testing, please.
However, the frother itself seems really nice! Pour in some skim milk and press the button. It seems like a really neat design. The magnetically coupled heating element spins around and creates great froth.
Overall, my first impression is very positive. I’ve ordered a bunch more capsules to continue doing my side by side evaluation. I really like the recycling aspect of the Nespresso capsules. Nespresso provides a postage free bag upon request just like HP does for empty ink (and toner) cartridges rather than having the consumer rely on the local recycling capabilities.
….several days later..
My capsule order arrived. The sleeves are very attractive and fit well on the shelf of an upper cabinet. The recycling bag I ordered was just in time to empty my capsule bin. When I dumped the bin, I discovered there are two parts. The top section holds the capsules and allows drainage into the bottom. The bottom bin holds any liquid that drips out of the capsules. When I dumped the capsules into the mailer bag, I dumped coffee water all over the floor. I’ll be more careful the next time, but this seems to be a design flaw.
Overall, I like the Vertuo Next brewer and the beverages it produces. I like the recycling model Nespresso uses for the capsules. It is a very solid capsule coffee system. I withheld one star. The water reservoir could be a bit small if you use the larger capsules and mine was cracked. The spent capsule bin can dump old coffee on your floor if you are not careful. The WiFi feature seems like a distraction at this point.