Nespresso C100T Essenza Single-Serve Automatic Espresso Machine, Titan Grey

I walked into Williams-Sonoma for a wok and walked out with an Essenza from Nespresso, and it's worth every penny of the $229.99. The ease of use is unparalleled, esp for making a quality espresso. It's a no-hassle experience all around, and the Nestle coffee from Switzerland which is used with this machine is very good. I initially didn't want to buy this because you can only use the machine with the replaceable Nestle products, but then realized the flavor, ease-of-use, and quality of the product makes it worth it. If you want a cafe-style espresso, with quality crema, in just 15 seconds or less, give this one a try. I'm thoroughly enjoying the machine each day, in just my first week of using it. It's so easy!! How much is a real cafe experience at home, with Williams-Sonoma lifetime guarantee, worth to you? Kudo's for Nespresso Essenza and Williams-Sonoma. Cheers.

After a few days of use here are my comments for the C100T and Aerocinno. I am using the combo in a small office setting. The no mess of the espresso machine is great. The shots are really good and consistently good. The machine is very simple to use. Fill w/ water, turn on drop in espresso capsule, push button, and you are done. The only drawback I can mentinon is the capsules must be ordered from nespresso directly. In terms of cost they are significanlty more expensive than premium whole bean or ground espresso roast coffe (lavazza, petes, starbucks, etc.). So with regards to the espresso machine it is perfect for my office due to the no mess and no fuss cup of esspresso. Honestly, I love it. But in my home I will be keeping my Starbucks barista espresso machine due to the fact that it will take any espresso and at home it is easy to clean. The aerocinno is ingenious. It is the perfect compliment for any espresso machine with one caveat, the servings that it can make are only for one so if you are preparing multiple beverages are large single servings it must filled multiple times. If you overfill it, it will make a mess spilling over the sides. I am considering getting one of these for the home too due to the ease of use in comparison to the steamer attached to my espresso machine. In conclusion, I do reccomend this combo highly with the points mentioned above in mind.

I must first disclose that I am not an espresso connoisseur; I drink lattes and cafes-au-lait, and until the time my husband (a quad-espresso per day drinker) purchased the Nespresso C100, I had been a loyal Starbucks patron for at least 9 years. We've had the C100 now for over a month and since firing it up the first time, neither he nor I have stepped foot in a Starbucks. If you're not an espresso drinker and are afraid of the C100 PLUS a regular coffeemaker taking up counter space, fear no more. The C100 has two default settings -- one pulls an espresso, and the other, a 4-ounce "lungo" -- *and* its volume, unlike the C90, is also programmable. I've heard some people complaining about the noise Nespresso machines make, but really, have you ever listened to the noise -- and I'm not talking about the deafening and/or obnoxious music -- coming out of Starbucks?? As far as the quality goes, I haven't had coffee this good since my trip to Europe. It is consistent, never burnt-smelling/tasting (especially since the coffee doesn't sit around after being made), and does not require extensive doctoring to make it palatable. I now drink a plain ol' lungo, not a drink whose desciption requires a memory capable of beating the upper levels of "Simon Says." The only drawbacks, which are not enough to demote this rating to 4 stars, are the mandatory pod-ordering (and waiting), and the cost of accessories. If you don't believe me, go to Nespresso's website and see what a podholder costs.

It makes a fabulous and consistent cup of espresso, with many varities of coffee to choose from. Its easy, drop in the capsule and simply rinse off the removable capsule drop area. I'm not sure if its easier than a traditional espresso machine. In a traditional machine, you simply pack some grounds into a filter, instead of using a capsule.

I emailed Nespresso and found out that each espresso capsule has 5.5 grams of coffee in it, or .19 ounces. Because there are 16 ounces in a pound of coffee, it takes 84 capsules to equal one pound. At $0.49 a capsule, Nespresso is charging $41.16 FOR 1 POUND OF COFFEE.

You must use Nespresso capsules with this system, and only Nespresso sells the capsules. So if you want to pay the equivalent of $41 bucks per pound, this unit is for you.

I bought this machine after reading the reviews here and elsewhere on the Web. I agree with the good reviews. What people didn't mention, however, are:

(a) it makes a loud rattly whirring noise when you push the button to make coffee. I thought at first that I bought a dud machine, but apparently it's normal. It's not a pleasant noise but I got used to it.

(b) the instructions aren't really in English, they are multi-lingual and rely more on pictures. So it felt like rocket science for the first few minutes as I tried to decode what it meant. Eventually I gave up reading the instructions and figured it out myself.

(c) the espresso can come out quite cold. It's not super boiling hot when it shoots out, so unless you warm your cup in advance with some hot water, if you don't drink your espresso right away, that small amount of liquid gets cold quickly.

(d) the salespeople who say, "Each capsule only costs $0.49. Now, when was the last time you spent $0.49 on a cup of coffee?" are making a facetious argument. You are spending $0.49 for a tablespoon of very good espresso. If you tried to make a full cup of coffee (which you shouldn't, since this is an espresso machine), you will end up spending $2.00 or something like that. So, don't buy it thinking you will save money. Because if you are a coffee addict, chances are you will spend money on Nespresso AND still go to Peets and Starbucks anyway. So you are not "saving" anything. On a typical day, we go through about 3-4 capsules. So it can become a noneconomical way of enjoying espresso compared to making it the old way with beans.

(e) the capsules come in a variety of blends, but reading between the lines, the beans all seem to come from just 1-2 countries. It's not as wide or exotic of a geographic range as Peets or Starbucks. So the difference between the capsule colors/flavors is probably illusory. They all taste the same to me (then again I am not an aficionado).

(f) the capsules must be ordered in min. order of 50 (x$0.49 = $25). There is a mandatatory $5.95 shipping and handling. So re-ordering is going to be $30+ a pop.

(g) the machines must be routinely de-scaled and cleaned with fresh water. This maintenance bit annoys me.

Otherwise, it delivers what it promises. I bought it at Williams Sonoma to take advantage of its liberal return policy (apparently, lifetime warranty).

This machine was recommended by a friend and I haven't been disappointed. It's great for making a quick single cup of espresso. Only downside is you have to purchase and use their coffee cartridges which isn't so bad if you order in bulk from the company. I recommend it.

One cup and you'll be hooked! The machine is small so it's a real space saver.

I tried espresso and cappucino at a demonstration of the Nespresso unit a few years ago and was impressed, but it wasn't until recently that I had a need for a new machine. I persuaded the (reluctant) husband that this one would be good for our vacation home as it was easy. It arrived (within two days of ordering from Digital Photo, don't know why they are selling coffee machines but they do a darn good job) and we are thrilled with the unit. It heats up in seconds and makes a beautiful cup of espresso. My unit didn't come with a frothing wand so I heat milk on the stove and use a frother I bought in Italy to steam the milk. I am extremely happy with the Nespresso. The coffee pods cost $0.49 each and arrive within three days of placing the order. It also makes "lungo" coffee, a bigger cup of coffee, and my guests have been very happy with that.

I just recently came back from a trip from Italy and immediate hit the stores to find an espresso machine. I looked at various automatic espresso machines and pods but I decided on the Nespresso C100 and Aerocino combo for my home.

I wasn't intested in becoming a home barista so I needed an automatic system without the fuss and muss. With the C100, the quality of the shots are amazing and it requires very little effort. I'm usually rushed in the morning so being able to make a shot in a minute with no clean up is amazing.

The specs and build quality on the C100 is very good and the price is very reasonable considering the $1000-$2000 for the all-in-one integrated bean to cup grinder, presser and milk foamer. The salesperson mentioned you can run into a lot of quality problems with more complicated systems.

The simplicity is all to the capsules, which can only be purchased through Nespresso but the website is very easy to use. The variety is great and the price is high but reasonable (65 cents CDN). Most accessories are quite pricey but I would recommend the Aerocino which is a great option if you want to make lattes.

The best expresso I have ever tasted in a home machine, absolutely fantastic. The only downside to this machine is that you can only get the pods by order from the nespresso site.

We use one of these machines as our backup, when our fully automatic machine breaks...and we're always a bit sad when our main machine is repaired, as we haven't been able to get coffee out of it that's as good as Nespresso. We live in Switzerland, and here Nespresso makes a big deal about efficiently recycling the capsules, and it's very easy to find places to leave them when they're spent. Unfortunately, there's no mention of recycling on the US website. Despite this, we bought one for my parents living in the US, since the coffee is so good; not a particularly moral decision.

I've had this machine for almost half a year now, and I typically have 1 cup of coffee in the morning before work, and 1 cup of decaff after dinner.

The coffee that comes out of it is perfect every time, and it's so convenient, instant, and no mass! It doesn't require a lot of maintainance - I haven't had to descale it even after half a year of using it. It is also very compact so it doesn't take up very much space in my very small kitchen!

Some people have commented on the cost of each capsule, but I actually find the price OK. I used to use a plunger to make my coffee, and spend on average ~AUD$8 on a 250g pack of coffee beans, which gives me ~12 cups of coffee. So it works out to be ~AUD$0.66 per cup of brewed coffee, which is roughly the same as the price of 1 Nespresso capsule anyway (and I use 1 capsule per cup). True, each Nespresso capsule only has 5 g of coffee in it, but it gives the equivalent amount of brewed coffee as a typically 1-2 tablespoon of ground coffee made by the plunger method. So it's not the quantity of coffee you get that matters, but rather you should really compare the cost base on per cup of brewed coffee.

And the machine costs a little bit more than some other single-serve coffee machines, but this machine has a 19 bar pressure, compare to other machines such as Senso which only has 1.2 bar pressure. So there is definitely a difference in the quality of coffee coming out of the two different machines.

If you are after a great cup of coffee that is consistently good every time, and is instant, convenient, and virtually no cleaning up, then you should definitely give this machine a go.