Nespresso Essenza Mini Solo Grey

Favorite part of my kitchen!! This machine is so compact and cute and easy to use!! I can easily put in my favorite espresso pod and get café quality coffee in seconds! The quality is amazing for being at home and truly depends on the pod you purchase. The pressure is amazing and perfect in extracting the perfect amount of strength per shot. It is also very easy to control quantity of coffee produced to ensure it is not too strong or watered down. It has saved me sooo much money at cafés and brings me joy knowing that you don’t need to add any additives or artificial sweeteners!!

A higher rating now than in my prior review

I had offered a negative 2-star review of the Mini machine after my first use of my new machine a few days ago. I wanted to edit that to give a higher rating after further experience, but could not find an 'edit' function. I still don't like the inadequate 9 cm spacing between the drip platform and the spout of the Mini that doesn't allow any of our normal-sized coffee cups and mugs to be used, but I want to withdraw my complaint that the coffee output didn't seem as hot as I had with my older machine that I had to replace due to a serious leaking problem. I don't know why my first cup had a noticeably low temperature, but later experience produced normal, hot coffee. We have had to remove the drip platform and improvise a thin drip platform from a plastic plate ... MoreI had offered a negative 2-star review of the Mini machine after my first use of my new machine a few days ago. I wanted to edit that to give a higher rating after further experience, but could not find an 'edit' function. I still don't like the inadequate 9 cm spacing between the drip platform and the spout of the Mini that doesn't allow any of our normal-sized coffee cups and mugs to be used, but I want to withdraw my complaint that the coffee output didn't seem as hot as I had with my older machine that I had to replace due to a serious leaking problem. I don't know why my first cup had a noticeably low temperature, but later experience produced normal, hot coffee. We have had to remove the drip platform and improvise a thin drip platform from a plastic plate that allows us to use our normal-sized coffee cups and mugs. There must be tiny coffee cups besides espresso cups that will fit under the limited 9 cm height of the output nozzle with the drip platform in place, but none of our standard-sized cups will fit. Our improvised thinner drip platform is unsightly, but it allows us to make coffee with this very small & quieter machine with the cups we have.

Essenza Mini - Great Unit for Travel

Purchased the Essenza Mini for travel purposes; small and easy to transport on road trips and vacation. I feel it produces the same quality espresso as our Latissma Original that we have at home. As other reviewers have mentioned, this unit does produce "overflow" during the process and the small reservoir needs to be emptied after 2-3 cups. I'm estimating each cup produces 3-4 tablespoons into the drip tank and if you forget to empty it you'll have a pool of water under the unit. Coffee is great, but you need to keep a drip cloth to keep the drip tank from making a mess.

Excellent compact machine!

I have been a Nespresso customer for almost 20 years, several machines. At home I have the Creatista Plus - love it. I purchased this along with the Aeroccino to take with me on a 6-month+ road trip because I need my latte to start my day, and it is great! Compact for travel, the same great quality from higher priced machines, just what I needed. I visited my son and he wanted espresso in addition to his regular coffee machine and I got him this for Christmas. We are both very happy! (and someone mentioned they cannot find capsules, this takes the Original Line capsules)

If size is a factor...

I'm not one to normally write reviews but I thought I would this time. I've had this for a while (2yrs) so this isn't based on a new, shiny toy that I've just received.I bought this model because it was small and would take up less counter space, and to save me money! I use it almost every day and actually prefer this over Starbucks or a coffee stand. For an example on its size, it's a little taller than a laptop and about the length of one (including the water reservoir in the back), and the width is the size of my iphone pro max. Hopefully that will give you a better visual of its dimensions. Even BETTER yet, I recently went on a trip and it fit in my carry-on suitcase -- orignal box and all. Went through TSA easily, too. So if it's size you're looking for, this ... MoreI'm not one to normally write reviews but I thought I would this time. I've had this for a while (2yrs) so this isn't based on a new, shiny toy that I've just received.I bought this model because it was small and would take up less counter space, and to save me money! I use it almost every day and actually prefer this over Starbucks or a coffee stand. For an example on its size, it's a little taller than a laptop and about the length of one (including the water reservoir in the back), and the width is the size of my iphone pro max. Hopefully that will give you a better visual of its dimensions. Even BETTER yet, I recently went on a trip and it fit in my carry-on suitcase -- orignal box and all. Went through TSA easily, too. So if it's size you're looking for, this is the one.Performance is still going strong. It is a liiiittle loud brewing the coffee with a slight buzzing sound, but nothing obnoxious (mainly the beginning and the end of the brew). It has one handle and two buttons and is pretty self-explanatory to use. The crema was thick and strong at first but I noticed it has thinned out a bit. The compartment that the used coffee pods fall into is small, holding apprx 6 or 7 pods, but given the size of the machine you can't expect anything larger. I keep a container nearby and empty it when needed, no biggy. Both drip trays seem to fill up quicker than usual now, but again, the machine is small and emptying it is not a deal-breaker for me. It seems to bother other reviewers and I don't see what the big deal is.I don't give out 5 stars very often so I'm not *overly* enthused with the rating, so if I had the option to, I'd give it 4.75... definitely better than 4. I love my machine and I highly recommend it.

If you don't care about Milk features

Great machine. Really well designed. Space saving shape is good for limited counter space. I can easily reach behind to remove/replace the full water tank without spilling and it seats in nicely. Some of the other colors have a different shape so note that the squarish one fits best in tight spaces. I bought a set of 6 Sweese 3.5 oz espresso cups on Amazon for $20 which work perfectly for the largest/lungo setting or smaller. People complaining about not being able to fit a larger cup here are mistaken. Just remove the drip tray - it is trivial. Cleaning is a snap. People saying they cannot find the manual online also are mistaken. Here:https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/machine-assistance/essenza-miniThis is ideal for 1 or 2 people. I just fill the water tank each ... MoreGreat machine. Really well designed. Space saving shape is good for limited counter space. I can easily reach behind to remove/replace the full water tank without spilling and it seats in nicely. Some of the other colors have a different shape so note that the squarish one fits best in tight spaces. I bought a set of 6 Sweese 3.5 oz espresso cups on Amazon for $20 which work perfectly for the largest/lungo setting or smaller. People complaining about not being able to fit a larger cup here are mistaken. Just remove the drip tray - it is trivial. Cleaning is a snap. People saying they cannot find the manual online also are mistaken. Here:https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/machine-assistance/essenza-miniThis is ideal for 1 or 2 people. I just fill the water tank each night and I have several throughout the day and I generally only use the Lungo size because I like volume (even though many of the capsules I order are designed for ristretto or espresso) because I am an American and we like things BIG ha ha. Generally I drop one in hot water / milk for an Americano in the morning and then just drink straight espresso/lungo in the afternoon.This thing could even go on the road with you pretty easily just use a good tote bag or something. If you're new trying the whole Nespresso thing out then just buy this one. It's affordable and simple.

Lasted 3 years.

I have loved this machine for about 3 years. But then it started leaking water. It took me a month or more to research how to fix it. I bought the T10 Security (hole) bit and followed the instruction to remove the puncture plate and clean it. But it started leaking again by the second cup. Too bad because it still makes great coffee, just have to hit it multiple times and add water. I did descale it several times but never used one of those cleaning capsules that I just learned about.

Poor Instructions, decent product

Decent product. Instructions are horrific. Just a bunch of images that make no sense with hour glasses and arrows. For example, in the set up instructions it says to press the large serving size button 3 times…..what it actually means is to run the large serving size cycle 3 times and not to press it 3 time consecutively. Amazing such a seemingly well engineered and simple to use machine can have such awful instructions on set up, cleaning and general use. Also my manual says it makes 3 cup sizes but I’m not sure how given only has 2 buttons.

So far so good, very easy to use.

Good machine based on first month of use.Very easy to use and makes decent coffee.Snobbery aside, the quality of espresso it produces leaves anything other than genuinely well-made barista coffee well behind.After trying Nespresso, Nescafe, L'Or, and Vottoria caspules the Nesxx brands have the best flavour and richness for my taste, but the better of the L'Or and Vittoria types are quite good as well.Four stars for now as longevity not yet proven. If it lasts and continues to perform as well as most users report then it will get five stars down the track.

When it works it’s great, but it does break

I purchased this machine to replace a previous one that leaked (which I had used for a few years before any issues). This machine produces overflow and leaks and I believe this excess water / humidity component has created some electrical problems within the machine itself as now after one cup, one button remains lit and blinks (a double blink) and I cannot use the machine. I’ve tried resetting it and ultimately I have to unplug the machine as it will start and stop randomly after I have made my cup of espresso. Super frustrating that for this price I’ve had two machines that eventually broke down. The coffee is amazing and I can’t drink anything else so I put up with it, but I’m now looking at buying a third machine in 7 years and this is a bit ridiculous.