Nespresso D120 CitiZ Automatic Single-Serve Espresso Maker with Aeroccino Milk Frother (Silver Chrome)

With all the new style espresso machines on the market (Tassimo, Keurig, Flavia, etc.) I was convinced that Nespresso was more of the same: a set of stylish gimmicks designed to convince you that this "espresso" (though not real at all) was "the real thing." It never is.

Which is why the Nespresso is so great. It IS the REAL THING. The capsules contain nothing more than espresso coffee grounds. The machine is simply an automated and miniaturized "real" espresso rig. And the results speak for themselves:

-- full bodied crema like you get from the best barista
-- speedy and HOT cups of espresso
-- the espresso produced is crisp and clear, full bodied, and smooth
-- my Sicilian wife and all her relatives (numerous, and mostly named "Maria" "Antonina" and "Dominic") all fully approve of the espresso that comes out. Comparing is to "Nonna's" would be sacrilege, but although those words have not been spoken yet, I am conviced the thought has crossed a couple minds. :-)
-- all this in under 30 seconds and within a square foot of counter space.

The frothing unit that comes with the machine is nothing short of black magic. I have NO IDEA what it does or how it does it, but the results will amaze you. And the best part is it's easy to clean: no sticky milk mess left behind to make you wonder who's gonna get sick first.

Coffee for this machine is 55 cents per cup, and Nespresso delivers online orders with astonishing speed (which is good, because you can't get the coffee from anyone else!). A bit pricey, but in this case you DO get what you pay for... and then some.

This machine is brilliant. The best espresso or cappuccino I've ever tasted, and all in less than 2 minutes, start to finish. The milk frother is a miracle--quick, perfect, instant cleanup. My wife and I have been wired out of our heads since it arrived. We can't stop drinking the stuff. We're giving Stieg Larsson's characters a run for their caffeinated money! The reason is that all the usual inhibitors are gone: the coffee's gone cold and acrid in the pot, can't face the 20-minute production and cleanup for a cup of espresso, etc. It's like the world's smartest drug dealers got together and designed this thing. Got the slightest urge? Satisfy it! Why not? Just hit the button and it's there. Wait a minute, my wife's calling me. What's that? We're out? Excuse me, I have to go knock over a 7/11 so I can order another box of capsules.

I purchased the Nespresso Citiz several months ago and saved it for Christmas. It was a gift for both my husband and myself. Our morning routine has been to brew a pot of coffee, heat milk in the microwave, and froth by hand in a stainless steel frother. Needless to say, there are lots of steps and lots of items for the dishwasher, but we love our morning coffee. The Nespresso was a hit right out of the box. It is so simple to use, the milk froths better than anything we've ever done by hand, the expresso is divine. My husband said it best, "It is so good that it makes you think about what you are drinking and appreciate the experience of really good coffee." Like someone wrote in a previous review, "we're not going to Starbucks anymore." Yes it is expensive, but over time can actually save money. Yes, you have to order the pods from Nespresso, but this is high quality expresso and delivery is fast. I purchased the sample box to give us an opportunity to try everything. This is an exceptional product.

UPDATE: 3/11/10 The frother on our unit has quit working on two occasions . . .the first quit working after a month, the second after six weeks. While there was no problem getting replacement units, I am concerned that after the unit is out of warranty we will have a Citiz unit with a broken frother. I see someone else has had the same problem in these reviews. It is important not to leave the frother on the connector after use, and let it cool completely between uses. ( Even following these instructions, ours still malfunctioned.) The Citiz is wonderful. We love the coffee, getting pods is a breeze. Customer service is wonderful, but I am seriously considering taking our unit back to the store where we bought it and getting a separate unit and frother.

UPDATE: 5/2/10. The frothier quit again. We use it several times a day....4 to 5 times...it quit yesterday and we are frustrated. We treat it with kid gloves since we've been through four frothers since Christmas. Nespresso service has been great but we are going to return the unit to the store and exchange for the unit without the frothier and buy a separate frothier. Upside..we can take it with us. I would be interested in knowing if others have had similar problems.
Before buying the combined unit consider your usage. It may be fine if you only use it once a day. However, if you will be making multiple cups of latte each day, you may wish to consider buying separately.

UPDATE 11/9/2010 We did return the original unit in September and picked up a separate frother and the Citiz without the frother. We've been very happy since. In fact we took in on vacation with us. Stayed in several different hotels and it didn't bother us to haul it around as we really love the Nespresso coffee.

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