CitiZ

My wife and I got to try a cup of espresso in a Nespresso shop in Japan last year and ever since we toyed with the idea of getting a machine for ourselves. I picked this one up in December for about $175 and so far it has been great and a real treat for all of the guests we had over the holidays.I chose this model because my wife and I don’t use cream much so I didn’t want to spend extra on the milk frother and the counter space is limited so I wanted something that could sit next to the Keurig. I wanted to make sure I got one of good quality and features so I researched the different options and reviews and finally landed on the Citiz.Setting it up was as easy as plugging it in as it comes fully assembled. You turn it on by pressing one of the cup size brew buttons on the top and if you load a pod and press one of the sizes making sure to leave a cup below, the machine will automatically start when it is ready. I find the water heats up faster than what seems possible. It is a small amount of water it needs to heat but the description also says it takes about 25 seconds to heat.The pods load into the top easily and are ejected into a catch system held within the machine and just behind the small cup hold tray. The receptacle for the used pods holds roughly 10 pods and has a smaller area underneath for the excess liquids to drain from the spent pods. Initially I didn’t understand why we could not just eject the pods and throw them away like the Keurig which I would have preferred but understanding the heat and the aluminum pods I realized this was to protect people from burning themselves. The receptacle is easy to remove but one should still be cautious of the liquid in the bottom portion tray.The water storage on the back holds 34 ounces. It is easy enough to refill on the machine itself by just removing the lid or simply pulling off the whole container and taking it to your water source. The container removes easily by pulling lightly back on it and I have had no issues with leaks or spills.The machine makes two sizes of drink and certain pods are actually made for certain size drinks and some can be used with any size. There are far too many flavors of pods to cover here but they are fairly sturdy aluminum pods and I was fine with the pricing of around 50 pods for $40. I know they have other compatible pods for much less but this review will be based on the official Nespresso pods only.Finally, the Espresso is great. It is rich and flavorful with a frothy top. There are a large variety of flavors to choose from and all the ones I have tried have been very delicious. Getting this before the holiday’s means it saw a lot of use in the 3 weeks we have been using it. It has been great for get togethers as everyone really enjoys a nice espresso of their choice with a little dessertThe few gripes I have are minor and did not justify a reduction in stars. The pods are a bit pricy(Official Pods, 50 for $40 comes to about 80 cents a cup before tax) but mainly when compared to what you can buy Keurig K-Cups for right now. However, this was meant to supplement our usage of the Keurig not replace it and so it does exactly what we need it to. Also, there is a little bit of random dripping. If you leave the cup under the spout long enough then you probably won’t experience much of this issue and clean up is easy.Overall I really like the Nespresso Citiz and it has made a great gift and a lot of great cups of espresso. I see that it is not listed for around $215 when I paid about $175 over the holidays. If you can wait, then I would expect it to go on sale again but if you don’t want to wait I can still recommend it for the $215. Very satisfied with this machine and easy for me to recommend for anyone looking for an affordable and approachable espresso machine.

Bottom line is that I love this machine. The only reason it did'nt get 5 stars is because it tends to leak sometimes, without any warning - water but not much, shoots out. No damage done but it is annoying. The coffee is wonderful. It is a bit noisy, but that is ok. It is small - compared to most machines of this type I have seen, and sits neatly on my counter in my small kitchen. I bought a drawer that sits underneath it that holds the pods and it all works well. The pods are cheaper if you join the club at Nespresso than if you buy at Amazon, and they arrives within a day or two.UPDATE. Although I still love the machine I've had problems with it. The first, quite suddenly, the coffee tasted weak after 2.5 months of use. I called Nespresso and they were very helpful and sent me a cleaning kit. I used it - and all was well. However 2.5 months later - same problem. I used the cleaning kit - but although it helped, the coffee is not great anymore. So - I am calling Nespresso tomorrow to see what they suggest. It is annoying to say the least.

This machine never worked from the start. The first time we try to use it, we follow the proper instructions. There is a lot of noise, but nothing actually happens. We call the support line, and they tell us there is probably "air in the machine" from when it was manufactured. We are supposed to let it sit for a while and try it again. We try it again later, again nothing happens except for a lot of noise being made. Returning this, I don't have patience for a brand new machine that doesn't work.

I first saw the Nespresso in a ritzy Paris hotel, and I was generally impressed with the construction quality, ease of use and the taste of the small coffee pods. After looking at the Illy and some others, I decided to purchase one of these for my office...while we have a traditional coffee maker, it's shared among a lot of people and there never seems to be any coffee when I want a cup. Probably a bigger issue is that I'm a complete coffee fanatic (to the extent that I grow my own beans!), and I wanted something that would at least make a passably good tasting cup of coffee. That it's compact and doesn't cost a fortune are added pluses.The overall quality of the Nespresso unit is quite good. There are several models to choose from in various colors, but they all seem to have very similar performance. The big difference is really just whether a milk warmer/frother is included, and if so, whether it's totally separate or an integrated unit. Water capacity, pressure, temperature, adjustments and so forth seem about the same across all of the units I sampled.The unit puts out 19 bars of pressure - more than many. The small pods feature thin metal containers - no doubt to handle this much pressure without bursting (as would, say, a K-cup). This definitely gives you more of an espresso taste than simply a "strong coffee" taste.The unit heats quickly - under half a minute from dead cold. Once heated, you can make cup after cup, and when it sits idle for a while (over 5 minutes, I think), it shuts off. The brew cycle is also fairly quick...even from a dead cold startup, you can have a shot of espresso in under a minute or two. Larger servings are possible from Nespresso's "Lungo" pods, and they take just a few seconds longer. When you're done, the machine is easy to clean - just empty the used pods (it claims to hold 10, but I find six more realistic) and occasionally rinse out the pod bins. No messy grounds to deal with or anything.I also find the machine fairly quiet for an espresso maker. The pressure pumps in some of the smaller units put out quite a loud sound, but the Nespresso seems to be one of the quietest overall.Note that this model doesn't have any sort of built-in milk warming or frothing. You can buy Nespresso's add-on milk units, but there are several other brands you might consider. If you're like me in an office setting, you might prefer one with built-in refrigeration so that your milk lasts several days. Certainly the size and strength of the espresso shots output by the Nespresso suggests it would be used for cappuccino or latte.I'd rate the coffee taste as about an 8 out of 10. With the right beans, my super-automatic makes better - but it costs twenty times what this guy does. I can make better with a manual unit on the stove, but that takes a good half an hour from grinding the beans to washing the espresso maker. The Nespresso is consistent cup after cup, wins on convenience by a mile, and the coffee is better than I expected. Like many things in life, it's about balance, and the Nespresso does about as well as I could expect. For the price, you get a convenient and simple to use appliance that produces as good or better coffee than you're likely to find at the local coffee shop.Only real complaint is with buying the pods themselves. I should have done more research, but it turns out I don't have a local source for the Nespresso coffee pods. Even my local stores who sell the machines don't sell the pods, and so I'm pretty much at the mercy of buying online from Nespresso's site. They average about sixty cents per cup, but unlike K-cups which are available everywhere, when I run out, it takes a day or two to get a new supply. There's also not much of a secondary market - Nespresso makes maybe 15 varieties, and that's all you're likely to find. Luckily, they are very good - but don't expect the 250 or so flavors you find in things like Keurig K-cups.Other than being more or less locked into Nespresso for pods, this is a great unit for the price and definitely worth a look if you want a convenient machine that makes good espresso.