Nespresso Delonghi By Black : Inissia Espresso Machine

We’ve become addicted to the ease and quality produced by the Nespresso machine and pods. My husband initially ordered one of these and we already had a standard espresso machine at home so I was a bit irritated. But then we tried it – the machines always come with samples – and I was really surprised by the ease of use and quality of taste it produced. We then essentially ignored the regular espresso machine and after a few months it ended up on a shelf in the garage – this was about 5-6 years ago. Our pixie has been running strong the whole time, making 4 pods essentially every day. Now days it seems like appliances live an average of only 3-5 years before you have to do big repairs or replace them (especially dishwashers and refrigerators, but that’s another story…), so when this came available we figured we should plan ahead and grab it, since we were at the 5 year mark with our original pixie machine. Don’t get me wrong, it was still running problem free, but I’d hate to be the one that said “Nah, we’re good…we don’t need this brand new, cute nespresso machine” then regret it a few weeks later – Murphy’s law and all that.

Anyways, for someone new to Nespresso –

PRESSURE: the advantage is that there is actual high pressure that drives the water through the capsules in a Nespresso, just like a real, authentic espresso machine. The K-cup type machines/pods don’t have this, they work more like a basic drip, with just the usual water pressure used on those kinds of machines – this results in a very different taste and quality of espresso. I’m by no means an expert, so I can’t give you all the physics of the thing, but if you research it online you’ll find many blog posts and articles that can give you the details. (that tended to need a lot of maintenance and upkeep compared to these.

TASTE: Most people who like espresso can usually tell the difference between the pressure extruded (?) drink vs. when it’s “espresso flavor” or “espresso beans” through a drip type unit – there’s no comparison. Pressured is much more rich and complex. Drip seems more watery or watered down to me.

PODS: Nespresso has it’s own size pods so know that none of the k-cups or any of those will fit. There are a few off-brand coffee pod makers who are making pods to fit in the Nespresso machines, but I’ve yet to find any that taste as good as the actual nespresso pods. Additionally, if they’re making their pods out of plastic you may find the nespresso machine has a harder time piercing it as the plastic tends to be much thicker than the metal pods. They still work, just not quite as well

FLAVORS/STRENGTHS: I wish the pods had directly on them their strength number but they don’t. You have to look them up online or on the nespresso site. A somewhat basic guideline is that the darker the pod color the stronger the intensity/flavor. This doesn’t always hold true, as the Indriya doesn’t have a super dark pod but is a strong one, for example. But for most this works. If you go to the website called whichnespresso they have an “ultimate guide” that lists all the pods and describes their intensity and flavor profile. For a quickie idea, we’re fans of stronger tasting pods and these are the ones we like:

Roma – 8 – not super strong on this list, but it has a really nice, rich & smooth taste that we really, really like. I’ll do 2 Romas or one Roma with one Kazaar most often in my morning drink. (anything below an 8 in intensity we’ve found we don’t like – too “watered down” tasting for us)
Kazaar – 12 – our favorite of the most strong pods. This has an intensity that we like yet w/o some of the bite or overly bitter many others have.
Arpeggio – 9 – another good one, I sometimes forget how much I like this as we tend to stick to our “usuals” of Roma and Kazaar, but whenever I do order this I always like and appreciate it.
Indriya – 10 – when we’re feeling our rut, we’ll often “go wild” for a week or two and mix it up with some Indriya. I like it, maybe not so much for my every day, but it’s quite good.
Risretto – 10 – another really good strong one. Just like with Arpeggio, I always like it but tend to forget about it (probably too often) because we’re stuck in our Roma and Kazaar rut..
Decaffeinated – the best one is the Decaffinato Arpeggio – 9, followed by the Decaffinato Intensio – 7. The 7 is a bit lighter than we like, but it still works when we’re craving the taste but not the caffeine.
Not a fan of the Dharkan – too bitter for both of us. We’re also not fans of the flavored pods so can’t give you any details on those.

SUPER IMPORTANT! The pods have been optimized to the time set on the machine with the small cup (and large one if specified) Yes, you can add extra time and squeeze more espresso out of it, but at that point the flavor changes and you’ll get a much more bitter and less tasty espresso. Bear this in mind…

Final review on THIS machine:

Ok, so back to this De’Longhi machine – as I mentioned above, functionally it’s just like the Nespresso Pixie, just with different aesthetics. I personally like the metal plates on the side of the Pixie better I think, just because it feels more substantial, but this isn’t flimsy by any means (more of just a personal preference….). Water is an easy fill in the removable tank at the back, you lift the metal bar at the front to open the pod compartment and when you put it back down the pod is perfectly positioned to be pierced, through which the pressured water enters and then your lovely tasting espresso exits more piercings at the front of the pod (on the empties you’ll see the piercings front and back. There is a holder at the front for the empty pods that requires emptying about every 3 days or so for 2 people using regularly. I find if I keep a tiny bit of kitchen cleanser squirted in the bottom of this holder it prevents molding – if you’re somewhere that molds easily or if you’re not using it as regular as described so they sit for awhile. You’ll hear a “pop” sound when the pressure reaches the required level then pops into the capsule beginning the pour. The only cleaning involved is the exterior, the drip tray and empty container, and (again if you live somewhere that molds easily) sometimes the top inside lid of the water tank. This is super easy, as low-to-no maintenance as you can get. They’re super great.

Nice

Pros of the Inissia:
-Clean appearance, looks and feels quality
-Small size – fits well in small kitchens
-Very cheap compared to a full size espresso machine
-Machine warms up quickly
-FAST. I love how quick this machine is. I used to make moka pot coffee, which is noisier (or the grinder is), faster, and not as tasty.
-Cheaper pods – for me, since this is true espresso, this is a more cost effective way of enjoying my coffee. It is a fraction of the cost of a coffee shop, and since buying the Inissia I have almost ceased going to the coffee shop at all. The unit is cheap enough to outweigh the costs of buying the pods anyway.
-The pods run around 70 cents a shot across the board. They’re about the same price whether through Amazon or Nespresso’s website, but Nespresso will usually give you a good “Starter discount” and a gift the first time you order, so using a combination of the two might be helpful.

Cons of the Inissia:
-Ordinary coffee from your grocery store cannot be used with this unit – only pods from Nespresso are recommended. This means you can’t try out different coffees and their flavors using this machine. You can buy occasional new flavors through Nespresso though.
-The drip tray must be removed if a taller mug is used to collect espresso.
-“A little” noisy. Doesn’t wake up sleeping kids in the next room though. Much quieter than a grinder.
-Precious espresso sometimes sits in the chamber where the pod is – when it’s done making espresso, the last half a teaspoon of espresso (or less) may sit there. If you’ve removed the drip tray / used pod box then you’ll need to clean the bottom of the section of the unit where the used pod box would be. Not too bad, but it’s an extra step.
-The used pod collection drawer also collects this espresso mentioned above – and if not cleaned regularly can grow mold. This could just be very humid environments such as where I’m at, but I was surprised at how short a time it took. I clean and air dry mine regularly now.

Overall?
Fantastic little espresso machine! I’ve been looking at buying one of these for years. An office I used to work at had one, so knowing the taste was good I decided to take the plunge. I was nervous about the cheaper price of this unit at first, hoping that it wasn’t cheap because of lack of quality. I researched a lot, bought this one, and haven’t regretted it.
I found I wanted a taste I could trust. This espresso is the real thing, with excellent tasty crema every time. I prefer the Arpeggio and Livanto espresso shots, but I do like the Envivo Lungo, to my surprise. The Inissia pulls espresso shots and also makes lungo shots, which simply remind me of my trusted moka pot in taste and are a “longer” shot than the standard. I don’t really think of the lungo as an espresso, however.

Uses original line nespresso pods; it isn’t recommended to try anything else with it (including those that are reusable). You can recycle the used pods if you wish through a nespresso recycling location near you, and little recycling bags come with the unit.
Includes directions on how to clean the machine; they don’t look difficult. I haven’t had to clean mine yet but the directions indicate when is best to clean. It doesn’t look too hard, but you do have to buy a cleanser for this. It looks like just running the machine on lungo a few times with the cleaner and then a few times without; not a big deal.

The difference between this machine, which uses original line pods, and the vertuo line nespresso units: This has to do with the way the coffee is made. Vertuo uses centrifugal force to achieve pressure – the original line it is said uses a special air compressor to achieve enough pressure. I can hear what sounds like this air compressor part working when I use the machine. I researched what others said about the difference in taste, and many lovers of classic espresso liked the original line best, so that’s what I went with.

All in all a very efficient espresso machine. I wish I’d bought it years ago, even if it was more expensive then…