I’m going to give you an overview of the Nespresso Essenza single serve espresso machine. A very simple, easy to use machine. We’re just going to tell you about what’s in the box, show you some operation and give you everything you need to know about this machine before you go out to purchase it. So let’s dive right in and talk about the Nespresso Essenza single serve espresso machine. Let’s talk about what’s in the box with a Nespresso Essenza. First of all you have the machine, of course, and we’ll talk about the overall operation and its features in a few moments. But you’ve got the machine, as with most Nespresso machines, very low profile, very small, easy to fit onto a countertop. You’re also going to find a package of 16 Grand Cru Nespresso capsules, to get you started for brewing your coffee with the Essenza machine. You’re going to find this nice magnet-closed binder. This is going to give you information on the Nespresso Club, which is going to allow you to purchase your Grand Cru capsules. And then you’ll find a couple of different informational pieces of paper.
You can hang onto those or put them in the binder. And then you have, of course, your manual. As with most of the Nespresso manuals, it’s pretty small and very easy to make your way through when it comes to the operation of the machine. That’s everything that comes in the machine, so let’s talk about actually using the machine and tell you a little bit more about it. Okay everybody, so this machine is very simple and we’ll start at the bottom as we always do with our overviews, and move on up. So on the bottom we have the tray, of course. This is removable and when you open it you’re going to find the receptacle for collecting about 10 to 12 used capsules. You can take that apart, empty those capsules, clean this tray out. You can also remove the metal grill if you would like, of course, for actual cleaning. Now one thing you’re going to notice about the Essenza over some of the others Nespresso machines, there is no way to get extra clearance for large tumblers with this machine. It is literally just for espresso shot glasses.
There’s no way to remove this bottom half, so you’re really just kind of restricted to that little bit of space that you have initially herewith the actual tray in place on the machine. You have your brew spigot right here in the center. Then you have a power button on the left-hand side of the machine, and you have your brewing button on the right-hand side. And something I should mention about the operation of this machine is that it is not automatic. It is automatic in the sense that you press a button and it starts brewing, but in the case of this machine it doesn’t stop brewing automatically. You actually choose the length of your pull with the espresso that you’re making with the Essenza machine. So that button is a single use button. It’s basically on/off for brewing. On the top of the machine you have the capsule holder, and this is what we’ve come to see in most Nespresso machines. Of course, this is where you’re going to place your capsule when it’s time start brewing. It uses this sort of plunger-based system which actually punctures that capsule when it’s time to start brewing.
A little bit different from the Nespresso U, which is fully automatic when it comes to puncturing that capsule. And of course, we have the water tank. I removed that right here. Very small little tank, 30 ounces. Not too much, but again, you’re making espresso, so you don’t need a whole lot of water. I like that it has this little handle on it right here for easy carrying. Of course, it attaches very easily to the back of the machine. All you need to do is just slide it onto the machine. So it’s very easy to use, which I think it’s great. That’s essentially the operation for the machine. It uses just a standard power plug to plug into your wall. It doesn’t take up a whole lot of space, and pretty easy to use. So let’s dive in and start talking about how we can make some espresso using the Nespresso Essenza. Brewing with the Nespresso Essenza is real simple. All we need to do, of course, is get an espresso shot glass. You’re going to want to use something that is small enough to fit underneath the brew spigot right there because you don’t have a lot of clearance.
Can’t use larger mugs with this machine. Make sure the machine is powered on, and you’re going to know, it’s powered on because the brew button here is going to glow green. If it’s blinking green that means the machine is heating up or it’s in need of water and it’s not ready to brew. But if it’s solid green, you’re ready to start brewing. The machine does have an auto sleep cycle. It will go to sleep after a period of time in order to save energy. So if you come back and it’s not on, just simply press that power button. Now Nespresso suggests that you first prime your espresso shot glass, just get it hot. So if you want to use the actual process that Nespresso suggests for brewing your espresso, go ahead and put your shot glass underneath here, and without adding a capsule to the machine, you can simply open up that brew chamber right there, close it back up and now we’re just going to run some hot water into our glass.
Now as I say, this machine is not automatic, so it will just continue brewing for as long as you allow it to brew. So you actually do need to watch this machine while it’s brewing. I’m just going to stop the brew process by pressing that button. Now I’ve just got a little bit of hot water. That gets my espresso shot glass hot. Of courses I’m using the Bodum double-walled, so I can’t really feel the heat. But this is very good for the flavor of the coffee. Now that we’re ready with that, we’ve tossed aside the hot water, we’re going to open up the brew chamber. We’ve even got a little bit of extra water coming out there. We’ll get rid of that because we want a nice strong shot of espresso. I’m going to use a Ristretto Grand Cru capsule right here. We’ll drop that into the brew chamber and we’re going to close up that lever on top of that in order puncture it. Now this is a Ristretto capsule, so that usually means that it would only be used for about a single shot of espresso.
Now remember, you’re going to decide how much espresso you’re going to brew. So this is going to mean that you’re going to want to know a little bit about your capsules and flavor that you get out of them. So I’m just going to brew a little bit of espresso out of this capsules. So I’ll just press that button. And again, you’re going to adjust how much espresso you’re going to be making with this Grand Cru capsule, so I’m going to do just about half of my shot glass right here. And when I’ve decided that I have enough, I’ll just press that button to stop the brew process. And that is my shot of espresso. Now if I wanted to brew more, of course, I can simply just press that button again. This will allow me to vary the flavor and the intensity of the coffee, but remember that’s also going to depend on the type of capsule that you’re using. If you want to find out some descriptions about these capsules and their flavor profiles, where we can give you some information about each of the Grand Cru capsules, because there are16 different varieties and each one has a different flavor profile. Clean up is real easy to do. All you need to do is open up that brew chamber.
That’s going to drop that spent capsule down and into the collection tray. You’ll find it right there in the collection tray. Of course, you can collect about 10 to 12 capsules in there before you need to empty this. You may want to empty that at the end of every day though, because leaving those capsules around with the coffee, it can start to get a little bit dirty, let’s say, and you want to keep your machine nice and clean. Also helps at the end of a day to run just a quick hot water cycle through the machine in order to clean out any excess oils or grounds that might be left behind in the machine after a day of brewing your shots of espresso. That way we can continue to get the best flavor out of your Nespresso Essenza. So pricing for the Nespresso Essenza is about $129, at the making of this articles. And of course you may find a different price, depending on how you shop around.
But it’s retailing for about $129. So this is about the lowest priced machine Nespresso offers, and a great way to get into brewing your own espresso at home using a single serve option. Bottom line with this machine is it’s very small, very easy to fit onto a countertop, very easy to use. It does not have an automatic feature. As I say, it automatically brews the coffee, of course, but you actually need to decide on the length of the pull that you’re going to do for your espresso shot. So you want to keep in mind. If you want an automatic option, you’re probably going to want to check out another machine by Nespresso which will allow you to simply press a button and brew your coffee. But in this case, this is a great way to get into the world of single serve espresso. And I hope that you guys found this overview useful.
