Hey there, friends!

Over the course of – honestly – about a year, I’ve been very unimpressed with all of my coffee options. I go to Starbucks and get my Venti iced coffee drink and, more often than not, it’s bitter. I make myself coffee using my longtime friend, Keurig, and it just doesn’t give me that ‘boost’ I need in the morning. It’s not until I go to a local coffee shop, that is a bit of a drive for me to go every morning, that I notice just how Starbucks and my Keurig pods [no matter what kind I try] just aren’t doing the trick. Their coffee is SO good and gives me that extra pep in my step and, it’s crazy but it’s true … I feel more focused when I get a latte from there. So, anyway … I finally decided it was time that I seriously look into other options besides the two I tend to rely on now.

Insert …. NESPRESSO.

I’ve had a couple of girlfriends make mention of Nespresso before and how it’ll change your life … but, I think I was just so comfortable and ‘okay’ with mediocre coffee that I didn’t actually consider making the Nespresso plunge. So, after I had had my 5th bitter iced coffee from Starbucks [over the course of 5 days] no matter which location I went to, I decided enough was enough and I texted them for more insight. At this time, Black Friday was going to be coming our way in a week or so, so I decided to hold off until I could see what kind of deal I could get. I used that time to figure out what Nespresso machine fit my personal preferences and needs.

FIGURING OUT WHICH NESPRESSO MACHINE IS FOR YOU: Nespresso machines are like people. They come in all shapes and sizes and can do a lot of different things. It’s important to do your research before making a purchase. Some questions that would be helpful to answer before choosing a machine would be:

• Do you prefer drip coffee or are lattes or cappuccinos more your thing?

• Do you want your machine to have the capability of brewing both?

• Does the machine you’re looking at come with a milk frother and, if not, do you want that to make the drink you’d like to enjoy each morning?

• What are other people saying about this machine in particular? Will I be getting my moneys’ worth?

For me, I like drip coffee and latte’s so I wanted my machine to have the ability to make both. The machine that I kept coming back to, that had great reviews and made both, didn’t come with a milk frother so I had to make sure to either [1] find a bundle where I can get both the machine and the frother together – and get a bit of a discount for buying them that way OR [2] buy a machine that has one attached to or comes with the machine.

THE MACHINE I GOT: I ended up purchasing a Breville machine that uses Nespresso pods called the Vertuoplus Deluxe Coffee & Espresso Maker. Since I purchased mine during Black Friday, there were a lot of great sales going on and I found an amazing bundle price for the machine AND the Aeroccino, or milk frother. The price you’re seeing on the machine now is actually lower than the price I paid so definitely jump on that if you have been thinking about it! It comes with 12 pods to help you figure out what pods you want to purchase. [UPDATE – April 2020: I personally never found the Nespresso milk frother to work as well as I’d like it to, so I just purchased this milk frother that my friend raves about!]

HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT: I have been really impressed with this machine! It super easy to figure out and works like a dream. I haven’t had any annoyances or issues with it. It holds A LOT of empty pods and it takes a long time for the water chamber to get low, which I love. I felt like I was ALWAYS refilled the Keurig water chamber, which isn’t a big deal but, you know, not having to is a first-world simply luxury that I’m not too proud to say I enjoy 😉 It takes about a minute for the machine to brew your coffee or espresso. It takes the milk frother about 2 minutes to warm up and froth your milk. The frother also gives you the option of warming the milk up or keeping it cold. I thought that was pretty nifty!

THE PODS I LIKE: To be really honest, I’ve only found TWO that I like and it’s the dark blue espresso pod, Diavolitto, and the purple espresso pod, Altissio. The Altissio is my number one, I think! It’s delicious! Let me know which coffee pods you really like. Personally, hazelnut and vanilla aren’t really my thing when it comes to coffee 😉

WHAT I STORE THE PODS IN: I personally LOVE this pod storage drawer that goes just underneath the machine. It holds forty pods and makes everything look nice and neat and stored away!

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Not only do I save time in the morning by not driving myself to Starbucks to get coffee, but I also enjoy GOOD coffee … every. morning! I find that I have a healthier morning because making my morning coffee in the kitchen challenges me to … at the same time … make my breakfast. I use to end up eating at around 10:00AM when I would get really hungry and that’s obviously not the best habit to embrace. So, I just find myself enjoying the way my mornings are getting started now. I definitely have LESS coffee everyday because I’m not drinking a Venti but it’s better quality coffee and has a much better affect on my day, in my opinion!

I hope that gives those of y’all some insight into the fascination with Nespresso’s to help you make a decision if you want to make the plunge or the switch! Which did you decide?