The Nespresso Vertuo Plus is one of those machines that looks clean, feels convenient, and promises great coffee with almost no effort. I get why people consider it. I have spent years trying, testing, and upgrading home coffee setups, and I understand the appeal of something that claims to take the guesswork out of brewing.
Why I Recommend the Fellow Ode Gen 2 (And the Baratza Encore if You’re on a Budget)
If you’re just getting started with making better coffee at home, there’s one tool that will make a bigger difference than you think: a good burr grinder. And for me, the Baratza Encore was that tool for over five years.
When I moved back to Hawaii, one of the things I didn’t expect to miss so much was my favorite coffee. You can find some incredible Kona roasts locally, but I was used to variety, all the flavors and profiles I’d come to love during my time in Australia and travels around the mainland. For a while, I figured I’d just have to settle.
Like most people who get deeper into coffee, I started by figuring out what I didn’t like. Burnt, bitter cups from grocery store tins. Overpriced “dark roast” drinks that all tasted the same. I kept hearing about arabica beans, so I started looking for them on coffee bags, expecting that label to mean I was buying something better.
I’ve had a lot of coffee in my life. Good, bad, and everything in between. As someone who’s spent years around quality coffee and lived in Australia for over a decade, I’ve grown used to a certain standard when it comes to my morning brew. So when friends ask if they should get a Nespresso machine, especially one from the Original Line, I usually pause. I get the appeal. It’s sleek, quick, and feels a bit more elevated than a Keurig. But the truth is, it still falls short where it matters most.
Why I chose the Moccamaster and Never Looked Back
My first experience with a Keurig was at my in-laws’ house. At the time, the one-button simplicity felt like a win. But after a few weeks of plastic-tasting coffee, constant descaling, and the growing guilt over all those pods in the trash, it started to feel less like convenience and more like compromise. The Keurig K Mini coffee maker promises the same quick fix in a smaller size, but the downsides? Still the same, though maybe even worse.