I’ve mentioned before that our son works in a distribution warehouse. They get all kinds of products from dinner kit boxes to baby equipment to prescription eyeglasses and coffee. Their latest client is Nespresso. Whenever any of this shipments are damaged or misdelivered and can’t be returned, they become discards. So every so often, the employees to get bring these discards home. He recently got to bring us Nespresso coffee pods on a couple of different occasions. Now we didn’t have a Nespresso machine the first time he brought a box home. There were 2 different kinds of pods and capsules, and after some research, we found out Nespresso has 2 product lines: Original (pods) and Vertuo (capsules). So judging by the number of pods and capsules we received, we decided we would get at least one used machine so we could give these a try. So I started researching each model of these machines and looking at what was available on Facebook Marketplace.
In the meantime, I made my weekly trip to Crazy Cazboys in Arlington, and I really hit the jackpot! Low and behold, they had LOTS of boxes of Nespresso original pods for $1/box! That works out to 10 cents a cup, which is pretty darn cheap for espresso. Most of it was Starbucks brand, a few Nespresso brand, and a couple of other random companies. I got whatever I could find complete boxes of, and I ended up with 24 boxes for $24! Can’t beat it. These run $10-$12/box, so it was quite a deal, and that gave us another 240 coffee pods to work with!
At the end of the week, I was able to secure our first Nespresso machine…the Vertuo Plus, for just $30. This is a machine that costs $159, so this was a small investment. Plus, I now had 120 capsules for this machine! And right after I got it, our son brought home another box of capsules…200 more! This machine makes 4 cups sizes, and the machine digitally reads the bar code on the lip of the capsule and knows how to brew it and in what amount based on the blend that it detects. Amazing! So you could make an espresso shot, a double espresso shot, or a 5 or 8 oz. cup of coffee. Steve was highly impressed with how incredibly strong all of the coffee was, even the 8 oz. cup. And it comes out so creamy! He was super fond of the espresso shot and raved about how good it was. For me, I can’t drink coffee unless it’s mostly milk. It has to be a latte for me. That leads me to machine #2.
The Nespresso original line uses the pods. We had 70 of those pods, and then on Wednesday, I went for my weekly shopping trip to Crazy Cazboys and found another 24 boxes of pods for $1/box! Now these run $8-$10/box, so that was quite a savings, and that gave us another 240 pods! So we definitely needed to find an original line machine. I started looking and was able to get the Lattissima One for just $90! This machine costs $399, so that was again quite a deal! I had to drive out to Dallas to get it, but it was worth the trip. I’m amazed at how compact it is for all that it does…both machines are dwarfed by my giant Keurig Cafe machine. I love that they take up so little counter space. But anyway, this machine is the bomb! It heats up milk and froths it, shoots it into your cup, and then brews your espresso shot and adds it to the cup…all in a matter of seconds! It heats up so very fast…it takes all the hassle out of making a latte. Now the only thing I’ll be using my Keurig for is tea to go! I highly recommend the Lattissima One machine…it makes espresso, coffee, and cappuccino or latte macchiato, all with the touch of a button! Truly impressive. It even froths my cashew milk, which my Keurig Cafe could never do!
That last box our son brought home even had a pod holder and 2 boxes of the most amazing biscotti! What a treat! I went to the thrift store and bought a glass vase to double as a capsule holder, so now everything has a spot. I set up a great little coffee bar at the wet bar in our rec room, and we have a sink and mini fridge there, too. It’s the perfect setup! I have all my skinny coffee syrups with pumps lined up and my cashew milk and whipped cream in the mini fridge. It’s the ultimate indulgent beverage spot! We both love it so much.
The bottom line is that Nespresso is THE BOMB! The Keurig coffee pales in comparison…there IS no comparison! And it’s at least as good as any fancy coffee I have ever ordered from Starbucks with the convenience of home, so I’ll probably never set foot in Starbucks ever again!
Thank you for a top notch product line, Nespresso!
